Auditioning pellets for next heating season...

[Utilitrack]

I burned through three tons of Energex this year, I am in the process of picking up different brands to try out. I have a few questions for the pro's out there...
1) Is two bags enough to burn to get a good idea of the quality of a pellet?
2) Does it matter that it is too warm right now to really fire up the stove or will burning the pellets on low give enough of an indication of their quality?

So far I burned 2 bags of Cubex Hardwood pellets from Quebec with really great promise- there was very little fines in the bag and MUCH less ash formed than with Energex. If I burned two bags of Energex without cleaning out the ash, it would be overflowing into the burnpot. The Cubex has produced less than a quarter the ash. Which raises my above two questions.

I still have some Northeast Pellets from Ashland, ME to try out next.

Thanks for your input. Marc

 

[jtakeman]

If you think 2 bags is enough to get a good feel for them, That's fine. We all have our own ways to judge them.

I personally get at least 6 or 8 bags. I try to get them at different times so I can get some from different lots. To each is own.

I'm not sure what is available in you area. But I like the Hamer Hot Ones and Turman 100% oak. I also like the Barefoot "Premium Plus". All burn clean and hot. I use the hottest ones on the coldest periods and the ones that aren't as hot I burn spring and fall. When you don't need as much heat!

Seems like we all have to find whats best for each stove too! Every stove acts a little different.

I also check the temps on the heat exchanger to get a feel for which burns hotter. I have an IR heat gun. But you can use a stove thermometer. I always use the same tube to check my temps. Try to keep it consistent on my end. I take 3 temps or more and use an average to judge. ( stove on same heat setting and fan setting too.)

Experiment and tinker with them. Give's you something to do while your stuck inside anyway.

Have fun with it.
Jay

 

[tinkabranc]

As jtakeman mentioned, everyone does their own thing.

If I haven't used the brand before, I always try to get 4-6 bags to try out
first before ordering them in bulk. For me, one or two bags doesn't give
me a good enough benchmark against the brands I have used before.

 

[Xena]

I guess everyone is different cuz a bag or two is plenty
for me. I know my stove well enough that I can detect
the differences easily.
As you can see from the responses, ymmv. I'd try to burn
on the coldest nights if possible and start with a clean stove
and empty hoppper of any left over pellets of another brand.

 

[kinsmanstoves]

Please remember if on Saturday you pick up a couple bags from XYZ store and burn them when you go back in a few more days those pellets might be from a different truckload and or batch. They might burn different.

Storage is key for pellets. If pellets are stored outside it will break the density of the pellet down. Try to get pellets that were only stored inside.

I know this cause some people to start screaming how they can know if pellets were stored inside or not. Just my advise and I do not know everything about pellets..............................

Eric

 

[JLF001]

I notice in my 25-pdvc that different brands of pellets feed at different rates. If brand X seems to be hotter than brand Y it may because you are burning more pounds/hour of brand X than brand Y. You may want to keep track on how fast each of the brands burn.

I just switched to Northeast pellets out of Ashland Me and they feed a lot slower than any other brand that I have tried. They also burn a lot cleaner as well. So far (After about 2 1/2 bags) it seems I am getting more heat out of less pellets than I did with Forest Pride or Pennington's (Which was previously the best brands I could find).

 

[imacman]

......... Just my advise and I do not know everything about pellets..............................

Eric

WHAT? You don't? :gulp: As second in command of the Pellet Pigs, you are REQUIRED to know everything about pellets..... :lol:

 

[kinsmanstoves]

......... Just my advise and I do not know everything about pellets..............................

Eric

WHAT? You don't? :gulp: As second in command of the Pellet Pigs, you are REQUIRED to know everything about pellets..... :lol:

Sorry to neglect my duties. I have been wondering where the heck you been hiding.

Eric

 

[Utilitrack]

I notice in my 25-pdvc that different brands of pellets feed at different rates. If brand X seems to be hotter than brand Y it may because you are burning more pounds/hour of brand X than brand Y. You may want to keep track on how fast each of the brands burn.

I just switched to Northeast pellets out of Ashland Me and they feed a lot slower than any other brand that I have tried. They also burn a lot cleaner as well. So far (After about 2 1/2 bags) it seems I am getting more heat out of less pellets than I did with Forest Pride or Pennington's (Which was previously the best brands I could find).

JLF001- I just burned the Northeast Pellets out of Ashland as well- The pellets were by far the largest and lightest in color that I have burned to date. Heat was good but created ash on par with the Energex. If you get a chance try CUBEX out of Quebec- Rocky's Stove Shop in Augusta has them- great heat, very, very little ash.

 

[Utilitrack]

The Northeast Pellets from Ashland, ME lived up to the town's name IMHO. Copious amounts of ash even heavier than with the Energex. Good heat though. So far of the four brands that I would buy again in bulk I would rank them

1) Cubex
2) Lignetics
3) Energex
4) Northeast Pellets

With my Lopi Leyden of course, you may see different results with your stove.

 

[JLF001]

JLF001- I just burned the Northeast Pellets out of Ashland as well- The pellets were by far the largest and lightest in color that I have burned to date. Heat was good but created ash on par with the Energex. If you get a chance try CUBEX out of Quebec- Rocky's Stove Shop in Augusta has them- great heat, very, very little ash.

Augusta is to far south for me. About the furthest south I ever get is the Newport area.

I am still going to keep my eye out for different brands of pellets and if I see any of these I will be sure to grab a few bags to try.

 

[mattbell]

The Northeast Pellets from Ashland, ME lived up to the town's name IMHO. Copious amounts of ash even heavier than with the Energex. Good heat though. So far of the four brands that I would buy again in bulk I would rank them

1) Cubex
2) Lignetics
3) Energex
4) Northeast Pellets

With my Lopi Leyden of course, you may see different results with your stove.

Thats funny cause I have burnt several tons of them, they are by far the best pellets made in Maine if not the Northeast. I know alot of people prefer Energex and some other canadian brands. Where did you buy your pellets? I havent had any ash issues with them like i have with Ashens.

 

[mattbell]

JLF001- I just burned the Northeast Pellets out of Ashland as well- The pellets were by far the largest and lightest in color that I have burned to date. Heat was good but created ash on par with the Energex. If you get a chance try CUBEX out of Quebec- Rocky's Stove Shop in Augusta has them- great heat, very, very little ash.

Augusta is to far south for me. About the furthest south I ever get is the Newport area.

I am still going to keep my eye out for different brands of pellets and if I see any of these I will be sure to grab a few bags to try.

Check Dysarts in Bangor area for Northeast Pellets

 

[www_godzilla]

I usually take 3 bags to get a good reading on new pellets. I'm new to this stuff this heating season. I haven't been afraid to try different brands. If I see a brand that I haven't burned before,then I buy 3 bags and start burning them. It's almost like a challenge for me. I enjoy doing this.