Are all pellets created equal?

Ed - buy a few bags of both, see how they burn in your stove. Keep track of how much dust is in each bag for comparison, and note how much ash is produced from each burn. Unless you notice significant differences, or they both appear to burn clean and hot, go with the cheaper option. Otherwise, if they both burn terribly, you may need to continue your search at another store for pellets. I'm new to pellets as well (I've only had my Fahrenheit furnace for a month), but my parents have had a pellet stove since 1994, so I knew the basics having grown up part of my life around one. Stove cleanliness and settings play a role in how well your pellets burn, so it's not always the pellet that causes a bad burn. Usually you can recognize that problem based on your flame, if it's lazy and dark-colored, something is wrong with your air flow.

oh boy...

Start here:
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/60581/
and here:
http://www.woodpelletreviews.com/

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


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

Man oh man have you opened a can of Cobras.

Pellets are all the same, All bagged in about same place(there are only 3 bagging plants in the US). The only difference is the bag.

I heard that at the local bigbox from one of there pellet experts. NOT!

all pellets are created equal
its the stove and owner that is the variable
but really
try a few bags of each before buying quantity
your stove will like some better than others
oh and dont forget to send imacman
his dues 10% of your pellet purchase

Sometimes when I call the big box stores asking what brands they have in stock they tell me they just have the "renewable energy" and "wood pellet" brands. I tell them that those aren't the brand but they insist that is the brand name as they are looking at the bags.
I think all pellets are made the same from a high level point of view, but it is the quality of the wood product, quality of dryers, controls, tolerances, etc that define one end product from another. There is a lot of good posts about different brands and quality around here.

Move this (post)thread to giving bad advice thread!

LIpelletpig said:

Move this (post)thread to giving bad advice thread!

Click to expand...

Why, oh Pellet Pig?

We are just telling it as it is according to the experts at the Big Box everything else is fully disclaimed and actual measurements.

Ed, If you are looking for feedback on lignetics pellets then I can give my first hand account of them. I have used a few different brands and for me lignetics were far and away the best. They burn very hot and clean, I can go a month before I have to empty ashes from my pellet boiler. The pellets are also very consistent from year to year. I have a few dealers around me that sell them so I will keep buying them while I can. As with any pellet though buy a few bags first and see if you like the way they burn, but I can tell you I bet you will.

I don't have a pellet stove but we do have a few local manufacturers and I work in a lab where we get some pellet samples every year to be tested for % ash as well as mineral content (potential clinker formation). The answer is no, technically they are not all necesarilly created equal - but you may not notice the difference....

Are all pellets created equal?


ahh ..

No.

God did not create pellets and they have no constitutional protection under law.

Sorry couldn't help it.

Heck..from bag to bag they are not created equal ..even from the same plant.

but its not rocket science..

or is it ?

mkling said:

Ed, If you are looking for feedback on lignetics pellets then I can give my first hand account of them. I have used a few different brands and for me lignetics were far and away the best. They burn very hot and clean, I can go a month before I have to empty ashes from my pellet boiler. The pellets are also very consistent from year to year. I have a few dealers around me that sell them so I will keep buying them while I can. As with any pellet though buy a few bags first and see if you like the way they burn, but I can tell you I bet you will.

Click to expand...

There are actually 3 different kinds of Lignetics too, just to confuse matters. The "conifer blend" in a bag with the green lettering seems to be the most widely available this year (at least in the northeast).

All I can say is look through the information in here and make a list of what is available. I would get 4-6 bags of each brand available and run them through and see what YOU think. I would even get a couple bags of what may not have the best reviews also. There are so many variables with pipe configuration, OAK (outside air kit),install location along with all of the stove specific variables what might burn like dirt in my stove might work out nicely for you.

The more you like to tinker and keep your unit clean the easier it will be to hone in on what is best for the money.

are all pellets created equal?
NO, but they are all made the same way.
Thats about it.......

For example my plant generates alot of sawdust that is now being used for pellets as opposed to wood flour.
Based on production requirements, our sawdust can vary from MOSTLY red oak to Alder, to hard maple....ETC ETC ETC... Every day the blend from our plant is different and thats before it gets to the pellet plant.