GOOD WAY TO GET RID OF FINES AND START YOUR STOVE FASTER

[Lorne41]

Hi Everyone, a few times forum members have asked what we all do with our fines from the pellet bags, I have a good solution for that---Burn them!
When I empty a bag and there are fines in the bottom I pour them into a metal container that I have next to my pellet stove and add them into the burn pot when I restart my stove after a cleaning. I usually put a small handful of pellets into the burn pot and top them off with a couple of spoonfuls of the fines in front of the igniter hole and it reduces the start up time to just under a minute for me. Easier on the igniter and a much faster start up.
I usually have a flame in under a minute and it ignites the pellets faster too. If you have a lot of fines you can just throw some into the burn pot when you open the door ( quickly ) to clean the glass. To those with igniters that seem to burn out fast, this might extend the lifespan of them. Hope that this helps! ----Lorne.

 

[smoke show]

so your ignitor isn't on a timer?
just askin.

 

[Lorne41]

Nope, manual all the way with no thermostat. Start-up and running is all auto. I usually clean mine every other day depending on how clean it is
( pellet brands differ) and when I get ready to start it up I throw a small handful of pellets in the the burn pot and a couple of spoon fulls of fines and start-up is quick!

 

[turbotech]

How are you turning off the ignitor so quickly? Did you install a switch in series?

 

[Lorne41]

Hello, it's all automatic on an England 25 PDVC, just push the start button and it takes off on it's own. Because of the fines and sawdust that I add into the burn pot on start up, the sawdust ignites very rapidly in front of the igniter and the fire spreads to the rest of the fines and pellets and the start up process is faster than normal. I believe the 25 PDVC has a temp sensor to detect the pellet combustion temperature and it shuts the igniter off as soon as it reaches the cut-off temp. Normally for my stove it takes 2-3+ minutes for the pellets to ignite if I don't do anything but by adding the fines in front of the igniter hole it speeds up the whole ignition process and I get heat much faster. It's a great way to get rid of the fines also. Please remember that I'm not tossing in a whole bunch of fines, just a few table spoons worth when I'd doing this. This is for cold start ups to reduce the start up time and get heat a little faster.

 

[Clarksfan1]

I use my fines as filler for my meatloaf.

 

[firewarrior820]

I use my fines as filler for my meatloaf.

mmmmm,filler

 

[Lorne41]

I use my fines as filler for my meatloaf.

Not good for your plumbing no matter how you look at it..... LOL

 

[johnnycomelately]

I am always curious as to why the fines are percieved as such a problem. I have never had an issue with fines and I just pour the whole bag in and burn it up. Sometimes, if there are fines, the worst case scenario is that I get what looks like fireworks inside my stove. (When the fines ignite and them get blown by the combustion fan). But it never seems to cause a problem. Am I missing something?

 

[Turbo-Quad]

Yeh I never have any problems either. I cut the bottom of the pag first and the fines go in first. Every time I go to clean the auger, there's hardly any fines built up in there. I finally gave up cleaning it. I check it out about once a month.

 

[save$]

I never have a problem with them. But I do find a bunch of them near the auger when I go to clean out the hopper. I vac them up and dump the vac into a container. I use that in the burn pot when I start the fire. No waste!
Is it worth it? Kind of like the person who would walk past a penny, and anther who would pick it up. It's the "whole" of it that helps you keep order in your life.

 

[Lorne41]

I am always curious as to why the fines are percieved as such a problem. I have never had an issue with fines and I just pour the whole bag in and burn it up. Sometimes, if there are fines, the worst case scenario is that I get what looks like fireworks inside my stove. (When the fines ignite and them get blown by the combustion fan). But it never seems to cause a problem. Am I missing something?

Fines can be a problem for some pellet stoves. Some can handle fines with no problems and others can be troublesome, the same for pellets that are too long. If you have too many fines, they can bunch up in the auger feed tube and stop the pellets from dropping on top feed pellet stoves. My stove doesn't handle a lot of fines if I'm not careful and long pellets can bridge across the opening of the hopper above the feed auger. The point of my posting was to let some of the new members know that there are easy remedies for simple things such as excessive fines in the bags and that they can cut down on their start-up times by adding the fines into the burn pot in front of the igniter.

 

[Lousyweather]

I am always curious as to why the fines are percieved as such a problem. I have never had an issue with fines and I just pour the whole bag in and burn it up. Sometimes, if there are fines, the worst case scenario is that I get what looks like fireworks inside my stove. (When the fines ignite and them get blown by the combustion fan). But it never seems to cause a problem. Am I missing something?

you know, for a few years now I've been reading posts of folks who screen their pellets, or have elaborate fines removeal systems attatched to a vacuum, etc......frankly, cant beleive folks go to all that trouble! If the pellets are THAT full of fines, send 'em back! I dont even like cutting a bag open and pouring them in, let alone have to clear the fines from every bag....gotta be kidding me....maybe my Harman just handles fines better, I dunno, but I never seem to have a problem......

 

[jtakeman]

I am always curious as to why the fines are percieved as such a problem. I have never had an issue with fines and I just pour the whole bag in and burn it up. Sometimes, if there are fines, the worst case scenario is that I get what looks like fireworks inside my stove. (When the fines ignite and them get blown by the combustion fan). But it never seems to cause a problem. Am I missing something?

you know, for a few years now I've been reading posts of folks who screen their pellets, or have elaborate fines removeal systems attatched to a vacuum, etc......frankly, cant beleive folks go to all that trouble! If the pellets are THAT full of fines, send 'em back! I dont even like cutting a bag open and pouring them in, let alone have to clear the fines from every bag....gotta be kidding me....maybe my Harman just handles fines better, I dunno, but I never seem to have a problem......

I only screen my corn and test batches to see how much is in them. Otherwise pellets normally just get dumped in fines and all. I vacuum the hopper once every few weeks or so and haven't had an issue with 3 stoves so far! I just feel there heat once they get to the firebox.

I got a 5 gallon pail full of fines I was going to dump in the garden/compost pile. But I might take them to this guy who makes pellets out of what ever he can get. I'll see if he can make them back into pellets for me.

 

[slls]

I sift all my pellets, never clean the hopper. I like to inspect all the pellets for good quality, and break up the long ones.
Burn the fines in a wood stove, need it for something.