TSC Pellets - 3 tons so far

So because of last year's harsh winter, I went through nearly 3 tons of pellets that season. That's about double the usage of the previous 2 winters which were quite mild. I've since gotten to know the folks at the local TSC and have purchased my pellets there the past 3 years. One of the managers always opens up a few of the pallets (to sell the bags individually) and lets me take a home a few bags to try after I buy. So I purchased my 3 tons up front this past weekend and went home with 4 free bags, each being a different brand. So the past few mornings I tossed in a few cups from each bag - Instant Heat, Pure Fires, Pro Pellets, and AgriRecycle. This morning I burned the last sample cups and Instant Heat won hands down. I burn the pellets at a high setting and time how long it takes the blower fan to cycle on which is an indication of how much heat the pellets put out. I let them burn out and take a close look at the ash, etc. left behind. I know some have had bad experiences with Instant Heat, but in my Fahrenheit furnace they left no ash behind and the blower kicked on within half the time of the other brands. Picked up my first ton this evening and will get my other 2 tons over the upcoming weekend. Pellet prices are up slightly this year (about $0.25/bag) but the local suppliers seem to have a lot in my area.

Hoping this Winter is mild - another winter like last year's and I might look to escape somewhere down south...

mithesaint said:

I know every stove/furnace is different but...Instant heat? Really? They burned terrible for me, and Pro Pellets were one of the best pellets I've ever burned, right up there with Somersets. Try a few bags of each, and see if your results hold up.

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Mileage varies substantially even within the same brand of pellets. A lot has to do with how the pellets are stored, how much water they may have been exposed to during the milling phase, etc. The Pro Pellets were the 2nd best during the quick testing I ran with the multiple brands, so I may go with Pro Pellets when I pick up the 3rd ton. If they're not quite as good, I will use them as more of a shoulder pellet toward the beginning and end of the season.

briansol said:

I'm not sure that the 'how long it takes to kick on the blower test' is very scientific.... lol I've burned probably 40-50 brands, and i honestly can't say there's a distinct difference in start up time based on heat. Even with the same brand, same bag, sometimes it gets vacuum sooner and turns over.

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I took that into consideration. This past week fortunately nearly all variables were basically the same during the mornings - calm conditions, about 50°F during the morning, and mid 60s inside the house. Pellets that are poor heat producers are quite noticeable within my Fahrenheit, not only will the fan kick on later (when running on a high feed rate), it will cycle on and off in the same manner as it would if I was burning at a lower feed rate. You're probably right about it not being a scientific test, but I took other factors into consideration as well. This includes appearance of the pellet (consistent color, a nice shine on the pellet is indicative of a solid press, etc.), how much dust/fines were in the bags, avg. length of pellets (the shorter, the better, usually), etc. Judging fines isn't always a good indicator because bags from the bottom of a pallet which have been exposed to water more often also tend to have more fines. In this case, the bags I took home for testing were all taken from about the middle of a pallet which had a blend of the different TSC brands. You can also drop pellets in a glass of water to get an indication of how much crap/filler is in the pellet beyond just wood fiber. I've found everything from plastic in pellets to other materials that I could not identify.