So I purchased six bags of the Okie Black Hills Heat pellets to try out for the upcoming cold spell coming to New England. I've been burning MWP softies for the entire season so far so I was curious how the Black Hills Heat would do.
I gave my stove (Harman Accentra FS) a thorough clean yesterday afternoon. I opened the first bag of the Black Hills Heat and was SHOCKED at what was inside. The entire bag was caked with fines and saw dust. The pellets themselves were little chunks and chips of wood. The backside of the bag is transparent and I didn't really inspect the pellets before purchase.
I reluctantly loaded the pellets into my stove and sure enough, within 20 minutes my stove started squeaking and creaking. The auger motor stopped turning and I spent an hour trying to get the auger unstuck (not a technical person, eventually got it unjammed by shutting the stove down and purging the auger by getting the stove into test mode....side note: how does one properly remove the auger to clear a jam?)
I now have 5 bags of "super premium" pellets that I'm scared to use. Wish I had bought just a bag or two because now I'm out close to $35. I trusted the Okie name and I got burned...yes, pun intended.
YMMV
I gave my stove (Harman Accentra FS) a thorough clean yesterday afternoon. I opened the first bag of the Black Hills Heat and was SHOCKED at what was inside. The entire bag was caked with fines and saw dust. The pellets themselves were little chunks and chips of wood. The backside of the bag is transparent and I didn't really inspect the pellets before purchase.
I reluctantly loaded the pellets into my stove and sure enough, within 20 minutes my stove started squeaking and creaking. The auger motor stopped turning and I spent an hour trying to get the auger unstuck (not a technical person, eventually got it unjammed by shutting the stove down and purging the auger by getting the stove into test mode....side note: how does one properly remove the auger to clear a jam?)
I now have 5 bags of "super premium" pellets that I'm scared to use. Wish I had bought just a bag or two because now I'm out close to $35. I trusted the Okie name and I got burned...yes, pun intended.
YMMV
look up some recent posts by him and youll see what he had to deal with.he battled auger jams aswell
