Hardwood VS Softwood

[South of Boston]

All bags say premium or even SUPER premium but what is the difference between Soft and hardwood pellets?
Does the softwood burn quicker and hotter? Got a few bags of those Rocky mountain and see they are pine wood. Nice clear bag with handle but am I going to burn through quicker? I have been burning a hardwood pellet and have had no burning problems.

 

[smoke show]

burn rate depends on stove setting

 

[imacman]

burn rate depends on stove setting

Yep, I agree.....has nothing to do with the pellet how fast you burn them. Your fuel feed rate and air setting does that.

Just go ahead and burn them, and give us a review when you finish. :cheese:

 

[cac4]

short answer: no

the reason that softwood LOGS burn faster in a stove or fireplace is that they are less dense than hardwood. 2 logs of the same size, there is more actual "wood" in the hardwood.

what it comes down to is that fuel (of all sorts) is burned by weight...but often measured and sold by volume.

well, the volume issue is eliminated w/ pellets, because they're made from ground up wood, which is then compressed to its limit, and then bagged and sold by the pound.

Measuring by weight, softwood actually has more btu's than hardwood. but, like any natural product, variations occur. With certain stoves, some people claim a vast difference. I haven't noticed anything significant, myself. might be just because of my particular stove, and the way it operates.

this difference in measuring actual energy content is why large airplanes always reference fuel by "pounds". a gallon of gas takes up much much less volume (hence, its not a gallon, anymore) if you take it from a warm place and move it to a cool place. (like, from the airport, at sea level, on a 70 degree day, up to 40,000 feet, where its -30F). it has exactly the same amount of energy, and can take you the same distance, but it takes up a much different amount of space.
anyway...

 

[mark d fellows]

They burn about the same and are equally dense. However, in my experience, the softwood puts out more ash no matter what the packaging says. I have no problem burning softwood but prefer hardwood.

Mark

 

[Czech]

Burn what works well in your stove, do not get caught up in worrying about this. That said, I do like the way the softwood smells!

 

[crausch]

I have burned both softwood, hardwood and pellets that are a mix. My experience also show that the softwood tend to leave more ash. I would burn either but I prefer hardwood. Others prefer softwood. Depends on your experience. There always seems to be good and bad reviews on every brand of pellets and on the hardwood/softwood debate. This year was my first year burning pellets. I used this year to try several brands and types of pellets. The goal was to find which one burns best in MY stove with MY settings, and vent/draft configuration. I have found my preference. You just need to find yours ;-)

 

[j00fek]

i am currently mixing soft and hard, soft you get more lbs but they do burn a bit quicker, give little more heat than the hardwoods

 

[krooser]

I'm using Eureka fir pellets right now and they produce much less ash than any hardwood pellet I've used. And about 25% less ash (my estimate) than the pine pellets I have used since last year. Plenty of heat, too. But more expensive.

Seven days without opening the front door on my St. Croix and the ash oooin front of the firepot is barely up to the door... but the ashpan is full.

 

[www_godzilla]

In my opinion,it shouldn't be whether Hardwood or Softwood. It should be what brand works best. You need to experiment and find out what pellets work best for you.