Platinum Pellets

Picked up 1/2 ton of these at the tail end of the shortage earlier this year, and another 1 ton during the early buy. They are an SPF produced by a company called Vanderhoof Specialty Wood Products in BC.

The company indicates they are heavy to pine, yet they have a strong enjoyable smell of spruce / fir. Ash consistency is very similar to Vermonts (heavy, black, very little) - however these have a bit more of it. Very low dust and fines - in fact the fines are more like small bits of the pellets as opposed to the typical sawdust consistency fines. The pellets themselves seem to be a little smaller in diameter than the norm, and the lengths are irregular. There are some long pellets the auger has to chew up to get them down, and it also seems like they feed a bit slower, likely due to the same reason. They are extremely dry and in some cases split in half lengthwise.

Heat output: 350 degrees at feed rate 3.5 and 400 degrees at feed rate 4. (Measured by stove pipe temp gauge mounted on the side of the stove.)

1. On the pallet (don't mind the North Country and Vermont bags stacked on top.)



2. In the hopper.


3. Pellet bag.


4. Burn pot after one bag.

 

Did you pig those at BT bristol ? That's his big $ pellet nowadays, the guy said its a hot one..

 

No, Bristol is about 70 miles one way! They don't have these listed on their website, I suspect they are selling them as a stand-in BC softy due to low supplies of La Cretes and North Countrys these days? What are they charging for these anyway?

 

I'm getting similar temps at those settings burning MWP and FSU's. The ash amount is noticeably higher with these, though.

 

7 for a single & last I was there just 10 bags per visit each day.

The fellas don't speak to highly of north country's there & la cretes may come through around christmas.

 

I did a similar test with my stove tonight. My stove hasn't been cleaned since last Saturday. I'm burning this years FSU's and it's snowing like hell out. Anyway, at a feed rate of 3, my stove pipe thermometer, on the side of my stove like you, read 340. On a feed rate of 3.5 it read 375. I'm not going to try the feed rate of 4 tonight because it's getting hot in here.

 

I plan on checking that when it gets colder. Yes Harman's do compensate for fuel variance. So in theory, no matter what the brand of pellets, the heat output should be pretty much the same. At least that's the way I understand it.

 

That's one of my favorite features of the Harman, and while the stove does a superb job of regulating the configured temperature, not all pellets are created equal. What I have found is some pellets just don't produce enough heat to maintain the temp. Even if you increase the feed rate to provide more fuel, some pellets can't keep up. It's really most noticeable when it's frigid cold outside and the stove really has to work hard to keep it warm inside. That's why I get so excited when I find pellets that put out crazy heat like the Chows, Hardwood Heats, or PTL softies this year. When the stove is stressed and running full blast to raise the temp, I notice dramatic differences in heat output with different brands/batches. I'm on vacation this week and the stove has been running 24x7 most of the time (not normally the case). So far the stove has successfully maintained a continuous temp of 72 in the room where the stove is, and all I've been doing is keeping the hopper filled and scraping the pot occasionally - frequently with those Chows The stove is at steady state now, but it's also been pretty mild outside, all things considered. Tonight it's supposed to get down to 21 and tomorrow night 13, I am curious to see if the stove will be able to maintain 72 when the outside temps are that cold. I have Minute Man in there now, but thinking of popping in a bag of Blazers for tomorrow night to see how they perform under stress!

 

That's strange how they don't speak well of the NCs. They are some of the best pellets I've ever burned! Wonder if there are batch variance issues at play here. I have read (and seen with my own eyes) some pretty scary fines and small bits / pieces pictures, but the ones my friend swapped me are perfect. Very regular in length, almost no fines, and awesome heat! Let's just say I'm saving the 5-6 bags I have left from the swap for when it gets really cold!

 

Are platinums the same as north country? I've seen a vendor list them as they same pellet. Have u run both upcs are they the same.

 

Agreed, they definitely are not the same pellets. They have dramatically different appearance, smell, and burn characteristics. Which site lists them as the same, just curious? I could see where Okanagan Platinums could be confused for North Countrys because they look nearly identical (both very, very light in color), but not the Platinum Pellets.

 

You would be more correct to say the Okanagan Platinum's look exactly like La Crete's. North Country and Lacrete are located in Northern Alberta and are very close to each other. fyi, North Country started to produce last year and as with every new start up there were issue's. Specifically, moisture issue, and seals separating on the pallet covers allowing moisture in. Also the sealer of the individual bags was not working very well, and they separated during transport.

 

Already has been said above but the temps should remain pretty close from pellet to pellet if on the same settings. You have a "smart stove."

Running away now.....

 

I know, I know - I have read that sentiment many times. Has not been my experience though. Let me give you a scenario. The stove has been off all day and it's 60 degrees in the house. I get home from work and turn on the stove. Feed rate is 3.5 and the stove is set for room temp auto 70 degrees. In this scenario the stove has to run at full bore to get the temp up 10 degrees. If I am burning Heat'rs, the stove tops out at 370 degrees. I'm heating 2500SF and at that temp, it takes a very, very long time to raise the temp 10 degrees. If it's 40 degrees outside, it will eventually get there. If it's 30 outside, it will struggle and probably not get there even after burning all night. If it's 20 outside, forget about it - not happening, it's going to be a cold night in this house. Now, let's take the scenario where I'm burning Blazers or Okie DFs or PTL Softies. Any of those get the stove up to a continuous 500+ degrees at the same 3.5 feed rate setting. That is a significant difference, and not only does the house warm up much more quickly, but as the outside temps get colder and colder, the stove is able to keep up and maintain the 70 degree temp much more effectively.

I think maybe the primary differentiator in why I see this so much more pronounced than others is simply because I don't run my stove 24x7. If I did, I might not notice this, or at least not to the same extent. At a high level, in my scenario, I need pellets that can produce at least 450 degrees in my stove in order to live a comfortable winter, and not all pellets are capable of doing that. Some of the stuff I bought this winter handles it fine, others just can't cut it. Is this making any sense? Sometimes I get the impression people think I'm smoking crack when I describe this scenario and why I hunt for the "mad heat" producing pellets.

 

For some reason that I can't recall at the moment, you can't compare heart output among different pellets when in room temp. Brain cramp. I'm sure someone will be able to explain more.

 

I'm not sure it's possible to get accurate heat comparisons between pellets at all with a Harman. The stove just makes too many adjustments on it's own. I would think the best way would be to do it in stove mode, with a feed rate of say 4, and a heat output at max. That way the amount of pellets fed would be limited by the feed rate while calling for maximum heat, so in theory the same amount of pellets would be fed and an accurate temp could be recorded.