If all Wood Pellets say they are Premium Grade..

[LobsterParty]

So if every bag I've ever seen says they are Premium Pellets.. then what other kind of Pellets exist? And who is lying lol

I heard that with the exception of a 60% / 40% mix or 100% softwood pellet.

That all Pellets are basically all made from the same stuff and most of it is mass produced in the same places just packaged differently.

Do I have the hang of it yet?

 

[ABMax24]

The wood species they are made from matters, so does the amount of contaminants like bark or even dirt, even the amount of moisture in the pellet.

Some users report lots of ash with certain brands, or more or bigger clinkers in the burn pot.

Generally hardwoods leave more ash, and softwoods produce slightly more BTU's.

 

[peakbagger]

This may help. https://www.pelletheat.org/pfi-standards. Scroll down and the EPA requires the use of graded pellets in pellets stoves built since 2015

Scroll down and there is reference to EPA standards. All stoves built after 2015 must state what grade of pellet the stove was designed to burn. My guess is most manufacturers specified premium? (read your manual). My other guess is the standard and utility get used in large commercial units. Pellet quality makes far more a difference in a residential home that burns pounds per hour versus a big commercial boiler that burns 100s of pounds per hour. A commercial unit also has an ash system and probably a filter system to deal with fines or may not even care about them. A residential user would regard both fines and ash as a problem and would pay a premium to avoid them.

There is a prior document that lays out the specifications and on page 3 is a chart showing the standards for different grades of pellets. https://www.pelletheat.org/assets/docs/standardspecificationwithcopyright.pdf

If you look at the differences, its density of the fuel, ash content and moisture content leaving the mill. Ash content is fixed by the fuel blend and is not going to change once its leaves the factory, but density and moisture content could change depending on packaging, age and storage. A Super Premium pellet at the factory gate could become a Utility or worse if its stored outdoors in damp climate with crappy packaging. The same applies that a Super Premium pellet at the store may become a Utility or worse if someone gets a good deal and stocks up with a couple of years of pellets and then stores them poorly. I wonder how many times someone is blaming crappy pellets on a manufacturer and the problem lies in the distribution chain or the homeowner?

Note that the requirements do not specify a minimum BTU content, that can vary brand by brand. In that case read the label and factor in BTU content when buying pellets as they are typically sold by the ton not by the BTU.

 

[bogieb]

Well, it is all made of wood, so technically they are all made of the same stuff.

There are plenty of "flavors" of GS (the specs different for each), and they aren't all made in one big plant. Lignetics had a buying spree within the last couple of years, including the NEWPS plant near me - oh BTW, Lignetics owns the various GS plants too.

It depends on the species in the area for the most part. Some brands are made from sawdust collected from furniture makers, so those compositions may be different, or the mix may change year-to-year for a particular brand.

"Premium" means nothing, except they meet the minimum specs by some council.

 

[Mt Bob]

So if every bag I've ever seen says they are Premium Pellets.. then what other kind of Pellets exist? And who is lying lol

I heard that with the exception of a 60% / 40% mix or 100% softwood pellet.

That all Pellets are basically all made from the same stuff and most of it is mass produced in the same places just packaged differently.

Do I have the hang of it yet?

I believe peakbagger got it mostly, but will expand. First, there is no "truth in advertising" laws regarding this, just as there are none in most of the products you buy. So, this will probably not change in the near future,
The PFI came about a while back, they are non-profit, and came about because stove manufacturers and repair people saw a big need, because of so many poor pellets, causing burn problems and stove problems.Naturally the greenies jumped in to help, as it is better for the planet,also. Pellet heating grew fast, so unscrupulous companies formed and produced inferior products. Any long time burner can probably tell you horror stories about pellets in the 90's and early 2000's. However, there seems to be little checking of products, and poor quality pellets can still be manufactured, but it is your responsibility to "not" burn them in your heater. Some manufacturers used to bag and sell commercial pellets,for power plants and such, for home use, and they are very crappy.
So the best tool we have is ratings by the PFI, this is what is required for stove testing, and for what little "policing" the EPA. does. The PFI is almost always current, and you can go there to find a list of current manufacturers. However, some places buy and pay to have their "house brand" made and bagged, sometimes these can be a crap shoot. Unfortunately, many burners only look at price. Having burned a long time, I prefer--- longer cleaning intervals, cleaner burn, cleaner ash/no residues, better more even heat. To meet all this usually means paying a higher price.
So I am pretty sure this info is correct, but feel free to correct me,anyone, I am getting older, and do make mistakes.Oh, here is link, again--

Pellet Fuels Institute

www.pelletheat.org

 

[johneh]

You can buy a pellet (wood) that's made for hoarse stall bedding
It does not say Premium. Also states not for use in cooking and pellet stove

 

[Ashful]

So if every bag I've ever seen says they are Premium Pellets.. then what other kind of Pellets exist? And who is lying lol

No answer on pellets, I only burn cord wood, But I did run across a bottle of "regular strength" pain reliever at the grocery store last week, and almost tripped over my shopping cart from my surprise. I thought they weakest thing you could buy today was "extra strength", with even more being "maximum strength".

 

[Pelleting In NJ]

The lowest grade pellets sold for home stoves are labeled "Premium", with an ash content of 1% or less. Better, and more expensive pellets are labeled "Super Premium", with an ash content of 0.5% or less.

The type of wood (hardwood vs softwood) used to make the pellets has nothing to do with "Premium" or "Super Premium" labels.

 

[tlc1976]

The lowest grade pellets sold for home stoves are labeled "Premium", with an ash content of 1% or less. Better, and more expensive pellets are labeled "Super Premium", with an ash content of 0.5% or less.

The type of wood (hardwood vs softwood) used to make the pellets has nothing to do with "Premium" or "Super Premium" labels.

Never noticed that before. But I just checked a Pro Pellets bag which is 0.5% ash and it says super premium.

 

[tbear853]

You will find that your stove and it's peculiarities will favor certain brands over others. Some will burn cleaner, hotter, more completely, you may even find that a bag just lasts longer. Others will burn sootier, leave more black creasote like deposits, and what does burn will burn faster to get the same heat.

I've tried a bunch, but keep going back to Hamer's Hot Ones ... also sold as Statesman through SS Co-op here. My stove about choked up on Lignetics when tried, but some love them. 🤷‍♂️

 

[ifixmy2]

I once tried a bag of easy heats and found pieces of blue on the pellets. The mfg. Plant is in Ohio and I drove by only to see, that they use recycled pallets/skids and some are painted blue. It was the worst pellets I ever burned. That was several years ago.
My stove works best with Somerset as long as their available.