Inferno Wood Pellets

[Salty]

Hi all just joined up here, been lurking for a while. I'm a second year pellet user (St Croix York Insert) and this year bought 7 tons of these Inferno Pellets that are made in RI. I have been burning for about a week now and got to say I'm disappointed. I bought these on the recommendation of the local dealer last June and noticed a marked difference in how much flame I got out of the insert. Whereas last year we started out with 4 tons of Warm Front pellets (loved those!) we got full height flames right to the tubes on setting #5, these Inferno pellets won't even give us 1/2 height flames on them. Even my 14 year old came to me last night and asked if something was wrong with the pellet stove! So even he noticed the difference it's that obvious.

I ran out of the original pellets last spring and had gotten some Michigan Pellets which were total garbage-they made the stove have to be cleaned every day, these pellets this year don't seem to make much ash but they don't burn very good either. Kinda makes the Michigan pellets look good as far as heat output right now. Haven't done a first clean yet so I don't know how bad the klinker is going to be, (looks ok so far) but am curious if anyone else on here bought these and have burned them yet?

Local dealer told me they'd guarantee them. I got 4 tons hand loaded in the basement and 3 more on pallets at my shop down the road in storage. Not relishing the possibility of moving all this stuff again. I sent the dealer some feedback on them today and told him I thought these were junk, and he responded that he forwarded my comments to these guys. Be interesting to see if they have anything to say. This was the old Narragansett Pellet Co. that went bankrupt I guess. I am starting to wonder if these are even new manufactured pellets or if they just changed the bags and are using inventory from the old company. Research online shows the Narragansett pellets weren't very good either.

Anyone else got any input on these?

 

[chrisasst]

I have never heard or tried them so I don't know. Although I do know I would not buy 7 tons of pellets that I have never tried before. I hope you can take them back or something....Do you have other pellet choices in your area?

 

[jtakeman]

[quote author="chrisasst" date="1254542081"]I have never heard or tried them so I don't know. Although I do know I would not buy 7 tons of pellets that I have never tried before.......... quote]

ditto, Always try before you buy. At least come and ask us here before the purchase. Might have got a member or two that tried them.

hope they do you right and swap them out!

jay

 

[Salty]

No I bought them based on the local dealers recommendation and he's been good so far except for the Michigan junk last spring which he acknowledged. He's got 5-6 other manufacturers too so I could always go buy/swap something else but was curious if others were seeing the same thing or maybe I got a bum pallet or something.

Pelletsales has their local warehouse in town here too so plenty of pellets around here

 

[newf lover]

Just to make sure there's nothing up with the stove, I would pick up 5 bags of pellets that have a good reputation, if they are available in your area. Barefoots, Okanagan, Hamer's Hot Ones, Lignetics, NEWP etc. something that's rec'd good reviews by others on the forum. If there is a marked difference, then unfortunately I would see if the dealer will take them back as that would definitely point to the pellets. I would make absolutely sure though that it's the pellets before I started fighting to return 7 tons! Good luck.

 

[Salty]

Yes that's not a bad idea I think I'll call them tomorrow and see if they'll sell me some bags to try. Would sure rule out anything with the stove. It had it's cleaning etc done back in June. I watched the guy do the whole thing and didn't notice anything that caught my attention but you never know it could be messed up.

Just to make sure there's nothing up with the stove, I would pick up 5 bags of pellets that have a good reputation, if they are available in your area. Barefoots, Okanagan, Hamer's Hot Ones, Lignetics, NEWP etc. something that's rec'd good reviews by others on the forum. If there is a marked difference, then unfortunately I would see if the dealer will take them back as that would definitely point to the pellets. I would make absolutely sure though that it's the pellets before I started fighting to return 7 tons! Good luck.

 

[jtakeman]

No I bought them based on the local dealers recommendation and he's been good so far except for the Michigan junk last spring which he acknowledged. He's got 5-6 other manufacturers too so I could always go buy/swap something else but was curious if others were seeing the same thing or maybe I got a bum pallet or something.

Pelletsales has their local warehouse in town here too so plenty of pellets around here

Michigan was strike 1

Inferno strike 2

He is a dealer selling to make money. If he said the michigans were very good pellets. Is not true middle of the road maybe. I would not take his word anymore. I know you want to trust your dealer. That's OK. Every stove is different and every owner needs to feel out there stove. Every dealer should have a disclaimer. Like this one.

http://www.ctpellet.com/index.php?act=viewDoc&docId=6

Always best to try before you buy any large quantity. Tell him your not happy, If he is a good dealer he will take care of you.

If not Strike 3. Time to look around.

I mean no offense. To either you or your dealer.

jay

 

[Salty]

none taken jt. I understand what your saying and the same thought has already gone through my mind Seems like there's alot of guys out there like that from what I've seen.

fwiw I had alot of choices and discussed these with them. I'll reserve further comment for now because he may be a member or a reader here also.

 

[jtakeman]

none taken jt. I understand what your saying and the same thought has already gone through my mind Seems like there's alot of guys out there like that from what I've seen.

fwiw I had alot of choices and discussed these with them. I'll reserve further comment for now because he may be a member or a reader here also.

Understandable, I went thru this several years back. I had to state my case before there was a settlement. I still buy from them. But only known brands or Tested product. They understand an sometimes toss me a free bag to test with.

Try what newf lover said. Seems logical and would be good defense to your claim. If you have a Friend that also burns toss him a bag to see what he thinks. More defense if there stove doesn't like them either.

I just hope you get it all worked out and Have an easy heating season. Sounds like you have had enough trauma already!

Take care
jay

 

[imacman]

Since you are talking about those Inferno pellets, I just had to say that I went to my local Price Chopper supermarket yesterday, and lo and behold, there's a ton of Inferno pellets sitting right outside the entrance.

Normally, when I come across a pellet I haven't burned before, I'll grab a few bags to try, but since it was a food store selling them, I just had a bad feeling, and didn't buy any.

PHEW! hh:

 

[Jack Morrissey]

I bought a couple of bags of inferno at Bennys - 250 a ton or 5 a bag. Ive burned 1 bag off and on over a week or so and wasnt impressed with them. I didnt think there was a low flame, but too many clinkers though. I think Newfie lover has the right idea though - you should try some well known pellets to make sure its not the stove.

 

[tinkabranc]

While I agree with BTUs points, best bet is always try out a few bags of any brand
yourself before buying in bulk, no matter who recommends them.

No retailer want the headaches of complaining consumers but some Garden shops, mom & pop
shops etc. do not necessarily carry the best of the bunch either.

Two trusted places I check with each year "used" to sell the better well known brands but
are now selling Inferno and Potomac with everyone else this year.

Why?
They claim they went with these brands this year because they are "fantastic"....uh..yeah ok.

 

[mralias]

I bought 25 bags of these pellets and have been using them the last few days. I have very little clinkers, ash about the same as Corinth and no noticeable difference in heat output. The flame is a bit low in the pot but nothing I would get upset about. For 5 bucks a bag, not a bad deal. I would not buy these by the ton. I use these as filler or may even mix with my NEP, Green Team or LG's.

 

[jtakeman]

Maine Woods last year won the “Mushy” the unofficial award for the worst new pellet on the market (there is no such award...I just made it up).

I like it and think we should adopt it.

This years candidate for the MUSHY is INFERNO!(so far)

jay

 

[Salty]

Well he's not too far from the truth. There were a few holes in some of the bags even though they were double wrapped-dealer said the crows were pecking at them. Those bags had MUSH inside within 4"~ of the holes

Maine Woods last year won the “Mushy” the unofficial award for the worst new pellet on the market (there is no such award...I just made it up).

I like it and think we should adopt it.

This years candidate for the MUSHY is INFERNO!(so far)

jay

 

[jtakeman]

Well he's not too far from the truth. There were a few holes in some of the bags even though they were double wrapped-dealer said the crows were pecking at them. Those bags had MUSH inside within 4"~ of the holes

Maine Woods last year won the “Mushy” the unofficial award for the worst new pellet on the market (there is no such award...I just made it up).

I like it and think we should adopt it.

This years candidate for the MUSHY is INFERNO!(so far)

jay

Litterally MUSHY! Will he credit thise bags?? He should.

I get credit from the locals for ripped and torn bags all the time.

I am doing a little test of pellets from the big box stores. I am going to add Inferno to the list. I will check locals to see if I can find them. I want to compare head to head with the best I have found locally-Rocky Mountains.

Jay

 

[Salty]

I told him but didn't push it. Figured I'd open the bags on the other end and pour them into the hods til I got to any fines.

 

[Salty]

I asked this: "do you have 4-5 bags of something highly rated such as lignetics, etc that I can buy and try in the stove? Curious to see if changing the pellets makes a difference which I suspect it might, or if there is something wrong with the stove since it was cleaned which I doubt but you never know."

I got this back: "I can give you a couple of bags of Corinth pellets from Maine.I sent a copy of your e-mail to Inferno."

Isn't Corinth a crappy pellet too?

 

[jtakeman]

I asked this: "do you have 4-5 bags of something highly rated such as lignetics, etc that I can buy and try in the stove? Curious to see if changing the pellets makes a difference which I suspect it might, or if there is something wrong with the stove since it was cleaned which I doubt but you never know."

I got this back: "I can give you a couple of bags of Corinth pellets from Maine.I sent a copy of your e-mail to Inferno."

Isn't Corinth a crappy pellet too?

I haven't heard anything great about them so far!

 

[Salty]

Telephone rang today. Was a manager at the Inferno plant. Must have gotten my tel number from the dealer. Expressed concern over my email to the dealer and wanted it to be known that they hadn't had any complaints of bad quality thus far. Said it's possible that I got pellets out of their first production run and they have since tweaked alot of stuff because of problems from the previous owners and that I could have some bad pellets. Was very concerned anyways, I gave him all the information I had and he recommended I take a ride down to their plant for a tour and he also said he's throw 15-20 bags in the van for me to run with and see how they were. I told him I wasn't interested in anything free and always happy to pay my way on anything and that a few bags to try in the stove again to see if they made a difference would be more than enough.

Still going to talk to the dealer and try his Corinth Pellets and see how those work in the stove too. Just figured I'd update you all on what's going on. It seemed that this guy was very concerned I was having a problem and wants to make it right. Doesn't want anyone to have anything bad to say about them which is understandable in any business. I'd be inclined to say if anyone else is having problems to contact these guys and let them know. I'll update more when I get the other pellets.

 

[imacman]

OK, I was back at the Price Chopper that had the ton of Infernos out front, and now they have 3 tons out front!

Yeah, I caved, and bought 2 bags to test burn. (they will make some $$ if they sell them all....at $5.99/bag. I didn't even ask about the ton price, if there is such a thing.

I guess I'll find out how good the new 10-CPM multi fuel handles them. Will report back after burning the 2 bags....supposed to get colder this weekend here.

 

[Salty]

Well I had the wife stop at the stove shop today and she got a bag of Corinth and a bag of Rocky Mountain. Cleaned all the Inferno pellets out of the stove, lit it and ran it down to nothing then added the Rocky Mountains to start.

DEFINITE difference, not only in flame height but heat output too. It's markedly noticeable 4' in front of the insert. Wife noticed the difference too.

First pic is the Inferno on setting #5 on the insert.

Second pic is the Rocky Mountain on #4 setting.

BIG difference. The second picture is how that insert ran all last winter even with the crappy 1 ton of Michigan pellets in it.

I'll post the same thing when I run the Corinth bag by the weekend.

 

[jtakeman]

Yes that is very noticable. The rockies are a pretty good pellet. The corinth are decent. I haven't tried them this year. But they were about average last year.

Have you ever burned softwood pellets in the past??

jay

 

[Salty]

No last year was our first year and it has been all hardwood.

 

[jtakeman]

No last year was our first year and it has been all hardwood.

You might get hooked on them softies. ;-)