AusBonsai

Try ringing Enfield produce also for a refund or credit. I'm sure they'd also like to know if a product they are supplying has changed quality

Hi Paulneill
It sounds to me like the mine has had a problem when they calcined ( heated) the diatomite
I would send them an email and explain the situation .
The email address is customerservice@mtsylviadiatomite.com and the guy to talk to is Ian.I found him very easy to get on with and he was genuinely interested in the use of diatomite in bonsai mixes.
Good luck Steve

I have a big bag of compressed coconut husk and half a bag of zeolight. I'm thinking mix that 70/30
What do you guys think of that for a mix?. I don't want to spend half a day driving round sydney.

Oh yea does anyone want to buy to one and a half bags of diatomite.

Paulneill wrote:I have a big bag of compressed coconut husk and half a bag of zeolight. I'm thinking mix that 70/30
What do you guys think of that for a mix?. I don't want to spend half a day driving round sydney.

if you are close enough to Ray nesci, I will just give him a call and grab some of his mix
I have about 1 & 1/2 Bag of Good Diatomite spare if you need it to get you out of trouble PM me

I have also sent email to Mt Sylvia to ask what has gone on. Will advise if I hear anything

Ken

That's realy nice ken thanks for the offer. I have a full bag of ray's mix sitting here aswell as the coconut hust and zeolight. I will come up with something using these three. Hope the curl grubs don't become a problem.

Thanks for phoning as well.

Hi Paul,

This may sound like a windge; but if we don't —how is anything ever going to improve?
There are many products which we use that at times create despair. The suppliers/quarry do not actually understand their market/ultimate customers.
Does Enfield Produce care that what they sell is for bonsai? Or Mt Silvia actually realise what proportion they send out gets to be used for bonsai?
I have ceased using Diatomite but Zeolite which I do use; also comes in an opaque bag; with the sieved size written on the outside of the bag by another operator who would seemed to have guessed what size the granules are.
Only by educating our suppliers will they be able (if they care to); improve their products for us —if it is commercially profitable for them!

My windge for the day

Regs, AnneK

I just recived an email back from Ian @ mtsylvia

Hi Ken,
Thanks for your note.
This is obviously a concern for us as we take some pride in our product.
Give me a day or two to look into it and I'll get back to you.
Cheers,

Will advise when we hear more

Ken

Hi folks, I've just been made aware of the difficulties some of you have been having with our product.

Over the next couple of days I'll do my best to sort out the issue. This will involve trying to track back to the particular batch of diatomite that was produced. I know some of you have been using our diatomite for many years with no problems so we do take it seriously when there are questions of quality control.

I should perhaps clarify a few issues here.

Mount Sylvia Diatomite makes a number of grades of diatomite based on particle size. It is all the same material. there is no question of second class material. There are four main particle sizes 0.6-0.9mm (packed in 20kg bags), 0.9-2mm (also packed in 20kg bags), 2-7mm (packed in 35 L bags and sold as Kleensorb) and finally 7-15mm (packed in 20kg bags). This last item is new for us and we supply it as a service for those who bought this size diatomite from Maidenwell before they went out of business.

There are are a few wholesalers who buy from us in bulka bags holding approx 500kg and they repackage the diatomite and sell it under their own brand name so it's possible you could be buying our material and we wouldn't know it. I can tell you however that Septone Absorb does not contain our diatomite. As far as I know, this product contains bentonite.

If you have any questions, I'd be happy to respond and I'll keep you posted if/when we gain some insight into the "mushy diatomite".

Cheers, Ian

IanN wrote:Hi folks, I've just been made aware of the difficulties some of you have been having with our product.

Over the next couple of days I'll do my best to sort out the issue. This will involve trying to track back to the particular batch of diatomite that was produced. I know some of you have been using our diatomite for many years with no problems so we do take it seriously when there are questions of quality control.

I should perhaps clarify a few issues here.

Mount Sylvia Diatomite makes a number of grades of diatomite based on particle size. It is all the same material. there is no question of second class material. There are four main particle sizes 0.6-0.9mm (packed in 20kg bags), 0.9-2mm (also packed in 20kg bags), 2-7mm (packed in 35 L bags and sold as Kleensorb) and finally 7-15mm (packed in 20kg bags). This last item is new for us and we supply it as a service for those who bought this size diatomite from Maidenwell before they went out of business.

There are are a few wholesalers who buy from us in bulka bags holding approx 500kg and they repackage the diatomite and sell it under their own brand name so it's possible you could be buying our material and we wouldn't know it. I can tell you however that Septone Absorb does not contain our diatomite. As far as I know, this product contains bentonite.

If you have any questions, I'd be happy to respond and I'll keep you posted if/when we gain some insight into the "mushy diatomite".

Cheers, Ian

Thanks for the update Ian. It is nice to actually have a genuine response from a supplier who cares about their product and customer concerns. It is the 2-7mm (packed in 35 L bags and sold as Kleensorb) that most if not all the members here use for their mix. Will be interesting to hear your findings on the mushy product. If the original poster has some still maybe they could send you a sample to see first hand.

Josh.

Paulneill wrote:That's realy nice ken thanks for the offer. I have a full bag of ray's mix sitting here aswell as the coconut hust and zeolight. I will come up with something using these three. Hope the curl grubs don't become a problem.

Thanks for phoning as well.

Hi Paul
Can you let Ian know when u purchased the bag?

Hi guys.

I got the bag from Enfield produce about 3/4 weeks ago

IanN wrote: There are are a few wholesalers who buy from us in bulka bags holding approx 500kg and they repackage the diatomite and sell it under their own brand name so it's possible you could be buying our material and we wouldn't know it. I can tell you however that Septone Absorb does not contain our diatomite. As far as I know, this product contains bentonite.

If you have any questions, I'd be happy to respond and I'll keep you posted if/when we gain some insight into the "mushy diatomite".

Cheers, Ian

Hi Ian. Lovely to see an active manufacturer. I am trying to source this product known as Kleensorb from Blackwoods or Protectoralsafe here in Sydney. They have both listed it as Kleensorb Green 20kg but the image on their website is different to what people have been buying here.

https://www.blackwoods.com.au/part/0514 ... green-20kg

https://www.protectoralsafe.com.au/part ... green-20kg

I have contacted them for clarification. They list the manufacturer as absorb. Is Kleensorb a trademark or do Absorb also make Kleensorb.

Could you advise of some wholesalers you mentioned above , who supply in Sydney. Excluding Enfield Product.

Hi Bonbon
It's the same stuff as we are using-- I think it's just an out of date photo and description.
As Ian says we use Kleensorb which is 2 to 7 mm and comes in 35 litre bags
Steve

bamboos wrote:Hi Bonbon
It's the same stuff as we are using-- I think it's just an out of date photo and description.
As Ian says we use Kleensorb which is 2 to 7 mm and comes in 35 litre bags
Steve

Thanks Steve. My question finally answered. I will be placing an order today and see how it goes. They said it'll take about a week.