Found Cherry pits at big box...

[SaveYourPets]

if anyone's interested. Went to the local lowes today to buy some durock board as I'm building my hearth pad for my new stove. While at Lowes I went to check to see what kind of pellets they carry and they had Pres to logs and said that was all they planned to carry this winter. So not being satisfied with this I dropped by my local TSC to see what they carried, which they had Somerset, but right next to them were a skid of cherry pits. I'm new to this whole thing but didn't think it was very common for a big box to carry cherry pits so I snagged up a couple of bags. Of course I can't burn them yet and will undoubtedly burn pellets for awhile while I'm first starting up to get use to things, but I have them anyway. I talked to the sales clerk and he stated that they may continue to carry them depending on how sales go. He said they have had quite a bit of interest but people are just buying them to test them out so far. They seem to be a little more expensive than pellets but I'm not sure if that's because they are harder to find or if this is the typical rate for something like this. Anyway here is the info: They come in a plain white 30 # bag(pretty thick) @ $5.49 a bag, they are made from Triple D. Orchards, Inc, out of Empire, Michigan 49630, phone # 866- 781-9410 or 231-326-5174. That is everything listed on the label. Anyone ever burn these?

Picked up a pallet a few days ago... i mix it with corn ...
I also picked up some oyster shells from there... I have a 320Lb hopper.. I mix 3 corn, 1 cherry pits and about 2 cups of shells.. cleans the flue..

 

[SaveYourPets]

I have seen them at our local TSC. But that was before I bought the Omega. Now that I can burn them, They never have any.

But I am still looking too! Keep us posted on the outcome!

Jay

TSC use to just special order them by the pallet... now some stores stock them.. if yours doesent have them ask the MGR. to order some for you.. they will
there are over 2000 TSC stores nationwide..

 

[krooser]

Good read....

http://greenbluebrown.blogspot.com/2009/02/update-on-cherry-pits-as-heating-fuel.html

 

[imacman]

..... if yours doesent have them ask the MGR. to order some for you.. they will
.....

Not sure about that around here. You probably can since they come from near you. If you can get a stock # for the cherry pits, I'll call my TSC and see what they say about ordering.

 

[mapezzul]

Good read....

http://greenbluebrown.blogspot.com/2009/02/update-on-cherry-pits-as-heating-fuel.html

Completely opposite of what I experienced. The pits burned very fast and produced a white fluffy ash. Could be the difference in the stove.

-M

 

[SaveYourPets]

the only way I am burning corn, pits etc. is if I get it cheaper or free, I can't see paying $350+/ton for something the processor would throw away otherwise. Does anyone know if they dry or otherwise process the pits besides bagging them for that price?

Mine seem like they are washed.. (clean) and dried... I got a deal at $3.75 30lb bag.. TSC goofed on my other order.. so for 1500 lbs it was $187.50 I just mix them in.. these will last me abot 4 years as now im going to mix in less..

 

[SaveYourPets]

..... if yours doesent have them ask the MGR. to order some for you.. they will
.....

Not sure about that around here. You probably can since they come from near you. If you can get a stock # for the cherry pits, I'll call my TSC and see what they say about ordering.

Tractor supply stock # is....3188182 also in one of the above posts is the companys name and # in Michigan.. they might ship right to you.. its a 800 # so you can least call and check.. let us know what they charge per skid (1500 lbs)
craig

 

[Gweeper64]

Completely opposite of what I experienced. The pits burned very fast and produced a white fluffy ash. Could be the difference in the stove.

-M

What setting did you use to burn them in your AE?

 

[mapezzul]

Completely opposite of what I experienced. The pits burned very fast and produced a white fluffy ash. Could be the difference in the stove.

-M

What setting did you use to burn them in your AE?

I burned them on soft wood with a +1 flame height if I remember right...

 

[jtbrunner]

TSC SUCKS, DO NOT BUY CHERRY PITS FROM THEM. I was buying them in 40lb bags for the first couple months this season, then I went back to buy more and THEY CHANGED SUPPLIERS. The bags they were trying to sell me were now 30lbs not 40. The manager at the store was no help at all, he just said that is what they replaced the other ones with. I called a store and asked if they had pits, they said yes, I asked how much the bags weighed, they said 30 lbs. I then asked the price for a ton and they came back after a brief pause and said 50 bags times $5.49 per bag. I tried to explain to them that 50 bags at 30lbs a bag IS NOT A TON, they didn't grasp the concept. After contacting customer service multiple times they finally responded telling me that the 40lb bags were actually priced wrong and will be going up next season. They claim that $5.49/bag is actually the correct price for the 30lb bag which sounds like B.S. to me. I can't see how a company can sell you 40lbs of a product that is sold predominantly by weight for one price and then a few weeks later sell the same product at the same price for 25% less product. I think someone in purchasing screwed up and this is their way of covering it up. I will not be burning cherry pits again unless I can find a more reliable source.

 

[jtakeman]

TSC SUCKS, DO NOT BUY CHERRY PITS FROM THEM. I was buying them in 40lb bags for the first couple months this season, then I went back to buy more and THEY CHANGED SUPPLIERS. The bags they were trying to sell me were now 30lbs not 40. The manager at the store was no help at all, he just said that is what they replaced the other ones with. I called a store and asked if they had pits, they said yes, I asked how much the bags weighed, they said 30 lbs. I then asked the price for a ton and they came back after a brief pause and said 50 bags times $5.49 per bag. I tried to explain to them that 50 bags at 30lbs a bag IS NOT A TON, they didn't grasp the concept. After contacting customer service multiple times they finally responded telling me that the 40lb bags were actually priced wrong and will be going up next season. They claim that $5.49/bag is actually the correct price for the 30lb bag which sounds like B.S. to me. I can't see how a company can sell you 40lbs of a product that is sold predominantly by weight for one price and then a few weeks later sell the same product at the same price for 25% less product. I think someone in purchasing screwed up and this is their way of covering it up. I will not be burning cherry pits again unless I can find a more reliable source.

Welcome to the forums, We are glad you joined us here.

Don't really expect the bigboxes to "get it" as they say. Most of the sales reps and managers don't get what a pellet or multifuel burner needs. You would be better off looking for a place that caiters to the average burner. I found a guy who grows and sells corn in my area. He gets what we need. Thats his business to understand what we want.

By the way, With pellets so cheap these days why bother with the cherry pits. I haven't tried my 2 bags yet, Still burning nice clean pellets for now. Personally, I just want alternatives to pellets. Just in case the prices sore again someday. Curious to know if they are totally worth replacing pellets?

Take care.
jay

 

[jtbrunner]

Are cherry pits worth it, tough call. If your stove can burn them without too much tinkering or mixing them with pellets AND you can get them cheaper than pellets then perhaps they are. My inital thought was more BTU content would equal less fuel consumption, turns out that is not the case. In order for my stove to get the correct amount of pits to burn properly I needed to open up the feed rate to max thus using more fuel. My stove would also not stay lit when starting because the pits would burn too fast and the stove would not get hot enough to stay lit and feed more fuel. I solved this by mixing in pellets at about 1:3 but now I had to crank the feed rate back down which was a good thing. They do seem to burn a little cleaner but for all the trouble they cause I would say for me they aren't worth it. Perhaps mixing them the opposite ratio, 3:1 pellets to pits, would allow me to stretch pellets a little further and turn down the feed rate slightly but who wants to go to that much trouble, especially with pellets easy to find now.

 

[jtakeman]

That's kind of what I though. I have a multifuel stove so there should be no issues on straight pits for me. I have burned straight corn and switchgrass already and the stove just chugged away at them. Although they were much dirtier than pellets. I will burn them if I have too! With pellet so cheap, I see no reason to right now. Still testing though! Just because I like to tinker and have a heads up. Just in case the day comes.

Stay warm
jay