downtocamp said:
Thanks, Smokey, for explaining that to me. That's very interesting. I would like to try the pine pellets when they come out if they're not too expensive. Didn't appreciate the sarcastic comment from johnny, though - I admit I'm a newbie but I come to this forum to learn stuff not to be made fun of. I guess I'm just sensitive to that kind of put down humor.
You would be surprised how many peeps think wood pellets are just like fire wood. Its just not so. Once the pellet is compressed the fiber density is equalized. Thats where fire wood is different. Softwood logs not as dense as a hardwood log. So it takes more fuel to get the same burn length out of a fill.
I have burned softwoods on and off from 2000 on and burned them in 3 different stoves. I have found them to be hotter and burn cleaner than the average hardwood. I have also found they last just about as long too. And generally if there hotter(higher BTU's) you can run the stove at a lower feed rate as well. It takes a really good quality hardwood pellet to burn as clean as the softies. Softwood fiber for the most part has less ash content/volume and the ash is very light. Check the sticky links for some of the testing I have done for comparision.
Softwoods are generally denser than what we normally see in hardwood pellets(some hardwoods also have to be adjusted due to density). So you need to adjust for the extra fuel with air/feed damper/trim to comp or you could get an over rich condition. Black window glass.
I agree with mj the only "dumb question" is the one that was never asked!