Stove Chow - Wow!

[EarthStove]

Just picked up two bags of stove chow at HD. Cheap stuff for about 3 something a bag.

I have been running Hamer's Hot Ones all winter (almost 2 tons through the stove). Generally been impressed with them.

I have about two hours into the first bag of stove chow and all I can say about the heat output is WOW. These seem to be putting out more heat than the hamer's have all winter. To be honest I am very surprised by this - This is one of the coldest nights so far this winter too.

I hope my stove behaves with them and the ash is manageable....I will have to pick up a ton if that's the case.

 

[Tailrace]

That's good to hear. They're still $187 a ton at the local Home Depot....I'm going to get me a ton within the next week or so...that should get me through till spring :cheese:

 

[Pellet-King]

-1° here as i type, cant believe how warm it is in my old house!!, it's 4am and woke up to check the pellet's, other night by 5am ran out!
They do burn hot but go thru alot cause there mostly short pellet's
Back to bed!

 

[HEMI]

i bought some stove chow myself, i had some bags that were dark colored pellets that burned hot, and some bags that were light colored (almost like a softwood) and were terrible, not sure why they would differ that much from bag to bag but there clearly was a difference

 

[ChrisWNY]

Yeah, it's fairly common to have a bit of variability within the same brand of pellets, one bag might burn dirtier or cleaner than another. The Stove Chows do seem to burn consistently hot with minimal ash, and at $3.70 per bag at Home Depot, they're a good deal especially when other pellet vendors are asking nearly $6 per bag for other brands that don't burn as well as the Stove Chows.

 

[EarthStove]

For once this entire season our master bedroom was HOT when I woke up this morning. Most mornings I have had to make a mad dash for the warmer part of the house when I woke up! As a matter of fact, I can't remember the house EVER being this hot - burning anything including the lignetics and hamers.

I had pellet build up on the right side of burn pot but I had just put the burn pot back in and it may not have been centered correctly so I am not ready to give up on these pellets. The heat output is incredible.

 

[Pellet-King]

Unless i see a pic, mine appear darker than say okies which are really light colored, how light are they compared too?

 

[HEMI]

Unless i see a pic, mine appear darker than say okies which are really light colored, how light are they compared too?

the bags that were light were the color of okies exactly

 

[RiddleMasterMorgon]

STove CHow did no good to me. They were within the cheap range with low heat output, far below Barefoots. Strange, wondering if brands do put out their pellets in other vondors bag every here and then - over production going into a different sales channel, anyone ever heard of that ?

 

[Countryboymo]

So who else do you bag for BTU... you can tell me and I won't say a word.

ô¿ô
~

 

[HEMI]

Unless i see a pic, mine appear darker than say okies which are really light colored, how light are they compared too?

the bags that were light were the color of okies exactly

Let me smash any rumors before they get started......We don't bag for Stove Chow......Stove Chow is not Okies in another bag...... :cheese:

its just a color comparison relax

 

[katwillny]

I have about 4 tons of the Chows from Home Depot and I am very happy with them. My Breckwell burns them nicely. I burnt about 10 bags of the Hammers from Tractor Supply and I found that the ash contend was high and it would cake on the burn pot. Chows are the way to go and at 187 a ton its probably the deal of the year. At least for me.

 

[EarthStove]

Still WOW.

We bought a ton today at HD for 187.... Just cleaned the stove and we are pushing 85-88f in the family room where the stove is. The upstairs is in the low to mid 70s and it's between 5 and 10 degrees outside.

The only problem with these pellets is I see more unburned pellets in the burn pot on high. I am still using a spacer in the auger so we are outputting at around 35 to 40kbtu so these pellets can still deliver more heat from our stove.

 

[imacman]

.....The only problem with these pellets is I see more unburned pellets in the burn pot on high......

Usually, as you increase the amount of pellets going in, you have to increase the burn air a little....can you do that on that stove? Is there a damper, or controls that can increase it a little?

 

[EarthStove]

I got the draft fan on full blast and the damper over the blower fan (have to take apart the stoves back to get to it which is not an easy task) is completely open. Only thing I could do is throw in a newer, higher CFM blower at this point.

 

[Pellet-King]

My buddy @work bought 12 bag's that were noticable darker than mine, in the upper left corner near the tear area you'll see possibly a "born on date", might be just when the bag was printed but my lighter ones that burn hot are made in 06-01-10, the darker ones were made 10-15-10 and put out less heat so he claims, anyone with the crappy lightest ones have the date?

 

[HEMI]

My buddy @work bought 12 bag's that were noticable darker than mine, in the upper left corner near the tear area you'll see possibly a "born on date", might be just when the bag was printed but my lighter ones that burn hot are made in 06-01-10, the darker ones were made 10-15-10 and put out less heat so he claims, anyone with the crappy lightest ones have the date?

6/01/10.....i used them last night to see how well they would do with the 0 degree weather we had and i had to put the temp dial(running stove mode) on 6 and my first floor (open layout) only go to 68, im gonna try the darker pellet tonight to compare, but, i feel these pellets are good for temps 25 and above

 

[Pellet-King]

Also Enfield ct HD no ZERO pellet's left, saw outside they had maybe 6-8 tons with someone's name on them., also getting out the grill's and lawn tractor's in the garden center, heated side.
Now it's time for B$T$U to sell some Okies!!

 

[odlaw]

Real good heat output for me but they leave big clinkers in my pot that needs to be scraped every twelve hours to keep air flow moving. $3.87 a bag in Auburn, NY

 

[Pellet-King]

Real good heat output for me but they leave big clinkers in my pot that needs to be scraped every twelve hours to keep air flow moving. $3.87 a bag in Auburn, NY

Open up you damper?

 

[Harman Lover 007]

My buddy @work bought 12 bag's that were noticable darker than mine, in the upper left corner near the tear area you'll see possibly a "born on date", might be just when the bag was printed but my lighter ones that burn hot are made in 06-01-10, the darker ones were made 10-15-10 and put out less heat so he claims, anyone with the crappy lightest ones have the date?

6/01/10.....i used them last night to see how well they would do with the 0 degree weather we had and i had to put the temp dial(running stove mode) on 6 and my first floor (open layout) only go to 68, im gonna try the darker pellet tonight to compare, but, i feel these pellets are good for temps 25 and above

Mine are 07/13/10 dated. Purchased about 5 weeks apart all have the same date and all appear to be darker. There is no question they burn better for me than this years run of NEWP(Jaffrey, NH).

 

[jtakeman]

I was watching the news on the sofa, When the wifey yelled from the kitchen. Dang faucet sprung a leak. Headed down to Lowes for some parts(had the $25 off coupon just in case). Wife decide new faucet with the fancy new head that pulls out. OK. But I better check to see what they have for pellets while we are here(like she didn't know that wasn't coming). They had 2 Stove Chow and 2 Maine Choice. I asked the guy in the area and he said thats it for this season. Well that sealed the deal.

Get all checked out and while they were loading I asked the manager what was the deal on no more pellets. He stated they do have more coming in but unsure of the brand. But there only expecting 2 more truckloads and thats that for the season. I'll cry if they get Greene Teams or Somersets, But most likely its SC, Maine Choice or Pres to Logs. I also asked the manager about how much they were selling pellets, He said 10 tons per week easy. Mostly by the bag though.

I only need 1/2 to 1 more ton to finish next seasons stash stuffing. But like the wifey said, I am never ever really done pellet hunting! There's always 2012-2013 stash? Right. hehe!

On the dates.
Test samples were 3-28-10
1ST ton were 9-5-10
2ND ton are 10-15-10

All 3 light in color. 1ST ton burn nice, I'll let you know on the second ton. Soon as I burn some.

 

[EarthStove]

After running for about 14 hours our ash drawer was filled with mostly partially burned pellets and the fire pot started to back up because it was already full. I had to dump it. Seems like a waste of a lot of fuel.

I guess that these pellets need less flow or more air or both. I gotta figure out if I can get more air flow out of my stove some how. Hamers did not do this...Just goes to show that every pellet is different and how the burn is different too.

The house was toasty warm this morning though.