ASH COMPARISON

[MCPO]

I agree with the heat values. But there aint no stinkin way I an sweeping the vent every 2 bags of pellets. I might remove the clean out tee cap. If the ash is that light it probably will blow right out the vent and To the heavens.

How picky you guys gonna get here! You want lad tests send them in and see what it will cost you! Geez!

Edit: You all know that a good brand of pellets with low ash will burn through the season about the same. Did the variables effect those? You were burning on many different days with all kinds of variables. You didn't have goobs of ash on the Hi humidity days did ya???

Hi jtakeman,
I should have mentioned that I for one really do appreciate all his hard work of testing the different pellets for ash content regardless of any conclusions I drew. If nothing else his work doing this does in fact get us all thinking about what is going on with these different brands . Someone has to do the basic groundwork as he did , and then we try to pick it apart and discuss all aspects of it. It`s really a good learning experience for all of us IMO.
Of course the amount of ash left over should be of interest to us all but I don`t think it tells the whole story.
I`m sorry if I sounded grouchy about it cause I`m not. I just wanted to add my thoughts to it.

 

[jtakeman]

Gio,

I will be doing the same test with heat value. I am also testing 2 of the same pellets as pelletdude. Except I am doing a 2 bag burn. We can see if a totally different stove and set up, Compares or has simular results. I will knpck down the vent pipe and empty the ash from the tee. I just finished the Rocky Mountains. I was suprized at how much ash they produced.

Anything else?

jay

 

[MCPO]

Gio,

I will be doing the same test with heat value. I am also testing 2 of the same pellets as pelletdude. Except I am doing a 2 bag burn. We can see if a totally different stove and set up, Compares or has simular results. I will knpck down the vent pipe and empty the ash from the tee. I just finished the Rocky Mountains. I was suprized at how much ash they produced.

Anything else?

jay

I think comparing heat values along with ash content will tell you a lot more more and should make the effort more worth while.
Keep us posted. It`s an interesting subject for everyone I`m sure.

 

[schoondog]

Pelletdude and jtakeman,
First off thanks for your work. These pellet heaters are relatively new, and I think pellets are an emerging technology also. I believe you guys are doing some great initial R&D for us.( pellet consumers) Jtakeman qualified his work with the disclaimers in the beginning of his thread. real life testing , trying to do his best and sharing info. I am really interested in the work you guys are doing. I used to work for an automotive R&D company and believe me when you publish your findings everyone come out of the woodwork to try to question every test and procedure you have done. Don't feel bad or get too pissed. Take some constructive comments if you can implement them great. Don't think we expect you guys to make your stoves and homes into R&D labs! When the weather turns a little colder I plan on doing some testing too. Maybe someone in the industry will take notice and the pellet industry and in turn we consumers will benifit in the future from the work your doing today. Its gotta start somewhere!

Schoondog

 

[pelletdude]

Guys and Gals,

Listen I want to thank everyone for there comments. I did this test during business hours at my Stove Shop. I am not a scientist, I am a small business owner with a background in Real Estate Development and also a Licensed Electrican. I did it to show the differences in the 4 Pellet Brands I sell and Inferno which is sold down the street and a regional big box.

I agree with some of the comments about the ash in the venting - however If the ash goes up the pipe I don't have to clean it everytime I open the stove. The 2 pellets with the greatest amount of ASH in the jars would mean you would have to clean your stove 3 to 5 times more over the course of the heating season.

This test was done like a typical person runs there stove - add a bag of pellets, burn them, sweep out the ash and put it in a jar. I have sold the Okies, Dragons and Turmans because I can show visibly the difference in the amount of ash. I do not own anything to test the heat but i can say that the Inferno and ACP had substantially less heat output than the top 3.

I am very happy to see the amount of commets- this is what a forum is supposed to be for.

 

[jtakeman]

Nice work pelletdude,

Curious to see how the Corinth pellets faired?

I was inspired by your comparision and I am glad you shared this with us. Seeing is believing! :cheese:

Thanks
jay

 

[evil]

As for heat output, I use a cheap ChimGard thermometer on the exhaust pipe at about a foot above the stove. More heat in the stove, more heat out of the stove right? I have seen a diference in pellets by using this simple method. I'm using a Mt-Vernon AE set to manual high and same flame height adjustment to offset the auto setting that are variable in fan speeds.

 

[please302]

LOOK I HAVE A HARMAN P-68 AND i JUST BOUGHT 4 TONS OF ACP PELLETS. I STARTED BURNING THEM A FEW DAYS AGO AND THEY BURN GREAT AND THE I CANNOT TELL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE AMOUNT OF ASH FROM ANY OTHER PELLET. I BOUGHT THE PELLETS FOR $220/TON AND THEY WERE A LOT CHEAPER THEN ANY OTHER PELLET. tHE MORAL OF THE STORY IS TO GET A GOOD PELLET STOVE THAT WILL BURN ANYTHING AND REAP THE REWARDS WITH THE YEARLY PELLET BUY. i THINK TOO MANY PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO MAKE A SCIENCE OF ALL OF THE PELLET STOVE VARIABLES. YOU HAVE A STOVE, BUY THE PELLETS, FEED THE STOVE, GET HEAT AND ASH AND SMOKE AND LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER. I HAVE READ SO MANY NEGATIVE THINGS ABOUT ACP PELLETS BUT I SAID THAT THEY ARE CHEAPER AND STILL A WOOD PELLET SO I THINK IT IS WORTH IT TO GIVE THEM A SHOT. SO I DID AND THEY ARE A PELLET JUST LIKE ALL OF THE REST. I ALSO BOUGHT PENNINGTON PELLETS LAST YEAR AND EVERYONE SAID THEY WERE SOOOO BAD BUT I THOUGHT THAT THEY WERE PRETTY GOOD. I BELIEVE MANY PEOPLE JUST WANT SOMETHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT.

 

[mnkywrnch]

[quote author="please302" date="1255771038"]LOOK I HAVE A HARMAN .Atleast we know what stove you have.

 

[jtakeman]

LOOK I HAVE A HARMAN.

Atleast we know what stove you have.

He did the stove research, Now he needs to do some pellet research! How many threads did he post this in??

 

[mnkywrnch]

I believe I counted 5

 

[mnkywrnch]

I believe I counted 5

more than 1 post of the very same thing is TOO MANY...

very true very true.

 

[Bigb62]

since there is such a debate over the "value" of this thread, maybe a better test of pellet value would be a 'time/temperature' test. The amount of time vs. temp from 1 bag. not a whiz at this but a thermocouple with a recorder to see how long a pellet burns at a given or max temp would make some happier?