Landed 2 bags of Packsaddle pellets... review later.

Drove up the I-5 corridor from Portland and picked up a couple bags of Packsaddle pellets at $4.59 a bag. Thought it was reasonable until I realized they are 33 lb bags. Easier to carry but lighter in value. I will provide a review after I burn what is in the hopper.

 

For what its worth, they seem to have some pretty good reviews.

 

I did notice some Eagle Valley there too. Must be a leftover stash?

 

Why do you say that?

 

Outstanding pellet.....

 

I thought Eagle was shipping product over seas?

 

Ok so this is really informal, obviously, but this is my impression of Packsaddle Pellets. They seem to burn hot, real hot. I am simply basing that on the feel of the hot air blowing out of my Harman. My take is these pellets are as good or better than my Bears or Olympus. I will have to wait to see how much residue they leave but I would easily and happily buy them again. But I can't get them at the price i can for my regulars I just mentioned. But if I lived in Oregon, I would be on that chit. Oooops. If I lived in Oregon I would buy any one of those three at the cheapest price... probably Bears.

I also believe that those folks that don't buy into Douglas Fir pellets not being hotter are wrong. They are. I compared them to fir blends, and DFs burn hotter. But if I had to pay another $100 or more for a pallet, I wouldn't do it. Burn more cheaper pellets.

I will update in the next couple days to report on ash output. But in my view thus far, Packsaddle is a quality pellet. I wish I had the option to buy it. I am also assuming that a pallet of 33 pound bags would have more bags on the pallet than the standard 50. Otherwise, I wouldn't waste my time.

 

Parr Lumber is showing as a Packsaddle dealer, looks like you may have a Parr Lumber local to you.

 

There's one in Marysville but they'd have to send it up there. I once emailed the guy a year and a half ago (or longer?) and they wanted like $50 more a pallet for DF pellets than what I can get at my Coastal in Marysville. I'll fire off an email to the guy again and see if anything has changed -- but $50-$60 difference is not going to be inspirational enough. Having said that, I think the Packsaddle pellets are a very good pellet. Like really good.

 

Ok, I found the quote, It was a year ago. With coupon, it was still $50 more for a ton of pellets for 60 bags. By the way, I'm glad it's 60 bags. I honestly like working with the 33 pounds better but that's secondary, I may some day just buy a pallet -- just because -- but it's not happening until next year. Here's the quote the guy sent me.

 

Looks like they are giving the $15 online coupon. I like them. I just don't them $50 more.

Packsaddle Pellets – Parr Lumber

 

They're a smaller mill -- higher prices. I wouldn't mind giving them some business someday.

http://www.franklumberco.com/

Google Maps - Mill City, OR

 

It sure would be nice to get this price:

 

Final note, 33 lb bags are easier to work with but filling the hopper more frequently would get old.

 

Why would you have to fill the hopper more frequently just because the bags are smaller

 

Why wouldn't you?

 

maybe I'm misunderstanding, when you fill the hopper I get that it would take more of the smaller bags to fill it but once it's full you would burn the same amount of pellets whether they came out of a 40 lb bag or 33 lb bag

 

Yeah, ok. I guess in the climate I live in, the 40lb bags are ideal because when I turn my pellet stove on at night, the most it has ever burned through is a half of a bag for a given 8 -12 hour period, leaving me with another half a bag inside the hopper to either burn throughout the day or the following evening. Thus I could fill the hopper with a single bag at a time w/o leaving pellets in an open bag on the floor somewhere. Assuming I decided to burn wood in my wood stove during the day, that would leave the hopper with about 1/2 a bag left in the hopper to burn the following night. But using the 33 pound bags, there was not enough to make it through the night -- or to close to call -- so I opened the other bag and filled it. So I'm actually loading the hopper daily instead of every other day.

Because I started with a new brand of pellets, I like to burn the other brand complete through before burning the new bags -- so I can evaluate the product better and the results aren't skewed. I loaded a single bag for test purposes. Yes, I could have loaded all the excess pellets in my can but either way, I'm still opening more bags. Definitely not a big deal but something I noticed. Egad. It broke my routine!!

 

ok I understand how that works out for you now