Relaz sir! I was talkin to the OP, AND not about YOUR warez......... If you walk in and dropped that much coin on a pellet that should be top notch? Wouldn't you be bitzin too......... But you wouldn't know much about buyin to actually heat your house now would ya!!
Sure you were....very few other pellets can command that sort of money and get it ....and if you want to buy them on the Cape or Long Island, they are more than that there as well. I realize that I live in Phoenix and not in NE, which bothers a handful of you on here, the fact that I don't actually burn pellets (so it's assumed I have no idea what I am taking about after 10 years of doing this....but I can relate to air conditioning bills in the summer months here that are equal too or higher than burning 2 tons of pellets each month would be for someone burning in the winter months back there...so I know what high energy bills look like..trust me on that.....just saying......
Read it again and slower this go round! I was full on talking about the AB's DF to the OP and not yours. Don't push my button........
We never did bring in the "new" Okanagan, and Ive no idea what product is actually in those bags......no reason to not believe the OP about the pellets not being as good as the previous Okanagan firs of years past. When the Okanagan name was purchased after the bankruptcy, the only reason I could come up with was whoever bought it wanted to simply capitalize on the good name of the brand, and ride those coattails for awhile. I did kinda figure there was the possibility of a quality drop, but hadnt really heard that until I read the OP's original post. We sell the Northern Warmth Supreme Doug Fir, and its been a fair seller, but its also my most expensive option in pellets- we currently have 10 brands. I like to offer different options for folks, and people buy their pellets, and justify their purchase, by different criterion. Some folks want the cheapest pellets.....that's easy, we have one of those. Others want little ash, and price isn't their primary objective, they go another route. And then there's the folks who buy what works for them because they always have bought it....all fine. I wish I didnt have to sell 10 brands, but, variety is the spice of life, I guess. We probably sell more of the cheap pellets than the NWSDF, but there is also about $130/ton difference in the two.....and since we are largely blue collar, I think that's to be expected. We do sell enough of the NWSDF to justify its existence in the lineup though.
Some background: I may live in the northwest corner of CT but I'm also at the very end of an electrical line, buried in the woods. When I lose power as I did on March 2nd, thanks to the first of three storms that blew through our area, I lose it for longer than most. I was out until March 9th. Yes, I have a large generator that takes care of just about everything in the house. After burning cord wood as a primary heat source for about 25 years (much of it harvested from my own property) I decided I had enough after going through over 7 cords in the Winter of '13/'14. I looked into pellets but couldn't get my head around the idea of needing electricity to run a pellet stove. That's what drew me to Gary Wisener and his Wiseway Stove. Now, a lot of you have stoves on this forum that will burn just about anything. You can go to Tractor Supply or Home Depot and pick up some generic hardwood pellet that your electric stove will be able to deal with. My stove can't do that. My stove was not designed to burn hardwood pellets. It was designed using softwoods like DF. It would be great if I was located in Oregon but I'm not. So, in opting for a gravity feed stove that works, I also, unfortunately signed on to needed quality softwood pellets. A few seasons with the Okie DF and I was thrilled with my purchase. Was I happy about having to pay $360/ton for the fuel, of course not. But, if that was what it was going to take to get my stove to perform at it's best, I was willing and able to pay the cost. And, it worked. Now, after listening to my local dealer and buying 4 tons of the "new" AB Okie DF, I'm not so pleased with the performance. All I want to do is hear from someone else who as actually burned these new pellets to see if their experience is similar to mine. I would have thought there would be someone else who tried the new Okies and had formulated an opinion.
I think because they werent really available until this season was under way, most of us probably already loaded up for the season. I would think there would be some reviews next year. But that also doesnt help you out. Have you tried other high quality softwoods? Like Vermonts for example?
Agree with IHP give Vermonts a whirl as they are the most impressive pellet I have burned to date as they burn extremely hot and leave the least amount of ash of any pellet I have burned including DF's. To your original question I am sorry I have not burned any of the pellets you enquire about, just thought I would agree with IHP and am curious as well whether or not you have tried any other Softwood varieties. Not having used or even seen a Wiseway pellet burner I don't know if it would be of concern but the Vermonts are a bit sticky as they have a high content of pine pitch which in turns helps them burn so hot and efficient. Hopefully someone will come along and be able to answer you question about the Oakie DF's. Good for you living in the woods a great place to live and someday I cannot wait to return to them myself.
I've been in contact with Chris from Okanagan. I sent him a few photos of what has concerned me about the pellets, principally, the length of them and the problem with a fair amount of pellets in every bar that seem to easily crush under a little pressure. As I mentioned, I have a gravity feed stove. There's no auger to grind up the pellets. In years past, with Okanagan, I've not had a problem with either of the two issues I just mentioned. In years past, I had no problem reaching and maintaining significantly higher temperatures with my stove using either the Doug Fir or the Platinum Spruce. What seems to be going on inside my stove is that the softer pellets are breaking up under, coating the side walls of the chute with a residue that gets sticky. Couple that with the large (upwards of 2.25" in length) pellets not falling through my burn basket (and I have widened the spaces in the basket to their maximum, something if I had done with the old DF would have sent us out of the house with all the heat) and all winter long I was perpetually fidgeting with the stove. Overnight, temperatures seldom got above 400 and more often would fall to 300 degrees. This is nothing like my prior experience. In fact, I still have about 10 bags of the Platinum left from the old incarnation of Okie and I can tell you (and you can see in the photo with the new DF in the baggie and the old Platinum in my hopper) they burn better than the new AB Doug Fir. The pellets are smaller and there is none of the "soft pellet" issue I have with the new Doug Fir. I only wish I had a bag or two of the old Doug Fir to do a side by side comparison with. Anyway, I am waiting to hear back from Chris after sending him photos of what I'm finding in the early bags of Doug Fir from AB.
Thanks for the offer but I think I'm ok. I was really interested in how big the DF pellets were in previous years. I just don't remember them being over 2 inches long. I've used the old DF and it consistently outburned the Platinum. With the new DF, I don't find that to be the case. Stacked up against the old Platinum I still have on hand I believe it is directly attributable to the size and consistency of the new DF pellets. I still have 43 bags of the new DF left in my shed. I expect I'll go through a good amount of them before the weather really turns. It's still as cold as hell here in NW CT and meteorologists calling for more snow over the weekend. I have know idea what Okie can do for me. It would appear I'm the only person on the planet experiencing these issues so I'm not holding my breath. I will have to be more judicious in my pellet selection come this fall. I mistakenly trusted that the new Okie DF would be close enough to the old pellets I'd grown accustomed to that there wouldn't be any problems. C'est la vie.
Yes, as you know, Im sure, the bag might be similar, but its not the same pellet, nor is it the same company. I do agree, the preponderance of long pellets could cause issues in your gravity fed unit, as well they might cause bridging in even our mechanically fed units. I never understood why the name got bought....I think I do understand now (and suspected it before). I agree......maybe buy a different pellet on the next load? I don't think Chris will be able to do much.....maybe a credit for future pellets? Evenso, if you get long pellets in the next load, its still an issue. Bon Chance!
I just wanted to report back to tell everyone that Chris from Okanagan was more than fair in working out my issues with their pellets. I provided pictures and as much information about the problems of size and consistency of the pellets and he agreed that there had been others who had similar issues. I don't think the problem was rampant but he generously agreed to give me a credit towards a ton of pellets. He also wanted me to return the remainder of the pellets I have on hand (roughly 35 bags and diminishing daily thanks to temperatures in the 30's every night) to House of Warmth, I assume for an exchange. I am going to hang on to the bags I have because, the way things are going, I might still be burning pellets at night in June! I'm supposed to pick up a sample of the newest Doug Fir from BT in Bristol, CT to see if they burn any better. I've been too busy to get to BT but hope to make the trip in the next week or so. The bottomline is that Chris and Okanagan have stood by their product and have been very generous in their offer to make the situation right for me. I really want their pellets to work and for my stove to perform as it has in years past with the old Okie pellets. We'll see. Fingers crossed.
