Canadian softwood pellets - - pretty much the same?

[Stentor]

Are Canadian software products pretty much the same whether from BC or Quebec? Pine, spruce, etc. should be a commodity, no matter where they are grown. (Same might be true of hardwoods but that is another question.) There seem differences in the kinds I've bought but I can't see a pattern.

1. If they start out from various softwoods, do the good suppliers maintain consistent percentages of the wood or do they vary a lot depending on the year of production, percentage of one kind of tree over another, where they are logging, and so forth?

2. Even this first season using a pellet stove, I see differences in the softwoods I've sampled. Is that because they are manufactured differently, e.g., with different moisture, ash reduction, and debris removal?

3. Do differences in bagging and branding mean anything if it's all theoretically "premium" grade? For example, does supplier X provide one quality of wood bagged Brand A with a Pellet Fuels Institute logo and maybe lower quality to Brand B without the PFI?

 

[Stevekng]

I have a house on Prince Edward Island and installed a St. Croix Afton Bay Three weeks ago.
I love the stove( I also have a Quad castille and an Enviro Meridian here in Maine). The pellets I have used in Canada, so far have been not up to par with the pellets I've used in Maine. The pellet every one goes after on PEI is Shaw's selling for $5.75 CAD It's 80% hardwood-20% softwood. I would rate it on par with What you would get at Home Depot or Lowe's; not the best but burnable. There is another pellet that is available from the farm co-op (a no-name at $5.00 a bag) that comes in a return for 50 cents feed bag. I would rate these as furnace grade, well below the Wamart Pennington's pellet quality.
They are also starting to sell pellets from Athens as "Premium" for $7.00 CAD a bag. Looks like the folks from Athens are trying to find some gullible people up north.
Also, the ton you buy on PEI is a metric ton;2,200 lbs.