I don't use a pellet stove, I'll admit that. But I have TWO pellet plants within a few miles of me (Treecycle and Great American (aka Keystone) - under construction), and they appear to use completely OPPOSITE philosophies.
Treecycle - website says 100% recycled materials
Great American/Keystone - website says 100% cut trees
I was at the Great American plant today, and there it was - a raised structure that will convey trees to a debarker, then into a chipper, etc etc
Treecycle gets mountains of chips from a supplier (composition unknown), supplemented by pallets it grinds up.
Obviously consistency if very important. Treecycle is battling that problem, and per reports here it remains an issue. Some of the pallets on Treecycle's current heap appear to be hardwood, but a significant portion are not (maybe 25%).
You would have to have a consistent supply of either recycled materials (Treecycle) or trees (Great American) to produce a consistent product. Treecycle loads its trucks up somewhere and they are filled with chips/pallets. The control of raw materials is in the hands of the supplier of these chips, and the operator who selects pallets to process.
Great American will possibly have greater control, down to species of tree if they desired, through inspection. If pine trees come in on a truck they could be rejected. Or might they be used (can hardwood pellets have softwood in them?)
I've read a lot of reports here on consistency, and it just got me thinking. These companies invest millions and millions into their facilities, they tweak their processes to get the right moisture content, etc, but to what extent are the results under their control? How much variation in ingredients can be tolerated before people start complaining about ash, etc? Is Treecycle unique in the industry in that it uses 100% recycled product? Might this be an Achilles heel?
Treecycle - website says 100% recycled materials
Great American/Keystone - website says 100% cut trees
I was at the Great American plant today, and there it was - a raised structure that will convey trees to a debarker, then into a chipper, etc etc
Treecycle gets mountains of chips from a supplier (composition unknown), supplemented by pallets it grinds up.
Obviously consistency if very important. Treecycle is battling that problem, and per reports here it remains an issue. Some of the pallets on Treecycle's current heap appear to be hardwood, but a significant portion are not (maybe 25%).
You would have to have a consistent supply of either recycled materials (Treecycle) or trees (Great American) to produce a consistent product. Treecycle loads its trucks up somewhere and they are filled with chips/pallets. The control of raw materials is in the hands of the supplier of these chips, and the operator who selects pallets to process.
Great American will possibly have greater control, down to species of tree if they desired, through inspection. If pine trees come in on a truck they could be rejected. Or might they be used (can hardwood pellets have softwood in them?)
I've read a lot of reports here on consistency, and it just got me thinking. These companies invest millions and millions into their facilities, they tweak their processes to get the right moisture content, etc, but to what extent are the results under their control? How much variation in ingredients can be tolerated before people start complaining about ash, etc? Is Treecycle unique in the industry in that it uses 100% recycled product? Might this be an Achilles heel?