From Propellets to Appalachian in a Serenity

[mudeprived]

Hey guys I wanted to get some advice and suggestions on adjusting the stove for the new bags of pellets. I been burning Propellets from TSC the past couple months and get the usual deep(alot) fine ash. Today I cleaned out the hopper and put a full bag of Appalachian Pellets and started her up. Usually the stove warms up the living room to 88 degrees (stove temp) on level 1 rather quickly but it's been a few hours now and the Appalachian pellets are taking longer than usual. It's only 80 degrees. I also noticed that large chunks of ash/clinkers pop out all over the place when new pellets are dropped in, sort of like there's too much air pushing them out of the pot before they are fully burnt. I did not experience this with the ProPellets.

What kind of adjustments should I try to adapt the stove to these new pellets?

Agway has a full ton at $220 and I wanted to try a couple bags before pulling the trigger.


Thanks!

 

[jmb78blue]

I don't mess with the Appalachian any more. I bought a ton in Jan and over half of the bags were no good. My dealer told me that they 'AWP" have been have MANY issue with their bagging process. They refunded me for the bad bags, and I went to Barefoots. I also emailed AWP and reported this issue to them but I am still waiting on a response. So that may tell you a little about the company. What really P**** me off is that I had to go through every bag and see what was good and what was bad. Then I store my pellets in my basement, So I had to carry 26 open bags back up my basement steps then load back into the truck and repeat the whole process.

Stick with the pellets that work best for you and your stove. And on a side note I have to pay about $25 more a ton for the barefoots and drive about 20 minutes farther, but I wont get stuck like that AGAIN.

 

[Lake Girl]

Suspect an adjustment down for the combustion blower. If you make adjustments, write down what they are and allow at least 1/2 hour or better to see how burn changes. Written record allows you to retrace your steps...

Hopefully the Serenity folks will pipe in soon...

 

[mudeprived]

Thanks for the warning about the Appalachian pellets.

What are signs that the pellets are bad from looking in the bag? They look pretty much the same as the ProPellets except a little more dust at the bottom.

I lowered the exhaust blower from 90 to 85 (85 is lowest) and lowered the blower motor to 100 to 95. We'll see if that makes any difference.

 

[mudeprived]

Well the new settings seemed to stop the clinker issue and it's burning normally but not hot enough. I guess these pellets just don't burn as hot as the ProPellets. It's at 77 degrees after burning an hour and half and it's usually 88 by now and it's way warmer outside than usual. I always leave the living room window cracked open but it's been closed since start up.

The rest of the house is 64-ish when it's usually 72.

I guess I'll burn the remaining 4 bags and head to TSC and get some more Propellets.

 

[Deezl Smoke]

Well the new settings seemed to stop the clinker issue and it's burning normally but not hot enough. I guess these pellets just don't burn as hot as the ProPellets. It's at 77 degrees after burning an hour and half and it's usually 88 by now and it's way warmer outside than usual. I always leave the living room window cracked open but it's been closed since start up.

The rest of the house is 64-ish when it's usually 72.

I guess I'll burn the remaining 4 bags and head to TSC and get some more Propellets.

You got it. Some pellets, rather some pellets at certain times of the year, do not have the btu per pound of others. But for the burning adjustments, really only the exhaust blower settings and inlet gate need to be changed. The blower settings are only for getting the heat away from the stove. The blower does not effect the burn. You can try adjusting the inlet air gate if are in this situation again, where you might need the exhaust blower setting higher up in voltage for chimney design, but the pellets jump out of the pot. (I may be wrong, but you have a rather clean and direct chimney IIRC?)

Before you give up completely on the new pellets, see how much ash they make and check the exhaust pipe at the back of the stove to see how warm it is compared to the propellets. Perhaps you can squeeze a bit more out of the new ones with some experimenting and save some money. Does it say on the bag of either one what the hard or soft wood percentage is? Or can you find that info? I burn 100% soft wood (douglas fir) and so far, really like them. But I will admit that every now and then, I get a bag that though it looks perfect and iss in the middle of the pallet, it does not put out the heat like it should. Understanding how the pellets are made, I can see that happening in all brands, and simply work with it and move on.

BTW, sorry I did not see this thread before. But the stove name was at the end of the title and I did not see it until now. I guess I need to make an effort to read the whole title of threads rather than scan quickly.

 

[bags]

I've burned Pro Pellets and liked them. They were similar to Somersets and Greenways. All good pellets. I know nothing about the Appalachians. never even heard of them.

As mentioned stick with what you know gives you good results. Sometimes that is worth spending a few extra bucks as mentioned.

 

[mudeprived]

You got it. Some pellets, rather some pellets at certain times of the year, do not have the btu per pound of others. But for the burning adjustments, really only the exhaust blower settings and inlet gate need to be changed. The blower settings are only for getting the heat away from the stove. The blower does not effect the burn. You can try adjusting the inlet air gate if are in this situation again, where you might need the exhaust blower setting higher up in voltage for chimney design, but the pellets jump out of the pot. (I may be wrong, but you have a rather clean and direct chimney IIRC?)

Before you give up completely on the new pellets, see how much ash they make and check the exhaust pipe at the back of the stove to see how warm it is compared to the propellets. Perhaps you can squeeze a bit more out of the new ones with some experimenting and save some money. Does it say on the bag of either one what the hard or soft wood percentage is? Or can you find that info? I burn 100% soft wood (douglas fir) and so far, really like them. But I will admit that every now and then, I get a bag that though it looks perfect and iss in the middle of the pallet, it does not put out the heat like it should. Understanding how the pellets are made, I can see that happening in all brands, and simply work with it and move on.

BTW, sorry I did not see this thread before. But the stove name was at the end of the title and I did not see it until now. I guess I need to make an effort to read the whole title of threads rather than scan quickly.

I have no more adjustment left in the air inlet gate unless I remove the screw that prevents it from closing any further. Yes I have a clean chimney which I just installed before winter.

I burnt 80% of a bag last night and the ash is actually very low compared to the ProPellets. There were no clinkers or large chunks of ash being blown out. It may have been that I got a good bag that time OR my settings were off on the initial bag. It was heating at 83 degrees and the rest of the house was 75 which are the normal temps when using ProPellets. I'm hoping that the Propellet's settings were the cause for the bad burn on the 1st bag. I just loaded bag #3 with last night's settings and hoping for a good burn again.

Here's the bag info:

Grade: Premium
Material: 100% Hardwood
Ash: 1% or less
Fines: Less than .5%
Sodium: Less than 300 PPM

 

[mudeprived]

I've burned Pro Pellets and liked them. They were similar to Somersets and Greenways. All good pellets. I know nothing about the Appalachians. never even heard of them.

As mentioned stick with what you know gives you good results. Sometimes that is worth spending a few extra bucks as mentioned.

I like ProPellets too but they create alot of ash.

This is my first stove so I wanted to shop around and see what stores are offering around here. So far my options are Agway, TSC, Home Depot, Buck's Fireplace, and Lowe's.

Agway sells Appalachian at $220 a ton
TSC Sells ProPellets at $265 a ton
Home Depot ?
Bucks ? They told me they sell 100% Hardwood with no bark but did not mention the name. They are a fireplace/pellet stove store so they should have good stuff.
Lowes ?

 

[bags]

I like ProPellets too but they create alot of ash.

This is my first stove so I wanted to shop around and see what stores are offering around here. So far my options are Agway, TSC, Home Depot, Buck's Fireplace, and Lowe's.

Agway sells Appalachian at $220 a ton
TSC Sells ProPellets at $265 a ton
Home Depot ?
Bucks ? They told me they sell 100% Hardwood with no bark but did not mention the name. They are a fireplace/pellet stove store so they should have good stuff.
Lowes ?

Yes, definitely try different pellets out so you get an idea as to what is what. You can also look here for reviews on different brands. It's good to get an idea of what is decent so then you can shop for pricing or there is always the issue of will said brand be available next year. Different stores do not always get in the same brands each year. TSC is a crap shoot as to what they will get each year.

Here they have had junk pellets for the last three years and this year they've had Somersets for $199 per ton out the door. Good pellets for a good price. I'd like to find some softwood pellets to see what all the rave is about. They are nowhere to be found around here at all. Not even a couple of hours away.

 

[Deezl Smoke]

I have no more adjustment left in the air inlet gate unless I remove the screw that prevents it from closing any further. Yes I have a clean chimney which I just installed before winter.

I burnt 80% of a bag last night and the ash is actually very low compared to the ProPellets. There were no clinkers or large chunks of ash being blown out. It may have been that I got a good bag that time OR my settings were off on the initial bag. It was heating at 83 degrees and the rest of the house was 75 which are the normal temps when using ProPellets. I'm hoping that the Propellet's settings were the cause for the bad burn on the 1st bag. I just loaded bag #3 with last night's settings and hoping for a good burn again.

Here's the bag info:

Grade: Premium
Material: 100% Hardwood
Ash: 1% or less
Fines: Less than .5%
Sodium: Less than 300 PPM

Interesting. The analysis looks great and they actually put it on the bag. I like that. Too many pellet makers dont put any info on their bag or site.

If you can get the heat you want out of a less expensive pellet by making a few adjustments, do so in my opinion. But now that you have tried a new pellet and seem to have made it work, dont be afraid to try another one when you get the chance if they come on sale. The Serenity so far seems to be able to work with about any pellet if the chimney and OAK is short and simple.

 

[rich2500]

I like ProPellets too but they create alot of ash.

This is my first stove so I wanted to shop around and see what stores are offering around here. So far my options are Agway, TSC, Home Depot, Buck's Fireplace, and Lowe's.

Agway sells Appalachian at $220 a ton
TSC Sells ProPellets at $265 a ton
Home Depot ?
Bucks ? They told me they sell 100% Hardwood with no bark but did not mention the name. They are a fireplace/pellet stove store so they should have good stuff.
Lowes ?

Does Agway only sell Appalachian, Usually they have their own brand which are Hamers and they are a good pellet.

 

[mudeprived]

Does Agway only sell Appalachian, Usually they have their own brand which are Hamers and they are a good pellet.

I asked what kind they had and if I could see em and all they brought out were the Appalachians. I will ask when I go back for more.

Looks like the pellets are burning great. It's 82 in the living room and 75 in the rest of the house. What I noticed first thing this morning was there was hardly any ash. By morning the window is ashed up and there are piles of ash behind the burn pot and side panels but it's pretty clean in there. I'm impressed. Just a slight adjustment in exhaust speed made it work.

I'll be going back for a ton.

 

[mudeprived]

Yes, definitely try different pellets out so you get an idea as to what is what. You can also look here for reviews on different brands. It's good to get an idea of what is decent so then you can shop for pricing or there is always the issue of will said brand be available next year. Different stores do not always get in the same brands each year. TSC is a crap shoot as to what they will get each year.

Here they have had junk pellets for the last three years and this year they've had Somersets for $199 per ton out the door. Good pellets for a good price. I'd like to find some softwood pellets to see what all the rave is about. They are nowhere to be found around here at all. Not even a couple of hours away.

I couldn't find any softwoods either.

 

[Talegas]

I lowered the exhaust blower from 90 to 85 (85 is lowest) and lowered the blower motor to 100 to 95. We'll see if that makes any difference.

When did you buy your stove? 80V is the lowest for mine. I've been trying the Norther American Pellets and will measure the ash content, clinkers, etc with a setting of 80, 80, 85, 90,95 V settings on the exhaust blower.

 

[mudeprived]

When did you buy your stove? 80V is the lowest for mine. I've been trying the Norther American Pellets and will measure the ash content, clinkers, etc with a setting of 80, 80, 85, 90,95 V settings on the exhaust blower.

I stand corrected. I never went below 85 and thought that was the lowest.

 

[Lake Girl]

Just a slight adjustment in exhaust speed made it work.

Might want to make a note in your manual on what the settings are for different pellets. If you switching between brands, makes life easier to have the reference settings

 

[tbear853]

I was getting low so went out yesterday and bought 25 more bags of Statesman Hardwood Pellets at the SS Co-Op because I know that my stove loves them ... but on the way home I slipped by my local TSC and pellets were $4.99 a bag, it's a white bag with blue writing but I didn't see "ProPellets" wrote anywhere. Bought 10 bags ... first one is about gone .... my stove seems to like these as well! It is a little softer ash that falls off the burn pot into the ash tray.

Are these ProPellets?

 

[Lake Girl]

The UPC code may give you a clue ... there are sites where you can look them up. There were a couple of threads about this ...
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/need-some-help-getting-upc-codes-of-the-pellet-bags.113612/

 

[mudeprived]

I was getting low so went out yesterday and bought 25 more bags of Statesman Hardwood Pellets at the SS Co-Op because I know that my stove loves them ... but on the way home I slipped by my local TSC and pellets were $4.99 a bag, it's a white bag with blue writing but I didn't see "ProPellets" wrote anywhere. Bought 10 bags ... first one is about gone .... my stove seems to like these as well! It is a little softer ash that falls off the burn pot into the ash tray.

Are these ProPellets?View attachment 194055

 

[rich2500]

I was getting low so went out yesterday and bought 25 more bags of Statesman Hardwood Pellets at the SS Co-Op because I know that my stove loves them ... but on the way home I slipped by my local TSC and pellets were $4.99 a bag, it's a white bag with blue writing but I didn't see "ProPellets" wrote anywhere. Bought 10 bags ... first one is about gone .... my stove seems to like these as well! It is a little softer ash that falls off the burn pot into the ash tray.

Are these ProPellets?View attachment 194055

if you post a pic of the UPC code I can scan it

 

[Talegas]

Jesus, people!
why are you up this early?!

 

[rich2500]

I was up getting ready to leave for my son's wrestling match.

 

[tbear853]

if you post a pic of the UPC code I can scan it

Thanks ...... It's:
8 51050 00300 4 on that one bag of the ten I bought, the other 9 bags are 7 49394 10780 2 .... and the newer Statesmans are 7 56637 28297 4 ..... I guess I could google them?

I was gonna mix with my others but on a lark, I decided to try a few bags "straight", no mixing. Now a bag and a half into them and the ash is softer than what I was getting, a nice lively flame, hot too .... and it certainly doesn't seem to be using any faster. I think I'm gonna like them as well as the Statesman pellets.

 

[rich2500]

the bag in the pic is appalacian, the 074 bags just come up as TSC