Hardwood Heat follow up

As promised...a follow up on the Hardwood Heat...picked up 3 bags from Farmers & Planters to try. They are clean - not a lot of fines or dust stuck to the bag/pellets, low ash, AWESOME heat. I hit the glass with the IR gun and got 338. I need someone to tell me the RIGHT way to use that bugger please

I would like to go get a ton while they are on sale. There is however no way I can see to identify a "batch"...no date, no code, no nothing on the bags. What does concern me is what I found in these bags. Hope I do this right...I'm going to try to attach some pics here and welcome your input. I'm not a photographer...as you'll see It's a good thing I am one of those "anal pellet buyers" and sift my pellets rather than feeding the fines otherwise I wouldn't have seen this. The "fines" aren't like the REAL fine sawdust stuff I had been getting with other pellets...it's almost like a coarse grind with some sawdust mixed in. The bigger piece of "stick" shown in pic #3 & 4 you can NOT break with your fingers, as well as a few of the other thicker shorter ones. The bag pictured weighed in at 1.1 ounce. I had already blindly dumped a little more than 1/2 of the first bag in before I saw the first stick Top pic on the left is from bag 1, right is from bag 2. No pic from bag 3 - 'sticks' not as large but "fines" weighed 1.9 ounces. UPC is 705244000051

 

Wow. I would be contacting the manufacturer/seller about that. I would think they would want to know this crap was getting into their product.

 

I plan on taking all the goods in with me to show them but wanted to get some input form the "more experienced" folks here

 

Thanks, reviews always appreciated.

 

Yikes!! That's not good. Although I bet Will's Harman would chew right those sticks. You should definitely let the dealer and/or mill know.

 

Dobie, I just read your post from the Hamer thread. Are these supposed to be Hamers? They tend to be on the smaller side as pellets go. And I've never seen or heard of sticks in their product. I'm guessing their rep would definitely want to know about that. Hamers marks the batch info on the outer white sleeve of each ton.

 

Yes Bucks. The pellets tend to be quite a variety of sizes, many being smaller, are a nice light color. I only posted a few of the longer ones in the pics. They are labeled 'Hardwood Heat' which is said to be bagged by Hamer - according to the seller - which is Farmers & Planters. The UPC code is 705244000051 which from the list posted is one of Hamer's UPC codes and says Hamer pellet corp. I've looked these bags over every which way and can't find anything that would indicate a batch ID The bag says Appalachian Hardwood. I'll take a pic of the bag tomorrow.

 

Here's a pic of the bag and the top seal of the bag - no coding/date, etc. just that black line. I SHOULD have taken a pic of the pellets...duh! Will do that later. I took the goods in to Farmers & Planters today...also sent the owner all the pics and they said they will contact them so will wait to hear! I got 3 more bags today...and yes, more sticks but lesser amounts. Still found some "chunks" that could jam my auger.

 

I have been told that even if a date is on the bag, it is actually the date code for when the bag was made, not when the pellets were bagged. Of course if you get bags dated 01-2017, you have a reasonable expectation that the pellets are from a batch that was recently run, but that is not necessarily true.

Regardless, those sticks are not what I would expect to see in a bag of pellets!

 

agreed, but I feel it would be best to contact the manufacturer directly.....yea, tell the retailer too, but there isn't alot they can do. Many of these pellet companies would surprise you by how responsive they can be!

 

If you are talking about the IR gun... I wouldn't measure the glass.
They like to measure black...
I even put a flat black stripe on my vent pipe.. They don't like shiny either..
I measure the side of my stove a little above center, in the center, same place, every time...
But that's just me..

Dan

 

Thanks! So I don't have to aim IN the heat exchanger tube? As long as I hit the same spot each time - even if it's the grill in front of the heat exchangers that's good?

 

I was going to give the seller until about mid week to get back to me ... they said they would contact the company and may offer me a credit on the bags. Considering I'd like to get a ton of these babies - less the sticks of course - I hope they will follow up!

 

Well it really depends on your objective.
My reason for using an IR gun, is just to see which pellets, or settings work the best.
That said, no matter where you measure, if it is in the same spot,
it will provide you with base numbers, and then a comparison to everything else you do..
I'm not trying to see how hot I can get the stove, I try to see what works the best.
Or worse..

Dan

 

I dunno, Dobiemom, I think I'd avoid that brand, given what you've shown us.....the long pellets, if there is less than 1% greater than 1-1/2" long is within PFI standards, but that foreign material?

 

All I'm really interested in is which pellet gives me the best heat...minus the dammed "speed bumps" making me have to chisel the fire pot every 3-4 fire ups. Pellets around here SUCK

 

I know Lousyweather and I'm starting to have doubts about having to sift thru a TON to look for sticks. I think that will make for one hell of a long heating season! The blue stuff has appeared in a few of the pellets throughout. Here's a few pics of the pellets...also note the pics with a piece of blue that's almost like a spongy feel/movement and another with a tiny bit of yellow in the pellets. yellow is like a plastic.

 

That blue & yellow junk almost looks the same as the Pennington pellets we tried back in '14-'15 ... Bits o' plastic strewn throughout them ...

I realize choices are limited in your area, but if it was me, I'd stay away from these - they look like more trouble than they're worth.

No Home Depots, Lowes, or local Garden Centers (Agway, etc.) in your area? Only ask 'cause maybe Stove Chow or FSU would work well in your stove?

 

Yes, we do have HD, TSC, Lowes, Ace, Cato and Survival Products. For the most part they carry O'Malley, Freedom, Nature's Choice, Wood Pellet. I've had hit & miss with Stove Chow. Last TSC (Lignetics) were only so-so but I agree - either of these would be a better option for me over screwing up my stove. When and if Lowes gets a decent pellet like Somerset or Inferno Gold if you aren't sitting there when they open you won't get a bag! I really appreciate the input from you all!