Do I need to remove loose sawdust from wood pellets before putting them in my pellet stove

Do I need to remove loose sawdust from wood pellets before putting them in my pellet stove? Some people say I do so it won't ruin the auger.

If it builds up too much - causes jams

So if I keep an eye on the auger and there is no build up it is fine? What is meant by build up? Thanks for answering.

By loose sawdust do you mean fines? The wood dust that mostly sticks to the insides of the pellet bags?
Put your pellet stove and the pellets your burning in your signature like mine below. Some stoves are pickier that others when it comes to fines and it will help us provided better feedback.

Thanks but I know what the fines are , just wondering when build up of the fines are too much to cause a jam. Does it have to be enough to actually stop the auger from moving? Is loose sawdust around the auger ok or will it cause a problem? Sorry I don't have a picture but my stove is a Glowboy or Danson bay glass door something????.

I was told to screen all my pellets that I would burn to remove all sawdust as it could damage the auger.

Thanks.
Randy!!

Just trying to clarify what you meant by sawdust. There are cases where pellets have broken down which creates a situation that is not the same as fines. i.e. wet pellets turn into sawdust.
Some fines are to be expected and in most cases don't present issues with operation. If your particular pellets seem to have excessive fines then the stove may need to be cleaned more often. I am not experienced with your model stove but I am sure other members here will chime in as to what level of fines will may affect the auger.

..seems that some stoves are more 'sensitive' to 'fines',... seems some pellet brands yield more 'fines' than others,... I think it safe to say that most of us dont sift our pellets.... Ive never had a prob.

X2

I sift my pellets, I think that my stove runs better but it could also be my imagination. Then again some of the brands that I have tested have produced about 2 cups worth of fines per bag! (powerhouse was the brand)

Maybe Powderhouse would be a better brand name!

X3

no way i'm throwing away btu's . not to mention that sifting is work .

I dump my bags in, fines and all. I can see the fines coming through with the pellets, they just burn. I don't make a habit of dumping the fines into the hopper if I can help it, but I'm also not loosing sleep over it. I have yet to read someone had an issue with fines in an average dry bag.

X4

X5

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X some other number higher than Xena's.

If you are concerned shake the bag of pellets and dump only the first 30 pounds into the hopper dump the rest into a large trash can. This should cut down on the amount of pellets you might have to sift or vacuum with a fines/corn vacuum.

I just dump them in and when I do a deep clean I run the hopper and auger out and clean out any that might be at the bottom of the auger flight. My auger system doesn't really mind all that much, the spring systems in the quads seem to have more issues with fines than solid auger systems.

I only have cleaned out the fines when I am cleaning the stove. I keep the fines and toss them in the burn pot when I am lighting the stove after a shut down. My stove is fussy about the brand of pellets, but shows no issues with sawdust. No clue how your stove will respond to them!

x9

If fines build up, the auger will eventually jamb. Vacuum out the hopper and feed tube whenever possible

Many stoves just burn the fines up with ease as both my stoves do but some stoves don`t burn well or will they ignite properly due to fines.
In reading literature from Palizetti stoves they stress the importance of high grade pellets with minimum dust for proper ignition in their stoves and to provide the higher heat necessay for a good secondary burn. That`s probably sound advice for any pellet stove since the crappy pellets I burned this year don`t seem to be worth their lower price.

For me it cuts down on the dust as I pour into the hopper. That way I don't have to hear "where is the dust coming from"'?? And less times I have to clean the 'fines box' on my Harman...some brands have more fines than others

X10

Cut-Dump-Burn for me

Just pour them in the hooper and burn away