What makes a good pellet?

There are 5 things to consider when choosing a pellet.

1. BTU. This will tell you how hot they will burn.
2. Moisture content. The lower the better.
3. Ash content. The more ash the dirtier they will burn and the more frequent you have to clean.
4. Fines. This is leftover sawdust from the pellet making process. The less in the bag the better. Some people screen the fines out before dumping them in the stove.
5. Cost. The best pellet in the world will cost you. Try to find a balance of quality and cost that you are comfortable with

All that being said, the best thing you can do is buy a few bags of several varieties and try them to see which you like best.

OK_Bill said:

We'll have a new Harman Accentra 52i installed later this week. I've been researching and trying to learn about pellets, which is not easy to do. Lots of opinions; lots of reviews and lots of brands out there. Feedback from real users is all over the place.

We live in OKC OK and there's not much supply of pellets here. I can order through Lowes, HD, or Tractor Supply. Not even sure what brand they sell - advertising only "40# bag pellets" without any specifics.

So, my question is: what makes a good pellet? Are the good ones generally darker or lighter in color? Do they snap or crumble when broken? Smell? What about the claimed wood content - oak / ash / or just "low ash"... they all make claims of excellence but when reviewed its a crap shoot. Of course, the dealer who sold me the stove does sell pellets too and I will listen to what they have to say carefully. None the less, I have questions.

Can y'all help out a NOOB like me to understand this type of fuel on a more basic level?

Thanks MUCH.

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Another major consideration is the raw materials used to produce the pellet. i've found that, after burning wood pellets for 20 plus years, that companies whose major business is NOT pellet production produce a better pellet. As an example, companies that produce wood flooring and have a pellet mill as a secondary business, typically produce a great pellet. somerset and Country Boy are two that come to mind. Their raw material sources are high quality and very consistent.

On the other hand, companies whose primary business is to produce wood pellets have a wider range of raw materials, therefore their quality is not as good.

OK_Bill said:

We'll have a new Harman Accentra 52i installed later this week. I've been researching and trying to learn about pellets, which is not easy to do. Lots of opinions; lots of reviews and lots of brands out there. Feedback from real users is all over the place.

We live in OKC OK and there's not much supply of pellets here. I can order through Lowes, HD, or Tractor Supply. Not even sure what brand they sell - advertising only "40# bag pellets" without any specifics.

So, my question is: what makes a good pellet? Are the good ones generally darker or lighter in color? Do they snap or crumble when broken? Smell? What about the claimed wood content - oak / ash / or just "low ash"... they all make claims of excellence but when reviewed its a crap shoot. Of course, the dealer who sold me the stove does sell pellets too and I will listen to what they have to say carefully. None the less, I have questions.

Can y'all help out a NOOB like me to understand this type of fuel on a more basic level?

Thanks MUCH.

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It all depends upon what matters to you. For me, once your stove is dialed in, all the pellets I have tried burn fine in terms of heat, so what makes a difference is fines and ash. Though I've been told the PFI standards may have changed, all the Super Premium and Ultra Premium pellets I have tried have little fines and low ash, though in general, they cost more. The Premium pellets you may have to shop around to find a pellet that is low fines and low ash. Some may have a ½ cup of fines, which may not bother some but some may find that dust storm a bother. Some may produce a lot of ash, especially if you have a tiny hopper like my stove does, but some may find that not a bother, so it's all up to you.

For example, the pellet du jour, DF Blazers are only a Premium pellet, but if you look at their specs, they actually meet Super or Ultra Premium standards on fines and ash. You need to buy a few bags of each brand and give them all a try. Of course, your stove should be clean and dialed in to make a valid comparison.

Good info from Tim, I will add this.

The Harman stove does a great job of burning any type of pellet. I have the XXV and I use to buy nothing but super premium pellets (Barefoot, uses their waste stream from flooring mfg) until I ran out last year and had to buy what I could find.

I burned some green supremes, dry creek, energex, some stuff out of Canada that came in 30 pound feed bags, freedom, instant heat, TSC brand and a few more. All of these pellets didn't burn as hot nor as clean as the Barefoots so I cleaned the stove more. And I will add, there is no way I could tell the quality of the pellets by their color, smell or how much pressure I had to apply before snapping a pellet.

This year I went with 3 tons of super premium pellets and 2 tons of a premium pellet. In hindsight I'm glad ran out last season because I discovered that my stove will burn almost anything. So my strategy has changed somewhat, I get my Barefoots right away and then I buy the last two tons on price, factoring in a test burn of 3-5 bags if I have no history with the brand I'm considering.

If you don't have many options besides the big box retailers then pick up a few of their bags and burn them. Clean the stove between brands and note the ash color, amount, and how much it clumps, how heavy it is and the amount of build up it leaves on the burn pot. Tracking the heat output on a Harman is hard because the ESP makes it hard to simulate the same burning condition from one brand to the next.

What ever you decide, burn a few bags before investing in a ton.

OK_Bill said:

Thanks Tim!

Anybody else want to chime in? I'll buy the beer

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Still waiting for my beer.

On a side note, keep the pellets dry. Moisture is the mortal enemy of wood pellets. Once they get wet, they are useless as fuel.

OK_Bill said:

I have a special Christmas ale - a Belgian Tripel from Delerium. 10%ABV so one is just about right for a nice evening. pm your address ...

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I'm actually not a fan of beer. Thanks though.

Around here, $265/ton would be a fairly average price for HD, Lowes or TS pellets (actually, I see 239/ton). don't know about your area. Also, you get different brands, so maybe someone from your area can help guide you. However, there is at least one member of this forum that is not happy with Pennington pellets.

That being said, Harmon's are not usually picky. Heck, I've only ever actually seen a few bags of what others call a "really good" pellet - Blazers). I normally run Currans ($259/ton this year gotten thru a local stove shop) and I've really been getting into Maine's Choice (at Wally World for $4.87/bag) for the Harman. Also ran a few bags of Heatrz from HD thru the Harman and they ran fine; I had no complaints anyway.

My St. Croix will burn Curran's, but doesn't like it - likes FSU's (from HD) a lot better. In the next couple of days I will try the Maine's Choice in it just for giggles.

OK_Bill said:

Thanks Tim!

Anybody else want to chime in? I'll buy the beer

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Frankly? Whatever burns best in your stove. Try about five bags of whatever ones you can get and make your decision based on your experience.

OK_Bill said:

Very very limited supplies around here. I'll see what the price on the Penningtons is. Good to hear the Harman isn't a picky eater.

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I found Penningtons to be very ashy.

OK_Bill said:

Phantom Guy - good data point there thx.

I'd rather not go out and buy whatever happens to be available just to see how it burns. At this point, I couldn't tell crap from caviar anyway.

The problem with "learning through experience" is that process presents the exam before the lesson. Its a messy and expensive procedure.

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Problem is that pellet quality varies year-to-year as well, sometimes within the year and by area. My Harman munches everything, the biggest difference being ash production. I've settled on Lignetics BUT this year's offering isn't quite as good as last. If you don't test what you can get you're maybe missing out on whatever will burn best for you - this year. As for wasting money you won't; heat is heat and you can't beat personal experience. Trust me on this, pellet supply is not constant and next year you'll be happy for your own experience when you can't find what you burned this year. Heck, you may find it useful later this year.

OK_Bill said:

Phantom Guy - good data point there thx.

I'd rather not go out and buy whatever happens to be available just to see how it burns. At this point, I couldn't tell crap from caviar anyway.

The problem with "learning through experience" is that process presents the exam before the lesson. Its a messy and expensive procedure.

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Oh, but you will be able to tell if something burns better in your stove, regardless of whether you are comparing 2 crap brands, two mid-road brands or a super premium brand against a crap brand. And sometimes the results may surprise you. Maybe get a ton or two of what your dealer thinks is best (I assume they will deliver free while bringing the stove). Then, go out and by 5 bags of different stuff and try it. If you don't like the ash, or the fines, or heat (which you may or may not be able to tell) or just don't like the color, then fine - you haven't wasted a whole lot. However, if you find something that runs "better", or at least as well and cheaper, then you are ahead of the game.

If I hadn't been willing to experiment, I never would have figured out that the St. Croix liked FSU's better than my local pellets. Nor would I have found that the Harman likes the Maine's Best better than the Curran's. Sure, I pre-bought 3 tons of Currans (which last year seemed to be better than this year's), but doesn't mean I can't look at other stuff. And, the stuff my stoves are liking this year, is cheaper than the stuff I pre-bought.

Just trying to give you another perspective to look at.

OK_Bill said:

Phantom Guy - good data point there thx.

I'd rather not go out and buy whatever happens to be available just to see how it burns. At this point, I couldn't tell crap from caviar anyway.

The problem with "learning through experience" is that process presents the exam before the lesson. Its a messy and expensive procedure.

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you might be surprised at how quickly you climb that curve. if you get 3 bags of 3 different pellets, you will be able to tell at least how dirty things are going to get. Blazer have almost no ash on the pot and only a dusting in the pan or on the sides after a bag or two (or three!) where as the ashy pellets i am currently using will have a solid wall of ash in the pot after one bag. and the pan bottom is no longer visible.

you may not be an expert, but you will be able to seperate the best from the worst

Do you really have a long enough burning season down there?, sure it can get cold, but it can warm up real fast too, unlike here or worse most northern states, I'd invest in a better heat pump or go all solar