It's supposed to go below 0 tonight so I decided to try a bag of these, although the FSU's were doing just fine. Anyway, I ran the stove dry and dumped a bag in a few minutes ago. My reaction upon seeing them was surprise. I expected to see a nice clean light colored pellet like La Cretes. These things look like FSU's. I actually put some of both in my hand and really couldn't tell the difference. Is this what they're supposed to look like? With all the hype I expected to see better. Time will tell on the heat output.
You can not tell how good/bad a pellet is simply by looking at it.....you have to burn it My Douglas Fir don't really look that good either....but people tells us all the time they are that good.....My guess is after you burn the Blazers you will be very happy with them.
When we burners see dark fiber we assume its bark in the mix. Bark would give a higher ash content. But it may not be bark! When fiber is stored in the elements it will darken(what I mean by yarded-stored outdooors). Doesn't effect it though. What do they smell like sub?
They smell like gold. Very hot. The most impressive thing is the ash. There isn't any. None. I scraped my burn pot at 10:30 last night to get a read on the ash. I scraped it again at 6:00 this morning. The ash I got would have fit into a shot glass. And it's not like the ash got blown out of the burn pot like the AWF. There just wasn't any. Never seen anything like it. And I get to see it 29 more times.
Most Douglas Fir pellets are simply in a class all by themselves....you scored getting some and paying the price you did....Consider yourself very lucky to have found that deal...congrats.
If you want to see a pellet that produces almost no ash try some of the Okies DF. Rumored to be Bear Mountains and are one of the cleanest I have seen! I haven't tried the CF DF, But was told they are also extremely clean. Both of them will never be had at the price of the Blazers unless you live out west. Here in NE they fetch a heathly dime! But if your stove needs a bit of a kick and you want to run for weeks straigh without touching? It may be worth while?
Yep, the Douglas Fir ash levels are something else. I will tell you though the Vermont's come very close to the Blazers.
Don't be looking to me big boy...the market already knows how they like my Douglas Fir pellets....sorry don't send any to PA or OH....NE only right now...that might change at some point, but probably not this season....back at ya..
I do consider myself very lucky. The Blazers will be used very sparingly, rest assured. The problem is, I'm spoiled now.
Hopper full of blazers now, have just two of my 15 bags left. I figured it was cold enough to warrant burning them. They do burn much cleaner. As for heat, the stove takes care of that as it keeps up to what it is set for without regard to being a $200 or $300 pellet. I have also noticed there isn't stuck on ash to scrape out of the burn pot. Not much excuse to open and clean out the stove with blazers. I certainly would buy blazers again if they are again available but I won't pay anymore than up to $250. Having to brush out a stove once a week for 10 min. Won't justify a higher price.
Save$$...you are certainly entitled to your opinion on what you think these Douglas Fir pellets are worth, as is everyone else...I can't deliver my DFir pellet in NE for $250, let alone sell them for that to a dealer.....but as subsailor stated...they will spoil you very quickly and I guess thankfully many people feel that they are worth the premium price.... They are the "crack" of the pellet world....The Blazer's at the regular box store price was a real bonus for those that were lucky enough to find them ....right place, right time.... For some people, it's not just the 10 minutes a week they save, but the weeks they can sometimes get with a clean window, the extra heat or lower volume to maintain the same heat. It might also be the fact that your whole exhaust system is staying cleaner, much longer, to the point where maybe you only have to do a through full clean once every two years, not every year. Of course each stove is different and not everyone will feel that it is worth it....But ALOT of people have and the demand has been extremely good....
That extra cost could be about $300 to $500 per year. The couple hours of cleaning is about the highest rate of pay I would ever earn. What I have collect in taxable income makes that spread even greater. Being retired and now with an easy clean stove, I'll take the money saved for more realistic expenditures.
You are assuming that you would use the same amount of DFir pellets as you now use with your current brand and that might be the case, but several people are reporting that they use less of them since they burn hotter than most...which would mean you use less at the end of the season. So maybe with your current brand you are using 4 tons and with the Fir you only use 3 tons...that is very common, maybe not with everyone, but with enough for them to notice the difference in volume...factor that in and now they aren't really $300-$500 more after all....but I do understand your point.
everyone values things differently.......some of us, who are not yet retired, value their time a bit more than others.....I work weekends, single father, do all the housework, plow and shovel, so, yea, I'll pay more for pellet that gives me more heat and keeps my system cleaner longer.......although I am willing to allow that the cheapest pellets will also give you heat, and, if the price is your main objective, that's cool too.......we all have our druthers!
Thats a lot a beer/steak/cookies/pie or what ever you prefer! When I had a stove that was borderline on keeping the house warm during the cold spells. These we like adding another heat level to the old quad. Not to mention it ran longer between cleanings, So I didn't need to shutdown as often. Now that I have a beast that has way more power than I need. I don't need them anymore, But still drool on them as I could probably run 2 to 3 times the fuel through the stove, before I'd see the same amount of ash as the average hardwood.
While I would like to try any df pellets, I am with save$ on this one. I go after the pellets with the most BTUs/$. I bought a good stove so I don't have to worry as much. A lot of people think they are saving money by burning the more expensive pellets. When you look at the BTUs/$ you are definitely not saving money. I have said this many times on forums and people gawk. Sounds like save$ gets what I am saying though.
Thanks, do the math, use a good stove. Heat to the level you set your stove to and save the money you intended to from the onset.
