Douglas Fir Pellet Questions

[deercamp]

After reading tons of reviews on pellets to me the Douglas Fir is the clear cut winner. This will be my first year
with my new Harman Accentra 52i. I ordered 3 tons of DF for $360 a ton and $50 delivery charge.
I know they burn the hottest and are the cleaniest from what I have read. Is this a pellet that I should be using in
the beggining and end of the heating season also? Would I be better off buying a couple of tons from HD or Lowes for $240? Has anyone done a comparison on how many more pellets that they are burning with a cheaper pellet that has less BTU's than the DF'S. To me if I will be getting a longer burn time with the DF'S and they are a lot cleaner it seems like the gap between the $240 and $360 would be a lot closer and worth it. How much closer is what I would like to know if anyone could tell me. I will be heating a 2500 sq ft colonial with a very wide open floor plan. I was planning on buying 6 tons which should be plenty just to be safe. Thanks..

 

[TimfromMA]

This will be my first season using DF too. I bought 6 tons at $345 per ton but picked them up myself to save the delivery fee. After I burn through the 20 bags I have left over from last year, I will be using DF exclusively. Since these burn hotter, I hope to use less pellets overall to heat my home. I've been keeping pretty good records of my annual pellet usage so I hope to have a clearer picture of how DF perform by season's end.

 

[jackman]

That's all we get here in Oregon, $199/ton.

 

[deercamp]

That's all we get here in Oregon, $199/ton.

Wow that is excellent.

 

[hockeypuck]

you are going to be burning on medium to high so a clean pellet like that might not be necessary... it would depend on how efficient your house is. Harman's demand a premium due to the bottom feed, which is supposed to burn anything. I would get a hold of a ton some Firesides from HD.. buy 10 bags of DG firs and see if you see a difference. 100 bucks per ton is nothing to sneeze at.

 

[Boomer Sailor]

That's all we get here in Oregon, $199/ton.

Wow that's amazing! I just paid $305-ish per ton of LaCretes which I hear are good... but just a notch below DF's (which are like $350/ton here IF you can still find them!)

 

[Boomer Sailor]

This will be my first season using DF too. I bought 6 tons at $345 per ton but picked them up myself to save the delivery fee. After I burn through the 20 bags I have left over from last year, I will be using DF exclusively. Since these burn hotter, I hope to use less pellets overall to heat my home. I've been keeping pretty good records of my annual pellet usage so I hope to have a clearer picture of how DF perform by season's end.

Wow 6 tons...you don't play around huh? I've only burned Barefoot so far... but I hear my LaCretes are a notch above Barefoot and 1 notch below DFs - looking forward to seeing how you like/LOVE them!

 

[TimfromMA]

Wow 6 tons...you don't play around huh? I've only burned Barefoot so far... but I hear my LaCretes are a notch above Barefoot and 1 notch below DFs - looking forward to seeing how you like/LOVE them!

My normal pellet are Okanagan Platinums which are in short supply this year, so I upgraded.

 

[Boomer Sailor]

My normal pellet are Okanagan Platinums which are in short supply this year, so I upgraded.

A man with refined tastes I see! I didn't see the Platinums around here either. Perhaps those are on par with the LaCretes? I'm sure we'll both be happy pellet burners when the time comes

 

[deercamp]

I can get 1.2 tons (60 bags) of Lacretes for $359 at a store in my town. If I bought five of these it would cost me
$1,795 but would give me a total of 6 tons. 6 tons of DF'S would cost me $2,160. When I bought my stove in the early spring I thought that I would be paying around $200-$250 for a ton. I just put 200 gallons of oil in today at 3.09 a gallon for $618. Not to bad.

 

[alternativeheat]

I can get 1.2 tons (60 bags) of Lacretes for $359 at a store in my town. If I bought five of these it would cost me
$1,795 but would give me a total of 6 tons. 6 tons of DF'S would cost me $2,160. When I bought my stove in the early spring I thought that I would be paying around $200-$250 for a ton. I just put 200 gallons of oil in today at 3.09 a gallon for $618. Not to bad.

A pellet like Spruce Pointe gives 8700 btu and DF's 9200 or so. You won't so much notice a difference in heat output with these number differences.But some pellets are down around 8000 btu. Look at the ash content. DF is around .2% ash. I do not like burning pellets with more than.5% ash. 1% ash can still possibly be in a brand claiming mid and up 8000btu range in though. So for me, in a less expensive pellet I shoot for .5% ash or less and 8500 or more btu. These numbers are not etched in stone, there is variation in ash produced. Also some ash is just plain messy ash and other ash is totally fly away type ash which is easier to clean up.

Anyway, common sense says you will use less pellets at 9200 btu than one producing 8000 btu, messy or not. But it isn't that clear cut when tracking. Someplace in between is a compromise worth investigating.

 

[Snowy Rivers]

Interesting.

Yesssss, Doug Fir is the mainstay here in Oregon, but I preffered the pine when we could get them.

Golden Fire, Bear Mountain, Lignetics are a few of the more popular brands here.

We keep a small quantity of pellets on hand for our Quad, but our mainstay is our nut shells.

I have never paid over $200 per ton for Bear Mt but the shipping across the country is the reason they are over $300

One winter we could not get our standard pellets and we bought a pallet of the Bedding pellets.

Contrary to what the sales staff will tell you, they burned just fine.

If I buy them, I just pay and keep my mouth shut about the intended use.

In reference to the subject of ash.

The DF is very good ash wise.
Our nut shells produce more heat, but TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONS of ash

Stoves have to be cleaned weekly when running 24/7
But the low cost makes it a moot point



Good luck with your Doug firs


Snowy

 

[mepellet]

If you are trying to save money by using pellets I recommend using the cheaper pellets. Do out the BTUs/$ on the df pellets at $360/ton or whatever you pay vs the cheaper pellets. You will find that the df are very expensive.

 

[fmsm]

3 reasons I will burn DF only this year:
1. Next to no ash/clean burn= less cleaning
2. Lot's of heat (yes, you can tell the difference even with a Harman)
3. My glass stays clean longer

 

[mepellet]

3 reasons I will burn DF only this year:
1. Next to no ash/clean burn= less cleaning
2. Lot's of heat (yes, you can tell the difference even with a Harman)
3. My glass stays clean longer

4 reasons why I will burn MWP only this year:
1. Needing to take 30 minutes to clean the stove every three-four weeks doesn't bother me.
2. You can't tell the difference in heat output. This is due to the esp. Many many topics about this on here. Have you measured air discharge temps at same exact settings?
3. Glass clouding doesn't bother me

And the most important to me.....
4. Save money

Edit:
There's a 5th reason which is also pretty important to me
5. Locally made pellets sold by a small local business.

 

[Don2222]

Hello
I just ordered a ton of Doug Fir for the deep winter days and 2 ton of Okanagan Golds for the shoulder seasons. DFs are pricy in the NE because they come from far away. I paid $375 per ton but got free shipping for the month of Aug. Let's compare more when we use them?

 

[Oilhater]

2. You can't tell the difference in heat output. This is due to the esp. Many many topics about this on here. Have you measured air discharge temps at same exact settings?

But if I have a Harman running on stove temp (4) and that always gives me the same discharge temps at the exchanger, but I get a longer burn time out of a bag of "good" pellets vs a bag of "shoulder" pellets...doesn't that mean that the "good" pellet burns hotter than the other???

 

[mepellet]

But if I have a Harman running on stove temp (4) and that always gives me the same discharge temps at the exchanger, but I get a longer burn time out of a bag of "good" pellets vs a bag of "shoulder" pellets...doesn't that mean that the "good" pellet burns hotter than the other???

With a Harman esp, you should burn through a lower btu/# pellet bag faster than a higher btu/# pellet bag.

To illustrate my point about saving money with the "cheapet" pellets, let's do the math once again.... And for you naysayers, I'll also use conservative numbers (not the highest price I've seen for df and not the lowest price I've seen for "cheaper" pellets).

Oakanagn df at $345/ton and 9000btu/#
$345/ton / (9000btus/# x 2000#) = 52,174btu/$

MWP blend at $229/ton and 8000btu/#
$229/ton / (8250btus/# x 2000#) = 72,052btu/$


Feel free to check the math. I did make a math error once.

 

[mepellet]

Double post

 

[Don2222]

FYI

In New England, Doug Fir is definately not the most economical but a real Softwood pellet, but it is easier on the auger system and stoves like Thelin work better with them.
I am trying them to see if the ash is alot less like they claim.
0.22% ash is very low!



The U.S. Janka hardness rating for Douglas fir is 660. This puts it fairly low on the scale
Link Removed

 

[Don2222]

FYI

In New England, Doug Fir is definately not the most economical being a real Softwood pellet, but it is easier on the auger system and stoves like Thelin work better with them.
I am trying them to see if the ash is alot less like they claim.
0.22% ash is very low!





The U.S. Janka hardness rating for Douglas fir is 660. This puts it fairly low on the scale

 

[DneprDave]

I burn Douglas Fir pellets, I haven't had experience with anything else, that's all we have around here. I also pay $200/ton.

 

[Danny9909]

3 reasons I will burn DF only this year:
1. Next to no ash/clean burn= less cleaning
2. Lot's of heat (yes, you can tell the difference even with a Harman)
3. My glass stays clean longer

That's why I'm burning DF . Enough said ! Perfect Reasons

 

[TimfromMA]

I burn Douglas Fir pellets, I haven't had experience with anything else, that's all we have around here. I also pay $200/ton.

I'm so jealous. DF are $360 per ton out here.

 

[stayfitz]

Ordered (4) ton Golden Fire 100% DF yesterday afternoon, delivery is scheduled for today in approximately 1.5-2.5 hours! Lowes sells Golden Fire. Price per bag went up this year, $5.99 vs. last year $5.49. Used 10% off movers coupon. Better pricing in the area for those with suitable trucks, etc. I've only burned DF pellets in my stove... so I have no reference for comparison