LG Granules from PelletSales.com

[MrKLeen]

Just wanted to see if there is anyone else that finds these pellets to be extremely high ash this year?

My outside tee is filling up within a week or two of high usage and the pot is filling about a third of the way with semi solid ash (I assume the clinkers are due to the lack of air flow).

I used LGs last year and this was not the case at all.

I am using outside air which is clear and it blows forcefully, that is until the tee is full.

Did a full cleaing on the stove at the begining of the season and have burned maybe a ton of pellets and I have had to clean the tee 3 times (I cleaned the tee and the venting last weekend and had to do it again yesterday), I think I did it 3 times for the entire season last year.

I have checked everything I can think of (gaskets, combustion fan, air intake, ash pan etc.) and the only thing I can think is that there is a problem with the pellets, any other thoughts? Thanks.

 

[jamesdjs]

I've been using LGs from Pellet sales this year and I would say there is more ash than a hardwood.
I haven't had any problems with excessive ash in the pipes.

 

[rottiman]

I find that they are producing alot of ash also. I tend to be very religous re cleaning stoves so I do not get the build-up as much. Daily after a 24 hour burn cycle there does appear to be alot though. I also noticed that this years seem to be a shade darker and I have found alot in my bags over the 1" in length mark. My Premium softwoods from B.C. still burn alot better than the LG's.

 

[mnkywrnch]

I'm also burning Lg's from pellet sales and IMO the ash isn't that bad at all, atleast compared to the north country I was burning.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Check my sig,

Very little ash from my LGs from Pellet sales.

Perhaps you have some crud still hiding in your stove or your pellets got exposed to high moisture levels.

 

[mdaniel]

I have about 25 bags left-over from last year (which I purchased from pelletsales.com). They do not burn well at all in my Harman XXV, too much ash which requires me to clean out the burn pot 2x per day. I will definitely never buy LG's again and most likely never from pelletsales.com either. While their prices are competitive for consumers here in Massachusetts, they refuse to allow us to purchase different brands at the same time. I would generally like to buy a ton of something and another ton of another brand. Especially if quality is an issue (which it is). I wonder if pelletsales.com receives "factory seconds" from pellet prducers which allows them to sell a brand name pellet cheaply?
On a side note I have tried a few bags of Armstrong pellets and a few bags of Blazers pellets and they are very clean burning; I would definitely buy them both again. So at least I know my stove is operating normally; it is just crappy pellets that is the issue. I wish there was a better way to verify that the pellets you purchase were of good quality, unfortunately you don't find out until you get them home and burn them.

 

[gobuck]

I am having the same problem with the LGs. Last year's pellets from LG were better!

 

[abrucerd]

Same... burning nice and hot, but a fair amount of ash.

I'm emptying my ash pan once a week when burning on med/high.

 

[peasoupme]

I was also thinking that last years batch of LGs were better. In the spring we cleaned the stove really well and the vent pipe (ours is direct vented). Last week my husband and I were puzzled that the flames were orange and lazy and the burn pot was overflowing with pellets when we came home. We cleaned the stove and that didn't help so my husband went outside to check the pipe and sure enough...ash buildup. We started this season with some leftover 08 LGs and only started using the 09 stack just recently. We'll see how it goes and will keep an eye on it.

 

[Benski]

It is my first year with a pellet stove. I am using LG's and have not seen any problems so far. Have burnt 1 1/2 t since 21 October.

I am wondering if the financial problems of AbitibiBowater might have something to do with wood supplies for LG. I don't know where LG used to get there fiber from, but I know for sure the lumber and paper industry has been hit hard in Lac St-Jean lately...

I'll keep an eye on ash levels and clogging of the flue.

Bye,

Ben

 

[MrKLeen]

hey, thanks for the responses. I spoke with pelletsales and they said I can swap out a couple bags of mine for some fresh ones and see if it is any better. I will not be able to do this until after the holidays. I will try to repost the results.

 

[Sawduster]

This is my first year with LGs, and compared to the Boreals that I burned last year they are much better. The Boreals had a lot of carbon build up - every night I would have to scrape hard with a screwdriver to get it off. This year I have none of that kind of carbon, but there is a lot of light-weight fly ash, and I imagine I will have to clean my stove pipe pretty soon. I've burned 1.25 tons so far and it is a much better pellet than Boreal that is all I can say about them.

 

[Souzafone]

LG's, Barefoots , and Eastern Embers from several years ago are all very close, in my experience, as being very good pellets in all aspects. I've emptied the ash pan once, and I'll empty it again in the next few days. Very few clinkers or fines and good heat output.

 

[Bank]

I've burned exactly one ton of the LG's from Pelletsales.com as of last night, not too much ash and plenty of heat. I still have two tons of the Cleanfire from PS.com last year as well. I think the LGs burn with a little less ash and a little hotter as well.

 

[SNAPMAN61]

I just started on my 2nd ton of LG's. Seem to put out more heat than the Corinths from last year but I do have about the same amount of ash . The ash is dark,but there seems to be no build-up of anything solid.

I have 2 tons of Energex waiting . I'll be curious to see the difference.

 

[Lousyweather]

I have about 25 bags left-over from last year (which I purchased from pelletsales.com). They do not burn well at all in my Harman XXV, too much ash which requires me to clean out the burn pot 2x per day. I will definitely never buy LG's again and most likely never from pelletsales.com either. While their prices are competitive for consumers here in Massachusetts, they refuse to allow us to purchase different brands at the same time. I would generally like to buy a ton of something and another ton of another brand. Especially if quality is an issue (which it is). I wonder if pelletsales.com receives "factory seconds" from pellet prducers which allows them to sell a brand name pellet cheaply?
On a side note I have tried a few bags of Armstrong pellets and a few bags of Blazers pellets and they are very clean burning; I would definitely buy them both again. So at least I know my stove is operating normally; it is just crappy pellets that is the issue. I wish there was a better way to verify that the pellets you purchase were of good quality, unfortunately you don't find out until you get them home and burn them.

I *think* the reason they dont like to mix pellets on their website is more a matter of logistics than anything. On the website they show several brands, but these brands are often warehoused in different areas, so, depending on where they load your pellets out of, certain brands just might not be available. They arent going to send a truck with one ton from Stoughton MA, where they have one brand, the Palmer, MA where they have another, then head to your place.....I dont KNOW this, just guessing......well, I know a bit, just not the whole story!

 

[Kittery]

hey, thanks for the responses. I spoke with pelletsales and they said I can swap out a couple bags of mine for some fresh ones and see if it is any better. I will not be able to do this until after the holidays. I will try to repost the results.

I decided to search back today to see if anyone else has been having problems with the LGs from Pelletsales.com this year, and found this thread.
I used LGs from a local dealer in past years and thought they were great. That's why I was very happy to get in on Pelletsales.com 'early season' purchase and save some money. So, the 3 tons of LGs I purchased were delivered last March or April. The bags appear to have a manufacture date stamped on them of 10/xx/08. I too am a person that *really* does a through cleaning of my stove weekly (takes at least 1 hour). It got a full cleaning (yank out the combustion fan; clean it and shop vac where the fan fits in; clean out the 8-10 feet of vent pipe; etc.) at the beginning of the season. I started the season with a ton on Corinth pellets, and was happy with their flame, heat, etc.; a bit more ash then I thought they should have but acceptable. Granted the temperatures were warmer than now, but I could run them on the highest settings for a long period of time and have a great flame. Not so with the LGs
The LGs are making more ash than any pellet I have used in my 6 seasons, except possibly 'Comfy Cozy' a few seasons back (man, they really plugged up my stove!). I have more ash weekly out of the 'little trap doors' when brushing up the back wall than I have had usually in one month. It doesn't matter how I set the 'air intake damper', I get a somewhat lousy flame, and if I try to run it on setting 3 (out of settings 1-5), I have to clean/scrap the burn pot daily! I have the biggest clinkers that I have ever seen. I used an incense stick around every place that it should be sealed (door, ash pan, etc.) and never saw the smoke off the incense being sucked 'in' anywhere, so I am confident there isn't a gasket problem causing this. I'm not happy! :coolgrin:

Okay gang...sorry for the long rant...maybe no one will read this anyway since I'm replying to a thread over a month old...BUT this reinforces my suspicions that the 'batch' of LGs might be the problem, not my stove...or me!

I guess this weekend I'll have to tear everything apart and do a full end/beginning-of-season cleaning and see how things go after that!

Oh yeah...MrKLeen...how did you make out with the 'swapped out' pellets?

 

[Estarrio]

I ordered 4.5 tons of LG Granules last winter for a spring delivery - they actually bumped up the delivery to February, so I had to scramble to make room. I too am getting a lot of ash. I'm pretty sure it from the INSANE amount of fines. I've spent countless hours sifting this season.

I decided to buy locally this year. I've had good luck with pelletsales.com/woodpellets.com in the past. I might try them again if they add some more brands. I wouldn't buy the Granules again and I'm not willing to buy Cleanfire without trying them.

 

[cncpro]

I bought 6 tons LG Granules from Pelletsales.com and took delivery in June 2009.

I have very little fines (I'd estimate maybe 1/2 - 1 cup per bag maximum) and do no sifting at all.

There is some fluffy ash but never a clinker and I'd say I end up with a little over 1 gallon of ash after burning 10 or 12 bags of pellets.

My 1400 sq ft 2-story house has no insulation in most of the walls and it was 9°F outside this morning when I got up and the pellet stove was heating the whole house well with no assistance from the oil burner.

I have nothing to complain about.

I did have some bags with water damage when they were delivered but pelletsales happily reimbursed me for the damaged bags.

Perhaps your insane amount of fines are caused by some water getting into the bags during delivery which you never noticed and now months later they're all dried out leaving you with all those fines ?

 

[Kittery]

Hi Estarrio and cncpro,
Out of curiosity do either of you see what looks like it could be a manufacturer date stamped on the upper back of the bags? If so, please share that as maybe the stark different 'experiences' being expressed here are related also to when they were manufactured, or the batch, or when pelletsales.com took delivery of them, or something.
Thanks. :coolsmirk:

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

If it helps to answer any of the questions my LGs are dated 09/16/09 17:21 that is from the label on the pallet bag.

 

[Kittery]

If it helps to answer any of the questions my LGs are dated 09/16/09 17:21 that is from the label on the pallet bag.

WOW! That's almost a full year after the date mine were 'manufactured'!

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

If it helps to answer any of the questions my LGs are dated 09/16/09 17:21 that is from the label on the pallet bag.

WOW! That's almost a full year after the date mine were 'manufactured'!

I can go to the local Wal-Mart about 1.5 miles from here and get August 2008 natures heat pellets. Hmmm I wonder where those puppies have been kept.

 

[cncpro]

Hi Estarrio and cncpro,
Out of curiosity do either of you see what looks like it could be a manufacturer date stamped on the upper back of the bags? If so, please share that as maybe the stark different 'experiences' being expressed here are related also to when they were manufactured, or the batch, or when pelletsales.com took delivery of them, or something.
Thanks. :coolsmirk:

I don't see anything stamped on the bags and I no longer have the pallet wrap because I had to re-stack all 4 skids tightly in my garage so they only took up a footprint of 3 skids (It was a pretty impressive pellet stack 3 skids all the way to the ceiling)...

So unfortunately I can't say when mine were produced...

 

[Massmudman]

I was not too impressed with my pellets from Pelletsales.com last year or their prices. I have since moved on to better prices but still occasionally have lots of ash. I do not sift my pellets though, straight in the hopper. lol.