Central Boiler Maxim M255 pellet recommondations

[thenrich]

Hi guys,

New poster here.

After 15 years of burning wood in a Classic 6048 we are making the switch a Central Boiler Maxim outdoor pellet boiler. Most of the pellet places I spoke with recommend soft pellets and explain they have more BTU's, burn hotter and have less ash. I called Central Boiler and spoke with a customer service rep who said hardwood was better based on the fact hardwood has more BTU's - I explained this was a pellet boiler not a wood boiler. He still said hardwood - I feel like he was clueless?

Right now I'm leaning towards like an Uncle Jed's softwood pellet.

Any advice much appreciated.

Thank you
-Tom

 

[johneh]

There basically is no difference between hard or softwood pellets
they all produce between 7 and 9 thousand BTU per pound on average
I like hardwood only because softwood here costs too much. Some
people say softwood produces less ash. Not having used softwood I can not say
but the hardwood I use is very hot clean burning and has very little ash.
Try a few brands of both and pick the one that works for you.

 

[thenrich]

There basically is no difference between hard or softwood pellets
they all produce between 7 and 9 thousand BTU per pound on average
I like hardwood only because softwood here costs too much. Some
people say softwood produces less ash. Not having used softwood I can not say
but the hardwood I use is very hot clean burning and has very little ash.
Try a few brands of both and pick the one that works for you.

So really just BTU/lb is what I'm concerned about?

 

[johneh]

There is a little more to it than that
Try some different brands 4or 5 bags of each.
Find the one that works for you.
I use Cubix (Canadian hardwood from a flooring company)
But there are many others both US and Canadian makers
everyone has the brand they love. Search pellet brands here

 

[Dmurph2016]

Hi guys,

New poster here.

After 15 years of burning wood in a Classic 6048 we are making the switch a Central Boiler Maxim outdoor pellet boiler. Most of the pellet places I spoke with recommend soft pellets and explain they have more BTU's, burn hotter and have less ash. I called Central Boiler and spoke with a customer service rep who said hardwood was better based on the fact hardwood has more BTU's - I explained this was a pellet boiler not a wood boiler. He still said hardwood - I feel like he was clueless?

Right now I'm leaning towards like an Uncle Jed's softwood pellet.

Any advice much appreciated.

Thank you
-Tom

Why switching from wood to pellets?

 

[thenrich]

Why switching from wood to pellets?

It's an ass-load of work cutting, splitting and stacking 12-cords of wood a year vs picking up the phone and having pellets delivered. Don't get me wrong it saved us a bunch of money over the years though.