Pellet heads!! What's up today?

X4 WeldrDave Birthday

 

Picked up some Green Supremes at the local TSC. Seems they finally ran out of MWP's. Didn't need pellets but what the heck - at the price I might as well at least try them.

I've found that the North Americans that I got last week at Lowe's, which a lot of people diss, aren't that bad. They run fairly hot (not quite like Vermont's, but better than some others). The ash from the NA's is very white and fluffy compared to everything else I've burned.



All the darker stuff in the stove is from the last two bags of Vermont's that ran in there since I cleaned the stove last week.

 

The other day I was drying my hair in front of the P43 and there was some mighty warm air coming out of it. This surprised me because it is running the North American pellets. I just put it down to still having some Vermonts mixed in. But, it also got me curious so today I set up my oven thermometer in front of the air stream. A while ago I remembered this and started checking temperatures after I started it up (I had turned the thermostat down anticipating solar gain, but it is too windy for the house to keep warm that way).

So here are the readings - 1st is at 20 minutes and second is at 33 minutes. The feed rate is at 3 (as it always is).






For comparison, here are the readings from Matras in January. The first reading is at 23 minutes, the second at 31 minutes, and the third at 37 minutes (top temp). Yes, I'm such a nerd that I recorded the times on the picture titles




Now, it is possible that there are a few Vermont's mixed in, but I'm on bag 3 and the ash is very different from what I see with Vermont's. Plus, to make a big difference, I would think that there would have to be a decent ratio, not just some random pellets mixed in. Also, the outside air temp is probably 20-25* warmer today than when I ran the Matras thru (I didn't record outside temps on my pictures).

Too bad I never thought to use the thermometer with the Vermont's. Well, I tried it once but the run times were so short between start up and shut down that it never got to a really good temperature. Later, when the runs were longer, I just didn't think of it.

Really, for the price, at $5.19/bag, unless I see something untoward in the exhaust next time I clean it, I would run these all winter long!

 

The outside temps were probably a bit higher when takin those temps than earlier.

 

Kinda thought I covered that .

 

Ha! I wrote that as a question. But I meant it as the reason.

 

Might last longer if use your hand instead of your teeth to open the jars.

 

Cruzin' for a brusin' are we?

 

Hey, that sucker was about 25 years old, so I think I got my money out of it.

 

Although I have been known to use my teeth for things like soda bottles, toothpaste caps and the like.

 

Never had one,but could have used one 2 days ago.Gonna get one,on the recommendations from here.

 

That is actually a high quality unit,but mostly made for a permanent install,like a paint booth or furnace.And,a very fair price.

 

Iwould not have expected this,nor believed it,as I expected the Harman exhaust probe and programming to be more accurate.However,all the reports,on the net,about all the low quality pellets,this year,I totally believe it,and realize the Harman programming has a wide spectrum.

 

So,after doing a full service on my shop vac i use for the stoves,I realize I am getting tired of dragging that 12 gallon beast up and down the stairs,especially after it has been used 4-5 times,gets really heavy.It is a Shop-vac,pro,12 gal,5hp.Have used it for years,Now i see Lowes has a small unit,same hp,few attachments,yet uses a smaller HEPA filter,and a smaller drywall/fine dust bag.For 90 bucks.Seriously thinking about getting one,and,is small enough,could just take hose off and put in basement,and leave vac off to the side of the upstairs stove.To be fair,I checked Home despots brands,Rigid,and all their smaller units still have a filter only,no dual filter/bag options.I still have 1 rigid vac,I use for the vehicles,good unit,but not good enough for what I need.

 

Heartfelt condolences, Larry.

 

I am unsure what you mean about expecting the exhaust probe/programming being more accurate? This stove is on an external thermostat that is located in a room about halfway down the length of the house and it is doing what it should - making fire/heat until the thermostat tells it to quit. The stove did go into shut down couple of minutes after the last picture (of both batches of pellets).

 

X6

 

And if you moved the feeder rate, temps would change dramatically
Warmer outside calling for shorter inside swings.......
Too many variables on Harman to grasp a consistent reading, it might only be me saying it out loud

 

The feed rate is always set on 3, although pellet size could be a factor even at the same setting. I only take temps when the stove is running full bore and I know exactly when it has started. I also made sure to keep the times I took pictures fairly consistent, although of course, they couldn't be exact.

I agree that there are many variables to consider and that I'm sure I didn't hit them all. If I were to guess, the outside temp is the biggest variable so I'll have to pay attention next week when the outside temps are in the teens.