Magic spark vs Black hills gold pellets

[fixall]

I have tried a few different pellets around the WI area and seem to have found the top two. Magic sparks and black hills gold. I set my ef3 at half auger and half blower and took multiple temperature readings of the heat exchangers using the two different pellet brands.

I was given the black hills gold by a good friend who swears by them. He was right, when burning black hills gold the heat exchangers run 8 to 12f degrees warmer then the magic sparks.

However, the black hills gold pellets are 1/8" to 1/4" shorter then the magic sparks which would account to less air volume in the auger as it runs up. So you would burn more shorter pellets then longer in the same time period.

So the stupid um-important question is why is one pellet longer then the other, just coincidence? Or a great marketing tool?

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Black Hills Gold pellets are softwood pellets, I believe, while Magic Sparks are hardwood. Pound for pound, softwood pellets usually generate more heat than hardwoods.

It appears you're in Appleton. Have you tried Uncle Jed's softwood pellets from Earth Sense? Pretty good pellets.

 

[kelly]

Black Hills Gold pellets are softwood pellets, I believe, while Magic Sparks are hardwood. Pound for pound, softwood pellets usually generate more heat than hardwoods.

It appears you're in Appleton. Have you tried Uncle Jed's softwood pellets from Earth Sense? Pretty good pellets.

I have used M.Sparks and liked them and thought you would get a better burn from the hardwood and higher BTUs - I guess I was wrong , so the question is - are softwood the preferred pellet then . I have only just begun using a pellet stove and educate me if you can .

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Yes, as a rule of thumb softwoods tend to produce more BTUs and less ash per pound. They also tend to be more expensive in the East and Midwest because they're manufactured mostly in western states and Canadian provinces and have to be shipped farther to market. Magic Sparks are pretty good hardwood pellets and probably a more economical choice if you burn a lot. On the other hand if you burn softwoods you'll probably have to clean out your stove less often.

Edit: The makers of Magic Spark post the lab test results on their pellets on their website. Here's a link: http://www.fiberby-products.com/downloads/Quality Analysis.pdf

Here's a link to partial test results for Black Hills Gold: http://www.deadwoodbiofuels.com/testresults.htm

You can see that the BTUs/lb. are higher for the Black Hills pellets than for Magic Sparks.

 

[kelly]

Yes, as a rule of thumb softwoods tend to produce more BTUs and less ash per pound. They also tend to be more expensive in the East and Midwest because they're manufactured mostly in western states and Canadian provinces and have to be shipped farther to market. Magic Sparks are pretty good hardwood pellets and probably a more economical choice if you burn a lot. On the other hand if you burn softwoods you'll probably have to clean out your stove less often.

Edit: The makers of Magic Spark post the lab test results on their pellets on their website. Here's a link: http://www.fiberby-products.com/downloads/Quality Analysis.pdf

Here's a link to partial test results for Black Hills Gold: http://www.deadwoodbiofuels.com/testresults.htm

You can see that the BTUs/lb. are higher for the Black Hills pellets than for Magic Sparks.

Thanks

 

[fixall]

Makes sense, I will be switching to softwoods, black hills gold are all sold out here, ill have to try the Uncle Jed's softwood

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Fixall, Earth Sense has a special on their Uncle Jed's softwood pellets right now -- $255 per ton when paid by cash or check. They aren't exactly giving them away, but I noticed that Menards wants nearly as much for hardwood pellets these days.

They also advertise that they have Pinnacle and Bear Mountain Douglas fir pellets. I've never tried them myself, but I understand that Doug fir is the ultimate in the wood pellet world. You might want to give them a try.