New England Canadian (Soft Pellets) - EXTRA LONG??

[thephotohound]

Did I just get a bad batch, or is everyone getting 1 to 1 1/2 inch long pellets? My auger has to "cut" the pellets, creating a lot of dust inside the firebox...

 

[Dougsey]

I have a ton each of NEWP red and green... I didn't notice any difference in size. I'll take a closer look tonight when I'm home.

 

[tinkabranc]

Might not be the whole batch. I had a couple of bags that seemed much longer than usual,
but I just chopped them up a little more in a bucket before putting into the hopper.
Other bags from the same batch were "normal" size.

 

[Shane]

I think that 1/4"-1 1/2" is the PFI standard. It's definatly better to have smaller consistent sized pellets, but probably not uncommon to see the forementioned range in length.

 

[thephotohound]

Shane -

I just noticed... congrats on the promotion to Moderator!

 

[smirnov3]

Did I just get a bad batch, or is everyone getting 1 to 1 1/2 inch long pellets? My auger has to "cut" the pellets, creating a lot of dust inside the firebox...

yup, same here.

With an accentra, it's not a big deal. it chews through them.

 

[bclmread]

PhotoHound - I have sent you a private email...I am having a similar problem.


I have the same pellets. First ton was fine, second ton (different bag - "Green Supreme") is very problematic.
My Enviro Empress is allowing about half the through-put. On my first ton, I could get the room where my stove is up to 85 degrees, on a 10 degree outside night. I would burn a bag a night. Now I can't even get to 75 degrees when its 35 degrees out. Barely half a bag is used all night

I have burned a bag of Cubex (much smaller pellet) and get great flame. The pellets are much smaller, and the amount in the burn pot was noticably more.

Enviro support confirmed that my throughput problem is due to pellet size.

I have about 3000 pounds of these "Green Supreme" pellets left...arggg!

 

[Xena]

I've got three tons of them (green lettered bag).
Some of the bags do have longer pellets than
other bags. Used a couple tons of this same brand last season
and it was the same deal - some bags contained
larger pellets than other bags.
My St Croix has not exhibited any ill effects from
them so no worries here.

 

[Dougsey]

Enviro support confirmed that my throughput problem is due to pellet size.

I think this is where Harman's Room Temp mode really shines. It will feed however much (or little) it takes to maintain the temp you have set it at.

Pellet size and quality are not an issue.

 

[smirnov3]

Enviro support confirmed that my throughput problem is due to pellet size.

I think this is where Harman's Room Temp mode really shines. It will feed however much (or little) it takes to maintain the temp you have set it at.

Pellet size and quality are not an issue.

Also, having an auger that can chew through the pellets like a pit bull helps.

 

[davevassar]

PhotoHound - I have sent you a private email...I am having a similar problem.


I have the same pellets. First ton was fine, second ton (different bag - "Green Supreme") is very problematic.
My Enviro Empress is allowing about half the through-put. On my first ton, I could get the room where my stove is up to 85 degrees, on a 10 degree outside night. I would burn a bag a night. Now I can't even get to 75 degrees when its 35 degrees out. Barely half a bag is used all night

I have burned a bag of Cubex (much smaller pellet) and get great flame. The pellets are much smaller, and the amount in the burn pot was noticably more.

Enviro support confirmed that my throughput problem is due to pellet size.

I have about 3000 pounds of these "Green Supreme" pellets left...arggg!

so are you saying with the Empress, the smaller the pellet the better?

 

[bclmread]

That would be my impression. I don't recall the size of the pellets in my first ton.

But where the Enviro tech indicated that large pellets are likely the cause of the problem, I would say small would be better...

I'll measure up the Cubex pellets, but I don't think I'll find one longer than half an inch...

How does that insert work for you? My Empress is a FS in a finished basement room, and I'd love to place an insert in my first floor fireplace (2 story house).

 

[davevassar]

We love it. Of course going from an average of 69 in the house to 72, who wouldn't. I just have to find the right pellets.

I was burning Barefoots, but was pissing through them. I'm going to try to find some small pellets.

 

[Philip]

For what it's worth I burned 5 bags of Country Boy pellets that were noticably longer than the Somerset pellet I had been burning. Some of the pellets measured 1-1/4 inches long and my stove had no problem with them. I even thought I got more heat at the same heat level setting from the longer pellets and I guessed at the time that it was because the auger was dumping a larger volume of pellets into the burn pot. Now that I think about it, that probably wasn't the case. The auger should dump the same volume regardless of the size unless they are too large. Is it possible that the longer pellets are also a larger diameter? That might stop them from being picked up by the auger.

 

[dvsstrike]

i also have a fs empress. i also got the green label pellets. i don't seem to have any of the issues some have the agur cuts up the longer pieces and all i ever did was adjust the dampner slightly a hair.

 

[packerfan]

Just wondering what brand of pellets are you burning.

I just looked in my hopper and grabbed a couple of the longer pellets that were in there. I have some (Greenway from Home depot) that are over 1 3/4" and haven't had a problem at all.

 

[dvsstrike]

forgot it s the new england pellet green label

 

[bilder]

For those of you who reside in Ma. try Narragansett Pellet in Rumford R.I. they are an 80/20 hardwood/softwood blend. They burn real hot with minimal ash and easy cleanup. I tried Pinnacle,Heartland,Cedar Creek, and L.G. pellets over the last 3 years and nothing compares to the Narragansett Pellets.