Do you really know where your pellets come from?

[Fish On]

I've been doing a lot of thinking about where we get our pellets and the types we burn.

What I have found is its not easy to find where a company may be, or how they are made.

Take for a example Okanagan pellets. Have you ever tried and looked for there factory, sure they are made in Canada, but no web site no info about anything?
Try and google the name, nothing right But you come across a site that says they are the best pellets and so on. That's it. (I do have the link, just hate free advertising)

So I dug a little more to see what I could find out about any pellet company, yah sure there are some with a picture of some huge lumber mill and a picture of a couple thousand tons of pellets that all look nice.

I'm not trying to bash any dealers here or sales guys but anyone of you could just bag a pellet and say they are awesome and just make a name out of the same pellet from bag to bag.

So my point is whats the big secret?

 

[jtakeman]

Is this the link you have???

http://www.viridisenergy.ca/index.php

The secret is shhh, I can't tell you. Or I have to keel you! :lol:

There are several mills out there. Some you can even visit. The PFI site lists them and even has there phone numbers. Call a nearest one and see if they will show you around. Some people only buy from local mills to help there local economy.

What seems to get you is the marketing tactic's. They are into sales. Just like coke and pepsi. The one with the best jingle will get the sales.

Most bags have the address and some even have links. I have seen very few bags that had no info at all. Except for some furnace grade pellets I tried. Never found out who made them.

 

[Fish On]

BTU I thought you would be the first to reply, I'm not bashing you at all, and the product you have is out of this world! For real, Just like to see a little more of a product info thats all.

 

[imacman]

.....What I have found is its not easy to find where a company may be, or how they are made. ........So my point is whats the big secret?

Don't think there's any big "secret". There a number of pellet mills that are easy to locate. Some even have "tours" occasionally, like the NEWP plant in NY....had a tour this past summer.

I think Woodsman has gone to the Dry Creek plant up in Arcade, if i remember corectly.

 

[Fish On]

BTU I thought you would be the first to reply, I'm not bashing you at all, and the product you have is out of this world! For real, Just like to see a little more of a product info thats all.

What would you like to see...it's made from 100% wood, no additives of any sort (not even used motor oil), low ash, high BTU's...great smell and to sell in the NE we make the railways rich...I just I am "old school" and all the proof you will need is just buy a bag and try it...if that won't convince you it's a great product, certainly better than most then nothing will.... I have said this before and will say it again...just try them and I bet most of those that do will buy them again...even if they do cost a little more than some of the other brands that are out there...most of you will see the difference and understand why burning a better pellet just makes good common sense ... (for those of you without common sense, go easy on the used motor oil mixed with whatever brand of pellets you might use with it)

Go to our website and you can certainly find out more information about our company and even the pellets, but let's face it, once you have seen one pellet mill, you have just about seen them all...there really isn't too much difference between how most commercial operations operate...some are certainly much newer and prettier, but the principal process is much the same in each. But then again, we don't grind up used pallets for fiber, so I guess that does set us apart from some others right there......

I have 3 tons of Dragon on the way... Like I said before this pellet is the best!
Thanks!

 

[amick780]

For me I really don't care much where they come from....I just want good pellets. It just so happens that some of the best pellets come from Canada.

 

[Xena]

Doesn't matter to me if Grandma Moses and Uncle Jake are
whipping them up on the farm - long as I get a quality product
that my stove likes to munch on.

 

[Havlat24]

Whats there to see, when you go buy a 2x4 from home depot, do you not buy weyerhaeuser;s product over west frasers because they dont have mill pics on the company website? Geesh

I thought the Okanagan pellet were a Douglas Fir pellet. The website makes reference to a SPF blend. BTU, is the fibre source a mixture of SPF + Douglas Fir?? I know there is alot of douglas fir out there, but my understanding is alot of the big mills species sort and batch run mill runs based on species, as the different species change the recovery strategies in the mills, Also lumber needs to be stamped differently to include Douglas Fir, so another reason mills batch run.

 

[cac4]

{what is "SPF", again?}

I kind of care where my pellets come from, because that is a part of the "green" factor. Yeah, wherever they come from, they're still carbon neutral, renewable, efficient, etc. But there is also the "local" factor, and being local means that less fossil fuels were used to get them to my house. Dieseling pellets from the other side of the continent kind of misses the mark, there. Reminds me of the other day, driving down the highway, I got passed by a Prius that had to be going 90mph. "dude, I think you're missing the point, here". LOL!
maybe thats minor. maybe it doesn't really amount to much...freight trains being generally efficient at moving bulk. And maybe NEWP is trucking in sawdust from Alaska or some other far-off place, making the whole thing a moot point. But it seems to me that at least some of their product, if not most, must be actually grown and harvested here.

 

[Havlat24]

{what is "SPF", again?}

I kind of care where my pellets come from, because that is a part of the "green" factor. Yeah, wherever they come from, they're still carbon neutral, renewable, efficient, etc. But there is also the "local" factor, and being local means that less fossil fuels were used to get them to my house. Dieseling pellets from the other side of the continent kind of misses the mark, there. Reminds me of the other day, driving down the highway, I got passed by a Prius that had to be going 90mph. "dude, I think you're missing the point, here". LOL!
maybe thats minor. maybe it doesn't really amount to much...freight trains being generally efficient at moving bulk. And maybe NEWP is trucking in sawdust from Alaska or some other far-off place, making the whole thing a moot point. But it seems to me that at least some of their product, if not most, must be actually grown and harvested here.

Spruce Pine Fir, its a designation for which species of confier are accepted in a lumber grade stamped "SPF"

Douglar Fir is not included in the SPF designation.

 

[Havlat24]

{what is "SPF", again?}

I kind of care where my pellets come from, because that is a part of the "green" factor. Yeah, wherever they come from, they're still carbon neutral, renewable, efficient, etc. But there is also the "local" factor, and being local means that less fossil fuels were used to get them to my house. Dieseling pellets from the other side of the continent kind of misses the mark, there. Reminds me of the other day, driving down the highway, I got passed by a Prius that had to be going 90mph. "dude, I think you're missing the point, here". LOL!
maybe thats minor. maybe it doesn't really amount to much...freight trains being generally efficient at moving bulk. And maybe NEWP is trucking in sawdust from Alaska or some other far-off place, making the whole thing a moot point. But it seems to me that at least some of their product, if not most, must be actually grown and harvested here.

Spruce Pine Fir, its a designation for which species of confier are accepted in a lumber grade stamped "SPF"

Douglar Fir is not included in the SPF designation.

Part of a larger group of tree species known as softwoods, in the wood industry, Spruce-pine-fir refers to Canadian woods of similar characteristics that have been grouped for production and marketing. Mainly used to make dimension lumber for home building and panel (such as plywood and OSB), the SPF species have moderate strength, are worked easily, take paint readily, and hold nails well. They are white to pale yellow in color. There are two types of SPF woods:

Eastern Canada (Saskatchewan and east), comprising timber from the Red Spruce, Black Spruce, Jack Pine, and Balsam Fir species.

Western Canada (British Columbia and Alberta), comprising timber from the White Spruce, Engelmann Spruce, Lodgepole Pine, and Alpine fir, species.
The Lodgepole Pine forests of British Columbia, particularly in the Interior are currently suffering from a massive infestation of the Mountain Pine Beetle.
Western SPF is the primary deliverable species of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange lumber contract.

100%, i didn't feel like typing all the species..

 

[Marbleguy]

http://www.ccsmithlumber.com/Products/WoodPellets

Burned three tons last year and bought 4 tons for this year. Used 22 bags so far.

 

[briansol]

http://www.hamerpellet.com/

their website is too lame to not be from west Virginia. lol very good pellet.

 

[slls]

I thought all softwood pellets were tan, there site shows dark pellets, like hardwood.

 

[Panhandler]

http://www.hamerpellet.com/

their website is too lame to not be from west Virginia. lol very good pellet.

So, tell me about your extensive knowledge of West Virginia?

 

[hossthehermit]

{what is "SPF", again?}

I kind of care where my pellets come from, because that is a part of the "green" factor. Yeah, wherever they come from, they're still carbon neutral, renewable, efficient, etc. But there is also the "local" factor, and being local means that less fossil fuels were used to get them to my house. Dieseling pellets from the other side of the continent kind of misses the mark, there. Reminds me of the other day, driving down the highway, I got passed by a Prius that had to be going 90mph. "dude, I think you're missing the point, here". LOL!
maybe thats minor. maybe it doesn't really amount to much...freight trains being generally efficient at moving bulk. And maybe NEWP is trucking in sawdust from Alaska or some other far-off place, making the whole thing a moot point. But it seems to me that at least some of their product, if not most, must be actually grown and harvested here.

Brings up a good, or, at least, interesting, point. SFI certification, Sustainable Forestry Initiative. Traces the entire chain of production, from the land to the end product. Rules are waaaayyyy tighter than PFI (Pellet Fuel Institute). The problem, (or advantage), with SFI is that quality of the end product is not a factor. Maine Woods Pellets (Athens) ARE SFI certified, says so right on the bag in BIG letters, it's the ONLY brand that I've noticed it on. How Green do ya wanna be?

 

[jtakeman]

{what is "SPF", again?}

I kind of care where my pellets come from, because that is a part of the "green" factor. Yeah, wherever they come from, they're still carbon neutral, renewable, efficient, etc. But there is also the "local" factor, and being local means that less fossil fuels were used to get them to my house. Dieseling pellets from the other side of the continent kind of misses the mark, there. Reminds me of the other day, driving down the highway, I got passed by a Prius that had to be going 90mph. "dude, I think you're missing the point, here". LOL!
maybe thats minor. maybe it doesn't really amount to much...freight trains being generally efficient at moving bulk. And maybe NEWP is trucking in sawdust from Alaska or some other far-off place, making the whole thing a moot point. But it seems to me that at least some of their product, if not most, must be actually grown and harvested here.

Brings up a good, or, at least, interesting, point. SFI certification, Sustainable Forestry Initiative. Traces the entire chain of production, from the land to the end product. Rules are waaaayyyy tighter than PFI (Pellet Fuel Institute). The problem, (or advantage), with SFI is that quality of the end product is not a factor. Maine Woods Pellets (Athens) ARE SFI certified, says so right on the bag in BIG letters, it's the ONLY brand that I've noticed it on. How Green do ya wanna be?

Curran also has FSC rating on a line of pellets. (broken link removed to http://www.curranpellets.com/info.html)

http://www.fsc.org/

Rainforest Alliance's rules.

(broken link removed to http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/forestry.cfm?id=smartwood_program&CFID=41774344&CFTOKEN=58241750)

There again, It doesn't have anything to do with quality of the wood pellet. Just how the forests are managed. And not over harvested. Just thought it was interesting.

jay

 

[hossthehermit]

http://www.hamerpellet.com/

their website is too lame to not be from west Virginia. lol very good pellet.

So, tell me about your extensive knowledge of West Virginia?

I went to WV once when I was a kid, family went down there to visit an old Army buddy of my father's in Beckley (?). I was 7 - 8 years old, musta been late '50's. Remember the Blue Ridge Parkway, gorgeous country. Beckley seemed like a huge city. BTW I don't see what's so lame about the website, I thought it was pretty informative. BUT, that's just MY opinion, and I'm from Maine, so I don't know much, anyway.

 

[QuadraBurner]

A lot of good replies already, but I am surprised no one has asked if a gallon of HHO could be traced back to its source. I am pretty sure the answer would be 'No'. While a lot of the pellets we burn might come from our neighbors to the north (including the Okies in my basement :cheese: ), it beats importing even a quart of oil from the middle east! That's my $.02, carry on.


/Hmm, if only I could buy a pellet fueled car...

 

[cac4]

well, "a quart" is about the size of it, since most of our foreign oil comes from our neighbors to the north, too. although...the ME does exert enormous influence, due to our dependence on this global commodity.

pellet fired pickup truck:
I'm thinking you could put a pellet fired boiler in the bed, along with a supply of pellets. attach it to a steam generator, used to re-charge a large battery bank (under the hood). electric motors on each wheel. for a cold start, the truck runs off the batteries, the use of which triggers the boiler to fire up. When its up to speed, it powers the vehicle and re-charges the batteries. When you stop, the boiler/generator continues to run, until the batteries are fully charged, then it shuts down.

pellet-electric, instead of "diesel-electric". ;-)

 

[trogers]

It seems to me that we can look at any energy source and "wish for more", whether it's pulling up to a pump and having the country of origin posted on the pump, or having each bag of pellets stapmed with the forest of origin. What we can be certain of, at least for now, is that the pellets that we are using A) come from North America, B) are (except for the delivery)carbon neutral, and C) Come from a renewable source. For me, all three of these points make me feel better about burning pellets. Yes, we get most of our oil (and pellets) from our very good friends in Canada...but, the price of oil as a commodity is driven mostly by hwat the middle eat producers do as far as production output goes.

The bottom line for me is that pellets are a North American product for the time being. They are also the most "green" type of heating that I can afford right now, so it's a win win for me.