Pellets not sliding down to auger.

[BoerBoelAmari]

I bought a ton of the McFeeters softwood pellets on Saturday. They seem to burn really, really, really well. I am now, 4 days later, starting to get a discoloration on the windows. The burnpot is completely empty and I am sooo happy that I dont have to go tend to the stove every single day. With that being said, these pellets feel different than the other ones that I have bought. They are kind of "rough" almost. I dont know how to describe it, but you can feel it in the pellet. Especially when trying to push them around in the hopper. There is a lot of resistance. Because of this the pellets along the side wall dont slide down to the auger. They stay along the wall. I went to work yesterday and 8 hours later came home to a dead stove. I opened up the hopper and I found that I had 3/4 of a bag still left in there.

Any ideas on what I can do to help make them slide down? Has anyone ever waxed the hopper to make that surface less gritty?

 

[smoke show]

furniture polish, wax, rub with wax paper. lotsa ideas. do a search.

 

[mralias]

furniture polish, wax, rub with wax paper. lotsa ideas. do a search.

I have the same issue with any pellet I burn. They seem to cling to the sides on top of each other like they are being held together by some unseen physical force. It is not the hopper that stops them from sliding. It is almost like the bridge against each other to build a fairly sophisticated structure. I'm beginning to wonder if the dryness in the air has something to do with it. Next time I have them all bridged up I will take a picture of them. I really don't think there is a solution to this other than pushing them down every few hours. Oh, BTW, I did try all those wax paper and polish recommendations with no success. I wish they did work, it sux's getting up in the middle of the night to push pellets down.

 

[smoke show]

I have the same issue with any pellet I burn. They seem to cling to the sides on top of each other like they are being held together by some unseen physical force. It is not the hopper that stops them from sliding. It is almost like the bridge against each other to build a fairly sophisticated structure. I'm beginning to wonder if the dryness in the air has something to do with it. Next time I have them all bridged up I will take a picture of them. I really don't think there is a solution to this other than pushing them down every few hours. Oh, BTW, I did try all those wax paper and polish recommendations with no success. I wish they did work, it sux's getting up in the middle of the night to push pellets down.

Then you have a different problem than the op was asking.

 

[BoerBoelAmari]

Maybe not completely different. Ill take a picture as well. But it almost creates a tunnel straight down to the auger. These are the first pellets this has happened with.

 

[mralias]

Maybe not completely different. Ill take a picture as well. But it almost creates a tunnel straight down to the auger. These are the first pellets this has happened with.

Is your's an insert or freestanding? I must say it is more prevalent with softwood pellets than hardwood pellets. Pellet length has not been an issue as it even happens with short 1/2" pellets.

 

[BoerBoelAmari]

Freestanding.

 

[imacman]

Maybe not completely different. Ill take a picture as well. But it almost creates a tunnel straight down to the auger. These are the first pellets this has happened with.

Pretty standard situation on most stoves. As mentioned above, sanding the hopper walls smooth, using spray wax, etc, etc, will help but probably not solve it completely. Also as mentioned above, this has been talked/discussed MANY times. Do a search for things members have tried.

Personally, I used spray furniture polish after sanding the surface as smooth as possible.