too much ash?

[Bigb62]

this is after about 20 hours of burn, feed rate 6 (max), and temp set at 71*. Is this the way the ash should pile up? It seems like a light fluffy ash when I cleaned it out yesterday. I figure these are cheapo pellets(free w/ stove) but didn't know if even that would pile ash that high. Fire seems awful low in pot, right at the end of the auger. Wifee just picked up a bag of Penningtons ($6.50) at WallyWorld to try. :roll:

 

[krooser]

Seems about right but it's hard to see... a better pic would be with the flame out and the door open.

I would think you should have a lot larger flame... have you been scraping the burn pot everyday? Pretty much necessary on the Harman's I've been told.

$6.50 for a bag of pellets? Whoa!!

 

[Bigb62]

yup, scraped it out good yesterday before I restoked it, 1/16" of black crust at the bottom of the firebox and a LOT of ash. thought the fire would stay more up in the middle of the box until it goes to low flame. Guess I'll try whatever pellets I can find (reasonable $$) and keep futzing. Are Uncle Jeds pretty good?

 

[sinnian]

Are Uncle Jeds pretty good?

Uncle Jeds get good reviews, but $6.50 for Penningtons is OUTRAGEOUS!

 

[Bigb62]

:red: :red: Kinda my own fault, didn't tell her what a good price was, couple of years ago, bought some pellets for a friend when she couldn't afford them, paid $4.20 a bag, didn't know if that was good or not...she needed them. on the learning curve again! :-/

 

[krooser]

Jed's are very good... been using tem for three years. They now also have a ponderosa pine that should be better (also more $$$). I paid $197.00 cash price Friday for one ton (Jed's) at ESES in Dale.

Marathon's softwood pellet is also pretty good. I used some of those last spring after I ran out of Jed's. They are available at Fleet Farm. I also like Eurekas but ESES doesn't carry them this year. You can find Pro-Pelets around here, too. Pretty good hardwood pellet... last year I could buy them for $190.00 per ton. Fibres Products from Niagra, WI is another one I tried last week... not bad. Not sure if they are hard or sift but my local lumber yard sells 'em at $235.00 (?) which is too high IMHO.

Where are you located?

 

[Bigb62]

thanx for the input Krooser, I'm in Sparta, 30 miles east of LaCrosse, I got my stove from Warming Trends and they gave me a free ton of Pikes, just cleaned my stove and threw in the Penningtons about an hour ago, so far they are doing better than the Pikes, less ash and a better looking flame. Might have to see what they would charge to upgrade my 1/2 ton of Pikes I haven't picked up yet. It's really surprising how many different opinions on pellets there are. Was looking at the PFI website...looks like a joke to me. We need a better standardization system on pellets. Fuel should be fuel, High octane or low, it should be on the label. I know, not all stoves are equal, but.... Guess maybe I'll just have to do my own 'scientific' testing like JTAKEMAN and see what works in mine. Good to know what prices are in Wis. tho, lets me know who is in the ballpark here as I shop around. Prices on the east coast don't help us around here. Feel like a local minority, not many on here from the midwest so far.

 

[krooser]

My own personal idea is that many stove owners fidle with the stove so much that some pellets get a bad reputation which may not be earned. I haven't changed the anything on my stove since early 2008... same damper setting, same feed rate, etc. i only adjust the "temp" depending on the weather. i don't have a t-stat set-up on this stove right now.

My dealer told me to keep my paws off the stove and it would work fine... I have and it has.