Roll call...what are you burning right now?

Price point being so close is what steered me to LaCrete. This was after I was given 2 bags of LaCrete to compensate for possible bag damage when the Spruce were delivered many years ago. Since then its been LaCrete as my top tier pellet with others being used for cost saving.

 

burning LaCrete's at the moment. didn't burn any EZBlaze softwood this year, It was going out as fast as it was coming in!

 

I was getting 160*F with Lacrete's and only 142*F so far with Eagle Valley's just now and the Spruce not much better, only in the beginning of the season which I find strange.

 

I'm burning Hay Creek pellets... local deal.

 

Purcells,still.Got about a week left,then hit the oakies.

 

Nothing right now ( it's 70F outside! ) but North Country softies are in the Hopper.

 

The basement stove still runs even during this warm weather - however, it runs a lot less than normal. Still using up the Maine's Choice. Main floor stove stayed off for at least 24 hours. I should start back up some time today running Inferno's

 

I liked the (5) bags of Spruce Pointe ran here last season, but if only $5/ton more for LaCrete.. The extra BTUs (and less fines/bag) of LaCrete would win out here.

 

Vermonts and Northern Max
May seriously consider stocking Vermonts as I am thrilled with their performance, these may be the only pellets that actually I have seen create more heat with using less pellets. At some point someone was busting me and telling me to get Doug Fir as I would be burning less and saving money because of the amount of pellets i go through . I did not experience that with the Doug Fir I tried but am with these Vermonts.
My first iteration in another thread was brain dead at best as I said an extra $40 a ton when it would actually be an additional $70 a ton = $700 additional to go with Vermonts.

It was the first day cooling back down from the few summer like days we had that the Vermonts started burning in room temp mode in the P68, I was a little taken back as while I was at work it re-fired a few times from complete shutdown and the entire stove was covered in what appeared to be pitch / soot. This has not occurred with any other pellets (to this extent)but may have been due to the fact that my stove when re-firing from a complete shutdown seems to load too many pellets. This happens regardless of whether the stove is semi-dirty , clean, or just received a complete OCD cleaning . Weird and will have to address it eventually as I am sure there is a way to do it . With a good hot fire it burned away in no time .

But back to the Vermonts last night I switched it to constant burn at a low rate and am amazed how well they crank out heat (actually got up in the middle of the night to lower the settings) how clean they burn, and virtually the lowest ash content I have seen from any pellet. Great pellet and I will see how the firebox looks when I clean it today for residue buildup. Trivial but smells nice five bags sitting in the pellet bin throughout the entire downstairs like the floors have just been hit with Pine Sol which takes me back to when Mom use to do the floors in the house with Pine Sol a good childhood memory .

 

Tip: try mixing Vermonts w/ Cubex pellets, in various ratios: have a Fire Suit handy when nearing the Stove.. ( IIRC, a 70/30 mix of VTs/Cubex = Hot Stuff, when testing.)

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The North Country softies (Spruce) I picked up from Henry @ McManus Fuels last week are burning excellent - like your Vermonts, nice smell = Fresh Pellets.

They are a bit dusty, but w/ no more fines vs. other brands. .. A quick run through the Pellet Vac, all is well again in Pellet Land. * For the price/ton Henry is offering them at: I may be vacuuming on a regular basis here to keep the wife happy.. Gonna run a few more bags through the Vac this morning.

 

Last of my EZBB in da hoppa.....

 

Using Patriot Doug Fir, but I can also agree the Vermonts are no slouch.....

 

North Country, and LG Maximums today...


Dan

 

Same as when it warm its usually wet and I keep the stove running to maintain dryness of the basement (pellets)and also to keep it the stove itself cooking. As soon as the season is near I will be yanking it from the damp basement ASAP and placing it in dry storage.
Took (sorry for the memory loss) I believe Rich's advice on the mixing the Vermonts with some Northern Max, no so much for the heat but more so as the Vermonts alone were funneling a bit, not a concern when I am home but when i go back to work it would be. Going to be fairly warm this week so see what happens as it will be on Room Temp but am seriously entertaining the thought of adjusting the dip switches to lesson the amount of pellets when it re-fire's from a complete shutdown. Drives me nuts and only happens when it restarts from a shutdown and it will do it when I am at work .
Anyways 50- 50 Vermonts / Northern Max in the upstairs and Northern Max in the cellar stove.

 

See now that it was Cleanfire with the Cubex / Vermont mix sorry man brain dead by the end of the day when i get on the forum. Thanks for the heads up as it has remedied my funneling problem and yes burning hot as a mofo.

 

Natural Gas right now......

Dan

 

since it has not been very cold I switched to Hamers because they don't burn as hot as the AWF hardwoods .

 

You saying that Vermonts are funneling in the hopper and leaving pellets behind while going out? No other pellet has done this in my stove. My neighbor had the same issue on a P series stove with the 802.

I believe that Vermont and 802 are pine. Maybe it has to do with the characteristics of the wood?