Last night, I opened my last bag of Okanagan Platinum that was leftover from last year. From this point on, it’s douglas fir until spring. I’m anxious to see how they do. Based on reports I’ve read, I’m expecting good things.
Reached the end of last year's leftovers.
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alternativeheat
Minister of Fire
I would expect the DF to run a little hotter than the platinums and burn a bit longer with very little ash. I think I have been as eager as you to hear/see how your stove does with them !! I have an admiration for that stove, charmed by your avatar photo I guess.
stratocaster1422
Member
I think I am going to split a pallet of DF with a friend this year just to see what all the hype is about 
The Grintch
Burning Hunk
velvetfoot
Minister of Fire
As long as they are kept dry, pellets will keep forever. All my pellets are stored in a mostly unused finished room downstairs The platinums were part of my stash that I bought way back in April, 2013.
velvetfoot
Minister of Fire
velvetfoot
Minister of Fire
Classy looking bag. On a side note, I just put a ton's worth of bags in the recycle bin: I called 'em up and they do recycle them.
On a side note, I just put a ton's worth of bags in the recycle bin: I called 'em up and they do recycle them.
Classy looking bag.
Good to know. Ive been throwing mine away. Ill see of our recycling will take them.
velvetfoot
Minister of Fire
There's a number "4" on the bag; that might help, but the lady who answered knew just what I was talking about.
fmsm
Minister of Fire
Tim,
I have been burning them all year (not that long). I find them to be plenty hot with very little ash. The one curious side effect is a slight smoky smell. I run CO2 detectors and they both read 0, I have checked for any signs of smoke (can't see any but both stoves are inserts). Funny thing is the smell is from both stoves, very faint, and both stoves never exhibited the smell last year. If you could let me know if you experience a slight smoky odor it would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance
I still have a hopper full of platinums plus 1/2 bag waiting. It will probably be Thursday before the DF works their way down to the burn pot.
I'm down to my last dozen bags of Crabbe softwoods leftover from last burn season. As cold as the weather guys are saying it's going to be in New England this week and into the Holiday, I think it's time to start tapping the LaCretes !
Its kind of weird. The DFs look almost purple to me. Its difficult to see in the photo.
Platinums on the left. DF on the right.
Platinums on the left. DF on the right.
alternativeheat
Minister of Fire
Are you ever going to burn these suckers or what ? You must be something else around Christmas time, the ultimate tease, LOL !!Its kind of weird. The DFs look almost purple to me. Its difficult to see in the photo.
Platinums on the left. DF on the right.
Ya, they have a purplish cast in them kind of grey looking as I remember from last year. Mine are in storage at the dealer so I can't really go look at the moment. I really am curious as to how they do in your St Croix though. Hey, that thing is miserly on fuel isn't it ? I'd probably be dumping in the second bag by now in my P61. Course this is a loose old 1800 sq ft house too.
I dumped the last of the platinums in the stove last night. This morning, for the first time, I dumped DF in to top it off. I expect them to work their way down to the burn pot sometime tonight....lol
I average a bag a day and heat an area roughly 1800sqft to 69 degrees. I also added 12" of R30 insulation to my attic last fall.
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alternativeheat
Minister of Fire
There is some old bagged insulation in my attic, it might be 2" thick. Very sparsely laid in up there and we had 12" blown in on top of it. But we now have some loose areas near the hatch going up there and the hatch itself is not insulated. That is a folding stair way my wife wanted up there, the old hatch we took out I had insulated myself years ago.. The day I installed that stairway I could tell the difference in how much the heat ran before and after. However I don't see any practical way to insulate it since the stairs fold all up onto the top of it.. I'm sure it would make a difference to have that insulated, it's one step better than having a 3x4 ft hole in your ceiling as is . But really it's our walls , they also have the loose bag stuff, looks like sawdust inside of them. Very thin bags. It's not much better than nothing at all really. Heating this house changes by wind direction more so than outdoor Temperature. In NE to NW winds it's easier to heat at 20 deg out than it is at 38 deg in a S- SE wind. SW is someplace in between. The SE corner is the furthest from the stove. But that room extension is highly insulated new construction. Really that room needs it's own heat source in a SE wind non the less. Oh well, we are used to it but eats a few more pellets. We burn a 1/2 to a full bag a day more than you on average by the sounds of it but we keep it a lot warmer too, so guess I can't compare stoves so well ! It's 74 in here right now, 22 outside with a brisk NW wind.
I have folding attic stairs as well. I fashioned a box out of some rigid foam insulation that fits over the attic opening which really helps cut down on heat loss.
I'll post a picture this evening when I get home.
I'll post a picture this evening when I get home.
alternativeheat
Minister of Fire
Here are the promised photos.
My attic stairs.
A close up of the underside of the box,
Heres a view of the weather stripping along the bottom edge.
Box top view.
My attic stairs.
A close up of the underside of the box,
Heres a view of the weather stripping along the bottom edge.
Box top view.
thundercracker
New Member
nice looking box (for the attic) for you massholes (i'm one), if you haven't done an energy audit via massave.com, go ahead and schedule it. its a free audit (well you've paid through your taxes) and they will come out and make some minor improvements (swap out your incandescent bulbs for CFL, and give you ONE LED bulb, add some weatherstripping to doors/windows as necessary, give you some efficient power strip outlets, etc.) and suggestions for greater efficiency in your home. They suggested that I increase my attic insulation and add that attic box (like you have) and then they gave me some companies they work with to do the work. Best of all the program subsidized 80% of the cost, so what would've cost me $1200, only cost me $240 after the subsidy, and i didnt have to rent the insulation blower, lug it home nor do the work!
I use my attic for storage. If I let them blow in insulation, I lose all that storage. I raised the floor in the attic and put down unfaced roll insulation perpendicular to the insulation that was already there. I now have alot more insulation and my attic storage.
alternativeheat
Minister of Fire
Nice Tim, thanks ! Doable, I also saw some online where guys made a ply box and insulated around the outside of the box with R30 or more. I happen to have some R30 in the shed. Maybe enough to do this and stuff some in my thin spots up there. i know I'm losing heat through that hatch, it's noticeable in the bathroom to which the hatch is right above the bathroom door. So I have R30 and no ply and I have no foam at the moment. And my trailer is full of pellets. Got to think this one out. If I get ply and have them rough cut it to size it will fit in my SUV.Here are the promised photos.
My attic stairs.
A close up of the underside of the box,
Heres a view of the weather stripping along the bottom edge.
Box top view.
Ranger72
Minister of Fire
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