Just starting my Pellet shopping...

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Paul Raz

Feeling the Heat
Oct 16, 2012
248
Orange County, NY
Hey folks, I haven't been on here since the end of the winter. Hope all is well with everyone. Well it's that time of the year for me, yup Pellet shopping! It's a bittersweet time as I love comparing and trying new pellets I do not love laying out the cash for all of these. But my consolation is less oil being used so that should help.
Anyway Last year I tried 5 different pellets and clearly LOVED the Hamers Hot ones. I will probably go with those again, but I just found a place kind of close to me that carries Barefoots, so was wondering about people's different opinions between the 2? Also, I have been reading a lot of old post and seeing many people rave about softwoods, what is the real differences between hardwoods and softwoods? And are any softwoods sold anywhere near me? And what about Turmans, Vermonts, or any other Super Premium pellets? I live in Orange County New York. Any opinions are appreciated. As always tks for your help.
 
Fortunately, your Harman will burn nearly everything, so, for you it'll be a quality versus price decision. Most of the ones you mention are quality pellets, so you wont be doing yourself a disservice by buying any of them.....
 
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barefoot, hammer, vermonts, turmans are all top 10% pellet brands. You pretty much can't go wrong with any of those.
Softwoods are generally cleaner (less ash) and are capable of very high btu's. Plus, a lot of the pines smell nice. It's not like wood stoves where softwood is shunned. I have been almost exclusively been burning softwoods for the past few years. I like 'em better than the hardwoods.
 
And are any softwoods sold anywhere near me?
Most likely no and if they are gonna be pricey. Softwoods don't seem to make it out of New England. Try woodpellets.com I can get Cleanfire Pacifics delivered to my zip code ,but @ $315/ton with a 3 ton minimum, no thanks, when I get get Turman's @ $240/ton .
 
Fortunately, your Harman will burn nearly everything, so, for you it'll be a quality versus price decision. Most of the ones you mention are quality pellets, so you wont be doing yourself a disservice by buying any of them.....

For me now, it's more heat output than anything. Well other than the price I mean. I'm not that worried about the ash since I usually clean it every Saturday
 
Most likely no and if they are gonna be pricey. Softwoods don't seem to make it out of New England. Try woodpellets.com I can get Cleanfire Pacifics delivered to my zip code ,but @ $315/ton with a 3 ton minimum, no thanks, when I get get Turman's @ $240/ton .

So I went to woodpellets.com and they only offer 4 brands: Powerhouse $249 ton, Cleanfire Hardwood $270 Ton, Granules lg $284 Ton, Cleanfire Pacific $294 Ton. Don't know about any of these?
 
Does anyone know if the Hamer's and Turman are avialable in New Hampshire?

The Vermont brand is available here and supposed to be a good pellet but I'd like to compare and contrast at least a few different brands this winter which will be my first heating with pelets.
 
Does anyone know if the Hamer's and Turman are avialable in New Hampshire?

The Vermont brand is available here and supposed to be a good pellet but I'd like to compare and contrast at least a few different brands this winter which will be my first heating with pelets.

Sorry pal, can't help you there. I'm barely finding what I want in NY. Couldn't tell you anything about New Hampshire. But I think you can at least get good softwoods out there. Someone will chime in!
 
Sorry pal, can't help you there. I'm barely finding what I want in NY. Couldn't tell you anything about New Hampshire. But I think you can at least get good softwoods out there. Someone will chime in!


I know the Vermont pellets are readily available in my area and most people that have anything to say about them say that they're top tier product. They're not cheap though. Calling around today I got prices ranging from 279 to 333 per ton. That's before you factor in the delivery cost. I see everyone discussing the pellet qualities and how they burn but for me the bottom line will always be the $$$ I'm not inclined to spend more on a certain brand of pellet if that pellet is not ultimately going to translate into savings on my overall heating costs for the winter. This is why I'd like to try several different brands before committing to purchasing tons of a single brand.
 
Does anyone know if the Hamer's and Turman are avialable in New Hampshire?

The Vermont brand is available here and supposed to be a good pellet but I'd like to compare and contrast at least a few different brands this winter which will be my first heating with pelets.

You can have a look in the pellet price posts. Folks post the brand and the price so its a decent place to start.
 
So I went to woodpellets.com and they only offer 4 brands: Powerhouse $249 ton, Cleanfire Hardwood $270 Ton, Granules lg $284 Ton, Cleanfire Pacific $294 Ton. Don't know about any of these?
Powerhouse are re-bagged Great Americans (GAPS) a local pellet for me plant is about 20 miles away. Decent pellet good heat, more ashy than the Hammer's you've been burning.They are something you maybe able to find locally do a search here I know Jtakeman did a test on them and I made a few posts myself.
The other 3 I haven't tried.

EDIT: www.greatamericanpellets.com
http://woodpelletreviews.com/takeman-reviews/great-american-wood-pellets.html
 
This is why I'd like to try several different brands before committing to purchasing tons of a single brand.
Bingo that's the way to go:cool:
 
Powerhouse are re-bagged Great Americans (GAPS) a local pellet for me plant is about 20 miles away. Decent pellet good heat, more ashy than the Hammer's you've been burning.They are something you maybe able to find locally do a search here I know Jtakeman did a test on them and I made a few posts myself.
The other 3 I haven't tried.

EDIT: www.greatamericanpellets.com
http://woodpelletreviews.com/takeman-reviews/great-american-wood-pellets.html

Tks I'll check them out!
 
Paul, How do you like the Harmon Accentra Insert. I'm real close to upgrading to one,
 
Paul, How do you like the Harmon Accentra Insert. I'm real close to upgrading to one,

Love it! Probably one of the best purchases I've made. I originally got it thinking that maybe it will heat my downstairs. After getting it, it definitely heats the downstairs and part of the upstairs as well. I completely turn the thermostat off in the winter downstairs. The maintenance so far is just weekly cleaning and year end clean out. Took a little while to find the pellets I like, but like I said so far it's been great.
 

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Hello

Here is some of the good stuff around here. http://www.woodpellets.com

Click to enlarge
According to the site when I put in my zip code, I can only get 2 of the ones you listed. The others aren't available to my area. My original question was really just to see if there are any pellets available in my area that are better or much better( when i say better,i mean hotter)than the Hamers. If not, no problem at all as I love these pellets. I was just curious and leaving my options open.
 
According to the site when I put in my zip code, I can only get 2 of the ones you listed. The others aren't available to my area. My original question was really just to see if there are any pellets available in my area that are better or much better( when i say better,i mean hotter)than the Hamers. If not, no problem at all as I love these pellets. I was just curious and leaving my options open.


I wish I could get Hamers in my area! LOL
 
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