Problem with Potomac Pellets

[GMan1086]

Hey Guys, I'm new here but have been burning pellets for about 2 years now, so i guess I'm fairly new to that too. i have a pretty big issue with some Potomac Pellets i bought about a Month ago from Pellets Direct, located in Uxbridge Mass.

in the picture you can see a pile of wood chips, i did my best to get them all out of the bag i opened, every bag has this many or more and some of them are huge like the 3 in the picture.. This is pretty concerning because over the course of 50 bags, that's a lot of wood chips going through the pellet stove. The big ones wouldn't pass by the auger and might jam it too. Not sure what i can do, I've tried contacting Potomac via a few email addresses on their website and have gotten no reply back, any information or help would be appreciated guys.

 

[jtakeman]

On this site is plans to build a pellet vac. This will remove the chips as they are lighter than the pellets. Plans say less than $20.00 to build

 

[GMan1086]

very cool.. ill give that a try.. thanks a bunch..

 

[jtakeman]

Site was a bit busy before. I kept getting an error so I could not add the link to the post.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/23999/

 

[mtalea]

thou J-takeman gives ya a great idea,I would contact the supplier and have them come get them at no cost to you or at very least they owe you money and then they can take it up with the potomac company.

 

[GMan1086]

yeah i found it though. saw a video on youtube of how it all worked too..

 

[GMan1086]

Quick update. i decided to email the VP Mason Whitlock of Potomac Supply about these issues, and he emailed me back saying that they would replace all bags, which is most likely the whole ton because all of them have had chips in them,this week for me.. which is totally awesome i didnt expect that at all, hell i didnt even expect an email back this fast..just goes to show ya that there are companies out there that stand by their products.. very cool indeed.

 

[hotpellet]

I know of a few people that bought Potomac pellets from lowes and they had the same chips in the pellets....... Just a chitty pellet. I would have told him to come get them and keep the damn things.

 

[GMan1086]

I love the pellets.... according to Mason they had a few issues

he said "we think the pellet furnish material had not been ground up enough and some of it slipped down the main shaft past the pelleting mat". Other then the chips in the bag these pellets burn very clean and throw the best heat with my stove.

 

[bd911]

GMan1086,

I too have bought 1 ton of Potomac from PelletsDirect.com and have found them to be miserable. I contacted the supplier with little satisfaction. In addition to the large pieces of wood did you find the pellets to have nearly a pound of sawdust in each bag? The ones I received have way too much fines, will not burn on anything less than the maxium fuel rate, and the consistency between bags is horrible. What I mean by that is some have very long pellets and others have just small broken pieces of pellets less than 1/4" long. I also suspect the ones I have are of a higher moisture content than advertised, although that is just a hunch based on the "moisture test" posted on this forum. Versus Lignetics these pellets are horrible. Did pelletsdirect.com coordinate the return to Potomac or did Potomac take matters in to their own hands? Any information you can provide me will be greatly appreciated!

 

[MassPelletburner]

I just finished burning the last of a ton of the Potomacs that I bought at Lowes. They seemed to be a good shoulder season pellet for my stove. But my major gripe was that the pellets whould not slid down my hopper with any consistancy. I was always having to stir the pot so to speak to keep the pellets moving. The course edges on these pellets do not lend themselves to the Englander
Top Loading designed Hoppers. I tried mixing 50/50 with a smooth Green Teams and that seemed to help a little but a major pain in the butt. I didn't come across any wood chips as the original poster encounted but the fines at the bottom of each bag was slightly more than other brands that I've burned. Now that the Potomacs are gone it's on to my 2 tons of Lignetics. Good to see New England dodged another NorEaster this weekend.

 

[bd911]

Good to see New England dodged another NorEaster this weekend.

Lol. I didnt check the forecast but there is snow fallling like crazy on the south shore of Mass right now!

 

[GMan1086]

Hey Guys, i meant to update this thread but with all the snow this winter and work I've been super busy.. The issue was resolved and a free ton of pellets was delivered to me at no cost. The new ton of pellets didn't have any wood chips in them and burned very good and HOT.. If you have any wood chips in your Potomac Pellet bags id recommend getting in contact with Mason Whitlock of Potomac Supply and I'm sure he will take care of you.

 

[bd911]

After seeing your post back in December I emailed Mr Whitlock right away. He agreed to a free delivered replacement ton. A few weeks later I received nothing. Another email and I got another promise from Whitlock. It is now a couple months later and still no pellets. He refuses to answer my emails now. I will never buy Potomac again. Never!