Pellets in Michigan

I've had good luck with Wood Fibers Inc., if you get them in your area.

Hello fellow Michigander. I have used the Maeder Brothers pellets, in fact bought 2 tons in November and actually took 1 ton back cause those pellets really sucked in my pellet burner; had way too much ash with them, had to buy an ash tray for the insert. Bought them at Dundee lumber but found better deal at Menards in Ohio off of Alexis rd; Somersets are the best pellets I've come accross. I burned them last year found them at Lowes and Tractor supply but couldn't find them in 2009 at those locations. Oh and back to Menards; found a deal last December just before Christmas for 199.00 a ton so wound up picking up 3 tons. Somersets burn hot, low ash and actually smell like wood unlike those Maeder brothers which smell and look like rabbit food.

I bought the green bag pelletspro's at Tractor Supply last fall. Price was +/- $250 per ton.
They burned ok. Ash was average I would say. Only had one bad bag in three tons.

I also went to Family Farm in Richmond last winter and picked up a few bags of the Meader bros. just to try. Burned fine but the ash was double that of the pelletPros.

I have a new supplier for corn so thats my game plan for stocking this summer/fall.

Let us know if you find some decent deals.

I'm Located about 20 miles south of Port Huron on the St. Clair River

greg48154 said:

Hello fellow burners, currently in Michigan, all i have been able to find are michigan, maeder brothers, and pro pellets. is there any other brand of pellet in the area that are good burning. Been reading alot about how hamers and okies are great pellets to burn. Alot of .coms will not deliever to my area. Has to be a full truck load or they just dont come this far north that I can find. Pro pellets seem to work the best for me but I would like to try some other varieties. If anyone could help me out, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks... Greg

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The pro pellets I bought this year were JUNK imho.They had very high ash content.I am going to buy Uncle Jeds in Swanton Ohio at luces stove shop,very good pellets IMHO.coobie

Last time I bought, I bought Michigan Hardwood (Holland, Michigan) from Dundee Lumber (just off M50 across from Cabelas) by the skid (early last fall) at $219.00/ton on the gooseneck. I'm really happy with the. Little ash and little fines in the bags. I can't say about running straight because I just mix pellets with corn to keep the clinkers at bay.

SidecarFlip said:

Last time I bought, I bought Michigan Hardwood (Holland, Michigan) from Dundee Lumber (just off M50 across from Cabelas) by the skid (early last fall) at $219.00/ton on the gooseneck. I'm really happy with the. Little ash and little fines in the bags. I can't say about running straight because I just mix pellets with corn to keep the clinkers at bay.

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I emailed dundee lumber a few times with no response back.I will buy else where.cobie

That's understandable, they aren't into electronic mail. Little mom and pop outfit. They heat their showroom with a bio fuel burner (smart folks). Like most country folks around here, in person is way better and cash is king.

Stop in sometime, you'll like the hospitality. Sure beats Tough Shitte Charlies up the road. and no, (I don't work there or am I affiliated with them), just a satisified customer.

They are out of the way, sort of. Take Waterstradt south off 50 to the end (Brewer), turn right, 300 feet down on the left side by the cemetary.

SidecarFlip said:

That's understandable, they aren't into electronic mail. Little mom and pop outfit. They heat their showroom with a bio fuel burner (smart folks). Like most country folks around here, in person is way better and cash is king.

Stop in sometime, you'll like the hospitality. Sure beats Tough Shitte Charlies up the road. and no, (I don't work there or am I affiliated with them), just a satisified customer.

They are out of the way, sort of. Take Waterstradt south off 50 to the end (Brewer), turn right, 300 feet down on the left side by the cemetary.

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I am always looking for a mom and pop outfit to do business with BUT if you don,t even take the time to email me back YOUR OFF MY LIST.coobie

Your loss.

I don't have a list, nor do I e-mail any retailer comparing prices. I in-person shop. I get that price for item e-mail concerning my wecsite products ocassionally, I ignore them too. I find that end users that comparison shop on the net usually are a PITA. Frankly, my business hasn't suffered at all from that exclusion. On the contrary.

There are actually 3 outlets that have pellets in the same area, TSC, Dundee Lumber and ACE Tru-Value and I've bought from all 3 at different times. I prefer Dundee Lumber because of 2 reasons, one, it's a mom and pop outfit (small) and 2, they have the pellet that runs the best with my corn burner. All 3 will side load my gooseneck with full pallets (the only way I buy). I want them in the original shrink wrap over covers, undisturbed and no fork truck holes in the bottom bags.

SidecarFlip said:

Your loss.

I don't have a list, nor do I e-mail any retailer comparing prices. I in-person shop. I get that price for item e-mail concerning my wecsite products ocassionally, I ignore them too. I find that end users that comparison shop on the net usually are a PITA. Frankly, my business hasn't suffered at all from that exclusion. On the contrary.

There are actually 3 outlets that have pellets in the same area, TSC, Dundee Lumber and ACE Tru-Value and I've bought from all 3 at different times. I prefer Dundee Lumber because of 2 reasons, one, it's a mom and pop outfit (small) and 2, they have the pellet that runs the best with my corn burner. All 3 will side load my gooseneck with full pallets (the only way I buy). I want them in the original shrink wrap over covers, undisturbed and no fork truck holes in the bottom bags.

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This year I found a mom and pop place to buy wood pellets(uncle jeds) in swanton OH (luces stove shop)they got back with me in a timely mannor.I will buy 5 tons of pellets from them at a very fair price.It is to bad that dundee lumber did not get back with me.I guess business must be good on there end not to get back with customers.coobie

welcome to michigan had that problem for years here sometimes you get luckey and that is when you buy ever pallet they have

little_hawk_59 said:

welcome to michigan had that problem for years here sometimes you get luckey and that is when you buy ever pallet they have

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At any given time I have at the minimum, 5 ton in the barn. That way, if I can't find what I want, I have at least 2 winters supply on hand. So long as they are wrapped and on pallets in a dry weatherproof shelter, life expectancy is basically unlimited.

I like full pallets so I can unload them and store them with as little handling as possible. The more you move them, the more fines they make.

Pellets are just like corn. Some years are better than others.

So what is the best time of the year to buy pellets? I picked mine up last fall in September I think. the price sucked but TSC was the only game in my area. I'm going to try to go 80-20 Corn/pellets this fall. The corn just burns cleaner and hotter in my stove and is a lot less hassel.

Even though my first winter is all said an done I still consider myself a rookie. Lots of varibles to consider as far as fuel goes. lots of issues with stoves to get the optimum performance out of them.

Did I mention this is a great web site?????

Just keep in mind that with corn you get nitric acid vapor and it eats up componentry a bit faster, especially if you are lax on maintenance. With corn it's a must to clean the venting during non-use and clean the inside of the appliance plus oil it down in the summer. I use fogging oil in my appliance and in the venting.

Just got price a few minutes ago from a local Stove dealer.
They have Green Team Premium Hardood (Red and White Oak) for $2.25 a bag
They also have Smith Wood Pellets Hartdwood (Oak and Cherry) for $2.09 a bag.
Will check around tomorrow at Lowes and HD and see if they have any.
Will need six ton for next year; usually don't buy this early; will see what happens
to my finances!! If the stocks go up, will get the money and buy before the stocks
go down.....

Red Devil said:

Just got price a few minutes ago from a local Stove dealer.
They have Green Team Premium Hardood (Red and White Oak) for $2.25 a bag
They also have Smith Wood Pellets Hartdwood (Oak and Cherry) for $2.09 a bag.
Will check around tomorrow at Lowes and HD and see if they have any.
Will need six ton for next year; usually don't buy this early; will see what happens
to my finances!! If the stocks go up, will get the money and buy before the stocks
go down.....

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You must have your numbers wrong.
If that is the price you better buy them all.
EDIT: unless they're 20lb bags.

Sounds like Democratic visoins of grandeur to me. :-/

SidecarFlip said:

Just keep in mind that with corn you get nitric acid vapor and it eats up componentry a bit faster, especially if you are lax on maintenance. With corn it's a must to clean the venting during non-use and clean the inside of the appliance plus oil it down in the summer. I use fogging oil in my appliance and in the venting.

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I have never heard of the acid issue? Interesting. Do you use like outboard motor fogging oil? I guess I could fog mine also but that makes me wonder about next fall when I fire it up. What kind of issues does all the oil in the stove and vent cause besides lots of smoke? I would be concerned about a flash fire or chimney fire once it got up to temp. is this a real issue?

Topshelf said:

SidecarFlip said:

Just keep in mind that with corn you get nitric acid vapor and it eats up componentry a bit faster, especially if you are lax on maintenance. With corn it's a must to clean the venting during non-use and clean the inside of the appliance plus oil it down in the summer. I use fogging oil in my appliance and in the venting.

Click to expand...

I have never heard of the acid issue? Interesting. Do you use like outboard motor fogging oil? I guess I could fog mine also but that makes me wonder about next fall when I fire it up. What kind of issues does all the oil in the stove and vent cause besides lots of smoke? I would be concerned about a flash fire or chimney fire once it got up to temp. is this a real issue?

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One of the by-products of combustion of corn is nitric acid. Normally, it travels with the flue gas out the venting but a little bit gets deposited in the appliance and in the soot that coats the venting inside. When the appliance is off, the stove cools as well as the vent and moisture forms on the cool surfaces (and in the soot inside the vent) and the nitric starts eating away at the stainless vent as well. What I tend to do (weather permitting) is run the last couple weeks on straight pellets to rid the unit of as much of the residual nitric as possible, then I clean everything, take down the venting and wash it inside (I use a scotchbrite pad and a stick) to remove the soot along with soap and water. the I use Gold Eagle fogging oil (outboard motor stuff) inside the venting and the appliance and no, the little oil film isn't going to adversely effect anything and not catch on fire in the fall. I've never seen any smoke other than when I'm pushing the unit hard and not giving it enough primary air, then it black smokes a bit.

The nitric issue is addressed by vent manufacturers with corn specific venting. The alloy liner will slow down the corrosion put not stop it. It's saier to clean it and fog it yearly.

The nitric in the fly ash is what etches your window glass

All great info Sidecar thanks

I think I'm pretty close to being done burning for the season, but you never know in Michigan. It could snow next week and has before in April.
I will probably wait another few weeks to do my end of winter cleaning. I have a couple of outboards that I fog every fall so I'm sure I still have some fogger laying around in the garage. My game plan was to leaf blow the soot out of the chimney, get one last ultra clean on the stove and call it good. Looks like I need to go one more step, which is fine. My setup is really pretty easy to take apart since its a verticle flue. Remove the cap, slide out top section of flue and then just wash that beast down. My mutts hate it when I go on the roof for stuff and they can't climb up there with me. Its like I have been gone for months when I come down the ladder.

you are right looking to have a little snow this week in michigan and low of 34 tonight

little_hawk_59 said:

you are right looking to have a little snow this week in michigan and low of 34 tonight

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I just got off the phone with my son who is in Houghton at Michigan Tech.

Yep its snowing there! I told him he was the one who chose a school which borders on the artic circle.