Magic Spark a lot of fines
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Mr._Graybeard
Feeling the Heat
Those do look pretty bad. I bought a ton of Magic Sparks last spring, and they looked much better. Generally they have a good reputation. I believe the brand is an alternate brand of Pro Pellets -- I bought a ton of those in February and they looked fine. The Pro Pellets were $280/ton from TSC. The Magic Sparks were a little cheaper from Menard's, about $267/ton. I wouldn't have paid any more for either brand.
We have a local pellet factory here, Marth, which Lignetics bought a couple years ago. The quality has declined since then, IMO, mainly because of dust and fines. But they also don't seem to burn as hot as they used to. I opened bags of Marths last fall that looked pretty similar to your Magic Sparks.
We have a local pellet factory here, Marth, which Lignetics bought a couple years ago. The quality has declined since then, IMO, mainly because of dust and fines. But they also don't seem to burn as hot as they used to. I opened bags of Marths last fall that looked pretty similar to your Magic Sparks.
Yeh I move on to something called Freedom. Poured them on top of the Greene supremes I manage to dig out of Rural Kings wet pile ( can't believe how careless they are with storage). They should be falling into the burn pot in an hour or so. I'll see how they burn. They don't look much better then that magic Spark Pic but they smell much better. Actually smell like wood and not paper.
Tonyray
Minister of Fire
you guys are braver than me..
haven't bough box store stuff for past 7 yrs now..
pay bit more but use private dealers for better quality...
haven't bough box store stuff for past 7 yrs now..
pay bit more but use private dealers for better quality...
Mr._Graybeard
Feeling the Heat
There aren't a lot of professional pellet vendors out here. I know a guy or two who does it on the side, and I've bought from them, but they're generally selling hardwoods or blends and sometimes the same brands that I get at TSC or Menard's.
I'm burning 7 or 8 tons a season in my boiler. A $50 premium per ton from a vendor adds up.
I'm burning 7 or 8 tons a season in my boiler. A $50 premium per ton from a vendor adds up.
No such thing around here. We are at the mercy of the box stores. If you don't stock up in the fall like I didn't do because of a serious injury, you are scrambling for the good pellets by the time spring rolls around. I suspect I'll be buying pine bedding pellets eventually. Box stores could care less if they are out of pellets in early spring.
Mr._Graybeard
Feeling the Heat
My habit is to load my basement to its 4-ton capacity with an early buy and then reload in February when prices drop a bit. By now pellet availability is dwindling, although TSC always has something. If I'm desperate I might call my part-time pellet vendor.
Tonyray
Minister of Fire
yes.. I will be ordering my usual spring buy in few weeks.
get 4 tons... 2 delivered in summer/2 In late January.
always ahead of the season.. have 3 tons in basement right now.
So these magic sparks are more like magic turds. Hardly any heat when the cold weather came back. . A real waste of money.
The freedom fuels were even worse. I can't believe this is allowed. Pellets that hardly throw heat should be illegal.
The freedom fuels were even worse. I can't believe this is allowed. Pellets that hardly throw heat should be illegal.
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Mr._Graybeard
Feeling the Heat
That's too bad. I have a theory that the Marth pellets I bought that looked similar to your picture had excessive moisture in them. I don't have the gear to measure that, but I noticed a fair amount of steam coming out of the vent when I burned them. They hadn't gotten any water intrusion, I think they came out of the plant that way.
I've had good results from Magic Spark in the past, and like I said, I recently bought a ton of Pro Pellets, an affiliated brand, and they seem to be fine. It may be they just had a bad run. Even the vaunted Somerset has turned out some subpar pellets.
When Indeck had just started up their plant in Wisconsin I bought a quantity of their pellets. Man, they were BAD. The worst ever. I emailed someone at the plant to complain, and they sent me a $50 gift card! I did the same with Marth this year -- complained to the company and to my Menard's store. I never got a reply from either. but now the store has Indecks in stock rather than Marths (which they've carried for years). Coincidence? Probably. But I believe you should let people know if you're unhappy.
I've had good results from Magic Spark in the past, and like I said, I recently bought a ton of Pro Pellets, an affiliated brand, and they seem to be fine. It may be they just had a bad run. Even the vaunted Somerset has turned out some subpar pellets.
When Indeck had just started up their plant in Wisconsin I bought a quantity of their pellets. Man, they were BAD. The worst ever. I emailed someone at the plant to complain, and they sent me a $50 gift card! I did the same with Marth this year -- complained to the company and to my Menard's store. I never got a reply from either. but now the store has Indecks in stock rather than Marths (which they've carried for years). Coincidence? Probably. But I believe you should let people know if you're unhappy.
I've dealt with these store managers a few times. They're pretty useless and even confrontational. The customer is always wrong.
I recently stopped by Menards and they had 30 bags of somersets sitting up front by all the registers. The manager ( some young snowflake about 23 yo) was standing by them. I had already checked out back and all the other pallets were a different brand I didn't want. I told the manager I want to buy these 30 bags. He said just pay and go out back and they can load me up. I explained the ones out back were a different brand and I wanted the Somersets. He said it's all the same thing. I explained that it wasn't the same at all. He becomes somewhat confrontational which in turn made me confrontational. He then very reluctantly called out back with a lot of attitude and eye rolling while I was standing there and asked if the brand outside were Somersets and they told him no. Then he calls for a cart to be brought up front for me. They pile these on a cart in such a shoddy manner that they can't even count them correctly so I got five bags free out of the deal. Take that Menards. The price you pay for hiring such a rude and incompetent manager.
I recently stopped by Menards and they had 30 bags of somersets sitting up front by all the registers. The manager ( some young snowflake about 23 yo) was standing by them. I had already checked out back and all the other pallets were a different brand I didn't want. I told the manager I want to buy these 30 bags. He said just pay and go out back and they can load me up. I explained the ones out back were a different brand and I wanted the Somersets. He said it's all the same thing. I explained that it wasn't the same at all. He becomes somewhat confrontational which in turn made me confrontational. He then very reluctantly called out back with a lot of attitude and eye rolling while I was standing there and asked if the brand outside were Somersets and they told him no. Then he calls for a cart to be brought up front for me. They pile these on a cart in such a shoddy manner that they can't even count them correctly so I got five bags free out of the deal. Take that Menards. The price you pay for hiring such a rude and incompetent manager.
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