Another possible newbie question, so bear with me...

[Bigjim13]

Ok, I have a Harman P61A ( I should really create a signature so I don't have to open every thread with that) and am into my second season of burning. I try as much as possible to clean and maintain my stove as well as I can. I have gotten alot of great info about cleaning and troubleshooting off this site and thank you all. So, here is my question.

Last season I burned Premier pellets that I bought at TSC. If I remember correctly they are a hardwood pellet and from what I can remember and from being new at this, they seemed to burn pretty well. This year when pellet prices were high I found a decent deal on Maine Woods Pellets and have been burning them. I don't seem to have some of the other problems that people have mentioned but they do seem to put out more ash and dirty up the glass quicker.

The other thing I am noticing is a fair amount of soot or carbon (not sure what it is honestly) building up in my burnpot. I scrape it out about 2 times a week but I don't remember having this issue last season. Could this be from the pellet I am using? Is this common for a softwood pellet, or I guess it's a softwood/hardwood mix (about 80/20 I think)? Do I need to make some sort of adjustment to my stove other than scraping it out as much as I do? I guess what I am wondering is it normal to have soot or carbon building up in the burnpot?

Thanks!

 

[krooser]

I can't address it from a Harman standpoint but my St. Croix has been producing a little carbon in the burnpot this year... I had virtually none the last two years. Same brand of pellets... Uncle Jed's pine/spruce mix. But I've been running my stove a lot on #1 and #2... not now, of course, but when it was warmer.

 

[imacman]

.....Last season I burned Premier pellets that I bought at TSC. If I remember correctly they are a hardwood pellet and from what I can remember and from being new at this, they seemed to burn pretty well. .........

Not that it really matters, but I think the Premier you burned last year are softwood, being that they are from Quebec, but the bag only says "wood".

 

[jtakeman]

.....Last season I burned Premier pellets that I bought at TSC. If I remember correctly they are a hardwood pellet and from what I can remember and from being new at this, they seemed to burn pretty well. .........

Not that it really matters, but I think the Premier you burned last year are softwood, being that they are from Quebec, but the bag only says "wood".

macman TSC sold a Hardwood Premier pellet last year. I am burning some now. Pick them up last spring on a close out. just FYI. I got photo's if you need them.

 

[imacman]

...macman TSC sold a Hardwood Premier pellet last year. I am burning some now. Pick them up last spring on a close out. just FYI. I got photo's if you need them.

Jay, I had no idea that Premier sold hardwood......maybe the ones I have now are hardwood??? I figured that since they were from Canada, then probably soft.

yes, if you can, post or PM me the pic of the bag so I can see if it's the same as mine. Thanks bud

 

[Bigjim13]

...macman TSC sold a Hardwood Premier pellet last year. I am burning some now. Pick them up last spring on a close out. just FYI. I got photo's if you need them.

Jay, I had no idea that Premier sold hardwood......maybe the ones I have now are hardwood??? I figured that since they were from Canada, then probably soft.

yes, if you can, post or PM me the pic of the bag so I can see if it's the same as mine. Thanks bud

You had me scratching my head for a moment there, LOL. I could have sworn they were hardwood. They were quite a colorful bag. Bright orange plames and purple and black in there somewhere. I actually liked those pellets and was a little disappointed I couldn't find them again this year. Now, knowing a little more about pellets I will be trying a few varieties in my stove this year to see what I get for results.

Anyway could that be the cause of the carbon/soot buildup? Or is it something else or just normal?

 

[jtakeman]

...macman TSC sold a Hardwood Premier pellet last year. I am burning some now. Pick them up last spring on a close out. just FYI. I got photo's if you need them.

Jay, I had no idea that Premier sold hardwood......maybe the ones I have now are hardwood??? I figured that since they were from Canada, then probably soft.

yes, if you can, post or PM me the pic of the bag so I can see if it's the same as mine. Thanks bud

Here you go macman. I am at work. I will get the info from the bag tonight for you. They were made in USA not Canada.

 

[Bigjim13]

That bag looks a little different than the ones I bought last season. Mine were in a white bag with purple background but other than that they look the same.

 

[BJN644]

That bag looks a little different than the ones I bought last season. Mine were in a white bag with purple background but other than that they look the same.

My local TSC has the Premiers and they are in the purple bag. They sold me a ripped bag for $2.00 so I could try them, I can't remember if they were hard or soft? The one bag seemed to have decent heat.

 

[jtakeman]

macman,

Post a photo of your Premier bags. Sounds like they were burning the softwoods. Unless there were 3 different Premier's sold at TSC?