It's my third year with Barefoot Pellets, and each year was worse that the last, but this year... I have never seen clinks this big, so much ash... My stove is clean, running properly. The pellets are almost dark brown this year, and leave dark black ash. I've burned one ton, and i'm sitting on three more. It's gonna be a long winter!
Sorry to hear that , I thought they may have been slipping in quality last year too , good heat but ash cakes ... more frequent cleanings required , not what you want from a so called top tier pellet with a price to match
Thats sad, Used to be a really good pellet. Last couple a seasons we've heard more complaints than normal.
I use the good old beer comparison. Those pellets look like Bud Light, the Barefoot looks like Guinness Stout. While I WILL buy both those beers, I will never buy Barefoot pellets again!
I did not but in all fairness I only got 2 sample bags. Bucks Pellets Joe stocks these and I would assume burns them maybe he can chime in.
I'm a newb, this is my first post. I actually joined this site to gather info on woodstoves, and an old earth stoves colony hearth that came with the home I bought this year. Fast forward to today, that stove is roaring, and got.lots of cords stacked up in my woodsheds., Ended up getting a used pellet stove cheap, figured it would be good rigged up to a thermostat to take care of things when the woodstove dies down late at night, and before I get home from work. It was junk, bought a brand new one from lowes, fully auto, just set the temp, has been perfect, I've only so far, burned barefoot pellets in it, and I don't know what's a good pellet and what's a bad one. I haven't noticed any "cakes" there is ash, and dust, but I don't exactly know what a lot is. I've read the barfoots arnt what they used to be, and that there high priced. There currently the cheapest pellet around these parts that I can find anyway. $230 a ton, but that may be because the Plant isn't far from here. What is to much ash? I've been shop vacing it out every couple days. Nothing really in the burn pot that needs cleaned.
I've been following the last few BF threads on here since they're one of our products. We haven't had any negative feedback this season from BF customers. As many of our customers are returning for their 2nd round of fuel for the season, if we get a chance we tend to ask how their pellets burned for them. While I believe the accounts that are posted, we're not hearing about it on our end. And I'm not just saying that because we carry their pellet. We've dumped many brands due to different issues. We have had a few customers return a water damaged bag or two, but that isn't uncommon for most brands (Northern Warmth and the old Okies excluded). I'll reach out to Tim and see if he's aware of this.
We haven't had BF in our burn rotation since we have so many dinged bags of other brands. I'll grab a few random bf bags and run them through the stove. I'll post a few pics of the pellets in the bag for comparison.
Welcome Nighthawk. The specifications for exceptable limits is less than 1% by weight. But many mills try to stay well below that limit. But it isn't uncommon for us to see 0.6% from an average pellet. Where above average brands we don't see much more then 0.4% What we mostly see is the volume. Hard to judge by that, But many try to find a pellet that doesn't fill the ash pan to quickly. Specially if the stove has a small one. Check this out if you need any more info. Its a simple guide that might help? Or just ask away if you have any other questions we'd be more than happy to answer the best we can. Pellet Guide for Newbies
That isn't uncommon. Many will express it in our forums but don't usually go back and tell the dealers or contact the mills with issues. Its likely they just won't buy that brand again. Could also be a very limited occurrence where not many batches were effected and you or your clients haven't come across them?
Maybe more red oak in the mix? The picture looks like thy're reddish, is that what color they are? Barefoot Pellets utilize sawdust from a variety of hardwood species from the renewable & sustainable forests of Pennsylvania and New York. These species include Cherry, Maple, Red Oak, Hickory, Walnut, and White Oak.
Welcome to the show I would suggest that you try as many different brands of pellets that you can , gives you something to compare too and also lets you know how your stove burns different brands. Barefoots @ $ 230 , is a great price , I'm over here in the Pocono's and last year price was approaching $300 / ton . Here's a link to a test and review that Steve did last year on Barefoot's lots of reviews / tests in the review forum . ★★★☆☆ - Barefoot Wood Pellets (Review) Happy Burning
When I had my Hastings I never had clinkers that bad. Burned FSU's almost exclusively in that stove. I would expect BF's to be much better than that, just from what I've read.
That is a great question. Too much ash is very subjective, can depend on the stove in question (having a larger ash pan means more time between cleanings). "Ashy" usually means different things to different pellet burners. Some think that if you have to clean your stove at all, that is too much ash (I exaggerate, but not by much). I subscribe to the price versus ash versus heat. If it gives me at least decent heat (which can only be found by experimenting) and I don't have to clean every week (I have a big ash pan, so weekly would unreasonable to me), then price is my determining factor. for example - comparison of two middle of the road pellets: NEWPs aren't a bad pellet , they have a medium ash production and average in heat output, but the price around here is $280-$300. FSU's average heat output and a medium level of ash, but are usually available at $240-$260/ton. FSU's have the best value to me between the two. I.e. FSU's aren't "too much ash" for me, but NEWPs are - all because of my perception of the value. If there were an ashier pellet that put out the same amount of heat as both those brands, but cost $150/ton - I might think that even then it wasn't too much ash. You will need to experiment a little to see what you think is "too much" ash.
Well said there ^^^ Bog , I would say that most of us here try to find the best pellet for the cheapest price those $ 300 + / ton pellets may have less ash , but when I can keep my home nice and warm for $ 50 - $ 100 less , that extra cleaning is no big deal to me , takes less than an hour , and I can buy more Smoothies and pellets with the $$ saved that's value to me
Really? NW and old Okies never have that issue? Don't know how they would escape that issue since most of the damage happens by mishandling. Seems those odds are the same regardless of brand.
Yep. We had a total of 3 Okie bags all last season that came off the truck with slight dings. And the NWs have been nearly perfect so far this season. It makes our job much easier. Upton does a helluva job with their packaging and handling.
