Best pellet for St. Croix - Auburn stove?

[kryscio23]

Hi everyone,

First-time poster.

I am not new to burning pellets but I am quite new to what kind I should be looking for. For a long time (13+ years), my step-father had a Lopi pellet stove and I replaced it last December with a brand new St. Croix Auburn stove. I had lots of pellets left over from the season before along with a free ton from purchasing the new stove but my question to everyone here is, what is the best kind of pellet that I should be using for this particular kind of stove? Most tons of pellets are in the $200-250 range to start with and I know I am on a limited budget, but I just want to get the kind/type that work the best with my stove so that I get the most out of it. That includes a better burn, less clogging and all of the troubles you guys know come with burning these things.

I am in northeastern PA, Monroe County, so I am not up in pellet country of NY or MA like a lot of you guys. There is a pellet mill not that far from me that produces "Premium Hardwood Pellets" by TreeCycle LLC, in Nazareth, PA. Those would probably be the easiest for me to get. I have used them before and they really didn't impress me. I have also used Maine Woods, Instant Heat, PA Pellets and Dry Creek in the last year. My local Lowe's has ones called "North American Pellet" which seems to be a soft & hardwood blend for less than $4 a bag and I was wondering with my stove, would that be the way to go? I thought I read once that the Auburn's might burn better with a softer wood pellet.

Well, this is why I am here ... to ask all of you guys and get a better feel what to get before I spend.

Thanks for all voices!

-J in PA

 

[jtakeman]

AFAIK Treecycle is no-more.

We can get you close, but because each stove has its own quirks its best to burn whats available locally. Your stove will tell you what it really likes or dislikes.

Rating as far as ash content IMHO(some may disagree)

Maine Woods
Dry Creek
North American Pellet
Instant Heat
PA Pellets

Softwoods as a general rule are usually lower in ash and tend to have more BTU's/lb.

 

[imacman]

Rating as far as ash content IMHO(some may disagree)

Maine Woods
Dry Creek
North American Pellet
Instant Heat
PA Pellets

Jay, is the list going from "most ash" or "least ash" from the top of the list?

 

[jtakeman]

Rating as far as ash content IMHO(some may disagree)

Maine Woods
*Dry Creek
North American Pellet
Instant Heat
PA Pellets

Jay, is the list going from "most ash" or "least ash" from the top of the list?

Low to high. I also gave the Dry Creek a star because they were bought by PA pellet and who knows what might happen. Dry creek of old would have had the most octane. Again just MHO!

 

[kryscio23]

I was pretty much forced to use some of the PA Pellets at the end of the last season and I didn't like them much at all. They were quite generic and didn't feel like they burned all that well.

Two other brands that are available in my area are Barefoot at $6/bag and Energex at $5.50/bag, though I have never tried either. I did like Dry Creek very much in the past and I know they are available near me for $5.30/bag ($265 ton).

I called a local Lowe's and they have the North American pellets for $3.97/bag and it's not hard to get a 10% off coupon off the Internet. This seems to be my best lead so far.

-J in PA

 

[Jack Morrissey]

I would try the Barefoot!!

 

[will711]

Welcome fellow Pocono pellet burner. There is a place in Wind Gap the "Cozy Barn" they carry Hammers' , Turmans', NEWP, and GAPS' ( Great American pellet local product from Palmerton) Prices were $ 4.50 - $ 4.80 / bag all have gotten positive reviews. I'm not familiar with your stove I would get 5 bags of each test them out . Lowe's also had Greene Team last year another forum favorite, but it's kinda hit or miss at Lowe's never sure what brand will be in stock. Good luck & happy pellet hunting.

 

[unklechuckles19]

Not sure where you're at in the county, but we burn Hammer's and Great American in all our St. Croix's and have nothing but good things to report about both. Great American gave us more ash during our two bag tests, but still gave great heat and we were pleased with their performance.

Edit: I do believe that TreeCycle is shut down, and I was told that the building is up for auction.

 

[kryscio23]

Will & Chuck! A pair of Pocono boys!

I am not far from Del. Water Gap/Shawnee/Marshalls Creek area, so I am pretty close to you guys.

I have heard of the Cozy Barn but have not been there in yearrrrrrs; waaay back in the early stages of the old Lopi stove that after about 14-15 years, I replaced with the St. Croix Auburn last December. I had a ton of the old TreeCycle pellets left over from the year before, as well as picked up a second ton (of the new formula) when I purchased the new stove. After those two tons ran out, I just scrapped and clawed about 10 bags at a time of whatever I was able to find, mostly at Canfield's on Lower Main St. in Stroudsburg. They had Dry Creek, which I liked, but were pricey. Once those ran out, they sold PA Pellets but I did not like those at all. So this time I wanted to see what everyone thought would be the best for my type of stove and go from there. It seems like a softer-wood-type pellet works best for me.

I called Lowe's Wednesday and the CSR told me that they had two types in stock: Pres-To-Logs and North American. Well I went up there today (Thursday) afternoon around 6 p.m. and there were no North American to be found anywhere. The CSRs basically told me it had to be your lucky day in order to find the pellets I was looking for. They said they don't differentiate types in their system, just how many bags they have or are on order. In other words, call every single day and ask until that lucky day pops up and then have them reserve them for you. Now I don't have a truck and I wanted three tons worth so who knows when and if I can find that many. Also, I don't want to be charged two or three times for home delivery i am hoping that if they have two tons, that they can put them to the side until a third ton comes in and then deliver them all at once. You know as well as I do that we don't need them this very second. I probably won't even touch my stove until the first or second week of November.

I will have to do some research on the other types you guys spoke about above. A good thing with Lowe's is that a 10% off coupon is easily found on the Internet, which is a nice little discount.

Thanks much for all the thoughts and great to make friends with some in my part of the woods!

-J in PA

 

[unklechuckles19]

Like many others have stated around the forums the best way to see what your stove likes is to buy a few bags of each prospective pellet and run a few bags through. Good luck in your search!

 

[mnkywrnch]

Hi everyone,

First-time poster.

I am not new to burning pellets but I am quite new to what kind I should be looking for. For a long time (13+ years), my step-father had a Lopi pellet stove and I replaced it last December with a brand new St. Croix Auburn stove. I had lots of pellets left over from the season before along with a free ton from purchasing the new stove but my question to everyone here is, what is the best kind of pellet that I should be using for this particular kind of stove? Most tons of pellets are in the $200-250 range to start with and I know I am on a limited budget, but I just want to get the kind/type that work the best with my stove so that I get the most out of it. That includes a better burn, less clogging and all of the troubles you guys know come with burning these things.

I am in northeastern PA, Monroe County, so I am not up in pellet country of NY or MA like a lot of you guys. There is a pellet mill not that far from me that produces "Premium Hardwood Pellets" by TreeCycle LLC, in Nazareth, PA. Those would probably be the easiest for me to get. I have used them before and they really didn't impress me. I have also used Maine Woods, Instant Heat, PA Pellets and Dry Creek in the last year. My local Lowe's has ones called "North American Pellet" which seems to be a soft & hardwood blend for less than $4 a bag and I was wondering with my stove, would that be the way to go? I thought I read once that the Auburn's might burn better with a softer wood pellet. Corn!

Well, this is why I am here ... to ask all of you guys and get a better feel what to get before I spend.

Thanks for all voices!

-J in PA

 

[will711]

Will & Chuck! A pair of Pocono boys!

I am not far from Del. Water Gap/Shawnee/Marshalls Creek area, so I am pretty close to you guys.

I have heard of the Cozy Barn but have not been there in yearrrrrrs; waaay back in the early stages of the old Lopi stove that after about 14-15 years, I replaced with the St. Croix Auburn last December. I had a ton of the old TreeCycle pellets left over from the year before, as well as picked up a second ton (of the new formula) when I purchased the new stove. After those two tons ran out, I just scrapped and clawed about 10 bags at a time of whatever I was able to find, mostly at Canfield's on Lower Main St. in Stroudsburg. They had Dry Creek, which I liked, but were pricey. Once those ran out, they sold PA Pellets but I did not like those at all. So this time I wanted to see what everyone thought would be the best for my type of stove and go from there. It seems like a softer-wood-type pellet works best for me.

I called Lowe's Wednesday and the CSR told me that they had two types in stock: Pres-To-Logs and North American. Well I went up there today (Thursday) afternoon around 6 p.m. and there were no North American to be found anywhere. The CSRs basically told me it had to be your lucky day in order to find the pellets I was looking for. They said they don't differentiate types in their system, just how many bags they have or are on order. In other words, call every single day and ask until that lucky day pops up and then have them reserve them for you. Now I don't have a truck and I wanted three tons worth so who knows when and if I can find that many. Also, I don't want to be charged two or three times for home delivery i am hoping that if they have two tons, that they can put them to the side until a third ton comes in and then deliver them all at once. You know as well as I do that we don't need them this very second. I probably won't even touch my stove until the first or second week of November.

I will have to do some research on the other types you guys spoke about above. A good thing with Lowe's is that a 10% off coupon is easily found on the Internet, which is a nice little discount.

Thanks much for all the thoughts and great to make friends with some in my part of the woods!

-J in PA

Hey J, I was at Lowe's this morning and they did have North Americans looked like 4-5 pallets but, 2 of those were forked in the bottom bags with guts pouring out they are located on the sidewalk near the contractor entrance. They also have Cheat River brand & Green Supreme [ re bagged NEWP's ]all same price. My take I would see if Chuck knows if Carl's delivers and pick up a ton of Great Americans for the cold months as they pump out the Heat. Your call. I know you don't have a truck but when you are out and about pick up 5-6 bags of different brands and see how they perform in your stove. Good luck my friend.