Turman pellets - disappointing

[Chemistrynut]

First time burning Turman pellets this year and cannot believe the length of many of the pellets in the bags.,some 2+ inches and for the first time in 10+ years of owning my Harman P68 I had a bridging event happen where the stove jammed and shut down during the day because of the size. Has anyone else seen this with these pellets?
I’ve tried dropping the bag down on the floor a few times and even used a baseball bat to try and break the pellets up but very disappointed in the QC of these pellets and I have 2 more tons to burn after this ton. Thinking of mixing them with Barefoot just to keep the overall length in the hopper down. If anybody has some advice as to how to break these pellets up that’s worked for them, I’d appreciate it. Thanks in advance.

 

[Tonyray]

never burned Turmans but have always read for years that they we're top of line Hardwoods..
I burn softwoods due to low ash and higher btu but always said if had to use hardwoods i would go turmans..
guess like all brands the quality never goes up but many times down

 

[Chemistrynut]

Exactly. I bought Turmans based on reputation over the years and because the last 2 years I was let down by a pellet brand that had been good over the years only to decline in quality. Truthfully I don’t know if I got a bad pallet or not but the length of some of the pellets in the bags in this pallet have been without a doubt, the longest I’ve ever seen. I’m going to mix them with Barefoots and try to break up as many as I can but I have 3 tons to go through so it should be interesting…

 

[Tonyray]

so let us know how they burn After you get them down to normal size..lol
btw: did ton of Barefoot last year..[ i do 4 tons per season].
ashy but great heat... Hamer hot ones same...

 

[TJS]

First time burning Turman pellets this year and cannot believe the length of many of the pellets in the bags.,some 2+ inches and for the first time in 10+ years of owning my Harman P68 I had a bridging event happen where the stove jammed and shut down during the day because of the size. Has anyone else seen this with these pellets?
I’ve tried dropping the bag down on the floor a few times and even used a baseball bat to try and break the pellets up but very disappointed in the QC of these pellets and I have 2 more tons to burn after this ton. Thinking of mixing them with Barefoot just to keep the overall length in the hopper down. If anybody has some advice as to how to break these pellets up that’s worked for them, I’d appreciate it. Thanks in advance.

I have owned/operated a P68 for 10 years (as of October 2024). I have almost exclusively burned Turman pellets. Except for one 'bad' ton out of five in 2016, I have always been happy with the heat/low ash of Turman products. Last year my five ton purchase included a great deal of 2 inch pellets, which caused bridging/blocking of the feed area. I emailed Turman--they pushed the matter onto the stove dealer where I buy my pellets. They contacted Turman and got me 3 pallets 'comped'. Before the start of this season, I had my stove serviced, and some minor work done on the stove. The stove is working fine...but, I just got into the Turman's (after burning a ton of Barefoot) and I am seeing many of those same 2 inch long pellets. I am not risking a jam with the cold temps in North Central PA right now, so I have been breaking down the pellets. I believe this will be my last year purchasing Turman pellets. I don't mind paying a premium price, but will not pay top price for an inferior product.

 

[Crazy Dave]

Interesting! I'm a long time lurker on here, but rarely post. I have a Breckwell P24-FS bought new in '09. I tried all kinds of different brands throughout the years, but my stove likes the Turmans best, so unless I'm experimenting, I use them exclusively. I do agree, that in the past few years, some of the pellets were ridiculously long... 1.5-2+ inches, but this year... (working on a pallet dated 09/24)... They seem to be much smaller and more uniform in size! .25-1" max. No matter the size, they've always burned great through my stove with no issues and low ash, but you can tell this batch seems to kick out a bit more heat.... and, there's not the *thunk* of the auger busting a long pellet in half. I was pleasantly surprised to unwrap the pallet and see the difference for this year!

That's just my .02... take it for what it is.... Just thought I'd chime in.