Fireside Ultra

[save$]

Walked into HD last PM. Two guy at the door were there with 4 taped up bags of Fireside Ultra's. One asked my if I burned pellets. Then he offered me the 4 bags for 75% off. I hadn't tried them and most likely would not have, but at that price, well! (came to $4.18 for all 4 broken bags) So I started burning them last Pm. Not good weather to compare them. Temp has been in the high 20's and now the high 30's wtih rain. My office room which is next to the family room (where the stove is) was 78 this Am and now is 81 F.
What I noticed about the Fireside is they are short pellets, light in color, and have a really nice aroma of freshly cut wood. I have been trying to finish up my ton of Bayou's. They have an odor of old Aspirin. Sort of a vinegar smell. I don't have odors once the hopper is closed. So far, no ash build up, but it is early for that. I will have to wait and see what tomorrow brings.

 

[imacman]

BTW, just as a refresher for these pellets, they are made by Energex.

 

[UncleAnthony]

I have burned Fireside ultra, found thm good, like them.

 

[save$]

BTW, just as a refresher for these pellets, they are made by Energex.

Yes, but they don't seem to be the same. I still have a whole ton of Energex left to burn. Energex is a much darker pellet. The ones I have burned for three years were from Canada. These ultras are also from Canada. Good heat from the Energex but oh, so dirty. I'll know more by tomorrow if I am going to get that big bird's nest of ash from the ultras. That is the one thing I don't care for about Energex in my stove. I gave a ton to my son. He is burning them in his big Englander. He likes the heat and hasn't anything bad to say about them, but for free, who is going to complain.
I think Geneva and Mine Choice are made by the same folks, but the reviews on them are different. The Genevas are said to be available around here, but I haven't seen any. from what I have read, they cost more.

 

[midfielder]

My $0.02: After burning a few bags as a trial and with true cold unlikely from here on, I bought some more of the current delivery of Ultras from the HD here in W. Lebanon, NH. They're not half bad, at least for me. They are short, for sure; 5/8" is long for these, but it makes them feed very evenly in my stove, which I like. They break apart very easily and, maybe partly as a result, have some fines (not too bad) - smell to me like spruce/pine mix. Funny thing though, there was a single bag in what I have burned so far that looked exactly like the others but smelled distinctly like birch! That bag didn't burn nearly as well. The last few bags have been like all the others, lol. The ones that seem like they are mostly softwood are quite volatile, I can check my air back significantly, and they seem to burn reasonably hot, I'd say between the NEWPS and Curran softies I've been running. Right now it's 32 and the house (2k sq. ft.) is 74 - running on 2.5 of 6. Ash has been about the same as those two brands (didn't notice the "super premium" Currans having that much less ash really). They seem to burn quite clean and give me virtually no burn pot deposits. At $220 a ton, not a bad spring pellet. FWIW, I burned about a half dozen bags of Ultras in the fall. Those were a completely different pellet. Longish, dark, and clearly mixed hardwood and softwood - about the same for heat as these but less fines and slower burning. I guess that's the reputation for this brand - you never know what they're going to put in a particular batch. I'd burn either again in shoulder season if the price were low enough. The bags are branded "Premier Pellet Corporation, Montreal, Quebec." Coincidentally, some friends in town bought a Harman XXV this fall that came with some dealer pellets by the same manufacturer, but in generic white bags - also very different pellets from these. Blonde, but longer and less fragile, less distinct smell.

 

[stellep]

I like the FUs. Some birds nest(cigar ash) and a little carbon clinker but good glass, low ash, no fines, no dust, no stank, good heat. And 215 a ton at HD.

 

[ghandy131]

Bought 3 tons when the stove was installed in Nov. Burned through 2.5 tons this season and liked them, burned well, good heat little ash. Of course I had nothing to compare them with. Bought a ton of Turmans and a ton of Barefoots a couple weeks ago. Started with the Turmans and WOW, pellets do make a difference. Had to turn the stove down as the house was getting too hot. Burned 10 bags of those and switched to the Barefoots. Tried all different settings and couldn't get the heat out of them. They left more ash than the FUs and burned cooler. I'm back to the Turmans and will save the FUs and Barefoots for the shoulder season.

 

[imacman]

..... switched to the Barefoots. Tried all different settings and couldn't get the heat out of them....

I used 3-4-1, and even went to 4-5-1 with the crappy pellets I had for shoulder season.....that was the only way I got decent heat out of them. Once I went back to the Lig's and the GT's, had to set the stove back 1-4-1 or 2-4-1

 

[ghandy131]

..... switched to the Barefoots. Tried all different settings and couldn't get the heat out of them....

I used 3-4-1, and even went to 4-5-1 with the crappy pellets I had for shoulder season.....that was the only way I got decent heat out of them. Once I went back to the Lig's and the GT's, had to set the stove back 1-4-1 or 2-4-1

Thanks Imacman, I'll try the 4-5-1 with the Barefoots and see what happens. They were the most expensive pellets I've purchased and from what I've read here they should be super.

 

[save$]

I have burned all four bags of the bargain FU. At the start of bag two, I did a routein cleaning of the inside burn chamber. (glass, burn pot walls etc.) I started on bag two so as to be sure I wasn't mixing the results of a mixed pellet with what was in there from before. With the stove clean, the burn was brisk and the heat fair. But as the day went on, the glass carboned out to where there was a heavy black band on all three windows. Ash started to accumulate on inside walls of the burn pot. After a while it got heavy and fell back into the burn pot. After a while, the ash started to build up and the flame became a bigger flame, less hot and not as brisk. So I had to clean the inside out again after 24 hrs. I far from being anyone to put measured results out, but I have drawn the conclusion that these are fair pellets. If you can buy them at a price that you think is fair for a middle of the road pellet, then these would be good. But be prepared to deal with a lot of ash. This ash was very black, and did easily vac right off the glass and other surfaces. The ash in the burn pot was loose, but about an inch deep. My stove has a 1 to 6 sitting, but discourages anything higher than about a low 5. That is where I ran it for this comparison.