Just called all three box stores, all out. HD is anticipated them Mon. Or Tue. The others just said it is hit or miss. TSC had some yesterday. I am glad I still have 100 bags left. I hope my kids stocked up or they will come knocking.
I bought 5 bags at tsc today. Was in the area and just had to buy some if they had them. Walked in and cashier didn't know what the brand was. I said what the hell, I've been wanting to try some different pellets so I gambled. Went around back to pick them up and they were freedom fuel.... I said oh well.... Came home and scooped the last little bit of map softies out of the hopper and put a bag in. First impression was that the pellets look kind of yellow and they are a lot smaller diameter than any other pellet I have tried. Ash is dark and heavy but the Harman seems to be eating them just fine.
Funny you ask because when i asked if they had pellets in stove, the lady at the register said yes but they have a 20 bag limit and unfortunately they are softwood. When I looked at the bag, they don't say softwood. They say wood fiber.
I grabbed 20 bags a while back and one said "pine" and the rest were "wood fiber". Lots of small broken pieces. I got decent heat from them, just a bit ashy.
All my Blazers are gone used 4 bags in Feb and the rest on March. Looks like March will be my biggest usage month to date. Which is weird because it was all Blazers up until this weekend.
Which brings us back to that question......do the "really good" pellets really put out that much more heat that you actually use less?
I have looked at numerous different pellets and as far as I can tell on a pound by pound basis almost all pellets to include GS put out very similar heat. There was one brand that stood out but all the others I would say tested within a reasonable approximation to each other.
I threw a bag of La Crete's in last night due to the cold and it was obvious both last night and this morning that the stove doesn't have to work anywhere near as hard to maintain temp. Turn the stove up and the temp goes up much faster than it would with FSU's in the hopper.
I haveq burned MWP, AWF, Blazzers, fire ? From HD. 2 bags daily . Only thing I noticed was the amt of ash
I personally have a hard time believing that a softie would put out more heat than my Turman or 'Sets or whatever. My stove gets blazing hot now that I think anything hotter would shut the stove down. That being said, I would LOVE to try some.
I can tell the difference in pellets… last night it was +5 and I ran my stove @ 2 out of 5 with Uncle Jed's pine/spruce in the hopper. My last batch of hardwoods would need #3 on the dial to keep the house at the same temp… 74F. After eight years of doing this less ash and more heat is good for you and your stove.
Friend of mine just used the last of their LaCretes and now burning FSU. Major differences, but beginning tomorrow the warm up is coming and the FSU will do just fine.
With the LaCrete, she cannot stand in front of her XXV as it is way too hot. With the FSU, she can lounge right there and get warm. I went from the North Country to FSU as of last night. I am sure that tonight will be colder upstairs with these winds.
FSU's burn just fine in my stove. A friend of mine burned a ton of La Cretes this year and didn't care much for them. Be has a Quad Castille. Its funny how there is such varying opinions sometimes
Gotta say, they are doing great. More ash and dirty glass but heat is good. I'd still like to try some douglas fir
A new Harman owner recently ran out of pellets, but was able to get a ton from Rocky's. She said they are LaCretes. She told me they have way too much ash and she won't be getting them again. I just don't see ash as an issue in my stove, so if it heats, and doesn't wreck my stove, I'm OK. When the wife isn't complaining and running the space heater or trying to turn the furnace on, I think whatever I am burning is doing the job. Not the same song I had been signing before I changed stoves.
I agree. The bottom line for me always is the heat output. Yeah......is cleaning the stove more often a PIA? Yes, but not hearing the oil monster in the basement run, and the house is still at 70℉ more than makes up for it.
