Quadrafire Mount Vernon AE Insert and Okanagan

[wyatt9696]

Hey all, possible stupid question alert
I switched from hardwood(hamer) to Okanagan this year based on a friends recommendation. Is it better to run the stove on softwood setting or utility pellet setting. I have heard that some run it on utility setting. any thoughts or experiences to share? thanks.

 

[jtakeman]

I would try it on the softwood pellet. I believe it is used to conserve pellets as softwood will burn a tad hotter. But if you need some extra heat go back to utility mode.

 

[pellet burner]

I have a MT Vernon also. The utility setting is for low quality pellets that are high in ash. Your stove will go through it's self clean cycle much more often( every two hours I think) if you use that setting. The utility setting is not needed if using a good quality pellet like the Okies.

 

[JoeS]

I burned a ton of the Okanagan's last year. I actually had to burn on the sunflower setting to get the best flame and heat from the stove. Don't be afraid to try different settings or to experiment when you try new pellets.

 

[teddy1971]

It's interesting that this question was asked. I was wondering the same thing. When my stove was installed I was told to leave the setting on "Utility Pellets" This season all of the pellets I purchased are clearly labeled Hardwood so I changed the setting to Hardwood.

 

[smoke show]

I burn a high quality softwood on the softwwod setting and never get any build up whatsoever in the burn pot.

 

[wyatt9696]

thanks for all the replies. i'll try on softwood for a while then switch if need be.thanks again.

 

[eric_s]

I set my stove to Hardwood with a minus 3 flame height for softwood pellets. I tried the softwood setting, but it did not seem to burn as well. Recommend you try the different settings and adjust the flame height to see how it burns best.
And I've never tried utility.

 

[in-control]

I have tried the Hardwood setting with preimum hardwood and got less heat and it seemed like more ash. The dealer told me that the best setting was the utility setting and using to use the manual mode. That has worked out well. I am trying Softwood this year so I will try the same experiment, but add sunflower seeds as well.

 

[SXIPro]

in-control, is that your child in your avatar?? What a cute kid I wish mine were that small again.

 

[in-control]

in-control, is that your child in your avatar?? What a cute kid I wish mine were that small again.

Nope - I have three highschoolers and thought that the pic. was representative of the fun that I am having with my Mount Vernon insert.