I'm confused on pellets

[blanc12]

I think they make special racks to burn pellets in a wood stove. It would not be as efficient as a pellet stove though.

 

[Corie]

The pellet baskets tend to be smokey, inefficient burning messes in wood stoves. A coal stove, on the other hand, would handle a pellet basket slightly better. Nonetheless, it really doesn't work that well.

 

[DiggerJim]

Maybe that soft or hard wood does make a big difference for boilers but it for a stove I would prefer hard wood.

Why?

 

[mtalea]

Softwood pellets burn hotter. All premium pellets have under 1% ash content. Heartland pellets, made of Ponderosa pine, have the highest btu content (9200 btu/lb) that I've ever seen.

wow pellets from oregon burn at 9500+ doug fir pellets are said to be the best

 

[mtalea]

thanks johnywarm

so no pellets in a wood burning stove???

I was told you can with a pellet basket for a wood stove

 

[DiggerJim]

I was told you can with a pellet basket for a wood stove

Well you can, you just can't do it well - certainly not nearly as well as a pellet stove. Lots of stuff can be done, doesn't mean they can be done well ... like my piano playing.

Use Envi blocks instead.

 

[SteveT]

I was told you can with a pellet basket for a wood stove

Well you can, you just can't do it well - certainly not nearly as well as a pellet stove. Lots of stuff can be done, doesn't mean they can be done well ... like my piano playing.

Use Envi blocks instead.

I agree. The pellet basket you refer to can be viewed at http://www.energex.com/Prometheus.htm.

I bought one several years ago and used it for a couple of years. Not a terrible product, but it is expensive for what you get. The pellets burned OK, the stove threw some heat, but overall it wasn't too impressive. I think the issue is that the pellet ash stays in the basket and sort of smothers the burn after awhile. I was tending the pellet burn (using the poker to knock out the ashes out of the basket) a lot more often than I ever had to tend the stove with wood.

At the time I bought it there were no options for compressed wood products other than pellets (or, if there were, I wasn't aware of them). So it made some sense for back-up when the wood pile was low. Now with BioBricks and Envi blocks on the market I think getting one makes very little sense.

 

[johnnywarm]

I was told you can with a pellet basket for a wood stove

Well you can, you just can't do it well - certainly not nearly as well as a pellet stove. Lots of stuff can be done, doesn't mean they can be done well ... like my piano playing.

Use Envi blocks instead.

Thanks Digger.

 

[eernest4]

Just remember never to buy energex pellets. They are outright & hands down the dirtiest, filthyest more clinkers and the most creosote forming pellet that it has
ever been my misfortune to burn. I would not recommend them to my worst enemy. I had to scrape & clean out clinkers & creosote buildup every 1/2 bag as opposed to once every 3 to 4 bags with any other brand of pellet.

energex is the only brand of pellet on my do not buy list.

 

[Rokky]

I have owned two pellet stoves in the past 10 years. The first was a Lopi Fox Fire that I just replaced last year with an Austroflamm Integra II insert. The Lopi went through fire pots faster then I could order them, but it was the best looking stove on the market and still is. The Austroflamm has been in service for one year now and when installed the control board was not functioning so it was replaced.

This week the igniter went out and when replaced the control board was not firing up the igniter so now the year old control board has to be replaced once again. We are now starting the Integra with starter chips. Wow, after $5,000.00 I'm still building a fire like when I was a kid. Of course, all this is still under warranty, thank goodness.

However the question was: what are the best pellets to use?
Well, I have found that Bear Mountain Pellets from Oregon are the best. I have tried many others and the Bear Mountain are the only ones I will put through my stoves.
Some pellets are put together with animal fat I'm told and that will really crud up your stove and vent pipe.
They give little heat as well.

Also, unfortunately pellets are going up in price here on the west coast and are now just about even with the price of propane.
If pellets get any higher priced then out goes the pellet stove and in comes a gas burner.
Might be a nice move as hauling, stacking, and giving up room in the garage will be a thing of the past.

 

[krooser]

I have owned two pellet stoves in the past 10 years. The first was a Lopi Fox Fire that I just replaced last year with an Austroflamm Integra II insert. The Lopi went through fire pots faster then I could order them, but it was the best looking stove on the market and still is. The Austroflamm has been in service for one year now and when installed the control board was not functioning so it was replaced.

This week the igniter went out and when replaced the control board was not firing up the igniter so now the year old control board has to be replaced once again. We are now starting the Integra with starter chips. Wow, after $5,000.00 I'm still building a fire like when I was a kid. Of course, all this is still under warranty, thank goodness.

However the question was: what are the best pellets to use?
Well, I have found that Bear Mountain Pellets from Oregon are the best. I have tried many others and the Bear Mountain are the only ones I will put through my stoves.
Some pellets are put together with animal fat I'm told and that will really crud up your stove and vent pipe.
They give little heat as well.

Also, unfortunately pellets are going up in price here on the west coast and are now just about even with the price of propane.
If pellets get any higher priced then out goes the pellet stove and in comes a gas burner.
Might be a nice move as hauling, stacking, and giving up room in the garage will be a thing of the past.

I'm not sure how they'd put animal fat into a pellet... they certainly wouldn't meet pellet industry standards.

Bear Mountain Fir ARE probably the best pellet available. My dealer sells them but at an $80.00 per pallet premium I don't use 'em.

I AM thinking about MAYBE buying a pallet and mixing them with the pine pellets I'm using now.

 

[MAD DOG]

Try all Brands find one that you like the Best and stick with that. I find some make the glass real dirty after only one Bag. I use Hardwood Pellets here. Good Luck and enjoy.

 

[Rokky]

I have owned two pellet stoves in the past 10 years. The first was a Lopi Fox Fire that I just replaced last year with an Austroflamm Integra II insert. The Lopi went through fire pots faster then I could order them, but it was the best looking stove on the market and still is. The Austroflamm has been in service for one year now and when installed the control board was not functioning so it was replaced.

This week the igniter went out and when replaced the control board was not firing up the igniter so now the year old control board has to be replaced once again. We are now starting the Integra with starter chips. Wow, after $5,000.00 I'm still building a fire like when I was a kid. Of course, all this is still under warranty, thank goodness.

However the question was: what are the best pellets to use?
Well, I have found that Bear Mountain Pellets from Oregon are the best. I have tried many others and the Bear Mountain are the only ones I will put through my stoves.
Some pellets are put together with animal fat I'm told and that will really crud up your stove and vent pipe.
They give little heat as well.

Also, unfortunately pellets are going up in price here on the west coast and are now just about even with the price of propane.
If pellets get any higher priced then out goes the pellet stove and in comes a gas burner.
Might be a nice move as hauling, stacking, and giving up room in the garage will be a thing of the past.

I'm not sure how they'd put animal fat into a pellet... they certainly wouldn't meet pellet industry standards.

Bear Mountain Fir ARE probably the best pellet available. My dealer sells them but at an $80.00 per pallet premium I don't use 'em.

I AM thinking about MAYBE buying a pallet and mixing them with the pine pellets I'm using now.

Yes, when I first became acquainted with pellets some 10 years ago I was told to stay away from cheap pellets as they were held together with animal fat. This may not be true today.
I think I had gotten some as it really messed up our stove and it had to be cleaned professionally very thoroughly. It took a ton or so of pellets to burn out the old stuff.

Bear Mountain is by far the best.
Does your dealer actually charge $80.00 a pallet above the regular price of the pellets?
How much do they cost a ton or pallet where you are?
I'm paying $360.00 a ton which is 50 bags weighing 40 pound each.
This last spring they were only $282.00 a ton.

We have available to us here the Bear Mountain, Pinnacle, Hot shots, Blazers, Toasty Warm, and various makes at places like Wal-mart and Lowes.
Lowes has some off brand pellets for $6.70 a bag. (40 pound)

 

[krooser]

I have owned two pellet stoves in the past 10 years. The first was a Lopi Fox Fire that I just replaced last year with an Austroflamm Integra II insert. The Lopi went through fire pots faster then I could order them, but it was the best looking stove on the market and still is. The Austroflamm has been in service for one year now and when installed the control board was not functioning so it was replaced.

This week the igniter went out and when replaced the control board was not firing up the igniter so now the year old control board has to be replaced once again. We are now starting the Integra with starter chips. Wow, after $5,000.00 I'm still building a fire like when I was a kid. Of course, all this is still under warranty, thank goodness.

However the question was: what are the best pellets to use?
Well, I have found that Bear Mountain Pellets from Oregon are the best. I have tried many others and the Bear Mountain are the only ones I will put through my stoves.
Some pellets are put together with animal fat I'm told and that will really crud up your stove and vent pipe.
They give little heat as well.

Also, unfortunately pellets are going up in price here on the west coast and are now just about even with the price of propane.
If pellets get any higher priced then out goes the pellet stove and in comes a gas burner.
Might be a nice move as hauling, stacking, and giving up room in the garage will be a thing of the past.

I'm not sure how they'd put animal fat into a pellet... they certainly wouldn't meet pellet industry standards.

Bear Mountain Fir ARE probably the best pellet available. My dealer sells them but at an $80.00 per pallet premium I don't use 'em.

I AM thinking about MAYBE buying a pallet and mixing them with the pine pellets I'm using now.

Yes, when I first became acquainted with pellets some 10 years ago I was told to stay away from cheap pellets as they were held together with animal fat. This may not be true today.
I think I had gotten some as it really messed up our stove and it had to be cleaned professionally very thoroughly. It took a ton or so of pellets to burn out the old stuff.

Bear Mountain is by far the best.
Does your dealer actually charge $80.00 a pallet above the regular price of the pellets?
How much do they cost a ton or pallet where you are?
I'm paying $360.00 a ton which is 50 bags weighing 40 pound each.
This last spring they were only $282.00 a ton.

We have available to us here the Bear Mountain, Pinnacle, Hot shots, Blazers, Toasty Warm, and various makes at places like Wal-mart and Lowes.
Lowes has some off brand pellets for $6.70 a bag. (40 pound)

My dealer had a limited supply of Bear Mountain this year. I believe they were priced at around $320.00 per 1.2 ton pallet (60 bags). They were sold out early.

The pellets I'm thinking about mixing aren't Bear mountain as I stated... they are Eureka's which are a pine/fir mix @ $293.00 per 60 bags. Heartland Ponderosa pines are $278.00/per 60 bags and the "house" brand Uncle Jed's, which is soft pine, are $240.00/60 bags.

Marth hardwoods are $204.00/per 60 bags.

Uncle Jed's are what they call Candian mix and are also available in bulk @ $181.00 per ton.

I think ESES didn't order more Bear Mountain because of the transportation costs involved during the summer. I think we may see them again next season (at least for an early buy).

 

[Rokky]

I have owned two pellet stoves in the past 10 years. The first was a Lopi Fox Fire that I just replaced last year with an Austroflamm Integra II insert. The Lopi went through fire pots faster then I could order them, but it was the best looking stove on the market and still is. The Austroflamm has been in service for one year now and when installed the control board was not functioning so it was replaced.

This week the igniter went out and when replaced the control board was not firing up the igniter so now the year old control board has to be replaced once again. We are now starting the Integra with starter chips. Wow, after $5,000.00 I'm still building a fire like when I was a kid. Of course, all this is still under warranty, thank goodness.

However the question was: what are the best pellets to use?
Well, I have found that Bear Mountain Pellets from Oregon are the best. I have tried many others and the Bear Mountain are the only ones I will put through my stoves.
Some pellets are put together with animal fat I'm told and that will really crud up your stove and vent pipe.
They give little heat as well.

Also, unfortunately pellets are going up in price here on the west coast and are now just about even with the price of propane.
If pellets get any higher priced then out goes the pellet stove and in comes a gas burner.
Might be a nice move as hauling, stacking, and giving up room in the garage will be a thing of the past.

I'm not sure how they'd put animal fat into a pellet... they certainly wouldn't meet pellet industry standards.

Bear Mountain Fir ARE probably the best pellet available. My dealer sells them but at an $80.00 per pallet premium I don't use 'em.

I AM thinking about MAYBE buying a pallet and mixing them with the pine pellets I'm using now.

Yes, when I first became acquainted with pellets some 10 years ago I was told to stay away from cheap pellets as they were held together with animal fat. This may not be true today.
I think I had gotten some as it really messed up our stove and it had to be cleaned professionally very thoroughly. It took a ton or so of pellets to burn out the old stuff.

Bear Mountain is by far the best.
Does your dealer actually charge $80.00 a pallet above the regular price of the pellets?
How much do they cost a ton or pallet where you are?
I'm paying $360.00 a ton which is 50 bags weighing 40 pound each.
This last spring they were only $282.00 a ton.

We have available to us here the Bear Mountain, Pinnacle, Hot shots, Blazers, Toasty Warm, and various makes at places like Wal-mart and Lowes.
Lowes has some off brand pellets for $6.70 a bag. (40 pound)

My dealer had a limited supply of Bear Mountain this year. I believe they were priced at around $320.00 per 1.2 ton pallet (60 bags). They were sold out early.

The pellets I'm thinking about mixing aren't Bear mountain as I stated... they are Eureka's which are a pine/fir mix @ $293.00 per 60 bags. Heartland Ponderosa pines are $278.00/per 60 bags and the "house" brand Uncle Jed's, which is soft pine, are $240.00/60 bags.

Marth hardwoods are $204.00/per 60 bags.

Uncle Jed's are what they call Candian mix and are also available in bulk @ $181.00 per ton.

I think ESES didn't order more Bear Mountain because of the transportation costs involved during the summer. I think we may see them again next season (at least for an early buy).

Your pellets are much cheaper then ours. I guess it must be the transportation costs. (Southern Calif.)
I have gotten so spoiled on Bear Mountain that I won't consider anything else at this point.
Bear Mountain burn so clean that I can go several seasons between cleaning the vent.
I just had the Austroflamm cleaned yesterday after a years use and it was very clean and could have gone another year. Our old Fox Fire was very temperamental and the Bear Mountain were the only ones that didn't blacken the window and insides. Maybe the Austroflamm can handle all the pellets. However, I hate to take a chance but may have to if pellets become scarce.

 

[Lobstah]

"I have looked it up there. i was looking for hardwood at the time. why do wood burners go for the oak(hardwood) then the pine?? "

There are a few reasons for this. Biggest one I know of is that pine, in the form of cordwood, produces much more creosote than seasoned hardwood. It's tougher to properly "season" pine, where as it gets dried for pellet use. By the time you get pine seasoned enough to burn it hot enough to reduce the creosote, it's gone in about 1/3 the time of a good hardwood like oak. So you basically cut it, split it, stack it...and by the time you get to burn it, you get less than half the burn time out of it...so really not worth it. It's great for fireplaces, as it has a lot of snapNcrackle to it ...but for woodstoves, not so much.

Lob

 

[Rokky]

"I have looked it up there. i was looking for hardwood at the time. why do wood burners go for the oak(hardwood) then the pine?? "

There are a few reasons for this. Biggest one I know of is that pine, in the form of cordwood, produces much more creosote than seasoned hardwood. It's tougher to properly "season" pine, where as it gets dried for pellet use. By the time you get pine seasoned enough to burn it hot enough to reduce the creosote, it's gone in about 1/3 the time of a good hardwood like oak. So you basically cut it, split it, stack it...and by the time you get to burn it, you get less than half the burn time out of it...so really not worth it. It's great for fireplaces, as it has a lot of snapNcrackle to it ...but for woodstoves, not so much.

Lob

The Bear Mountain are made from Douglas Fir and Western Red Cedar.
Apparently that must be the combination that works best.
My Dealer is also selling the Golden Fire that is made by Bear Mountain.
They are made with Doulas Fir, but no mention of the Red Cedar.
I was tempted to try a few bags.