Cherry pit pellets?

[Eric Johnson]

A lady I work with just bought a couple bags of what she described as pellets made out of cherry pits. Sounds interesting. I know you can burn all kinds of shells and seeds and I suspect they burn hot and maybe with less ash than wood.

Anybody know anything about them? She said they are about 25 cents cheaper per bag. I think the price works out to around $239 per ton.

Have pellets gone up in price or what? $250 per ton sounds about average here in the East. Thatsalotofmoneyinmybook!

She was complaining about crappy pellets, but I didn't catch the brand. She has a St. Croix stove. Good stove?

 

[hearthtools]

A lady I work with just bought a couple bags of what she described as pellets made out of cherry pits. Sounds interesting. I know you can burn all kinds of shells and seeds and I suspect they burn hot and maybe with less ash than wood.

Anybody know anything about them? She said they are about 25 cents cheaper per bag. I think the price works out to around $239 per ton.

Have pellets gone up in price or what? $250 per ton sounds about average here in the East. Thatsalotofmoneyinmybook!

She was complaining about crappy pellets, but I didn't catch the brand. She has a St. Croix stove. Good stove?

Whole cherry pits burn good in a Bottom feet pellet stove or one of the new multifuel stove
but they are 3x more ash than wood pellet and about the same BTU.
I used to mix Cherry pits with pellets and burn them in my pellet master
the ash looks like a cigar ash

 

[Corie]

We've burned cherry pits here in the lab and our new multi-fuel stove has a setting specifically for them - however, we haven't seen or used cherry pit pellets yet? We have tested some walnut shell pellets though.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I have no first hand experience but have been told of many here in Michigan who burn cherry pits in pellet stoves. When I used to work in a big orchard area in MI there were many who had stoves in their workshops and almost all burned cherry pits. If my memory is correct (what memory?) they said they need a little longer to dry than wood does.

 

[Eric Johnson]

Turns out they are just dried cherry pits, not pellets made from cherry pits. She doesn't like them at all. Said they make tons of ash and dirtied up the glass. And I stand corrected on the price. They're not $239 a ton. That's what she pays for regular wood pellets. The cherry pits are about 25 cents a bag cheaper, which I guess works out to about $225 a ton. Still and all, I'd rather see them burned than wind up in the pie. That's rough on the dental work.

 

[WarmGuy]

crappy pellets

No thanks.

 

[kinsmanstoves]

I am in N/E Ohio and have never seen bagged cherry pits. Seen a few spit across the yard. Pellets or Corn in this area and bagged burn corn is more than pellets, $225 per ton vs. $205 per ton.

Heard Fuel oil just shot over $90 a barrel so I pity the person who did not plan ahead......

 

[stoveguy2esw]

cherry pits are a viable alternative for multi-fuel stoves, it is important to note however that they do produce a viscous ash that can damage mild steel over time. stainless steel doesnt seem to be affected by them so if the unit has a stainless pot then they should be ok, lots of folks mix them with pellets to extend their pellet supply. one very important thing to note with cherry pits , a large quantity are used annually for crafting and theraputic heating pads, the pits that are processed for this use should never be burned in a stove as they are chemically treated and bleached so if you intend to try them , make certain they were not processed in this way.

 

[hearthtools]

We used to get them for free at the Dole Plant in Stockton Ca.
Just shovel them into our truck.
Mix them with pellets