Curran pellet question

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RiddleMasterMorgon

RiddleMasterMorgon

Member
Dec 5, 2010
143
Fingerlakes Region, NY
I got a bunch of Curran bags and tested in my stove. I found a couple of very good reviews on this site, however everyone states that they are 100 % hardwood from a sothern plant they have.

Mine now seem to come from a NY plant and they have a label saying they are a hardwood/softwood mixture (nothing wrong with that, as we all know softwood is the better pellet in contrast to a wood stove). They are rated premium and 8200 BTU, which sounded fair enough to me for 250/ton.

Now comes my dissapointment though, I see temps only slightly higher than some box store stuff I have tested as well, there is lots of fines in the bag and they have a destinct smell - rather unpleasant/gluey ?

Anyhow, I was curious if anyone had these hard/soft mix before or knew anything about them ? The guy selling them wanted my honest opinion since he apparently has them the first time and I will not hold back, but would like some general sense whats going on first. Many others were happy with currans - is there a second mill doing them/bagging them or is it just this mixture that is no good ? Never had the 100 % Hardwood to compare to either.

Thx
 
I've been burning mainly Currans for years now, it's one of the two brands my dealer carries and I get a good price on them. The ones I get as far as I know have always been the hardwood/softwood blend and are from the upstate NY mill. I have nothing bad to say about them, decent price, decent heat - low-average ash, no clinckers and very low fines. There are better pellets out there, and far more worse. I guess I would rate them from my experience (in my stoves as well) as a solid average pellet - most importantly they keep me and my family warm.

You'll notice that one of the main criticisms of this pellet is that 'crayola - plastic' smell which some people complaint about. Funny thing is, I've never picked up on that at all - but then again, I'm probably just so used to them that I don't notice now?
 
The Curran's are, at best, a mediocre pellet. I have Northern Pellets (Curran's re-bagged for Lowes) that I'm burning as shoulder pellets, and I'd say that they are just barely holding their own in that respect. I've had to play with the air/fuel ratio to get them to burn w/o clinkering, and to get any decent heat.

I'm not impressed....glad I didn't pay much for them. I would hate to have to depend on them for heat in the real cold. :ahhh:
 
The feedback I have on them says the Softwood are the best burning Curran pellets with the Blended the next best. I have tried two bags of the softwood and they seemed ok.
 
I tryed them did'nt like them, I was new to Pellet stoves, the heat seem low could touch stove bought other brands and boy your not setting your hand on it. The ash was low but they burnt quick.
 
Meneillys said:
The feedback I have on them says the Softwood are the best burning Curran pellets with the Blended the next best. I have tried two bags of the softwood and they seemed ok.
Click to expand...

Would you mind sharing where you got the softwoods from ? I never tried a softwood in my stove yet and would love to try that.

Thanks everyone, I think that confirms it for me, for 250/ton these are not the choosen ones....
 
Barely good enough for shoulder season. A lot of the el cheapos from HD and Lowes burn much hotter.
 
Riddle Master Morgon said:
Meneillys said:
The feedback I have on them says the Softwood are the best burning Curran pellets with the Blended the next best. I have tried two bags of the softwood and they seemed ok.
Click to expand...

Would you mind sharing where you got the softwoods from ? I never tried a softwood in my stove yet and would love to try that.

Thanks everyone, I think that confirms it for me, for 250/ton these are not the choosen ones....
Click to expand...


I got them from user Franks. Fireside Chats a local competitor in West Monroe NY 13036. I think he has them for $260 a ton right now.
 
I picked up a few bags of the Curran mix, Burned one and it was awful. Not much heat and a TON of ash.

The dealer I buy Cubex from tells me Curran uses whole trees, bark, leaves and all.
 
My second year with currans lastyear softwoods this year blends only because i couldnt get softs.From my understanding they only have one plant and that is in Massena. Ny and is a modern facility as is most anything Curran has is modern...
 
I also am not impressed by these pellets. I'm sitting on 2 1/2 tons and am having the same problems of low btu's, high ash, and my stove actually shuts off when on low. I won't be buying these anytime soon.
 
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