nice to hear i'm not alone on giving the blaze premo's a Big Thumbs up!! I do believe also that many here don't have the opportunity to get them in the area they live in..
You are right! Here on the east coast - MD to be exact - we get CRAP. My brother is outside sales so he did happen across some Easy Blaze about an hour or so away up in DE so I asked him to grab me a couple of bags to try. Lucky me, they did have about 20 bags of the Premium left - out of the blend. Got 2 bags for just under $12.00 and from BOTH bags I had about 1 1/4 cup of very fine ash, about 3/4 - 1 cup of fines - NO SCRAPING of fire pot required and had just started to cloud up the glass as the 2nd bag was almost done, heat output was AWESOME! If we could get these closer to me ( I have called and talked to the sales dept AND a Mom & Pop store here) I would burn these in a heartbeat!! Excellent pellet...sorry I was too late to vote in the poll!
I think they come from Virginia...your take on the blaze is pretty much spot on...next best pellets to douglas firs for lot less$$$$$$... more fines than I would like to see but, if your stove is not fussy or delicate, won't harm the auger. fines get burned up same as pellets.
Yes, Waverly, VA is where they come from and I want to get my paws on some more. I loved them! I know those fines burn but having been beyond anal and sifting MANY brands - some tons giving me OVER 8 pounds of fines I try not to dump them. The East Blaze had no where near the fines I get in the crappy brands around here. I don't see this area ever getting any fir pellets Nope, knock on wood, Quadra-Fire Classic 1200 has taken anything she's been given without fuss
wouldn't worry about not getting any douglas firs. can't stress enough the price difference compared to firs. i have burned okie firs which we're prob best doug firs around.. prob olympia firs are tops now.. anyways, the blaze premos are much cheaper and damm close in heat and ash. this year my house appears to be the warmest continuously with the blaze.. they are friggin hot!!!! just finished off my hamer hots and they we're coarse ash and hot but not much different than good hardwoods. i don't put much faith in pellets btu advertisement but blaze are marketed at 8900 btu's for what it's worth.
Oh, I know we'll never see any firs so I just accept that and try to find the best I can locally Oh yeah...AWESOME heat from those Easy Blaze babies I think the blaze is burning a bit hotter than the 8900 I haven't called the store up in DE for a ton price on the Eazy Blaze since I know I can't get there for a few weeks. Funny you mention Hamer's...that's what these Hardwood Heats are bagged for Farmers & Planters/Southern States that I'm burning now. Had an issue last year with unprocessed wood/sticks and some kind of "equipment" failure parts in a few pellets. Hamer's was concerned and wanted to make it right. Got a coupon to get a ton on early buy...no more! They are loaded with fines and what I call "pellet chips". I am NOT happy with them...glass gets dirty after 3-4 fire ups, have to pull the fire pot rod every 2-3 fire ups - if I don't - I have to SCRAPE the bottom of the fire pot after 5-6 fire ups. Ash from hell I have to empty the ash pan about every 6 bags since I don't like it getting too full and yes, it's a heavy, coarse ash. Terrible quality this batch. I read/follow reviews/opinions but I know batches vary and not all stoves burn the same so I usually get 2-4 bags to try before I opt for a ton...wish I could have done that with this last ton I got but time to burn was past.
don't know what your prices are there in Del.. here in bucks county, pa we have a great dealer who is the only one carrying mostly top of the line softwoods.. paid 245.00 for hamers last year and 249.00 this year for the Blaze... your closer to Virginia so blaze shouldn't be bad price.... t
The VA the EB come out of is across the bay, I'm on the Eastern Shore. If the retailers here got them from NEXT DOOR they'd STILL throw the screws to us. No matter where the pellets come from, except for the chain/big box stores - they ALL biotch about the "freight"
Ok. I have had all week off to research and explore various pellets and Olympic is the exact same pellet as my local Sierra Supreme... Which I rank slightly higher than Bear Mountain in heat and less ash content. Recently I uncovered several cheaper local brands that are the same as Olympus. IMHO, that pellet is as good as any out there and are my preference... though Bear Mountain or Golden Fires clearly do the job.
Off season I can get them for $215 or better -- pretax. If I get their Bear Mountain, I can get another $10 off that.
Wow ! North Country simply Wow ! Was warm last night and will be balmy today so the stove was pretty much running very low but these North Country are unquestionably the best softwood pellets I have ever burned ! Clean is an understatement and heat matches or exceeds LaCrete and other softies I have burned, will confirm when we get some cold weather back but running the stove low is also a good indication of how clean pellets burn. Amazing pellets
