Smith Creek, Green Gold, Indeck Energy Pellets

[HD41]

My first choice of pellets is Somerset followed by Lignetics and American Wood Fibers based upon what is available. Didn't stock up for the winter, was down to my last six bags, saw posted there were shortages in some areas. None of my choices were available at TSC or Lowes. Smith Creek Supreme Comfort, Green Gold, Indeck Energy Pellets were available at the same price. Since I get 5% off Smith Creek from Lowes it seemed like it was the best deal, also the closest. Bag says they are a "Hardwood Blend" whatever that means. They don't burn very well, a lot of buildup in the burn pot, Where the air flows through, the pellets glow red where gasses burn off; the ones in the front of the burn box glow and others shrink and turn black. I can help burning if I stir periodically. What is the experience with Green Gold and Indeck Energy Pellets?

EDIT; Smith Creek not the problem, follow thread.

 

[Bioburner]

Lake Girl reported that Indeck weren't that bad. The ones I picked up last weekend look lighter in color than the ones in the past so maybe not so much ashy bark as the ones I got three years ago and still trying to feed them though the Hestia. Glad its a multifuel as would plug a Whit pretty fast.

 

[teddyturnpickle]

Smith Creek's are terrible!! I bought two bags to test and was trying to give the second bag away. I was getting anywhere from a 30-95 degree difference in heat using the same settings for somersets and greenways.

 

[HD41]

Thanks for the info; Pennington's would be a step up. Good to know someone else confirms my experience and it's not my stove. I saw a post favorable to Green Gold; I will have to shop around for better pellets; hopefully I can find Somerset's or Lignetic's that I have had good experience with.

To do the best with what I got I placed a plate over half of the burn pot as a partial solution to get the Smith Creek Supreme Comforts to burn better. Flame fills the pot pretty well and no more black unburned pellets, just shrinking pellets that glow & stay together with very little powdery ash which is something new to me. Probably will still have to clear the pot a couple times a day until I use them up.

EDIT; Smith Creek not the problem, follow thread

 

[HD41]

The baffle plate works well as flame fills the burn pot igniting the pellets bringing my rating of Smiths Creek up to D+ from F. After a few hours the burn pot still chokes up, smokes the glass, heat goes down and I have to remove about 1/3 of the semi-glowing pellets. To give the benefit of doubt Smith Creek may work in other stoves but my PDVC likes Somersets. I'm 6 bags down with 44 to go.

Edit; Smith Creek not the problem, follow thread.

 

[Bob E]

I have a bag of Indek Energy hardwood blend that I picked up to sample. I can't compare them to the other brands you mentioned, but I can let my hopper drain out, dump the indeks in and let you know what I think.

 

[HD41]

Thanks Bob E., I will be looking for info on Indek.
Search didn't reveal much; Smith Creek Supreme Comfort, Green Gold, and Indeck Energy Pellets must be newer brands. Smith Creek Supreme Comfort pellets are going to require regular tending; they were spilling out of the burn pot overnight. Photo taken this afternoon shows burn pot full after about 5 hours; pellets glowing and starting to spill over. Substantial temperature rise after clearing the buildup away.

EDIT; Smith Creek not the problem, follow thread.

 

[Bob E]

I don't know much about Indeck Energy other than they are located in Wisconsin. I find that kind of interesting because every other pellet I've seen locally is made within driving distance. Their pellets are decent. Good consistent size, low fines, more ash than the other pellets I've burnt, and good heat. A little less than my best pellets but not enough to justify cranking up the feed rate. If your running your stove flat out it might be more noticeable. They seemed to want a little less combustion air to make the best heat. If you go overboard I guess they could stack up on you but it didn't seem to be a problem for me.

 

[Lake Girl]

It sounds like the Indeck pellets should burn better for you than the Supreme Comfort but they do have a high ash factor. They were a real big step-down from the Heartland pellets I was burning... but beggars can't be choosers! My local supplier had to switch to Indecks last year due to inavailability of the Heartlands (but didn't lower their price). I tried to convince them to source a different pellet but got the story of this was easiest as this is what their supplier got ... What adds insult to injury - I can drive another 1/2 hour and get them at a far cheaper price from Menards. They lost my business this year.

The Supreme Comfort sounds like they are on par with the Haliburton Pellets from Ontario. Aspen aka Poplar may be the base feedstock like the Haliburtons - I think they are considered a Hardwood but just barely (soft hardwood if that makes sense).

 

[HD41]

after 5 hours burn before cleaning after 10 hours burn after cleaning

I saw another post with pellets not burning and spilling out of the pot after a few hours that looked like what I had. Diagnosis "not enough air". My stove was burning Somersets OK so I didn't think it could be the problem but decided to do a thorough cleaning of the heat exchanger to rule that out.

Tasting some "Humble Pie"; Cleaned the heat exchanger, after 10 hours the pot has fine ash, no unburned glowing pellets and can probably run another 10 hours before cleaning the burn pot. Having said that, my stove was part of the problem; Smith Creek is about average, heat not that great but I can live with them. Will pick up some single bags of Green Gold and Indeck Energy Pellets to try.

 

[HD41]

The post started because had no experience Smith Creek Supreme Comfort, Green Gold, and Indeck Energy Pellets and didn't see much info on the forum; they were the only brands available. Thought I had a problem with Smith Creek pellets which turned to be a burn plate gap; fixed the gap and they burned well.

I have since bought single bags of Green Gold and Indeck Energy Pellets. All three burned well and could run all day without filling the burn pot. Smith Creek- very light colored fluffy ash; Indeck Energy - darker a bit heavier; Green Gold - darker heavier and builds a crusty "birds nest" (similar to what I find with Somersets) Temperature readings were inconclusive, not able to see much difference in heat output - more concerned with clean burning. Want to avoid some high ash low heat pellets - I'll not name names.

Limited test burn of Green Gold at low setting because of warmer weather but I suspect they are higher heat comparable to Somersets. At this point I would buy any of these. Share your experience.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I've been burning Indecks and Ozark Hardwoods this fall -- both TSC cheapies I got in a preseason buy. Both burn well in my Harman, but the Indecks seem to give off a little more heat. I do think Indeck has raised its quality a notch this year. Fines have been minimal for me.

I did have a problem with wet pellets and emailed the company to suggest they wrap their skids a little better. I got a nice response from the quality control manager and a $50 gift card from TSC! It suggests to me that they do give a damn about what customers think of their product.

 

[ymurf]

Smith creek premium pellets are the worst pellets I have ever used.Its all Lowes had so I bought 10 bags. They dont burn hot and leave a mess. In two days the stove was full of ash and burn pot was full of ash and half burned pellets were laying everywhere.

 

[Bioburner]

I got a ton of Indecks when Menards had a sale as the Harman can eat most and was pleasantly surprised that they made major improvements in burn etc. Still have a few bags of first year and they are still terrible but barely better than Pennington. If on sale again this season will try and grab a couple tons for next season.

 

[bags]

It's good to finally see so feed back on the Supreme Comforts. I saw them over in Indiana about an hour or so away from me. The $200 a ton in Oct. was tempting and now the place has bumped them to $225 a ton. I'll stick with the Sets for $224 a ton. 20 minutes away too.

 

[rona]

It sounds like the Indeck pellets should burn better for you than the Supreme Comfort but they do have a high ash factor. They were a real big step-down from the Heartland pellets I was burning... but beggars can't be choosers! My local supplier had to switch to Indecks last year due to inavailability of the Heartlands (but didn't lower their price). I tried to convince them to source a different pellet but got the story of this was easiest as this is what their supplier got ... What adds insult to injury - I can drive another 1/2 hour and get them at a far cheaper price from Menards. They lost my business this year.

The Supreme Comfort sounds like they are on par with the Haliburton Pellets from Ontario. Aspen aka Poplar may be the base feedstock like the Haliburtons - I think they are considered a Hardwood but just barely (soft hardwood if that makes sense).

Funny how suppliers bounce their price around if they can make you pay for it. Menards was always competitive with the Indeck pellets. I got good heat but do have to empty the ash pan more often which is no hardship. They had a sale in late fall at 4.00 a bag then got another brand which was softwood and wanted 5.99 a bag for them. I figured they would never get rid of the higher priced brand and that they would lower the price. Nope they raised the indeck price instead. At that point I took my handy gravity box to local elevator and bought 150 bushel of corn which was cheaper then Indecks or the fancy brand. Nice to have the multi fuel option.

 

[HD41]

It's good to finally see so feed back on the Supreme Comforts. I saw them over in Indiana about an hour or so away from me. The $200 a ton in Oct. was tempting and now the place has bumped them to $225 a ton. I'll stick with the Sets for $224 a ton. 20 minutes away too.

Almost done with the ton of Smith Creek Supreme Comfort pellets; useable (shoulder season); heat not that great; need a lot of air; burn with fluffy ash. I since bought a ton of green Gold; good heat on par with Somersets and will buy Green Gold again. Only burned one bag of Indeck Energy and would choose them over Smith Creek Supreme Comfort; Hard to know what is going to be available.

 

[Gavin641774]

I bought a ton of indecks from menards and there was a bolt in one of the bags which sheared my hairpin,called the company left a message with Darrin no response,pellets didn't burn bad but quite a bit of ash they are still better than the Hearth brand which I'm burning now and having to clean the burn pot every 12 hours,was lucky enough to burn a ton of Henry county hardwoods which I thought was even better then the somersets

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Funny how suppliers bounce their price around if they can make you pay for it. Menards was always competitive with the Indeck pellets. I got good heat but do have to empty the ash pan more often which is no hardship. They had a sale in late fall at 4.00 a bag then got another brand which was softwood and wanted 5.99 a bag for them. I figured they would never get rid of the higher priced brand and that they would lower the price. Nope they raised the indeck price instead. At that point I took my handy gravity box to local elevator and bought 150 bushel of corn which was cheaper then Indecks or the fancy brand. Nice to have the multi fuel option.

Manufacturers seemed to think they deserved a raise this year ... I saw Indecks selling for $250 a ton in December at several stores, which suggests to me that the markup was not the retailers' idea.

I was in one of those stores this week and noticed they were on sale for $215. I might pick up a ton at that price.

 

[Lake Girl]

I bought a ton of indecks from menards and there was a bolt in one of the bags which sheared my hairpin,called the company left a message with Darrin no response...

That's not good to hear - call again.

 

[F4jock]

Bought three bags of TSC which identified as Indeks. Burn fine in my Harman but it'll eat anything. Good heat. Fluffy fines.