Has anyone burned a lot of Fireside Ultra? Last year I had issues with my boiler because the ash was extremely hard ash that would adhere to the parts in the burn pot and keep the actuating mechanism from working properly. I had some work done to the boiler and have burned no Fireside Ultras from mid October until last week. I had no issues with the boiler producing that hard residue at all. I tossed in about 12 bags of the fireside Ultra last week and bam I'm having the exact same issue. I think there's some type of chemical in these pellets that's causing it as it's the only variable that has changed in the last week. Anyone else had hard ash buildup with these?
Oh yes...I bought 5 bags for testing earlier in the season. I burned 3 of them and will not even consider putting the last 2 in my stove. In truth, I only burned 2 bags - the 3rd I scooped back out of the hopper, because they were so bad. I had the EXACT same problem you describe. These pellets leave a mountain of ash in my burn pot that is as hard as a rock. I think I compared it to coral previously. Never seen anything like it before. When I hit it with the Harman tool to it, it does break up, but it breaks into large rock-like chunks. The running theory is I got a bad batch. Kind of glad to know I'm not the only one having that experience.
Yeah I had this problem last year with these pellets. I thought I'd save a little money by buying the Home Depot stuff but it's just caused so much aggrevation that I will never buy pellets from Home Depot again. When I burn these they produce an extremely hard residue that sticks to the surface of my burn pot and the actuating plate in the burnpot. It's very tough to get off. I have to take the plate out of the burn pot and scrub the heck out of it with a drill with a wire brush attachment. The I have to stick my head inside the burn chamber and clean the burn pot the same way. Firside Ultra stands for FU.
Historically I really like the FSU. I needed to increase my air a bit to get a good burn but nothing like what you all are describing. But I believe my last bags were from early last year IIRC.
I have burned 6 bags so far, I have checked the burn pot and ash pan. No hard, unburned fuel clumps. Puts out pretty good heat, I am using in a furnace....not stove. I'll keep you updated, I have 4 tons to use
I've burned about 30 bags of the them in the Harman. Burned about the same as most of the other mixed pellets.
I've burned a lot of these and have them in the stove now. I also have another 2.5 tons in the basement. They are a bit ashy and the ash is very heavy. Someone else described it as coffee grounds, but I haven't had any other issues. They do put out pretty good heat. Don't be so hasty Dana. Some very good pellets can be had at HD. I bought quite a few bags of AWF at HD last year and they are a very good pellet. I also have 3.5 tons of Blazers in my basement that came from HD. These are Douglas Fir and pellets don't get any better than these. Check out the list of boxstore pellet ratings that were compiled based on the feedback of users on this site.
Our HD went way out of their way last year to keep us all supplied. They are doing the same this year. Their crew is mixed, but most of us know when to shop there if we have questions. To me, week days near noon and until mid afternoon are the best times to get the more experienced crew members.
I've burned about 2 1/2 tons so far and I would buy them again.They are one of the better box store pellets I've found.They pump out lots of heat and the ash is nothing like some other pellets.Geneva(cough)Green Supreme(cough)NEWP(cough)Cubex(cough).
Haha I saw Green Supreme at lowes. No wonder why they are still stocked high weeks later. On the other hand, their Greene team platinum pellets can't stay in the store more than few hours. I have some, but have not used yet
Well then maybe I just won't buy the FU anymore. I've not had good luck with them. I also get a pretty good deal from a local hardware store. they usually have MWP for only 10-20 more per ton than anything at HD. But this hardware store also only charges a $10 flat rate delivery charge. pretty good deal.
So after burning the Greene Team Plats from lowes, I switched back to Fireside Ultras and see a HUGE difference. First the heat doesn't compare. Fireside are not close to the same heat output. Second, the pellets don't seem to produce that big flame I got from GTP. The only way to get the flame nice and high is to close the damper some, then it burns dirty. Looks like the same amount of ash though. I only have FSU left so now I know for next season. It's got to be the pellet itself, if I could speed up the feedrate it might fix it.
If I burn the furnace on level 5, fastest feed rate, it puts out heat and high flame. Level 4 low flame, so so heat.
