We bought Kounry Komfort pellets. There seems to be more saw dust in the bag. My husband, who thinks I'm paranoid, just dumps the whole bag in the hopper - no sifting. Is that okay? I didn't think so.
We just dump the whole bag of pellets in - saw dust and all
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No, not a good idea it will jam up the auger. However if your husbend is being stubern let him find out for him self.
Each stove is different but I have a Lopi Yankee, when I allowed alot of the fines (saw dust) into the hopper, the stove jammed up within 2 days. Now what I do is I shake the bags pour some and shake some more to get the fines to the bottom of the bag. I hold back the last 1-2lbs depending on the amount of fines, then once a week or so I sift the pellets to get out the fines. This has proven best. I also let the stove run very low every few days and scoop out the pellets left and vacuum the fines that are in the auger. It may seem like a lot of extra work, but its really only a little work and the stove is running very well this way. If the pellets were better I probably would not have to be so careful with the fines, but thats a different thread. :smirk:
It depends on your stove I've gone thru about 10 bags of Penningtons with high fines and saw dust with no problem at all.
the fines just drop into the pot and burn up along with the pellets.
bill
the fines just drop into the pot and burn up along with the pellets.
bill
learningaboutpelletstoves said:
I'm with your husband. It's all wood, it'll all burn, when it burns, you get heat. You paid for it, burn it.
I would just monitor a few times to find out. Let it nearly run out of pellets after several bags and see if you notice any build up in the auger shute. If not your probably ok, if you see build up of fines, you may want to prevent adding the fines. It probably does depend on your stove and auger setup. I have a Harman with a bottom feed auger and they say in their manual to just push the fines into the auger. I think since the auger moves the pellets horizontal, its able to push the fines through easier. If your auger moves pellets up hill, it may not move all fines with it, thus creating a build up of fines.
My Enviro takes the whole bag. Fines and all. I don't bother sifting anything. Never had a problem.
Your mileage may vary.
---Nailer---
Your mileage may vary.
---Nailer---
Many on this site will tell you they have had problems with fines clogging
up their auger while others have had no problems at all.
Some screen their pellets, some do not.
I too have a Harman and do not screen my pellets, BUT I would not dump
in the excess fines that I find in the bottom of some bags either.
Some stoves are much more tolerant than others.
up their auger while others have had no problems at all.
Some screen their pellets, some do not.
I too have a Harman and do not screen my pellets, BUT I would not dump
in the excess fines that I find in the bottom of some bags either.
Some stoves are much more tolerant than others.
I keep the pellets in a large copper washbin
and most of the fines sink to the bottom of
the bin so very little of it gets into my stove
to begin with. I do know that some stoves
will get jammed up from the fines though.
How much it takes to jam up an auger might
also vary from stove to stove.
and most of the fines sink to the bottom of
the bin so very little of it gets into my stove
to begin with. I do know that some stoves
will get jammed up from the fines though.
How much it takes to jam up an auger might
also vary from stove to stove.
I've dumped right from the bag into the hopper... and I've stored pellets in my big Tupperware bin and scooped out of the bin into the hopper. Made no difference. Sawdust burns... pretty well in my St. Croix as a matter of fact.
I've never sifted any pellets and probably never will.
BTW... where did you buy your Kountry Komfort pellets? And how much were they? I used some of those last year and found they were better (my opinion) than the Uncle Jeds I usually buy. Can't get at Fleet Fram anymore...
I've never sifted any pellets and probably never will.
BTW... where did you buy your Kountry Komfort pellets? And how much were they? I used some of those last year and found they were better (my opinion) than the Uncle Jeds I usually buy. Can't get at Fleet Fram anymore...
learningaboutpelletstoves said:
I dump mine right into the hopper from the bag. Have 6 tons through the stove now, not as much as some, more than some others.
Every couple of weeks I let the hopper run clear out and I vac it out. I've probably never got more than a couple of tablespoons of fines out when it was empty and my Breckwell has a single auger, gravity-fed type system. It moves the pellets and fines right up the chute and they all burn up in the burn pot.
Of course if I had a bag of pellets with a ton of fines in them I probably wouldn't use them.
I vacuum mine because it is the first year with the stove and I don't want to jam it up. Some of the pellet bags have at least 4 cups of fines in them while others have almost none.
sydney1963 said:
sydney1963, going on 4th year with PDVC and never had a jam. It all seems to burn in the Englander.
Panhandler,
Thank you, thank you. Hate vacuuming them. I will stop what I am doing (as my husband thinks I'm crazy).
Thank you, thank you. Hate vacuuming them. I will stop what I am doing (as my husband thinks I'm crazy).
My Englander will eat the fines just fine. (Pun inteneded.) I clean my pellets not for the sake of the stove but for the sake of the one who has to clean the house, me! lol The amount of dust in the whole house goes down when I'm cleaning the pellets before bringing them inside. When I get lazy and don't clean them first I can tell just by looking at my computer screen or the front of the TV's. Anyone who believes that they aren't bringing in a lot of dust should try loading their stove in the dark with a flashlight so that you can see what's flying into the air when you pour that bag into the hopper. YIKES!
Peggy,
I tried what you said...load a bag in the dark with a flashlight. I even took a picture of the fines as they escaped into the air. If you look at the border of my avatar, they look like ghosts, but their really the fines swirling in the air all around my stove
I tried what you said...load a bag in the dark with a flashlight. I even took a picture of the fines as they escaped into the air. If you look at the border of my avatar, they look like ghosts, but their really the fines swirling in the air all around my stove
i may have dumb question but how would you screen the pellets ,is there a fast way ?I just opened a bag of LG and there is a lot of saw dust and fines figured I would toss the bag but its so hard to get them I hate to just toss half a bag.
thanks
thanks
I guess it depends on the stove. I've burned approximately 25 tons of various pellets in my Harman P 68 without any problems. Maybe I'm just lucky. At the end of each season I clean all parts of the stove (takes about one hour) and I dump just a couple of teaspoons of fines out. Haven't experienced any problems. I guess you have to monitor your stove and do what it requires.
Nice to hear itworks. I have been expecting lots of work with a professional cleaning at the end of the season. We did the install ourselves and expect we are capable of cleaning it ourselves as well.
sydney1963 said:
I paid to have my first install done. Watched the installer, and got mad at myself for paying for something that was that easy. When I moved and took my stove with me I installed it myself. I figured the worst problem is a C02 leak, but i have two sensors (I'm annal) near the stove, and never had an alert. Cleaning at the end of the season,when everything is nice and cool, is a piece a cake. Just refer to your owners manual, and clean your vent. probably won't take you more than an hour.
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