Spruce Pointe or Barefoot? Softwood or Hardwood?

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djs_net

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Nov 25, 2011
178
CT
I missed the boat on buying pellets in the offseason...I'm looking for a few tons of the good stuff to add to my stock. Since I'm paying top dollar anyways, I'm trying to find the hottest, cleanest burning option (Duh!)

I've never heard a bad bad word about Barefoot Pellets but I don't recall seeing much discussion about Spruce Pointes. BTW, I know the obvious answer is "Try it before you buy" but I won't have the opportunity to do that since the truck I'm picking them up with isn't mine.

I used Hamers last season as my primary cold weather pellet with good results but would like to find something a little cleaner if possible. I also used Okies last year which burned great for me, but the odor of the pellets was an issue, especially with my wife. Do all softwoods have that smell?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.
 
Do yourself a favor and get some Somersets....

Can't speak for the Barefoot, but Spruce Pointe did not impress me.
 
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Do yourself a favor and get some Somersets....

Can't speak for the Barefoot, but Spruce Pointe did not impress me.

lol, you're killing me!

I bought the last 10 bags of Somersets in my area (apparentely) at $4.18/bag! and they were awesome. I cannot find them now, anywhere. :(
 
Show off! Pay little attention to the fat pig's braggin! :p

Jay, I'd be interested in your opinion on this: 2 tons from BT Ent, money is no issue...what are you buying?
 
We loved Barefoots last year. We used Maine Woods for regular days and Barefoots for the colder ones.
 
Jay, I'd be interested in your opinion on this: 2 tons from BT Ent, money is no issue...what are you buying?

Barefoots for heat, Spuce Pointes for least ash.

I'd also have a look at Easy Blaze or Logik-e. Easy Blaze seems to be getting good reviews. Logik-e impressed me. A little cleaner then the barefoots and the heat is pretty close. Easy Blaze might be the sleeper pellet of the season. You can bet they won't be this price next season.

Sorry to add more confusion, Barefoots are a sure bet without trials. Easy Blaze if you are frugal and need to save something.
 
barefoots are a great pellet. But i can't jusitfy their price.

I can say the same thing for a lot of brands, too.

I'm trying to get my hands on some easy blaze. I'm going down to BT this weekened hopefully to score some.
 
barefoots are a great pellet. But i can't jusitfy their price.

Yeah, I realize I missed the window for getting anything top notch and cheap (thanks to OMV snatching up all the Somersets :p ). I guess the point of this thread is to help me decide what to buy, assuming price isn't a factor. If I'm going to pay $280/ton, I don't mind paying $10-$20 more if that extra money spent makes it so I only have to clean my stove every 3 days instead of every day.
 
Have you tried cubex?

Yup, good heat but probably the dirtiest pellet I've ever burned. I know they get great reviews but something about my stove just doesn't work with the Cubex. My burnpot filled with clinkers and unburned pellets every day. I spent quite a bit of time trying differnt feed and damper settings and couldn't get them to work. I still have 5 bags I'd love to swap with someone for another high end brand.
 
I don't mind paying $10-$20 more if that extra money spent makes it so I only have to clean my stove every 3 days instead of every day

Every day??
My little Englander can go 3-4....Yikes
 
Yup, good heat but probably the dirtiest pellet I've ever burned. I know they get great reviews but something about my stove just doesn't work with the Cubex. My burnpot filled with clinkers and unburned pellets every day. I spent quite a bit of time trying differnt feed and damper settings and couldn't get them to work. I still have 5 bags I'd love to swap with someone for another high end brand.

Give 5 Somersets if ur makin' it up my way...
 
if you're dirty 3 days in, you're doing something wrong/have settings poor/have improper air or exhaust. Even the dirtiest pellets should last a week without the need for a cleanout/clinker dump.

I thought the hammers were dirtier than the cubex, by far, when i burned them a few seasons ago. But neither caused me to clean more than once a week. And that was mostly do to having an insert with no ash drawer, so i have limited ash capactiy in the first place.
 
if you're dirty 3 days in, you're doing something wrong/have settings poor/have improper air or exhaust. Even the dirtiest pellets should last a week without the need for a cleanout/clinker dump.

I thought the hammers were dirtier than the cubex, by far, when i burned them a few seasons ago. But neither caused me to clean more than once a week. And that was mostly do to having an insert with no ash drawer, so i have limited ash capactiy in the first place.

You may be right, I'm fairly new at this, only been burning pellets for 1 yr. My insert has no ash bin or drawer which is why I'm searching for the cleaning burning pellet I can find. I assumed it was fairly normal to do a quick cleanout/vaccuum of the burnpot every 3 days on my type of stove.
 
your insert seems to have a similar design to mine. I can go about 2 weeks without touching it on the 'cheap' pellets i'm burning now, Potomacs. After about two weeks, ash is starting to bury the burn pot and the sides are full. \ / looking.

it sounds like you don't have enough air. If you're getting a lot of clinkers with quality pellets, you're getting incomplete burn. Too much fuel, or not enough air. If you can't adjust your feed rate down a bit, you need more air.

How is your flame? is it tight and dacing? bright white on the edges? or is it lazy and orange?
 
Do you have access to Vermont wood pellets? I'd recommend giving those a try. They'll burn just as hot as the Barefoots with much less ash.
 
Do you have access to Vermont wood pellets? I'd recommend giving those a try. They'll burn just as hot as the Barefoots with much less ash.

Unfortunately I do not, they are sold out at both local places that normally carry them.
 
I've been burning EasyBlaze for a few days now. I don't have much experience, but I like them. They keep the whole house warm with the stove on its lowest setting. They seem to burn pretty clean. I'll be picking up another ton or 2 from BT next week.
 
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I missed the boat on buying pellets in the offseason...I'm looking for a few tons of the good stuff to add to my stock. Since I'm paying top dollar anyways, I'm trying to find the hottest, cleanest burning option (Duh!)

I've never heard a bad bad word about Barefoot Pellets but I don't recall seeing much discussion about Spruce Pointes. BTW, I know the obvious answer is "Try it before you buy" but I won't have the opportunity to do that since the truck I'm picking them up with isn't mine.

I used Hamers last season as my primary cold weather pellet with good results but would like to find something a little cleaner if possible. I also used Okies last year which burned great for me, but the odor of the pellets was an issue, especially with my wife. Do all softwoods have that smell?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Can't go wrong with either one of them. Barefoots were hot and Spruce Pointes burned clean. I ended up buying more this year.

Softwood vs hardwood:

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/hardwood-vs-softwood-pellets.78375/
 
I stopped by BT and picked up 2 bags each of Barefoot, Spruce Pointe and Easy Blaze. I've been burning the Spruce Pointes for a couple of hours and so far so good. I'll probably try the Barefoots tomorrow night.

Does anyone mix them to try to get the best of both worlds?
 
Barefoots are fantastic and I would definitely recommend them. I only mentioned the vermonts because I was amazed at their low ash content. If my cubex stash burns as well as the barefoots did for me last year I will be very happy.
 
The Spruce Pointes and the Barefoots both burned great. The Pointes were a little cleaner but the Barefoots knocked it out of the park with the heat...picking up 2 tons tomorrow.
 
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