Okanagan Pellets

[The Grintch]

Hey Folks,
Hope everyone is enjoying their summer.
Just called a few pellet places and I won't be able to get my Turmans again this year so I'm going to go with Okanagan.
Gold- $285/ton
Platinum-$295/ton
Doulas Fir- $350/ ton
Not paying $350...so the Douglas Firs are OUT!
Anybody burn the Gold’s and Platinum’s?

Leaning towards the Platinum's....More BTU's.

Any sugestions would be appreciated.

Thanks and Enjoy!

 

[TimfromMA]

Love the platinums. I burned them for years. I upgraded to DFs this year.

 

[alternativeheat]

Hey Folks,
Hope everyone is enjoying their summer.
Just called a few pellet places and I won't be able to get my Turmans again this year so I'm going to go with Okanagan.
Gold- $285/ton
Platinum-$295/ton
Doulas Fir- $350/ ton
Not paying $350...so the Douglas Firs are OUT!
Anybody burn the Gold’s and Platinum’s?

Leaning towards the Platinum's....More BTU's.

Any sugestions would be appreciated.

Thanks and Enjoy!

I can't rave about the Platinum's personally, they were ok. They are a smallish pellet and the several batches I had last winter were dusty, a lot of fines. I didn't expect that. They burned about like any other pellet in the P61. I'll take Spruce Pointe or La Crete over those actually. The DF's are another matter again, hot clean burning pellets. Just around here, like for you, the price is a killer. But they are well worth trying a few bags just to see how pellets should burn ! I have not burned the Golds.

 

[08specB]

I will be getting three tons of the Okie Golds when I get my stove in a couple weeks. As I understand they are made in Georgia by Northern Pine but regardless I have heard they are great.

 

[briansol]

I miss the white bag oakies that smelled like cat pee. They haven't been the same since

 

[08specB]

I once almost bought a car that smelled like cat pee

 

[TimfromMA]

When my wife and I were house hunting, we took a tour of an entire house that smelled like cat pee. We were told that we'd have to replace every carpet in the house PLUS put some kind of sealant on the concrete basement floor to keep the smell, which had soaked into the concrete from escaping. Needless to say, we kept on shopping.

 

[Brew]

Good choice! You would have never cleared that smell. In my previous career I leased out rental homes. We had about at thousand units, so there was always someone moving out. Exiting residents would frequently abandon their cats and one joker decided to take in every stray he could find. He finally moved out after a year of occupancy and we had a look inside the home: twenty cats and not one litter box. He would dump their food on the floor and leave their waste wherever they dropped it. Nothing about this seemed strange to him.

We stripped the carpet and pad, washed the cement in bleach, and gave the house a month to breathe. Even after all that time and putting a Glade plug-in in every outlet it still reeked of ammonia. We finally got someone else with cats to move in; apparently they didn't notice the smell. In that moment I decided against ever owning cats or residential rental property. Pets were the top reason people lost their deposits, which don't begin to cover the potential damages.

 

[ttdberg]

Grintch, don't pass up those Douglas Firs. Yes they are the most expensive, but they also turn your stove into a fire breathing dragon. I burned a few bags last year and was astounded at the heat they produce and how clean they burn - never seen anything like it before. If cost is your only concern, pick up a ton of DFs and a ton of box store pellets to offset the price. Save the DFs for the sub-zero temps of Jan / Feb, and you won't be upset that you spent the extra $50 on them. This year, I'm going with a ton each of Golds, Platinums, and DFs so I can try and compare them all in the same season. I've burned small quantities of the Platinums in past years (a few bags here and there) and they were great, very consistent. This will be my first time burning the Golds.

 

[08specB]

Going with 3 tons of the Okie Golds for this upcoming winter, cant wait !!

 

[TimfromMA]

Going with 3 tons of the Okie Golds for this upcoming winter, cant wait !!

I've never used but if the platinums are any indication, you'll enjoy those.

 

[08specB]

I've never used but if the platinums are any indication, you'll enjoy those.

The are made for Okie from a place down in Georgia called Northern Pine if i recall correctly. I am sure they will be great at about 8400 BTU's and .29 ash

 

[The Grintch]

Well, I should be all set for the 2014-2015 heating season.

I got 5 tons delivered today. I burned 5tons last year minus 5 bags!

I went with 4 tons of Okanagan Golds and 1 ton of Douglas Firs.

I was originally going with 5 tons of the Platinum’s but they were such a pain to get, I decided to mix it up a little for the same price.

Enjoy the rest of the summer!

 

[ttdberg]

Nice one! I'm hearing of "as received" test results in the 8600 BTU / .22 ASH range for those Okie Golds. I have high hopes for them.

 

[The Grintch]

I ordered the Platinum's in June. They would give me a delivery date... and call the day before and say they weren't getting them.

I finally switched. Looking forward to trying them...their probably all close.

 

[alternativeheat]

Nice one! I'm hearing of "as received" test results in the 8600 BTU / .22 ASH range for those Okie Golds. I have high hopes for them.

Nice ! Going with 2 tons of dealer stored Oakie DF. 9200 btu for those. I will get in either Energex or Spruce Point on site for the rest, shoulder season etc. I believe the spruce Piontes are in the mid 8000 btu range. I liked these two brands last year though. But I want those hot DFs for mid winter.

 

[Danny9909]

Just bought my 3rd ton of DF today. I burned a few bags last yr. Wow the heat. I did burn 6 other brands last yr and nothing compares to the DF.

 

[Brew]

Wish I could afford to burn DF! Or do you say they pay for themselves in saved labor, cleaning out so much less ash?

 

[alternativeheat]

Wish I could afford to burn DF! Or do you say they pay for themselves in saved labor, cleaning out so much less ash?

You have to look at your own situation. In my my house in the mid winter cold we burn a tank of oil per month . That's about $1400 for two months. DFs will be $799, maybe a bit more for the same period ( basically all of Jan and Feb). Other brands would be less yes. The rest of the season doesn't matter so much to us, we use less of any pellet and or less oil then unless this winter for instance comes in cold right off. But yes, they burn a little hotter ( Spruce Point burn at 8700 but many brands are 8500 or even 8200), which means the stove is less likely to hit it's highest burn potential with DF and there is far less ash. The less ash is good in that mid season when I would like to avoid a deep cleaning in the coldest part of the winter.. Some pellet brands are just more messy but some are terribly more messy, like clean the stove every 3-4 days.. Some just produce more ash but others produce more ash and also more carbon deposits or glaze, creosote etc. Still to burn DF all year to me is too much dough, I'll save a couple hundred bucks in the shoulder season and do the extra cleaning.

Oh and incidentally, we never would keep the house at 73-74 with oil alone so one could speculate the cost of oil if we jacked the temp up from 67 to 74 with oil alone. We wouldn't make a month on a tank.

 

[TimfromMA]

I have 6 tons of DF sitting downstairs plus 20 bags of platinums left over from last year. This will be my first season burning DF. Based on the reviews I've read, I anticipate burning fewer pellets since DF puts out more heat. I also expect to be able to go longer between stove cleanings. Even with the more expensive pellet, I expect to save $700 - $800 this winter compared with oil heat.

 

[Brew]

Looking forward to hearing your review of DF, Tim. How many years you been using pellets?

 

[TimfromMA]

Looking forward to hearing your review of DF, Tim. How many years you been using pellets?

4 1/2

 

[ttdberg]

Just bought my 3rd ton of DF today. I burned a few bags last yr. Wow the heat. I did burn 6 other brands last yr and nothing compares to the DF.

Yes, those DFs really are in a class by themselves.

Wish I could afford to burn DF! Or do you say they pay for themselves in saved labor, cleaning out so much less ash?

There is a notion that because these pellets burn so hot, one could conceivably use less of them to get the same heat value as other pellets, simply by adjusting feed rate down when burning them. So, in theory - even though they cost so much more than others - it could potentially turn out to be a wash in the end. The real world $ comparison is pretty hard to quantify, though. This year, I bought a ton of them and plan to try and measure real life usage differences. It will be a while though, as these pellets won't see the hopper until early - mid January at the earliest, when the extreme cold arrives.

Speaking of cold, anyone notice the leaves are turning already? I was driving the section of 395 between Auburn and Webster yesterday and noticed lots of small maples in the median with bright yellow leaves. I guess it's probably normal, but it just feels too early for that!

 

[TimfromMA]

Yes, those DFs really are in a class by themselves.


There is a notion that because these pellets burn so hot, one could conceivably use less of them to get the same heat value as other pellets, simply by adjusting feed rate down when burning them. So, in theory - even though they cost so much more than others - it could potentially turn out to be a wash in the end. The real world $ comparison is pretty hard to quantify, though. This year, I bought a ton of them and plan to try and measure real life usage differences. It will be a while though, as these pellets won't see the hopper until early - mid January at the earliest, when the extreme cold arrives.

Speaking of cold, anyone notice the leaves are turning already? I was driving the section of 395 between Auburn and Webster yesterday and noticed lots of small maples in the median with bright yellow leaves. I guess it's probably normal, but it just feels too early for that!

As soon as I burn through my remaining stash of platinums left over from last year, I will be burning DFs exclusively. Ever since my stove went in, I've been keeping track of my pellet usage over time so I have good records of my previous pellet usage so I can easily compare how the DFs burn. Based on previous year's data, it will be late November before the DFs hit the stove.

 

[alternativeheat]

As soon as I burn through my remaining stash of platinums left over from last year, I will be burning DFs exclusively. Ever since my stove went in, I've been keeping track of my pellet usage over time so I have good records of my previous pellet usage so I can easily compare how the DFs burn. Based on previous year's data, it will be late November before the DFs hit the stove.

I have not burned an entire season with DF's but the difference in ash alone was very noticeable when we did use them. And also we went from those to a high ash low heat pellet and even the wife said lets just buy the DF's. But there are other perfectly acceptable pellets regarding heat output. Non compared on ash though, not that I've run into. It isn't just the low ash but what ash there is just blows off the burn pot of the P61A.. With other pellets you are looking at this build up of a beard of ash and just sometimes have to dig in there and scrape off the pot. With the lousiest pellets it deforms the flame if you do not. With DF's you will see very little ash line in a Harman P series stove anyway.

We have secured two tons of DF now for mid winter this year, bought and paid for.. Now to decide on what we are using the rest of the time.