OK...how cheap do bad pellets have to be before they start "looking good"????

[imacman]

I just saw a listing for a ton of Appling County (ACP) on Craigs List. Now I know that there have been a LOT of negative things said about them (including by me...LOL), but at what price would they be worth buying and putting up with them? The price listed was under $200.

I'm hoping for some words of wisdom and clear thinking on this from my fellow pellet heads.

Thanks!!

 

[Stentor]

This is a tricky question because of its "form" or how you have phrased it. If Appling pellets or any other pellets have a bad reputation because of the extra work they require from the user, maybe producing too much ash or too many clinkers, how do you measure the "worth" or low value of that feature? One person might have the time to do more cleaning and not mind it. Another person might mind it a lot.

There is a more general issue I've noticed in postings here. There is no agreement on what makes for a good pellet. People seem to talk about three feature: heat generated, byproduct of heat like ash, and cost. A few people also factor in other considerations like the environment. Add in shifting supply sources, questionable bag labeling and a relatively small or immature market. The result is that good decisions about buying pellets are hard to make.

 

[crausch]

The general consensus seems to be that ACP pellets would not be rated very good if there was a standard rating for the end user. As far as how cheap in cost would they have to go before I would consider them worth it, well... That would depend on the supply in my area. If supplies are good and plentiful, then there would probably not be any price I would pay for them. If supplies were scarce, then I might buy them at $125 to $150/ton.

 

[Xena]

Macman if you're still burning maybe go grab a few bags and judge for yourself.
My stove burns pretty much anything I throw at it including the
AC's. Sure they produced a lot more ash and less heat than some
of my favorite brands, but if I were low on cash, and/or needed 6, 7, 8 tons or more
to get me through a season I might be inclined to pop for them at that price.

 

[newguyjoe]

there all gone already macman....just called and the guy sold them on sunday.

 

[imacman]

Thanks everybody.....and thanks Joe, I guess I don't have to worry about it anymore....LOL. Didn't hurt to have this discussion anyway, as this could come up again in the future.

BTW, they were $175/ton. If they were still available, I think I would have given them a shot. I've got the time to clean the stove a little more often.

Zeta, the Astoria Bay has been "closed for the season" for about 3 weeks, so if I HAD bought those pellets, it would have been a shot in the dark.....that's why I was trying to get helpful thoughts from my friends on here.

Thanks again everybody.

 

[Stentor]

The general consensus seems to be that ACP pellets would not be rated very good if there was a standard rating for the end user. As far as how cheap in cost would they have to go before I would consider them worth it, well... That would depend on the supply in my area. If supplies are good and plentiful, then there would probably not be any price I would pay for them. If supplies were scarce, then I might buy them at $125 to $150/ton.

Macman, glad you raised the question. It may be moot today since that cheap supply is gone, but the general point will come up again. I agree with codebum's counterfactual statement: "X would be rated high (or low) if there were a standard rating" for the end user. There isn't any, unfortunately.

A related but different point is that there is also no standard label information on bags. But that deserves a separate thread: how should bags be labeled? Like processed food items in a supermarket? Or just like a sack of potatoes marked "Maine's Finest - - - 20 lbs" or " Idaho Russets - - 10 lbs"?