Top 3 Pellet brands

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jdempsey

jdempsey

Feeling the Heat
Aug 21, 2011
263
kentucky
I have read the reviews and the testing done by several members on the forums here.

What would be the top 3, must have. Cleanest, highest BTU fuel you can purchase? lets leave cost out of the decision.
Seems there are new brands of pellets that are hitting the shelfs everyday. I say bring em on. More the better.

Also whats the absolute worst 3 brand of pellet that you should never even be considered for a purchase.
Again i know alot of testing has been done, just like to see what kind of replies turn up.
 
St_Earl said:
i don't even own a stove yet, and have never burned a pellet in my life.
but i know enough to run away from the inferno brand at all times.

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/77763/
Click to expand...
Ive heard inferno mentioned alot as being T-total crap also.

What a shame. With a name like that they should be KING.

"I still have Inferno clinkers in my yard! And that is after running them over with my lawn mower all summer." (Taken from the above link you provided) Now that is bad.
 
#1 Worst is Natures Choice. Which is the same pellet as Inferno's. You get more heat rubbing 2 sticks together.

Best I have burned is Somersets and Lignetics (Green Labels or Presto Logs). Next would be Pro Pellets. But living in Ohio. I am very limited to Good Brand selection.
 
"best" is almost always an opinion, so take any answers in this thread with a grain of salt.

Throwing the price point out the window also will give different results. Is $100 more a ton worth it? sometimes, but not always.

And then there's regions. Most pellets are not sold nationwide, but rather some here, some there, mostly locally. Even state-to-state have different options available. I can't get some pellets that are hugely popular in Maine here in CT, 3.5 hours drive away.
 
Yeh, This is kind of a loaded question...I have only had my stove a few years and I can tell you pellet quality is pretty much a crap shoot. ALL manufacturers have good batches and bad batches. IMHO..
 
Best as in heat output or cleanest burning? Another thing is fiber quality will vary. The most consistent will be from the controlled fiber brands. These are the ones that use inhouse fiber from flooring/lumber millings. Definetly hold better batch tolerances over the open market fiber buyers.

My vote for most consistent hardwood is Turmans. Always 100% Oak. Most consisent softwoods pretty large crowd and hard to nail down. My favorite has to be Spruce Pointe but there are a couple that run the same race!

One thing for the new england region Inferno/Nations Choice most likely will be tops for #1 worst. I got more heat burning bunny poop!
 
j-takeman said:
Best as in heat output or cleanest burning? Another thing is fiber quality will vary. The most consistent will be from the controlled fiber brands. These are the ones that use inhouse fiber from flooring/lumber millings. Definetly hold better batch tolerances over the open market fiber buyers.

My vote for most consistent hardwood is Turmans. Always 100% Oak. Most consisent softwoods pretty large crowd and hard to nail down. My favorite has to be Spruce Pointe but there are a couple that run the same race!

One thing for the new england region Inferno/Nations Choice most likely will be tops for #1 worst. I got more heat burning bunny poop!
Click to expand...

Hmmm...I was entirely underwhelmed by Spruce Pointe in my Enviro. That said, I bought them from a pellet yard that stores their pellets outdoors. They also tend to toss their bags around. I didn't know this prior to the purchase.

I might have to give them another try.
 
jdempsey said:
I have read the reviews and the testing done by several members on the forums here.

What would be the top 3, must have. Cleanest, highest BTU fuel you can purchase? lets leave cost out of the decision.
Seems there are new brands of pellets that are hitting the shelfs everyday. I say bring em on. More the better.

Also whats the absolute worst 3 brand of pellet that you should never even be considered for a purchase.
Again i know alot of testing has been done, just like to see what kind of replies turn up.
Click to expand...

Besides being subjective it is also very regional. Just reading another post from the east coast about pellets. Out of 10 or so brands listed I only have even heard of one of them.

Brad
 
IMHO, the cheaper pellet stoves have more problems with pellets. My 2 Mt. Vernons have never had a single problem with pellets, ever! If you buy a quality stove, it will pay off in the long run, and give you less problems.
 
I sure hope my favorites from last year are great again this year. I just bought 2.5 tons of Heartland from Spearfish SD, @ $230 a ton. I can save $$ buying local Colorado Pellets which burn fairly hot but a little dirty. I really hope these are great once again, I am sure once it gets cold I will let you all know.
 
Duane S. said:
IMHO, the cheaper pellet stoves have more problems with pellets. My 2 Mt. Vernons have never had a single problem with pellets, ever! If you buy a quality stove, it will pay off in the long run, and give you less problems.
Click to expand...

This - as well as rather subjective. I mean a cheaper pellet will most likely have a higher ash and moisture content. Resulting in lower heat output and more ash in the pan.

I personally don't believe $100 a ton is worth less ash pan cleanings, or a cleaner viewing glass. If the heat output is that horrible, I won't buy them again, but mos average pellets seem to put out around the same amount of heat. If I want more - I just turn up the stove to a higher setting.
(NOTE!! of course this means I'll burn through them faster - so effectively not really saving anything regarding the costs)
 
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