My comparison of Lignetics, Barefoot and last & least Hamer!

[liquidsilverr6]

This is our first year with a pellet stove, a King Ashley 5500, so we have been trying different pellets to see what works best for us. We started with one ton of Lignetics. There were very little fines, no need to sift and very little, fine ash. We bought 2 tons of Barefoot which had almost no fines and very little ash also. The both work GREAT. We bought a 1/2 ton of The Hamer Hot Ones ULTRA Premium which have been an "ULTRA" HASSLE. With the first two brands we were able to dump the bags directly into our stove. We did this with the Hamers and ended up having to scoop the entire hopper out. The bag had so much fines there is no way we could leave it. We have had to sift every bag of the Hamers and get 6 cups/ bag of fines. We find this unacceptable. The Hamers due burn hotter than the other 2 brands, however you'll need it to warm back up after your outside sifting the bags. The difference in the amount of heat just isn't worth it to us. It will be Barefoot and Lignetics for us in the future.

 

[imacman]

I agree 100% on the Lignetics....best pellet I've burned so far. Heard good things about the Barefoot too, although never burned them.

I'm suprised by the Hamers...they usually get good reviews....I wonder if you just got a bad batch?

 

[liquidsilverr6]

The Hamers do burn well. They are very hot and the ash is about the same. But we paid more for them then the other 2 brands with delivery charge included. The Hamers we had to pick up. We bought 1/2 ton of the premium also. ( the ultra is what we are having trouble with) We are hoping that the premium will be different since they are made in different plants.

 

[bungalobob]

Loved my Hamer, hardly any fines, little ash and nearly no clinkers, maybe cleaned the clinkers away twice a day. Could not imagine 6 cups of fines in one bag. Trying some of the two tons of New England Wood Pellets that I have, and am not as pleased with them. Large clinkers needing to be cleaned out every couple of hours, but there are very little fines and the ash is probably a little bit more but not to excessive. They both put out good heat. Both acceptable, but Hamer preferable so far.

 

[liquidsilverr6]

bungalobob are the Hamers you have premium or ultra premium? We have not tried the 1/2 Ton of premiums, they are under the ultra's.

They are made in 2 different plants in W. Virginia. The Ultra Premiums are almost 100% oak and are made in Elkins ( this is where our problem bags are coming from) and then Premium is made in Mt.Hope and are a mixture of hardwoods.

It could very well be that the Ultra's are the issue.

 

[bungalobob]

bungalobob are the Hamers you have premium or ultra premium? We have not tried the 1/2 Ton of premiums, they are under the ultra's.

They are made in 2 different plants in W. Virginia. The Ultra Premiums are almost 100% oak and are made in Elkins ( this is where our problem bags are coming from) and then Premium is made in Mt.Hope and are a mixture of hardwoods.

It could very well be that the Ultra's are the issue.

Just checked to make sure, mine are the Ultra Premiums, 100% Hardwood sawdust, made in Elkins. Guess I got a good batch/ton. Picked them up back in the beginning of July. Only burned through ten bags before trying the NEWP's I have. Hope the rest of my Hamers are as good as the first. So many people have so many different problems with the same pellets, from the way they burn to the amount of fines packaged with their pellets. It's incredible how sorry Quality Control is at these manufacturing plants. You would think they would have their own sifters for the fines before they get packaged, that way they could reuse them instead of shipping them off to the consumer who is not going to but their product after a bad experience like yours. Good luck.

 

[bungalobob]

Also on the bag, although this will not help with the fines, it did mention that due to moisture content it may be necessary to adjust the combustion air. I don't know if you have that option or not, but it may help with the burning.

 

[liquidsilverr6]

The pellets burn great, we don't have a problem here. It's just all the sawdust in the bags. The manufacture date on the bag is 5-24-08. When I started reading thru this forum, I didn't know what people were talking about when they said they had to sift pellets. We had the Lignetics and Barefoot which wouldn't produce enough sawdust to even measure if I sifted a bag. Then we get the Hamers and we have 6 cups/ bag. What an Extreme difference, you know.

 

[bungalobob]

Just checked the manufacture date on mine, didn't realize they put that on there. I have the same date as you, 5-24-08. You may quite possibly be dealing with some bags that were playing extra's for an audition of the next Rocky movie. Either they were punching bags or handled way to much in transportation. I have only worked on the top part of my pallet, which was the bottom at one time, since I had to restack them bag by bag in the garage. Hope I don't start seeing fines by the quart.

 

[firewarrior820]

I just got off the phone pennington seed co. they informed my that 1 1/4 cup per 40# bag is acceptable
I wanted to let people know.