Burning "bad" pellets

Since you're running a Harman you should be fine. The bottom feed stoves handle poor quality pellets very well.

AndrewChurchill said:

Since you're running a Harman you should be fine. The bottom feed stoves handle poor quality pellets very well.

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X2

That was the reason I bought a Harman in the first place.

uses a different method of expelling the ash, regardless of the quantity of such.......but the top feed guys will dispute this

...PA Dutch Magic in every Harman Stove...shhh, don't tell everyone what I just told you. Same magic they use to make those delicious whoopie pies, or is that heroin? I get them confused.

The downside I see to a lower quality pellet (besides more cleanings) is lower heat output. This is really the only issue I am concerned with. This lose of heat can be overcome buy simple turning up the feed rate and burning more pellets.

My suggestion is to buy a couple bags of every brand you can get your hands on. Try them all out then make a decision which burns best. A k-type thermocouple is a good tool to have to evaluate your heat output.

Last year I tested about 12 different brands. Most were very similar in heat output, but some where awful and some were excellent. Prices ranged from $175/ton-$350/ton.

If the lower quality brand would have more sodium content that could be a long term issue since its more corrosive...otherwise, low heat, more ash/more cleaning work...if they are really really bad, you could still mix them with your premium pellet, if you get lucky you safe some money and/or use them for shoulder season.....

Lousyweather said:

uses a different method of expelling the ash, regardless of the quantity of such.......but the top feed guys will dispute this

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I won't dispute it, Bottom feeders do push out the ash better than a top feed unit. Generally a top feeder has to blow the ash out of the burnpot and sometimes this causes issues. But not all stoves are greated equal! There are some top feeders(multifuelers) that rival the performance(and often surpase them) of the bottom feeder. Where they get the help is the self cleaner/mixer or stirrer in the burnpot. When the pellets get down and dirty? I'll take my multifueler!

jtakeman said:

I won't dispute it, Bottom feeders do push out the ash better than a top feed unit. Generally a top feeder has to blow the ash out of the burnpot and sometimes this causes issues. But not all stoves are greated equal! There are some top feeders(multifuelers) that rival the performance(and often surpase them) of the bottom feeder. Where they get the help is the self cleaner/mixer or stirrer in the burnpot. When the pellets get down and dirty? I'll take my multifueler!

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hard to argue with that, J. Fact is, with a couple of exceptions, every unit has its strengths and weaknesses. Some brand strengths could be simply the affordability of the unit, some reliability, some availabilityt of parts, and the list goeth on.

The Revolution burnpot is a wonder to behold ...................................

hossthehermit said:

The Revolution burnpot is a wonder to behold ...................................

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Fahrenheit isn't to shabby either (also self cleaning)

It'll burn N-E-thing

TheMightyMoe said:

Now I understand that you get a lot more ash with lower quality pellets, and maybe "clinkers"

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Just curious how many Harman owners have had a clinker before and what brand of pellets they were burning.

mepellet said:

Just curious how many Harman owners have had a clinker before and what brand of pellets they were burning.

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I've never had one. Don't really know what they are.

huh. top feeder here. same burn pot as the MT. vernon .
all the ash blows into the fire box or drops into the ash pan.
no clinkers ever. just a mean set of fiery vortices where the air comes blasting through the burning pellets.
no auger down there to wear it's tip out either.

Any burn pot that has air holes where the pellets are burning, is going to have carbon built up problems.
Makes no difference whether top or bottom feed.
The multi-feeder just adds more parts to a design problem. Harman gets by with telling owners to scrape once a day even with stove running.

slls said:

Any burn pot that has air holes where the pellets are burning, is going to have carbon built up problems.
Makes no difference whether top or bottom feed.
The multi-feeder just adds more parts to a design problem. Harman gets by with telling owners to scrape once a day even with stove running.

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What's this slls? Buildup in a pellet stove around the air holes in a burn pot? Surely you are joking and scraping a burn pot while the fire is going has to be a safety police issue .

<--safety police are watching you....maybe "watching" is a strong word...more like we glance in your direction occasionally.

SmokeyTheBear said:

What's this slls? Buildup in a pellet stove around the air holes in a burn pot? Surely you are joking and scraping a burn pot while the fire is going has to be a safety police issue .

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Smoke you new to this site, been posted many times by Harman owners. Go to P61A manual page 22 and learn something.

slls said:

Smoke you new to this site, been posted many times by Harman owners. Go to P61A manual page 22 and learn something.

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Hey slls.

Did you miss the smiley?

I like his sense of humor, calling you smoke.

What would bad pellets look like in a Quadrafire classic bay 1200?

Joel Craft said:

What would bad pellets look like in a Quadrafire classic bay 1200?

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Look like Ash

More ash will be produced. Clinkers are a rare thing in a Quadrafire. So long as you pull your ash dump every day or three. I was going over a week last season without pulling it. But that was burning Somersets, which is a pretty good pellet.

More ash and maybe more frequent cleanings if your burning sub-par pellets...

I wish anyone who is planning on getting a stove, woul go visit some folks who have stoves and are not new to it. Armed with that knowledge, I would have wanted a different stove. Go for one that is the appropriate size and one that isn't fussy about "most" brands of pellets. Try to get one with the looks the wife won't object to. Then you have the best of the worlds for heating with pellets. I am mostly retired. Not having to go or be anywhere most of the time so I don't mind the frequent cleaning. But if I was a younger working person, this cleaning could be a P.I.A. I would rather do without.
When I bought my stove, there were few to choose from. Harman was taking orders they could not deliver. I don't regret my purchase, but I do think I could have done it better.
The original post was about burning bad pellets. "Bad" is very different to many people. I don't consider a pellet to be "bad" when some like them and some don't. Bad is when almost every post says the pellet causes problems.

Yeah, I don't get clinkers in my quad..