Pellets burn black

[Robbacc]

Anyone have any idea why my pellets are leaving a black ash. Last year the ash was always greyish and I am using a different manufacturer of pellets, but I just do not know if this is normal or not?

 

[firefighterjake]

You might have better luck posting this in the pellet burner forum . . . but off hand I might guess that the different manufacturer is using a different type of wood . . . perhaps hardwood or more of a percentage of hardwood to softwood . . . or maybe it's a specific type of tree.

Has the stove been burning normally with no abnormal amount of sooting on the glass?

Again, I am a woodburner so I don't really have any good answers other than some guesses . . . if you post this question in the pellet burners forum the pellet folks might be able to give you a better idea.

Incidentally, welcome to the site.

 

[ROBERT F]

Welcome to the forum. WARNING: this place can be addicting Possible color from different pellet composition, moisture content (MC), or burn air supply? reposting on the pellet forum will yield more replies, and questions too, of that be asured. :smirk:

 

[Gooserider]

Moved to pellet area, hopefully that will get a better answer...

Gooserider

 

[countk]

What brand of pellets are you using?

 

[smalltown]

Robbacc This is my first season with my Castile and I am burning Maine Choice pellets my ash is black in color.

 

[littlesmokey]

One reason is often lots of bark and filler in the pellets. Work on tuning the stove for best performance with this pellet and burn a few bags to see if you improve or change any. I burned Lignetics, Eurekas and a local brand last year. Each had a different ash in "fluffiness" and "grittiness" Color was grey/brown to dark brown, but performance was about the same with the proper adjustments. And there were some significant differences in settings.

 

[BDPVT]

Black soot is a good indication of incomplete combustion- the flame is burning rich and needs more air. If you are sure your stove is clean and there are no blockages, its likely that the change in fuel is your problem. Different pellets often require adjustments of stove settings to get things running right. Can you adjust your stove to burn more lean?

 

[mark d fellows]

Either turn up the draft, or turn down the pellet feed rate and try that. It sounds like an incomplete, or rich burn to me.

 

[littlesmokey]

Anyone have any idea why my pellets are leaving a black ash. Last year the ash was always greyish and I am using a different manufacturer of pellets, but I just do not know if this is normal or not?

Let's get back on track. He says the ash is black. I burned a local brand as a test last year. Really tuned the stove to get the best out of it I could. The ash was very dark, but fine and somewhat gritty. It was not more than other levels of ash, so I doubt it was not completely burned, just grittier and denser. I asked the pellet plant supervisor what gives and he said they had a run with lots of "slash" from a sawmill. I took that to mean, branches, bark, needles and other material not strictly saw dust. He admitted they got a little too much in the mix and gave me a free bag as a goodwill gesture.

Didn't change my rather low opinion of the pellets.

 

[BDPVT]

Anyone have any idea why my pellets are leaving a black ash. Last year the ash was always greyish and I am using a different manufacturer of pellets, but I just do not know if this is normal or not?

Let's get back on track. He says the ash is black. I burned a local brand as a test last year. Really tuned the stove to get the best out of it I could. The ash was very dark, but fine and somewhat gritty. It was not more than other levels of ash, so I doubt it was not completely burned, just grittier and denser. I asked the pellet plant supervisor what gives and he said they had a run with lots of "slash" from a sawmill. I took that to mean, branches, bark, needles and other material not strictly saw dust. He admitted they got a little too much in the mix and gave me a free bag as a goodwill gesture.

Didn't change my rather low opinion of the pellets.

I thought we were on track. The addition of logging slash and coarse debris like tree bark do not burn completely. Incomplete combustion leaves lots of carbon behind resulting in black ash and soot. Not necessarily more ash, but black instead of grey. By adjusting the stove to increase combustion air will improve combustion of poor quality pellets.