For all of us pellet stove owners beware!!!!

[iceman]

I started a post about sifting pellets a little while ago.....
I have been noticing that there are a lot of fines in pellets ...... I am using NewEngland
I believe New england is supposed to be <.03 percent fines
well if you do <.03 of 40 it equals 1.2 lbs of fines per bag
I am not sure this is right but its what i keep getting ... point is make sure you check and clean your stoves!
some people don't pour in the last part of the bag.... so how do you use those pellets
I took a part my Harman Accentra and was shocked at how much "fine" accum. in the back of the stove where the slide plate is!! over a 2 month period!!
so please those with pellet stoves beware

 

[Xena]

Yeah I noticed the Bio Plus pellets have a lot
of dust or fines. One thing I can say though,
last year when I took apart our St Croix Prescott
there was hardly anything behind the plates and virtually
nothing built up inside the back and side covers of the stove.
I was surprised since we burn a corn mix, and I always
see people on the forums saying there was a bunch
of buildup in their stoves when they disassembled
for end of the year cleaning.

 

[Kenny1]

Err, math is not my strong point, but.....

<0.03% of 40lbs, would that not be 0.012lbs?

(0.03/100)*40=0.012

 

[iceman]

Err, math is not my strong point, but.....

<0.03% of 40lbs, would that not be 0.012lbs?

(0.03/100)*40=0.012

I did .o3 of 40 lbs not out of 100 because a bag is 40 lbs ?
but now you got me confused ... but fines are fines they are on the pellets in the bottom of the bag so i guess if you were to scrape it all and weigh it i can see it weighing 1lb
this is interesting
but try .03 * 40 = 1.2

 

[Corie]

Iceman, kenny is doing the math correctly.

Remember that a percentage sign next to a number always moves the decimal point two places to the left when being multiplied.

Example:

15% of 100 dollars is

.15*100 = $15.00


The 1.2 lbs you're getting corresponds to a product which is 3% fines, not .03%

 

[johnsopi]

3% of 40 would be 1.2 .03% of 40 = .012

Just like 10% of 100 =10 and .10% of 100 - .10

I think I'm right in that you move the decimal place.

 

[iceman]

Iceman, kenny is doing the math correctly.

Remember that a percentage sign next to a number always moves the decimal point two places to the left when being multiplied.

Example:

15% of 100 dollars is

.15*100 = $15.00


The 1.2 lbs you're getting corresponds to a product which is 3% fines, not .03%

iam confused because what you say makes sense
however i am using a clculator
i need to check the site again i believe they say .03 take that number and * by 40 gives you what you have
but hey i can be wrong but when i look at the fines all in my hopper and the bag 1lb out of 40 seems more likely than 1/10 of 1lb out 40lbs

 

[begreen]

Pellet Fuel Institute params for Fines Content: Not more than 0.5% weight; must pass through 1/8-inch screen.

I suspect New England Pellets are <.3% fines, but can't find the specs. Are you reading off the bag or can you point me to a webpage that has their product spec?

 

[budman]

I can tell all you pelet guy's one thing i know all my wood burn's compleaty ;-)

 

[drizler]

You want crud to deal with try burning corn. THats crud and lots of it, just like volcanic ash. It geta all into the back of my stove and you need to clean back there about once a month or the fire starts to burn weird to be sure. What you are seeing is completely normal. There has to be some debris thrown back there no matter what you are burning.

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

.03% = .0003
40 x .0003 = 0.012

the bags on the bottem of the pallet get crushed more, also rough handling makes more fines. The states are how they roll out of the factory, not how they come out of your bag at home. better pellets are pressed harder, and take more abuse. Some stove brands burn fines well some dont. Quad can burn pure sawdust, whitfield's cant. It all dependes on the stove.

 

[HarryBack]

I can tell all you pelet guy's one thing i know all my wood burn's compleaty ;-)

WOW! I need one of the stoves amd fuel that Budman is having! He doesnt even have any ash with his!

 

[iceman]

Pellet Fuel Institute params for Fines Content: Not more than 0.5% weight; must pass through 1/8-inch screen.

I suspect New England Pellets are <.3% fines, but can't find the specs. Are you reading off the bag or can you point me to a webpage that has their product spec?

there is a link somewhere here that i cannot find that lists each brand of pellets and what the fines are
guys really lets think..... if you clean your hopper pour a bag of pellets in when your hopper is empty it will be covered with fines..... if you look in you r bag the inside has a thin layer of fines..... if you touch a pellet you will probably get fine dust off of it.... if you shake your bag and then empty it 90% you will see a bunch of fines in the bottom .... put it all together and it will weigh somewhere around a pound if you pour your pellets into a clean garbage can/pail... then scoop them out with a bucket the buket will be covered in fines.. while it may not seem like much the math is there

what is ten percent?

10%
1.0
.10
.001
001.00

 

[GVA]

Oh...OK........ ;-P
New England doesn't have the specs on the bag, thier website has changed recently and I can't find the specs either. WWW.PELLETHEAT.COM
Although this year they have 2 different blends one the normal NE blend the writting is Brown on the bag, and now Canadian blend with green writting on the bag......
(I know it sounds like comparing whiskey........ american or canadian)
The canadian is shipped by railcar and bagged in Palmer Mass. so fines may settle out by the time bagging occurs.
What version of New England are you burning?

Also found out that the corn statement on the bag is the addition of either corn oil or corn starch (still unclear) to help cut down on the amount of carbon buildup in the burnpots etc. IMHO it seems to be working better than last years and the years before mix where the carbon almost became part of the cast iron flame guide above the burnpot. But that is another thread for another time

 

[iceman]

Oh...OK........ ;-P
New England doesn't have the specs on the bag, thier website has changed recently and I can't find the specs either. WWW.PELLETHEAT.COM
Although this year they have 2 different blends one the normal NE blend the writting is Brown on the bag, and now Canadian blend with green writting on the bag......
(I know it sounds like comparing whiskey........ american or canadian)
The canadian is shipped by railcar and bagged in Palmer Mass. so fines may settle out by the time bagging occurs.
What version of New England are you burning?

Also found out that the corn statement on the bag is the addition of either corn oil or corn starch (still unclear) to help cut down on the amount of carbon buildup in the burnpots etc. IMHO it seems to be working better than last years and the years before mix where the carbon almost became part of the cast iron flame guide above the burnpot. But that is another thread for another time

i think i got the crappy stuff because it doesn't say anything about corn on it
mine has brown writing on it
i think the candain has corn in it because that is the one packaged down the street from me in palmer( you' thiink it would be cheaper for us here)

 

[GVA]

Pellet Fuel Institute params for Fines Content: Not more than 0.5% weight; must pass through 1/8-inch screen.

I suspect New England Pellets are <.3% fines, but can't find the specs. Are you reading off the bag or can you point me to a webpage that has their product spec?

what is ten percent?

10%
1.0
.10
.001
001.00

.10
this would be a tenth of an inch..... or a tenth of a dollar as a better way of looking at it

 

[GVA]

Oh...OK........ ;-P
New England doesn't have the specs on the bag, thier website has changed recently and I can't find the specs either. WWW.PELLETHEAT.COM
Although this year they have 2 different blends one the normal NE blend the writting is Brown on the bag, and now Canadian blend with green writting on the bag......
(I know it sounds like comparing whiskey........ american or canadian)
The canadian is shipped by railcar and bagged in Palmer Mass. so fines may settle out by the time bagging occurs.
What version of New England are you burning?

Also found out that the corn statement on the bag is the addition of either corn oil or corn starch (still unclear) to help cut down on the amount of carbon buildup in the burnpots etc. IMHO it seems to be working better than last years and the years before mix where the carbon almost became part of the cast iron flame guide above the burnpot. But that is another thread for another time

i think i got the crappy stuff because it doesn't say anything about corn on it
mine has brown writing on it
i think the candain has corn in it because that is the one packaged down the street from me in palmer( you' thiink it would be cheaper for us here)

Mine doesn't say corn either but the roll of bags are printed far beyond production or bagging runs.
The NE pellets are brownish pellets while the Canadians are lighter in color.
while you are burning do you see sparks shooting up from the fire normaly.... as these are fines igniting and getting airborn.
all pellets have fines it just depends on how they are handled as to how many you get.... As an example my son was helping me unload the ton last week and as we restacked them he was just tossing them on the pallet this helps to generate those fines.