Wood pellet mixture

[Lineman30]

I was wondering what the experts thought of a fuel mixture of 60% of hardwood and 40% pecan shells. How will it burn? Hot or not? I'm new to the form but having been burning 3 years on a quadra fire classic bay 1200. Have used ozark and natures resource. Wasn't to impresses with nature resource ozark was alright. I can get a ton of pellets for $165 and they are called ko-zee hardwood pellets .

 

[vvvv]

i'd worry about shells plugging the auger but love the price

 

[Lineman30]

I believe it is going to be pressed into the pellet

 

[vvvv]

http://ko-zee.com/

 

[gbreda]

Hi Lineman, welcome to the forum.

I have no clue about shell burning, but are you talking about mixing them yourself? Ko-Zee website is almost non existant and does not mention shell mix, so I assume you are mixing yourself.

If it is a new start up, be carefull. Rule of thumb around the forum is to try a few bags before buying a ton. 165/ton is a great price, but not worth it if they dont burn well.

Good Luck !

geno

 

[jtakeman]

I believe it is going to be pressed into the pellet

From what a member here has said. The Quads have issues with the nut shells. But being they are pelletized you should be fine. Nut shells don't have the high BTU value of wood fiber. They will not burn as hot as a 100% wood pellet. But they should produce decent heat at the 60/40 ratio. You should expect a higher ash content as well! Probably around 1.2% at best!

Like G says, Best to try some first. You don't wanna get stuck with a lemon!

What are good pellets going for in you area?

You must ask yourself is the savings going to be worth the extra time in stove cleanings too! I would like to try some someday, But I doubt I will see them locally anytime soon.

 

[Lineman30]

Hey thanks, i personally emailed and asked what they used and they said 60% hardwood and 40% pecan shells. That's in a 40# bag. Just got an email and they infomed me that they are pelletized and they have been around 2 yrs.

 

[smwilliamson]

I can tell you that they are not getting the shells from the Planters factory. I buy the cans of Fancy Mixed Nuts all the time and there is not but 6 pecan halves per can.

 

[Lineman30]

I recently called ko-zee hardwood and talked to them about their product. He had alot if info and was really informative. They have been around for 2 seasons and they only sell direct. He sends the pellets to a lab and the ash content is 1%. He told me the pecan shells burn hot because of the oil from the shells. They crack and shells pecans there so that where they get the shells from. Actually, they are a feed producer producing feed pellets for cattle etc. During the summer they make wood pellets and in the winter feed. They have a seperate pellet unit just for wood pellets. He has customors from the Oklahoma city area to texas to Arkansas. So, you can say I'm curious about this product. All I can get around here is ozark hardwood pellets (OHP) heat resource(didn't care for) and pennington and Southern Indiana hardwood. I wish I could get a variaty as you do up north. Prices aren't bad around here I can get ozark hardwood for $180.

 

[imacman]

.....He sends the pellets to a lab and the ash content is 1%. He told me the pecan shells burn hot because of the oil from the shells.....

Hmmmm.....brand me somewhat skeptical.

The worst ash % for pellets, according to Jay Takeman's tests, have been Infernos, ACP, and Lake Region pellets.....they are all around .9-1% ash....the worst of the worst. It's hard to believe something that has 40% of it's content as nut shells, which are known to be high in ash content, would only be 1% also.

Also, claiming that they burn "hot" is great, but compared to what? Since they said they sent the pellets to a "lab" for testing, do you know what their "claimed" BTU output is? Did they tell you where you could look at the "lab" test results?

 

[Lineman30]

I recently received this email from Ko-zee hardwood pellets and this is there current lab results.

We have received the results of our test back from the lab.
Ash content .14%
BTU 8300
We screen the pellets just before they go in the bag, so with nomal
handling there should not be any fines.
Thank you

 

[Lineman30]

That's what I was thinking but wasn't going to question it.

 

[jtakeman]

1.4% sounds more logical. I have not seen anything burn at .14%. Not from this planet anyway!