okies......lots of ash in this batch

[Jack Morrissey]

Picked up a couple of bags of Vermont wood pellets and thought the wife had cleaned the stove (yea right) hardly any ash

 

[HEMI]

Picked up a couple of bags of Vermont wood pellets and thought the wife had cleaned the stove (yea right) hardly any ash

hows the heat output on those Vermonts?

 

[jtakeman]

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/60581/P132/#724898

 

[smilejamaica]

i have burned 10 bags this year .great heat about half the ash compared to my new england pellets . excellent pellet A+++++

 

[Jack Morrissey]

Picked up a couple of bags of Vermont wood pellets and thought the wife had cleaned the stove (yea right) hardly any ash

hows the heat output on those Vermonts?

Havent gotten around to taking the temp yet, but seems pretty good!

 

[Pellet-King]

Burning oakies and hamers yesterday, very low ash, natures heat my $150 specials i bought last fall fill the stove with ash in no time, not much in there now.

 

[mascoma]

BTU make sure you add this comment about okies to your signature line from above post...

"I am unimpressed with the Okies… more ash than I expected and talk about dusty, sheesh!"

 

[mascoma]

while everyone is bitching about dusty pellets. Picked up few bags of Energex Soft wood from dealer last week... It was like I was working in a saw mill, fines everywhere, in the house, the wood shed, they car, the stove, beside the stove. They burned ok and where priced ok but I would not bother with the hassle of cleaning up sawdust all the time.

 

[Doocrew]

while everyone is bitching about dusty pellets. Picked up few bags of Energex Soft wood from dealer last week... It was like I was working in a saw mill, fines everywhere, in the house, the wood shed, they car, the stove, beside the stove. They burned ok and where priced ok but I would not bother with the hassle of cleaning up sawdust all the time.

I would add the same comment about the cleanfire pacifics I got this year. The wife is complaining to beat the band about the dust everywhere near the stove. I also had the same issue a few years ago with some LG's. The Greene Team I burned last year were perfect. No dust and maybe less than a tablespoon of fines in the bottom of the bag. Call me crazy, but dust seems to be a consistent problem with softwoods, at least from what I have experienced. I dont mind the dust as long as it is a good burning pellet.

 

[mpcm]

I just starter burning my first bags of okies. The heat output is both noticeable in the room and on the thermometer on the wall. I don't use a thermometer connected to the stove, so the feed rate is the same. Given the snow and the serious winds, this was a welcomed change over. Just my immediate experiences, will report back about the ash levels after a couple bags.

 

[morsnow]

good heat, dustiest pellet Ive ever had. Its the fine dust that gets everywhere when you pour them in the hopper. Ill bet its because they are shipped so far. Buy local, and remember all that diesel burned geting them okies all the way across the continent.

 

[bosco]

We bought Okies for the first time this year and we love them! They are a bit dusty, but seeing that I don't have to shut the stove down constantly due to clinkers, I don't mind. They burn clean and hot and we are really happy. Picked up another ton last week.

 

[newf lover]

I've tried a large number of the high quality pellets; they're all dusty! I think it's the nature of the beast. As long as they burn hot and don't produce a ridiculous amount of ash, I'm not going to get excited about dust.

 

[tinkabranc]

I been burning softwoods for some years and never had a reason to "groan" about them nor do I now.

Yeah, some of my bags are loaded with fines this year but it usually happens when they
get handled too much. Doubt this is unique to softwoods.

I am not really concerned tho as I just dump em into the hopper with the pellets anyway.

 

[Havlat24]

BTU is silenced!!, Burned a old clear bag of Okies yesterday, today I'm on a bag of Hamer's and less dust good heat, going to Agway this friday for a ton of AGGIES!!

Whenever we hear about someone not totally happy with the quality of our pellets, trust me, we take notice. That is something we take very seriously and I believe our QC is second to none.

First off, let me assure you, there is NO bark in our any of our fibre, never has been, never will be. ALL of our fibre comes from planner shavings. The fibre source is from a board mill (and has been for over 10 years) so ALL bark is long removed from the process before they get to the shavings and before they arrive at our yard.

Here is just some of the QC that goes into making an Okanagan pellet:

1. Okanagan Pellets Company (OPC) controls all of the inbound fibre to the presses by state of the art moisture meters and a sophisticated PLC program that cannot be modified.
2. The moisture meters are checked for accuracy and calibrated every two months.
3. The PLC program will automatically detect out of spec M/C and divert the fibre away from the in-feed system.
4. The dryer outbound M/C is controlled by the PLC program and another state of the art moisture meter, it automatically adjust every 15 minutes to accommodate fluxuations in incoming fibre.
5. The pellets themselves are tested every 6 hours for M/C and recorded on a daily QC report.
6. The Hamer performance is monitored hourly.
7. The overall pellet length is checked hourly.
8. The overall pellet color is checked hourly.
9. The screening systems are checked every two hours and cleaned three times a day.

As you can see we spend a great deal of effort on QC and take great pride in it. We make every effort to produce a pristine pellet at the plant and when it leaves the plant the packaging, pellet quality and overall appearance is exceptional or it simply doesn’t leave the plant.

I’m not saying that we are perfect, or issues don’t arise from time to time, but as anyone that has been on this forum knows, these pellets are some the best available, specifically in the New England market over others that have been available. Numerous testing’s having proven this out and I have literally dozens of pages of testimonials to back this up.
There is nothing being done differently that I am aware of that would alter these results, but we can’t control how dealers handle, store, deliver once they land in their yard. If a few bags get wet or are exposed to moisture…..etc, etc, etc…….and no this isn’t an excuse, just the way it is.

Bottom-line…….If you are not happy with the way our pellets burn …..We want to know about it and within reason, will replace or give the dealer credit for any product you aren’t happy with….We stand behind our product. Now, don’t tell me you want a refund after you have burned 5 tons of our product and you think it isn’t up to par….that won’t fly…….but if you think you do have a problem, let me know and we will do what is right………period.

A clean stove will work better than a dirty one. Moisture is a pellet's worse enemy. Pellets bought last year and stored properly will burn just as well as ones bought last week. To maximize your results, you might have to play with some setting, adjust air flow and auger speed and it might take some tweaking, especially if you are just switching from another brand of pellets….but if all that has been done and there is still a problem, I do want to know about it…….

Well if your taking your fibre from a planer mill and your saying your fibre is 100% bark free I call BS.... I work in the industry and every debarker I have seen doesn't totally clean the log of bark..especially in the winter. Those outside boards that go through the planer with bark on them and get planed will put bark into your fibre... Especially when that planer runs a black/low grade run.

I'm familiar with the moisture meters and drying technology you speak of... they are great, except they are feedback systems, and will only adjust drying controls after wet product has left the dryer.... so its possible wet material will find its way into the mix in the time between the system detects wet material and the adjustments are made. I draw this from years of QC experience drying veneer for plywood manufacturing.

The moisture meters you use are probably self calibrating, so I don't know why you would calibrate them every 2 months....

Furthermore the moisture range of the shavings coming from a planer can be anywhere from 12-22+ %... its not uncommon for mills to run a huge amount of stock through a planer that is too wet....


You seem to stand by your product which is commendable... but I managed/developed the QC Program in my mill..and I can list a multitude of QC checks that should be getting done.... when push comes to shove the mill will run to meet production quota's... Even if it means getting a supervisor to increase the inbound moisture content of the fibre.....

 

[johnnycomelately]

If knowledge were dollars, there would be no reseccion anywhere in this thread!

 

[smoke show]

If knowledge were dollars, there would be no reseccion anywhere in this thread!

now thats quoteable right there. :lol: :bug:

 

[Havlat24]

BTU....

Finest boards anywhere.... Lumber is graded to NLGA grade rules...which means it is manufactured and cut from the sawmill with wane... (wane = bark) The boards are manufactured larger then the finished size....so when they go through the planer.... the surfaces on the boards that have wane (bark) are also sized down so that is how bark gets into your shavings ... A #2 board (most mills produce this...) can have half the board waned out..... The trimming that takes place happens after the planer....

Kiln Dried = 19% moisture content or less.... That is the standard to which mills dry their lumber.. Species such as Balsam fir which are dried with spruce/pine/fir cannot be dried to below 19% using a spruce/pine drying schedule...so these wets get planed and identified after the planer with a moisture meter.....


Your a salesperson...and it shows.... Im a 11 year QC guy who has produced over 2 billion feet of lumber. Your know not what you speak.


Im going to print this out so the QC department here can get a good laugh though.. thanks.

 

[geek]

for whatever reason i've noticed my okies are a little bit inconsistent, some bags burn just great while others burn with lot of ash, may be the batch i've got.

 

[Pellet-King]

Maybe there supply isn't as good as it used to be, i have a few bag's of Okies i bought last yr, the heat on lower levels isnt as good as Hamer's I tried, dont know cause there "old", stored in a dry garage but humidity can be a factor, as the big box lower there prices the big names are sufferin!!
Okanagan has most likely been around a long time they i'm sure used to sell them for $140 or less

 

[jtakeman]

Oil prices are rising and pellet prices holding somewhat steady. Although the stackes are still kind of high I do see more peeps switching off the oil and firing back up there stoves. This spring buy should be interresting, With pellets sales picking up and if oil climbs more? Wanna bet the prices of pellets start to climb too!

I'm gonna top off again here shortly just in case!

 

[newf lover]

I was thinking the same thing; have room in my basement. The problem is, I don't have a truck, so it's not very cost effective to just have 2 tons delivered.

 

[johnnycomelately]

BTU....

Finest boards anywhere....


Your a salesperson...and it shows.... Im a 11 year QC guy who has produced over 2 billion feet of lumber. Your know not what you speak.


Im going to print this out so the QC department here can get a good laugh though.. thanks.

I only come here looking for answers and I find myself watching school kids argue. Okies are a decent pellet so who flippin cares if Havlat's mill does thier lumber differently than another mill. This is about pellets in general, not your wood.

 

[Havlat24]

BTU....

Finest boards anywhere....


Your a salesperson...and it shows.... Im a 11 year QC guy who has produced over 2 billion feet of lumber. Your know not what you speak.


Im going to print this out so the QC department here can get a good laugh though.. thanks.

I only come here looking for answers and I find myself watching school kids argue. Okies are a decent pellet so who flippin cares if Havlat's mill does thier lumber differently than another mill. This is about pellets in general, not your wood.

They are good pellets..but the used car salesperson drivel about something he has no clue about is what gets me. The pellets can stand on their own.... without claims that they come from a mill that produces the finest boards in the world...with no bark..and perfect kiln drying...... What's next.... their mill is run totally on solar power...and they are switching to biodegradable sunchip bags?

 

[The Radiator]

Just started getting into the half ton of okie's I have. These are one of the dustiest pellets I have burnt. The wife has already started with the comments. Funny odor to them too. They burn good though, ash so far hasn't been an issue, just the dust. Oh well, I'll keep dumping them in the hopper.