Tractor supply pellets brand is Cheat River hardwood. I've run 2 tons thru my stove so far with no issues. This ton seems to have an abundance of long pellets. some exceed 2" and it's causing the feed auger to clog up. I've removed the restricter plate at the entry point--helped somewhat but it still happens. Short of babysitting it and agitating the pellets--what can I do??
I'm sorry, I have the same issue sometimes, and my stove is bottom feeder eating machine. Those long pellets bridge the top auger. Our stove is run manually, it pretty much runs 24/7, the problem happens when it starts to run out of pellets, and other times when add new bags to the hopper. Wish I had a solution for you and me. Most of the time we get our preferred pellet brand, they are not long, except this year we missed out on them and burned longer brands the whole winter.
thx for the reply--I'm on my 3rd ton of pellets from Tractor Supply it's Cheat River brand. No issues with the 1st 2 pallets--and mine also is a manual and it was running 24/7. With the longer ones, I have to put a small coffee can in at a time and let them burn thru. Not only bridge the entry point, I'm having issues with the longer pellets locking up the feed auger. I have the back off my stove and when it starts to lock up I grab the back of the auger motor and spin the auger to loosen it up. It sucks having to babysit it and check on it every 15 mins or so. I spoke with the mgr at Tractor Supply store and she said they had no other complaints about them. She said she would ask the district mgr what they can do but I haven't heard anything for 3 days. It would be nice if the bags were clear so you can see the product but they're not. I'm hoping they'll do an exchange but I guess Ill have to wait and see
I have an England 25 and it does not like long pellets either. At first I thought it was brand related, but I occasionally run across a bag in my "good" brand that has a lot of long pellets. I suspect the auger in the England 25 doesn't have enough power to break up the long pellets.
Drop on ground works to an extent, But I'll add that I walk on them too. I mean once you drop the bag, You literally walk around on the bags and twist your feet a bit. Flip flop drop it again and repeat. Unfortunately you'll never get them all. My stove eats em fine, Just don't get the fire out of it. My last resort on really cold days is save them for warmer days or sift them. If I have no choice, I pick out the long ones carefully. Break them up as you go. I made a sliding screed that I can view the pellets as they slide down. A scoop at a time(Pic's ifn ya all need them).
turns out it wasn't so much the longer pellets--the set screw on the feed auger started working its way loose, and the longer pellets would lock up the auger. the motor would turn but the auger wouldn't. tightened it up and it's been working fine.
