Finally . . . . . Okanagans

[defield]

Had two tons of Okanagans delivered yesterday ( 1 pallet, and 35 bags on another pallet) from Southern Maine Renewable Fuels, located in both Windham and Wells, Maine.

Nice folks and reasonable delivery charges.

Could have purchased the "new" Maine Woods for much less, but was looking for low ash and a hot clean burn and the stove seems to like the softwood pellets better than the hardwoods. Should work well with the left over LG Granules .

Ranger

 

[Harman-p68a]

did the Lgs work good for you I tried 6 bags here just lattelly not very cold weather and liked them but was wondering when we get into the cold stuff if they will burn faster than the hardwoods? I liked the fact at how clean the stove stayed though that was nice after the crappy maeder brothers i was burning

 

[defield]

Harman,

Re: ". . . . .was wondering when we get into the cold stuff if they will burn faster than the hardwoods?"

I wondered the very same thing.

Being a long time wood burner ( 40+ years with a fireplace, wood stoves, and a wood burning boiler ) I had a very hard time getting my head to accept the fact that with pellets it is the BTU value and quality of the pellet that is more important than whether the pellet is hard or soft wood.

The first year I burned all hardwood pellets, would not have even considered softwood. My uninformed perception was that soft wood pellets were low end JUNK.

After much reading and working with a person who was burning Okanagans ( which I had never heard of ), I gave the LG Granules a try last winter. I was mixing them with left over Maine Woods and Lignetics (about 2/3's to 3/4's LGs).

I pay close attention to the stove and could not really see that the soft wood pellets burned particularly faster, even looking at the mixtures in the burn pot.

I will say the Okanagans I tested were the hottest, lowest ash, and kept the glass the cleanest of any. Tested them in January.

Would be interested in hearing from others on that question.

Ranger

 

[grandfanda]

I live in So. Central Maine also and just finished my second year burning pellets. The first winter I burned LG's and loved them, though I had nothing to compare them to. From the horror stories I heard from people burning Maine hardwood pellets, I figured I had lucked out
Then I started burning Okanagans this past winter and the upgrade in quality was quite noticeable. The quality of the heat was much better than the LG's, with little or no ash, especially during the deep cold of Dc.-Jan. I finished off the shoulder season with hardwood pellets from Lowes (Somersets), and though there is more ash, they also throw a very satisfying heat output.
I would love to go back to Okies for next season and was hoping for an early buy somewhere, but BTU says that prices on them will not go down at all. This is understandable given the problems of freight from the Pacific Northwest, and I'm thankful that they're marketing them here at all.
I just spoke on the phone today with a dealer in Mechanic Falls(about 5 miles from me) and he has an agreement with Oharas in Rockland to distribute Barefoot pellets,which as far as I know rate right up there with Okies. The price is $259 aton, and though that seems high for an early buy, I belive that we in the Northeast can't expect super premium pellets to go much lower than this. I'll probably jump on this offer, though I'm all ears for a better deal.

 

[m159267]

BTU had mentioned in the recent past that Okanagans will / might be available in the mid-west (St. Louis area) this summer. Has anyone heard any more about this? I would love to see some high-end pellets available for us pellet-starved (choice wise) mid-westerners.