I had a feeling the LaCrete's weren't running that hot . The Chows put out roughly 25 degrees more heat depending on where you pointed the infrared thermometer . Also they brought the basement temp up from 69 to 71 probably will go higher if I waited a little longer .
Its amazing how clean my glass stays when the stoves are working harder than the norm. You might not think I had GS in the hopper.
Hit 74* no problem with the beast. You forget I cheat like h&ll......... Aint the best, But certainly far from the worsers....... $235 aint a bad price neither.
I'm currently running blue bag Clean Energy (Lowe's rebranded Hamers). Heat output seems good, but there's more ash than I'm used to dealing with. My typical burn is Green Supreme, and the Hamers Clean Energy leave significantly more ash than the GS. Not what I was expecting. Maybe it's just me, or maybe they changed the formula since they were rated. These were rated pretty highly here: ★★★★☆ - Clean Energy Wood Pellets (Review) I really like the durability and tiny amount of fines and chips. Only thing I don't like is the ash...
So you retested them again since the glowing report from the end of 2014? And the ash is up? Bummer... They had a bunch there (couple skids) and was thinking I had found one of your highly rated diamonds in the rough. Do you know if there's a date code on the bag? I haven't looked carefully to see if I can find anything. On edit - Oh, and just in case there's a question about the mfgr... I ran the UPC, and the ones I got are Hamer's. So at least that part is still good!
No, I didn't retest them it's just a visual thing. There's noticably more ash with these unfortunately. Still burn well though but definitely different. I don't think there are date codes on the bags. Have you tried the Chows from HD?
Neighbor has some Hamers, We were gonna swap sets for hamers until it got wicked cold. And I'm too lazy to carry 2 bags over and 2 bags back!! Only problem is they are last seasons anyway. He did say they are burning awesome though. But thats only compared to GS and Chit rivers. Thats all he's had a chance to run(only started burning this season).
Same here B. Garage was 30 yesterday. HWBB pipes for the MBR run through there, and they froze. Not the first time, they sometimes do when we get crazy extended cold snaps like this. Had to put the kerosene heater to work and get the garage up to 50 degrees so the pipes would un-freeze. We have a therm-guard on this zone too. It was set for 6 times per day / 4 mins duration at the time of the freeze. Switched it to 8 times per day / 3 mins duration after unfreezing. Hope that helps. If memory serves, you have a therm-guard too? Curious what your interval and duration settings are, maybe I’m being too stingy.
That's what I meant. Not that you officially tested them again, but that you burned some of the newer CEs and noticed a difference. And BTW, thank you very much for the excellent work you have done with your pellet ratings. I've learned a whole lot there, and I really appreciate the time and effort you've put into that! I tried a couple bags of Chows from HD last season. Seemed about the same as Green Supreme (that I used to get at HD, but now get at Lowe's). Maybe a little more ash? So with that in mind, I've been passing them by this season. Are this year's Chows better than last? (Not that I'd really be able to tell without a date code though...) I've been able to read the date code on the GS bags (with the help of this forum), but that's the only ones I've seen discussion about.
And this won't help anyone in NE or the left coast, but in case there's someone else closer... Here's the results of my pellet wanderings for the past couple weeks. Whenever I happen to find myself close to a Lowe's or TSC (and the occasional H/W store), I've been trying to stop in to see what I can find. Most noteworthy is the blue bag Clean Energy (relabeled Hamer's) at the Lowe's Pottstown. There are lots of other stores in the area, but this is what I've found so far near me in the S.E. PA area.
Yes, I have a thermgaurd and have it set for 8 minute run time for 3x/day. I figure the longer run time allows the insulation around the pipes in the garage to warm up too. So far so good. Hmm, reading of your woes even with the thermguard, I should probably up that since today is the only day it is supposed to get in double digits until late next week. I've never done more than 4x/day though.
