Thats OK, I didn't either. I try to get it next time I stop in to BigY. Lil birdie tells me they are Curran's Softwood blend in these bags.
If that's true, then they should be a good pellet. The softwood version of the Curran pellet is the only one that got any good reviews in the past.
Please help me understand this. Infernos, in my area, are firmly established as the worst quality pellet. Suspect the same is true pretty much everywhere they are sold. Why would another company wish to acquire and perpetuate the use of that brand name? There is nothing good that could come from it - only recognition as the worst brand name in the game. Seems like they would be much better off selling them as the real brand name, or even a completely new "box store" brand name if that's what this is about. What gives?
I really like that idea. If you build it, they will come? I would also LOVE to see an addendum to the pellet comparison guide Jay put together a few years ago. You know, the same format test results for the pellets that weren't around or didn't get tested back then - La Crete, North Country, Okie Golds, DFs, North Idaho Energy, Purcell, Platinum Pellets, etc. I know this is a tall order, and infers a LOT of time and effort to do. I would be glad to contribute what I can to the cause.
Back in 2009/10, Jay did hundreds of hours of work testing something like 52 brands of pellets. He burnt 2 bags of each, then cleaned his stove, gathered the ash, weighted it and took pictures. That along with the measured temp, amount of fines in the bag, picture of amount of ash and the bag and any other relevant information. I took this information and created a report and some graphs to show visually the difference between them, which I used as a marketing tool to give to current customers at the time or potential clients. It was probably the single best tool I have ever used in this industry to help grow my business and promote softwoods in general. That said, it was a lot of work to put it all together....that much more for Jay and I certainly understand why he wouldn't be in any rush to do it again....I wouldn't be, but then again, now I don't need to as our brand is much more reckonized in the market today, than it was back 4 or 5 years ago. Since that time, a good 10-12 brands aren't available in NE, that were then, either having gone out of business or just don't ship into this market anymore. On the other hand, several new brands have entered the space....LaCrete, North Country and even my own Gold and Douglas Fir's are good examples of that. If someone wanted to step up and do the test burns to up-date all the brands that are available, then please step forward. For the test to be totally fair, it would have to be done in the same stove and the same amount of pellets burnt for each test (2 bags should be plenty). A matrix of information gathered, so the same information is gathered on each pellet tested. The real challenge of course is finding all the brands that are available in any given market. When Jay did the test back then, I think it was something like 52 different kinds (brands) of pellets were tested and its a huge job just to find them all.....it might be fun for someone to do this as a hobby, but it's a LOT of work and you would be hard pressed to do it all in one season. That said, I think everyone knows that one pellet may have a different result in one stove over another, so at best these are good guides and your own results may vary.....at the very least ....try before you buy large quantities if possible just to make sure your stove likes that brand.
thing is, analytical data be dammed, some folks swear by pellets which night not test all that well........why is that? I have no idea....put it down to personal preference, I guess, or cleaning regimen (or lack thereof), or cost. ats off to jay for doing that work a couple years ago, and to whomever might want to do it these days, I know I sure don't have the time.......and see? the dang smilies aren't coming up on my dropdown menu now......go figure.....
I pretty much stopped testing since every brand with one exception was just about the same output temp when adjusted for feed rate. The only difference worth worrying about IMHO is ash. And I looked at roughly 30 different brands. Of course all of my tests and others are not done under ideal conditions. So take from this what you will.
I value your testing and others as well. slvrblkk had some nice tests last season. A good heads up on what might be sleepers and brands I might never see. Honestly even the burners that do the normal deal have added value to pellet reviews. Many of us know a good pellet just by burning a few bags. Some of us just get a bit over techie(no names mentioned)? I'm pretty sure your testing is what lead me to look at testing with similar temps. And adding burn time. But I couldn't resist keeping the high heat numbers(good for finding rocket fuel). Honestly I tried to use all the best suggesting in making them a fair test. When adjusting to similar heat output I still saw a good variance in how long the bag lasted. Did you as well?
It's hard to say. But in my opinion running on high/low evens that out. A denser pellet feeds faster and hotter, but spends more time on low. The opposite for a less dense pellet. In the end the bag is used at the same rate. Take for example last Feb and Mar. I bet the average daily temps were pretty close. The numbers are somewhere on this site but I believed I burned 51 bags of pellets in Feb. A mix of FSU, Green Supremes and Vermonts. I burned 61 bags in March and I believe they were mostly Blazers.
Same here which is why, purely based on the past, I won't be buying Lee Energy, Chit Rivers, etc.....the list might be a bit long
I don't use hi/lo when testing. It causes to much confusion. Even the random start ups might effect how long they last. I wish I could test them with a continues steady burn, But that ain't gonna happen even on the coldest days. My beast would blast us out !!
Good job tt!!!! Hmmm.....are they making these and not re-bagged something else????? This information is provided on behalf of GS1 US, INC.. GLNCOMPANYCONTACTLAST CHANGEGCPSTATUSPROVIDER GLN 0851783002008 INFERNO WOOD PELLET INC. MA 71 FALL RIVER AVENUE 02769 REHOBOTH United StatesTel508) 336-5365 Fax508) 336-319908517830020