OK Tell me how you can tell if you have really good pellets?

[peirhead]

Here on PEI we don't have a lot of choice in Pellets, my experience is with Shaw's Eastern Embers which seem OK. The ash is fairly gritty though. I have tried a few bags of LG and something else and all seemed pretty comparable. I guess I am comparing them with the ash from a regular wood stove....which to me always seems powdery and very smooth, not at all what is seem to get from the pellet stove.....although I must admit that there is certainly less ash volume from 40 lbs of pellets vs 40 lbs of wood....maybe there is a comparable amount of gritty material in the regular wood ash it is just diluted in more ash... any comments?? what is the residue like from really good pellets?

 

[hossthehermit]

What residue?????????????

 

[slvrblkk]

OK Tell me how you can tell if you have really good pellets?



Easy....When Macman is willing to drive to Canada and "take them off your hands" and "recycle" them! Oink Oink.

 

[Czech]

Burn 'em. If they work well in your stove, buy more. It really is that simple, different pellets and different stoves, um, work differently. Throw heat? Low ash? Dirty glass? Find what works best for you and your stove, and then buy. Note that even if you find whatever works for your situation, pellets can change lot to lot, that's why I don't buy multiple tons at a time. Just me. Lastly, send me some freaking oysters will ya?

 

[imacman]

OK Tell me how you can tell if you have really good pellets?



Easy....When Macman is willing to drive to Canada and "take them off your hands" and "recycle" them! Oink Oink.

I'm sending this post via wifi at a gas station near the border....now what were those directions again???? ;-)

 

[sparkydog00]

They taste sweet...
Poor milk on them and try them for morning cereal!
The sweeter they taste ...the better they burn...
Let us know your findings!

 

[hossthehermit]

Here on PEI we don't have a lot of choice in Pellets, my experience is with Shaw's Eastern Embers which seem OK. The ash is fairly gritty though. I have tried a few bags of LG and something else and all seemed pretty comparable. I guess I am comparing them with the ash from a regular wood stove....which to me always seems powdery and very smooth, not at all what is seem to get from the pellet stove.....although I must admit that there is certainly less ash volume from 40 lbs of pellets vs 40 lbs of wood....maybe there is a comparable amount of gritty material in the regular wood ash it is just diluted in more ash... any comments?? what is the residue like from really good pellets?

Well, peirhead, GotztheHotz is apparently the only one around here with a serious bone in his body. That's about the best answer yer gonna find.

 

[Stevekng]

You will know by the end of the heating season which pellets you like. This forum will give you a rough idea of which pellets to stay away from.

I've used the eastern embers,energex, newp, corinth hard and soft wood, pennington's, co-op pellets from Kensington PEI, and a few bags of various brands from TSC in three different makes of pellet stoves.

The only pellets that I wouldn't use from that group are pennington's or the co-op pellets. Different stoves burn good pellets in a similar fashion, but low end pellets pellets will make low end stoves burn terrible and good stoves burn so that you will have to clean them more often.

Any stove that has not been maintained or installed properly will not burn good or bad pellets properly.

I have a house on PEI with a St. Croix Afton Bay and I have only burned eastern embers and co-op pellets. Stay away from the co-op pellets.

 

[schoondog]

Good pellet for me is measured by price going into hopper and how much heat pours out the front. My stove is a multi fuel so I don't much care about ash,clinkers or "residue". I care about what I pay for a bag and what my thermometer reads in the vent of the stove. Of course the pellets must be dry and not crushed to dust, and please no bolts,screws pieces, of wood or other debris to whack my auger or motor. I have burned several brands last year and hope to burn several more this year. I liked lignetics last year, but this year could not buy them at a reasonable price. Also liked the Rocky Mountains but couldn't find them. So maybe add availability to what makes a good pellet also.

Schoondog

 

[MainePellethead]

Trial and Error...... sounds cliche....but it works.

 

[jtakeman]

To me the most imporant thing is the HEAT!. If there reasonably priced and don't throw heat its a waste! I sample and temp test my local brands. Then try to measure the ash. The pellet that throws the most heat and has the least ash. Then the price factor.

The highest heat/ least ash/ reasonable price.

There is no savings in a junk pellet that doesn't throw heat and fills the stove with ash. You will actually burn more pellets to get the overall heat. Better to spend a tad more to get a cleaner/hotter pellet.

just my 2
jay

 

[newf lover]

I agree it's all trial and error. After you burn a few bags of several different brands, you get an idea of a good pellet vs a bad pellet. However, I find it frustrating that the quality from year to year of the same brand might be different. So far, I'm not impressed by the NEWPs on low burn. There are a couple reputable pellet companies within a reasonable distance from me. Next year I am seriously considering getting 3 tons of 3 different brands. At least then if your stove doesn't like a particular brand, or if the quality is below par, you're not stuck with multiple tons.

 

[tinkabranc]

My definition of really good pellets is the highest heat-lowest ash you can find.

My XXV is very tolerant of any pellet I have put throught it, but I am not.
If I burn pellets that have ALOT of ash, and lower heat, they are not worth it to me.

The higher the BTUs the less fuel I need to get through a winter.
The lower the ash the cleaner the burn, no clinkers in the burnpot, and the glass
stays cleaner longer.

 

[mark d fellows]

Burn them and find out how they burn

 

[cac4]

I don't know how anyone can accurately asses the amount of heat they get out of a batch of pellets, without all kinds of sensitive lab equipment. There are just so many variables from day to day...heat load on the house, barometric pressure, etc.

I don't think it matters much, if at all, with a Harman stove, as its controls automatically adjust everything for maximum efficiency. But one thing I did notice last year was that one batch of pellets I had produced significantly less ash than the other 3. Most of the pellets produced a pile of ash in front of the burning mass of pellets that was 2 to 3" high; no big whoop--as the stove pushes in more pellets from the back, the ash pushes up and out of the pot, and falls into the pan below, as if on a conveyor belt. In the cold weather, when things were really crankin', the pile was higher, and the flames were kind of squeezed out between the ash pile in front, and the deflector plate that sticks up and over the pot. You couldn't really see the mass of burning pellets.
With the "low ash" brand of pellets, (burned some last night), what I notice is that this pile of ash never gets thicker than an inch, never seems to pile up ahead of the burning mass. by the time it gets pushed away from the fire, there's just not much of anything left, and now that the fire is out, what you see left in the pot is (again), just a 1" or less layer of ash.
when I was burning them in winter-mode last year, the glass stayed cleaner for much longer than the other brands.

These were Dry Creek pellets...wish I could've got more this year, but they weren't available. :-( Hoping the Lignetics are as good; haven't tried them, yet. we shall see....

 

[joefraser]

To me the most imporant thing is the HEAT!. If there reasonably priced and don't throw heat its a waste! I sample and temp test my local brands. Then try to measure the ash. The pellet that throws the most heat and has the least ash. Then the price factor.

The highest heat/ least ash/ reasonable price.

There is no savings in a junk pellet that doesn't throw heat and fills the stove with ash. You will actually burn more pellets to get the overall heat. Better to spend a tad more to get a cleaner/hotter pellet.

just my 2
jay

You bring me to an interesting question. Being a rookie I have not had the experience to detemine. How much is it worth to pay for a great brand over a good brand and still be worth it. In this case I am viewing NEWP as a good brand and the Okanagen as one of the best

For example I can get the following:
New England 269/ton
Okanagen 295/ton (currently out of stock)
Rocky Mountain 295/ton
Dragon Mountain 295/ton
Northern 285/ton

 

[newf lover]

I have burned LGs, Dry Creek, NEWP and will shortly be trying Okanagan. With the 3 brands I have tried, I cannot honestly say I could notice a difference in the heat. I think those are decent brands, as are the ones you mentioned at the bottom of your post (Don't know anything about Northern). My guess is the difference in a pellet with a good reputation will be in the ash content. Again, the ash on the 3 brands I have tried seemed fairly similiar, maybe LGs produced a fluffier ash, the NEWP and Dry Creek were grittier. Personally, I think in the future I would split up an order instead of getting multiple orders of the same brand. Even good pellets have off batches, maybe even off years. Finally, your stove may like one brand over another, and you can't tell till you burn a couple brands. Now for the pellets with a bad rep, there is no question it's not worth $30 or $50 a ton less to buy those brands. They will lead to bad things happening to your stove and more hours of upkeep.

 

[Mr Whitfield]

I burn WOW pellets, Blazer Pellets. West Oregon Wood Product. These pellets burn hot and have little ash.. Now to anwser the question. If they burn Hot and have little ash , I love them, plus Home Depot sells them by the Ton for 249.00

 

[Stentor]

You're getting pretty much the same advice from everyone. I think you still have a little time to try a few bags from one or two of the better regarded brands. Or you could just split your order for the season, like I did. As somebody said, you'll be able to make a good choice after you've had a little experience. For now, pay a little more for one of the recognized good brands like Okanagans or Rocky Mountain. (Any good pellet will do - - -just don't buy junk.)

Next year you can sound like a know-it-all, like me!

 

[Havlat24]

Spruce Pointe pellets are what I use. Stove on low for days and the glass doesn't go black. minimal ash... Lots of heat.... 240/CAD ton is hard to beat too.

 

[investor7952]

To me the most imporant thing is the HEAT!. If there reasonably priced and don't throw heat its a waste! I sample and temp test my local brands. Then try to measure the ash. The pellet that throws the most heat and has the least ash. Then the price factor.

The highest heat/ least ash/ reasonable price.

There is no savings in a junk pellet that doesn't throw heat and fills the stove with ash. You will actually burn more pellets to get the overall heat. Better to spend a tad more to get a cleaner/hotter pellet.

just my 2
jay

Can you give us an idea what you would consider good heat? I have a stove magnetic thermometer attached where one of the blower openings are. When my stove is spotless I get 250-275 after a few days wont go over 230.

 

[jtakeman]

To me the most important thing is the HEAT!. If there reasonably priced and don't throw heat its a waste! I sample and temp test my local brands. Then try to measure the ash. The pellet that throws the most heat and has the least ash. Then the price factor.

The highest heat/ least ash/ reasonable price.

There is no savings in a junk pellet that doesn't throw heat and fills the stove with ash. You will actually burn more pellets to get the overall heat. Better to spend a tad more to get a cleaner/hotter pellet.

just my 2
jay

Can you give us an idea what you would consider good heat? I have a stove magnetic thermometer attached where one of the blower openings are. When my stove is spotless I get 250-275 after a few days wont go over 230.

investor,

Not sure what stove setting your on or what pellets your burning, But thats a start. I don't know your stove and you really need to figure out what is best for it. But I can say my stove on medium heat with one of the best pellet brands throws that much. On the cheaper brands its in the low 200º range.

Now go out and get a few bags of different brands. Try some of the best you can find. This is where you want to be. Then compare to the cheaper brands. You will see a good difference in the heat numbers.

If you need some help picking out some to try? Post what you have available nearby. We will help guide you.

Have fun with it, My son and I have fun on pellet hunts.
jay

 

[stoveguy2esw]

They taste sweet...
Poor milk on them and try them for morning cereal!
The sweeter they taste ...the better they burn...
Let us know your findings!

guess we know who has the cleanest colon on the hearth :shut:

 

[tinkabranc]

They taste sweet...
Poor milk on them and try them for morning cereal!
The sweeter they taste ...the better they burn...
Let us know your findings!

guess we know who has the cleanest colon on the hearth :shut:

OMG- too funny! :lol:

 

[stoveguy2esw]

ok i'll be serious now (yeah right)

ive spoken with customers in my job for close to a decade, have been burning pellets at work and at home for going on 17 years, ive burned dozens of brands. what i have learned from this is;

one man's trash is another man's treasure. when customer 1 says "brand x" is the best pellet ive burned but i got some "brand y" pellets at the end of the season last year and they were junk they wouldnt burn right"

then you find out he hasnt cleaned his flue and run 5 tons of pellets that season.

next guy might swear by "brand y" and hate "brand x"

personally i have my favorites as most of us do, i have a few which i would try to find somthing else before buying them, im not naming names on purpose being an industry member if i cant "stand behind" a brand im not going to name them based on my own personal opinions.

i will say that lignetics, rocky's and hardwood heat are my personal favorites, i havent burned the okies yet (hint) (they arent availible in my area yet that i can find) but ive mentioned them to folks as one to look for in the area they are found in based on recommendations from folks in this forum(and because they are represented quite well in here by a representitive from their company, you know who you are ;-) )

i have also supported pennington even with the bad pub they got ffor some quality control issues in the past which they actually came in here and made themselves availible to the folks who may have had issues , and from what i understand made good on the product with them.

bottom line , if you can , pick up a few bags of any new pellet you run across, read reviews on them burn em yourself and if you are pleased with "brand x" that you picked up and tried, buy bulk , if they dont seem to fit your fancy compared to what you have been burning ,stick with what you already have.