What a difference burning oakies for a week

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roadking88

Feeling the Heat
Jun 20, 2011
302
central Maine
been burning mpw all along and we had some cold weather in Maine this week so
i decided to pick up some oakies and burned them for a week..
what a difference with the stove..
i dont even have to clean it this week.....lol..:)
 
Talk about going from low grade to high.
 
roadking88 said:
been burning mpw all along and we had some cold weather in Maine this week so
i decided to pick up some oakies and burned them for a week..
what a difference with the stove..
i dont even have to clean it this week.....lol..:)

Do you recall how many bags of Okies you burned as compared to the amount of MWP you were burning? You said, "what a difference with the stove." and didn't have to clean it. So that means less ash. Was the glass black? And most importantly, heat, was there more heat? I am looking to get a little more heat in the very cold temps. But I want to make sure the extra cost delivers more than less cleaning. Cleaning I don't mind. But I do mind running the furnace for the boost. Need to figure out if the cost of the boost is less with oil or Okies. thanks.
 
I wish I could find them around here. I have been everywhere and cant get them!
 
mama was sleeping on the couch and the room looked like it was on fire she said after she woke up.....lol
the flame is so much bigger and better than the mwp i've been burning.....
what a nice pellet.......
sibs warehouse has them for 298/ton delivered.......
 
I have been burning my dealers "house brand" doug fir pellets exclusively (almost) since last season.... I'm starting to think it isn't worth saving $20-$40 per ton if you get a lot more ash to clean and less heat....
 
I have been burning Oakes for a month; they are a little hotter than Greene Teams and a lot less ashy, but my god, are they DUSTY! My whole stove is covered with dust! I paid a premium price for them, because they were touted as one of the greatest pellets out there; they have virtually no ash, that's for sure, but they're only 15 degrees hotter than Greene Teams and I have to use a wet sponge on my stove every time I fill the hopper, cuz the dust is everywhere. I paid $3.94 a bag for Greene Teams vrs. $5.00+ for the Oakies. If I can get GT's at Lowes again next fall, I'll leave the Oakies for all you rich guys!

EarlyMan
 
I started burning oakies this year and they burn very good. Hot and low ash. Glass stays clean much longer as well. I am able to put my stove on low and just let it run and it keeps the house at 75 +-. Very happy with them. I really liked the Vermont's too! I think next year I will be happy with either one.
 
tumbles said:
I started burning oakies this year and they burn very good. Hot and low ash. Glass stays clean much longer as well. I am able to put my stove on low and just let it run and it keeps the house at 75 +-. Very happy with them. I really liked the Vermont's too! I think next year I will be happy with either one.

I've seen several good comments on the Vermont's...are they available in Southern Maine?
 
D&j in Sanford had them. He had logike that are good too. They know their pellets and are pretty nice too! I really like the oakies as well but they seem to burn quickly. I'm not sure if it is their small size but I seem to be filling the hopper more but the heat is great and so is the low ash. I had a ton of greenream and found them ok as long as you burn it at medium or higher.
 
EarlyMan said:
I have been burning Oakes for a month; they are a little hotter than Greene Teams and a lot less ashy, but my god, are they DUSTY! My whole stove is covered with dust! I paid a premium price for them, because they were touted as one of the greatest pellets out there; they have virtually no ash, that's for sure, but they're only 15 degrees hotter than Greene Teams and I have to use a wet sponge on my stove every time I fill the hopper, cuz the dust is everywhere. I paid $3.94 a bag for Greene Teams vrs. $5.00+ for the Oakies. If I can get GT's at Lowes again next fall, I'll leave the Oakies for all you rich guys!

EarlyMan

lol i wish i could burn oakies all year long......freaking broke here......gotta use mwp........lol
 
tumbles said:
D&j in Sanford had them. He had logike that are good too. They know their pellets and are pretty nice too! I really like the oakies as well but they seem to burn quickly. I'm not sure if it is their small size but I seem to be filling the hopper more but the heat is great and so is the low ash. I had a ton of greenream and found them ok as long as you burn it at medium or higher.

Thanks...next time I'm down that way, I'll stop by...look forward to trying them!
 
I couldn't agree more. Okies are a great pellet! They are not for everyone though!
 
I also got some Logik-e from D&J. Liked them a lot.
 
My wife brought a bag home last week from a friend....last night I loaded the stove and I got up around midnite...my god it was nearly 80 upstairs....I'm impressed with Okies. Two things that I noticed...the heat and reduced amounts of ash...I will try to buy these if I can find some....I live in Millinocket Maine...so it will be hard to find them here...I think SIB has some ..it's a long trip for me. I have been burning MWP and Geneva's....the Genevas put out heat but the ash is average...I'm sold on the Oakies!!
 
krooser said:
I have been burning my dealers "house brand" doug fir pellets exclusively (almost) since last season.... I'm starting to think it isn't worth saving $20-$40 per ton if you get a lot more ash to clean and less heat....

I agree, been burning Hamers all season and what a difference. No more shoulder pellets for me!
 
I've been burning only hardwoods so far, mostly Greene Gold and Hamers with good results. I bought 10 bags of Okies and decided today was the day to test them. I wanted to finish what was in the hopper but miscalculated by a few hours because the stove had shut down overnight and the downstairs was a chilly 60*.

I cleaned the stove at 6:30 this morning including scooping out the remainder of hardwood pellets that didn't make it to the auger. I loaded it up with the Oakies and have the Breckwell cranking on 4 to get the house back up to temp. This is the first time I've had softwood pellets in this stove and I'm interested to see how they stack up against the Hamers. Stay tuned for my results.
 
djs_net said:
I cleaned the stove at 6:30 this morning including scooping out the remainder of hardwood pellets that didn't make it to the auger. I loaded it up with the Oakies and have the Breckwell cranking on 4 to get the house back up to temp. This is the first time I've had softwood pellets in this stove and I'm interested to see how they stack up against the Hamers. Stay tuned for my results.

First of all, I can't believe this thread was push all the way to page 7 that fast. It's amazing the amount of traffic and activity this forum gets. Thanks to everyone who contributes.

My unscientific testing proved the Okies to be a VERY high quality pellet (duh). The heat was outstanding and the ash was low. The only negatives were minor, but I do have to mention that the fines/dust were higher than most brands I've tried, and the smell of the unburned pellets was fairly strong. I store my stash in the garage so I'm not talking about the odor from the stacks of bags, I'm referring to the smell in my living room when I fill my large pellet bin. Every time I remove the cover to scoop pellets into the hopper, the smell is strong. It's not a terrible smell but pretty noticeable for quite a while. Another thing I noticed was a slight residue on the firebox walls at the ash line but that cleaned up with no problem. I do not have a burn indicator but I would guess the Okies are very comparible to the Hamers as far as heat and maybe a shade hotter.

I will definately buy these again, especially if I can get them on sale. I paid $6/bag.
 
The fine dust is from the pellet moisture level which is extremely low. Al in all, still one of the best pellets we have sold.
 
according to everyone on here (hearth)
it does not matter what pellets you burn in a Harman
it is ESP driven so the temp stays the same
crap or premium same heat comes out




going to get the popcorn now and see what transpires
 
ironpony said:
according to everyone on here (hearth)
it does not matter what pellets you burn in a Harman
it is ESP driven so the temp stays the same
crap or premium same heat comes out




going to get the popcorn now and see what transpires

Instigator!
 
ironpony said:
according to everyone on here (hearth)
it does not matter what pellets you burn in a Harman
it is ESP driven so the temp stays the same
crap or premium same heat comes out


going to get the popcorn now and see what transpires

Such a trouble maker! Let me join you with some beer...

I don't have a Harman so only speaking from experience with the Jamestown and Avalon, I'm realizing that there is a vast difference in pellet quality and brands. It's true that the pellets that are considered premium quality burns hotter and cleaner in my stoves (Barefoot & Spruce Pointe). The shoulder pellet I have, which are Bayou Hardwoods, produced way less heat and A LOT more ash. I didn't realize there was such a noticeable difference. I just did a deep clean today on both stoves and I was shocked at the amount of ash that the Bayous left behind and the fact that I had to crank the Avalon while burning the Bayous to the highest setting to get comparable heat to burning the Barefoots or Spruce Pointes. I usually only need to set my stove at low to medium using BF and SP for the room to get really hot. I don't mind the extra ash and cleaning but I do mind lack of heat. That's my experience with burning premium versus crap pellets.
 
hotdawg said:
ironpony said:
according to everyone on here (hearth)
it does not matter what pellets you burn in a Harman
it is ESP driven so the temp stays the same
crap or premium same heat comes out


going to get the popcorn now and see what transpires

Such a trouble maker! Let me join you with some beer...

I don't have a Harman so only speaking from experience with the Jamestown and Avalon, I'm realizing that there is a vast difference in pellet quality and brands. It's true that the pellets that are considered premium quality burns hotter and cleaner in my stoves (Barefoot & Spruce Pointe). The shoulder pellet I have, which are Bayou Hardwoods, produced way less heat and A LOT more ash. I didn't realize there was such a noticeable difference. I just did a deep clean today on both stoves and I was shocked at the amount of ash that the Bayous left behind and the fact that I had to crank the Avalon while burning the Bayous to the highest setting to get comparable heat to burning the Barefoots or Spruce Pointes. I usually only need to set my stove at low to medium using BF and SP for the room to get really hot. I don't mind the extra ash and cleaning but I do mind lack of heat. That's my experience with burning premium versus crap pellets.

Drat I did a taste test on my hard cider last night. Now I'll have to get something else and join in on the fun.

To all you Harman folks have a chat with Sparkydog, he'll tell ya all about pellet differences.
 
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