Fireside Ultra vs. Stove Chow

FSU Energex also.

Plenty of threads here on it...do a search...

whitetailscout said:

So they are actually the same pellet, just different branding?

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Last we knew the chows were Energex American and the FSUs were Energex Canadian. Do a search, we've beat this horse already....

Having burned both last winter, Alternatly burning 2 tons Energex Premium Hardwoods- 2 tons Stove chows from HD,
There are couple differences..
Chows are Not consistant in size can go up from 1/4 " to 1" long...Not a problem for Harman Auger system.... Energex are same size thruout bag.
Chows have a sweeter smell when bag is opened and when burned..may mean Nothing..?
Both seemed to produce same amount of heat.. Chows may be a bit more ashy...Minimal fines in either brand.
Chows are bagged and distributed by Energex American here in Pa..
Does Energex Actually produce the chows? That i'm not sure of but Energex bags/distrbutes few other brands to HD & Lowes..
some are American and some come from Canadian Plant..
I saw bags of FSU's the other day at HD. Made in Montreal... prob Energex along with Green Supremes from Lowes..
It would be fair to say that all Pellets under the Energex Umbrella, produced or distrbuted are not Exact same pellets.. Love to know how and what Energex actually makes...
If u go on the web site, They show the Premium hardwoods,[green bag], and Golden Premium low ash[ Yellow bag]... The rest of ACTUAL Energex productions are all Softwood and Softwood blends from Canadian Plants.
That's all I know but if someone can add more info, luv to hear it.

canadian > american

eh? aboot?

seriously though, the fsu's will outperform the stove chow. i woudn't pay MORE for the fsu's, but for the same price, i'd buy the fsu's.

briansol said:

canadian > american

eh? aboot?

seriously though, the fsu's will outperform the stove chow. i woudn't pay MORE for the fsu's, but for the same price, i'd buy the fsu's.

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wouldn't know.. never burned FSU's.

Just came back from HD.. asked when they we're getting stove chows back in. just curious.
right now they have FSU's and American Wood Fibers...
I guess the people at the desk get a lot of calls for Chows because the Stock answer is " they are all the same.. no difference...
I beg to differ there..they might all be distributed by Energex[ which is why they assume they are the same but,
Just because GM makes Chevy's and Caddy's, doesn't mean they are both the same car obviously.

I bought 4 ton of Okies....2 DF and 2 Gold. I'm getting them in next week. In the meantime I'm burning HD Stow Chow and Nations Choice. Pleasantly surprised with both these brands. A bit dirty but burning like a champ in my Quad Mt. Vernon Insert. I'd take the Stove Chow over Nations- not by much though. I know the Nations get terrible reviews but I have had good luck.

Last year FSU blew my sock's off!, the heat was awesome!, but had the my first clinker's in 15 year's to deal with, they were softwood and still have several bags left to prove it.
If you can get FSU do not hesitate they were well worth it, the 2 ton's i got i had to fight to get , as HD was selling them fast compared to many ton's of Chow they had.

AWf's are pretty good too

I just grabbed a dozen bags of Chow here at HD. Never burned them before - we usually don't see them up here, only FSUs, so I figured I'd try them. A little early to tell, but so far they seem at least as good as the FSUs, maybe a bit better, less fines, slightly lower ash. Not sure about the heat - still pretty warm and I'm only running short fires every now and then.

Still many tons of both in the lot at W. Leb.

briansol said:

AWf's are pretty good too

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Have not burned them myself, but I have read a lot of great feedback about them. Definitely worth picking up a few bags to try if they are available.

Burned 6 tons of Stove Chow last year from HD. This year, when I tore open the pallets from HD, they were Fireside Ultras. I've only burned 1 bag, but the FSU's hardly even left a dusting of ash on the heat exchangers, and that's with a lot of low burning time. I'd say that's a good sign! Of course, I also installed an OAK last month...

Pellet_Pete said:

Burned 6 tons of Stove Chow last year from HD. This year, when I tore open the pallets from HD, they were Fireside Ultras. I've only burned 1 bag, but the FSU's hardly even left a dusting of ash on the heat exchangers, and that's with a lot of low burning time. I'd say that's a good sign! Of course, I also installed an OAK last month...

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I posted about this recently [but u seem content with what you got]
Thought I would paste this in anyways:

As a retired person one of the kewl things is you have the time to get into everyones business.
I walked into our home depot here outside Phila and in the outside Gardening area I saw about 14 wraped skids of Pellets....There was a sign on 1 row that was big black letters.. It said CHOWS....
ok.. I have 4 tons of early buy Energex bought in May in my basement so wasn't really looking..
As i went in the store, next to a row of lawn mowers was a open Pallet of Fireside Ultras..
Intrigued but "would Never buy them" I asked one of he guys what brand are those pellets outside in the garden area.."... He said "Stove Chows."
"are u sure" I said? because there are FSU's inside next to the mowers.
so he pulls out his Star Trek Phaser looking tool and looked up the Sku numbers..
Turns out the FSU's and the Chows have the same sku Number/..
So what are the pellets that are wraped up in the garden area?
He seemed confused so I volunteered my expert possible explanation..
I told him the Stove Chows are bagged and distributed by Energex upstate in Mifflintown, Pa.
FSU's are also bagged and distributed by Energex But at the're Plant in Canada. Says Montreal on the Bag.
Evidentially The Energex [products] are Generating the same SKU numbers at Home Depots.
Soooooo,
He said, " well, they are both Energex products so no biggie"...
I mention that Chevy and Cadillac are made by GM but are 2 different cars..
I'm not sure if you get down on your knees and look UNDER the skid if you can see the pellet bags but
If you buy a skid or 2 assuming they are Chows, I would make a small cut in the cover to see which pellets you just bought..
I'm sure they WILL NOT cut open a skid untill someone has at least paid for it.
If it's Not what you wanted, they will take them back into the store and hopefully will bring you the right Pellets.
I wrote this because I have read posts about people getting the're pellets delivered and weeks or months later after they opened them up, found that they we're not the pellets they thought they bought. hope this helps..
BTW: Still don't know what brand those wrapped pellets in Gardening area are but the 1 fellow told me that last year they would Regularly get Large truckloads consisting of half Chows and Half FSU's. 22 pallets each.
.

Consistent with the above, last year's Stove Chow came on hardwood pallets (cherry, oak, ash), and this year's FSU's came on softwood pallets with "Made in Canada" burned into them!

whitetailscout said:

S IT AT ALL POSSIBLE THAT CHOW AND FSU ARE THE SAME PELLETS, DIFFERENT BAG?

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Same parent mill one is from PA. and the other is from Canada. The Ca stuff has softwood in the mix,

Both decent stuff, FSU showed a tick more heat in my heap. Otherwise it was hard to tell the difference between them.

whitetailscout said:

Ok, getting ready to pull the trigger on 2 tons of pellets from Home Depot. I can get FSU or Stove Chow, or 1 ton of each. What pellet woukd be the bettet buy? I know the Stove Chow is made by Energex, does anyone know who makes FSU? Is FSU a hardwood, softwood, or a blend?

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Not a fan of Chows, but FSU worked great for me last year and the year before. Haven't seen any around here this season - only Green Supreme and grabbed the last two bags of Heat'rs yesterday at HD. They burned beautifully as well.