Which kind of pellet to burn in my new Harman Accentra insert, hardwood or softwood?

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tkasek

New Member
Nov 15, 2010
40
Central Connecticut
The new insert is being delivered soon and I wanted to have three pallets delivered instead of testing a few bags at a time. I just want to start heating. I was ready to order three tons of barefoots, but one of the pellet sales persons told me that a lot of her customers who have Harman's prefer softwood pellets. I thought burning with a pellet stove was supposed to be easier?
 
I'll give this a swing! A well made high quality pellet is what your after. Your looking for high heat and low ash. Can't be easier than that. But not all pellets are created equal. So one must sample the brands availabe. Also stoves tend to burn them a bit different than another. Both species of wood can be made into a great pellet and a bad pellet. Basically why we say try before the big purchase. Also how the pellet is stored and handled can effect it.

Check my testing to see what I mean on the not all created equal part. But YMMV as they say!

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/42511/

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/50101/

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/60581/

I will say the Barefoots have been a good pellet to me over the years and there are some softwoods that have been as well. Can you name some of the softwood brands available?
 
j-takeman,

She was recommending Spruce ponte that she carries. I don't think anyone else in my area has them though. So I quess I would try the Okies if I was going to try soft wood, they are more available. My buddy burns New England's in his. initially I thought I would just buy a good hardwood pellet Hamers or barefoot and be done with it. I can can get Hamers for 239 a ton I think the Barefoot's are 258.
 
Harman stoves are not picky so it should not matter if you burn softwood or hardwood pellets in it.

I prefer to burn softwood pellets in my stoves only because of the low ash and high
heat I get out of them.

Never tried the Hamers, but IMO both Barefoot and Spruce Pointes are really good pellets.
 
I will also recommend the Spruce Pointes. Very dependable pellet and will run with the Okies. So price is the next thing that steers the buyer.

Check the second link I burned Okies, Spruce Pointes and Barefoots. Hamers are there too! It will give you a rough Idea. But all 4 brands rock! NEWP's not so much. They are a middle of the road pellet at best and depending on the batch you get you could see ash as high as .6% Where the softwoods are under .3% day in and out! Barefoots and Hamers are a bit higher. But still under .5%. The lower the ash the longer you can burn between cleaning the stove or messing with the burnpot.
 
I highly recommend the new FIRMWOOD pellets, made from a carefully selected blend of fine aromatic fibrous growing upright plants. They might cost a little more, but Mother Nature will smile upon you, your Significant Other will grant your every desire, and you'll bask in the glow of knowing that you have done "THE RIGHT THING".
 
Thanks guys. I'm going to get off my butt now and go burn some fat... I hear Tony Horton calling me!!
 
I have a Harman insert and I actually like to run softwoods more. I used to run NEWPs but they have fallen off my list of favorites. I am trying Vermont Softwoods now and I love them. High heat and probably the lowest ash of any pellet I've ever tried.
 
Thanks!

Lets see in my area Bt pellet has Spruce Ponte and Vermont Super Softwood... I guess I could try a pallet of both. Now the question is do i want to try a pallet of hardwoods too. Barefoots are out of stock, so it looks like Cubex or hamers, or do I go for a softwood trifecta and get a pallet of Okies too?
 
J-takeman,

I just read through your links... Wow! Thanks for the info... Now I'm wondering if i should cancel my Harman order and use whatever you're using! But the boss likes the look of the harman, so Harman it is... I just want to stop reading and start burning something.
 
This is my third year with the Harman insert and we love it. Looks great, and it has been problem free. I ran Spruce Pointes my first year and had very good results. Ran Okanagans last year and had very good results. I'm running Northern (made by Cubex) so far this year and love them. I've tried a a few bags here and there of middle of the road pellets and got middle of the road results. Whether you run softwoods like the SP's and Okies or hardwood like the Northerns...it's the quality that counts. I personally think that one of the benefits to the Accentra, and Harman in general, is that they are very tolerant of so-so pellets. That said, I will pay a bit more for the good pellets based on my experience.

Congrats on your new stove!
 
TJ said:
Thanks!

Lets see in my area Bt pellet has Spruce Ponte and Vermont Super Softwood... I guess I could try a pallet of both. Now the question is do i want to try a pallet of hardwoods too. Barefoots are out of stock, so it looks like Cubex or hamers, or do I go for a softwood trifecta and get a pallet of Okies too?

I'd go for one of the hardwoods so you have something to compare against the two softwoods. You have a lot of great choices so I don't think you can go too far wrong though.
 
After looking who carriies what pellets in Connecticut my plan went down the tubes when I found out BT doesn't take credit cards. The stove tapped out my cash reserves for the month. Now it looks like my only soft wood choice is Okies. Okies are the same price from all the local guys. So it's either Hammers for 239.00 or barefoots for 250.00. the Okies and barefoots are from a guy a few miles away and he said they are stored inside a heated warehouse. The Okies, Hammer's are a little farther away.

It looks like barefoot and hammer's are a very similar pellet.

Life was somewhat eaiser when I was doing the cutting, splitting, and stacking.
 
Depending on where you are in central ct there are lots of dealers. CJ's in Manchester, Blakeslee in Middletown., Primo in Wallingford, just to name a few of them. Try calling around. I went with a ton of Okies and a ton of Cubex for my Harman P35i. When i got my pellets delivered the driveway was wet and they couldnt get them up my driveway since it is steep, so I got to walk two tons of pellets up the hill. This is my first year with the stove and love it so far.
 
2nd year heating with Accentra insert and I have to say that this stove will take anything you throw at it. I even mixed in shelled corn 50/50 and it burned like a champ. I ordered one ton of hardwood pellets last year and we ran out so whatever was available was what we burned. Anything to keep the propane man from making his expensive deliveries. In speaking with the local dealer he said the stove is known for burning anything you throw at it. He did advise not to burn straight corn though. 50/50 OK.
 
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