Lumberjack Mesquite Blend warning

I really liked the Lumberjack hickory pellets, so I picked up half a ton of assorted pellets from Lumberjack. I was really excited about the mesquite blend. I grew up in Arizona and that was common firewood. I know many people do not like the strong smoke, but it is something I grew up with. When I travel to the southwest, I even pack a few logs of it in my suitcase to use for smoking. I was especially excited to finally get down to a bag of the Lumberjack mesquite blend pellets to use in my MAK. Unfortunately, it was a major disappointment. Unlike the hickory, it does not have a strong smoke smell at all, and doesn't smell like the mesquite fires I'm used to. Worst of all is the ash production. I usually do half a dozen cooks between cleaning the firepot, but after one cook with a few steaks it was full of ash. The second time smoking pork butts the fire went out because there was so much ash. The pellets are basically unusable. Has anyone else had this experience with the Lumberjack mesquite blend before? Did I get a bad bag? Are there any others I should be ware of?

AClarke44 said:

I’ve used it before. I kind of like it but the 100% Hickory is my favorite. The Mesquite blend is 60% red oak though so that’s probably why you’re not getting the scent you’re use to. As far as ash, I don’t have to clean ash out of the rectec very often. I usually go through 20-40 lbs before I clean the chamber and then it’s not overly necessary from what I can tell. So I didn’t notice any more ash that with the other pellets I’ve used.

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LYU370 said:

Haven't tried the Mesquite, but I did try the OHC a few years back, lots of ash. I think it may be the oak.

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This is strange because I just went through 4 bags of their oak and I had very little ash. I'd clean out the chamber after 5+ cooks out of habit really as it wasn't necessary. Maybe it's just a bad batch.