I agree with will, But if anyone would like to have them added to the review section. I'm good with that too. PhilaB, If you want to post them in the review section with the others? You will have to wait for moderation approval. And We suggest a chatter thread to have a place to chitchat about them. As a general rule we prefer not to have chatter in the review area as it can clutter them up and they also require approval. I usually just move them to the chatter thread any way........ What ever you guys think is best!!
I have owned 6 tons of pellets in my life: 2 Bear Mountain, 2 Sierra Supremes (Olympus), and 2 Golden Fires. Yeah, they are the same basically. Hot, hot, hot and low ash. So I just get one of those the cheapest I can find. Recently I learned of some other local brands made by Olympus -- so I'm either getting Bear Mountain products or Pacific Coast pellets. I don't care what color the label is. I just want the cheapest of one of those two.
Anywhere in the vacinity of the convection tube exit will suffice. The idea is to be consistent in your method. That way you can have a good comparison from pellet to pellet. Here is what I do:
Ok I have Purcells in da hopper. I am not measuring the heat objectively yet (if ever) but I can report a few things. The Purcell pellet is not the same pellet as the North Idaho pellet based on color alone. Purcell is darker and does seem to shoot off quite a bit more embers/sparks than Olympus or BM. Strong smell of fir. They do provide good heat but --- and this is based on feel only -- they don't seem quite as hot as Olympus or BM. But they are pretty respectable. Here are some pellets. There are some long cuts... maybe an inch and a quarter or more. I will measure later.
I can't speak for every retailer (since they set the retail selling price), but my guess is they also sell for a bit less as well....but a very good pellet overall....
Ok. I scooped most of the residue out of the burn pot and into the ash pan where i then smothered and dumped into a plastic bag. I calculated the bag weight into the scale prior to so the value on the scale is the REAL ash weight. I've got 1.13 ounces for 1 pellet bag. Wife says there was noticeably less fines with these than Olympus or Bear Mountain. We also agree these pellets had ash volume equivalent to Olympus and less than BM.
Olympus (a.k.a. Sierra Supreme, Cascade) or Bear Mountain or...? I've got 2 more bags of Purcell -- I'll try to get a second reading later this week. Oh and did I do it right? I figured all that stuff left over in the burn pot qualifies as 'ash' because it came from the sole bag and just hadn't pushed out yet into the ash pan. I'm guessing those of you with similar burn pot stoves do the same thing.
Inferno Golds. Last bag. No I'm not keeping it for posterity but I probably should have. A lot of fat pellets and saw dust mixed in with some good pellets. I plan on mixing it with some Nature's Own to get rid of them without choking the stove.
Maines Choice back in the hopper of the P61a. warm temps outside (40's - maybe higher tomorrow). Cleaning stove this weekend too, so the massive ash won't be an issue.
