Pellet Dilemma

[BobMA]

I guess the delemma I have isn't really that bad.....I've been checking pellet availability here in central mass and fortunately there seems to be a very abundant supply. This is my first season burning, bought an Englander through AMFM. I've been picking up single bags to try but am worried that I won't be able to test them all before the local inventory is scooped up.

HD has green supreme and fireside...TS has Geneva, Pure Fire, O'Malley's, AWF, inferno golds, MWP, instant heat, nations choice, TS brand (MWP they say) , North American's....

Anybody have any opinions on any of these?.... Thanks

 

[daffonce]

Firesides are ok.

 

[Bigjim13]

Instant heat and North Americans are ok. Heat is just ok, both are ashy in my experience.

I have burned and will burn this year, fireside ultras. They are a decent pellet IMO.

The rest I can't comment on, no experience.

 

[boo boo]

I have tried a few of those brands GS, MWP and AWF and I love the fireside. Third year burning them coming up.
I had one pallet last year that was very ashy and not as hot burning but lived through it. The rest were fine

 

[mithesaint]

AWF by a mile. Get a few tons of those, and then make up the rest with the other brands for testing. Fireside ultras get good reviews too, but I've never burned those.

I didn't like the North Americans, or Pure fire, or Instant heat.

Put your stove in your signature if you get a chance.

 

[BobMA]

AWF by a mile. Get a few tons of those, and then make up the rest with the other brands for testing. Fireside ultras get good reviews too, but I've never burned those.

I didn't like the North Americans, or Pure fire, or Instant heat.

Put your stove in your signature if you get a chance.

AWF...Premium or the Ultra Premium?.....I know that they make two versions not sure which TS is carrying, will have to check

 

[persistentmotion]

I had good luck with Greene Supremes last year. I am trying to get 4 tons from Lowes right now in NH.

 

[mithesaint]

AWF...Premium or the Ultra Premium?.....I know that they make two versions not sure which TS is carrying, will have to check

Never burned the ultra premium. The premium are a good pellet.

 

[Boomer Sailor]

My first season I wasn't sure what to get... and although my stove is supposed to burn any type of pellet well due to it's automatic burn features - the stove will adjust itself around the pellet you are using... it was suggested to me that I should look for a pellet which is .5% or less of ash and higher than 8,000/8,200 btu's per pound. Those types may cost more than the basic pellet, but happy stove, happy me! Perhaps that could be your guide.

 

[twodogs02]

I just burned two bags of Instant Heat last week. I was worried about them with a lot of negative comments on here. They burned great for me, no build up on the burn pot, pellet feed not a problem and very little fines in each bag. They were compressed tight, some pellets were pretty long but all in all, I was really surprised, but my stove burns almost anything.

I may pick up one more ton for the shoulder season bringing me up to 6 tons, 2 of which will be instant heat.

 

[Boomer Sailor]

At least you are well supplied for the upcoming season ! Nothing wrong with 6 tons But when you REALLY get burning, I'd like to hear your comparison of Barefoot to Instant Heat. I'm curious to see how my LaCrete will be compared to the Barefoot - I have high expectations due to what all I have read on here

 

[PinMd]

I've burnt 2-3 ton of O'malleys and am not impressed at all. Low output and a lot of ash. Only good thing was the burn pot scraped clean easier then with the Hammer's I usually burn.

 

[alternativeheat]

I burned some actual MWP last year, not Tractor Supplies brand that they say was MWP. The real thing was quite good. Nations Choice was unimpressive. I'd burn FSU in a pinch and just deal with the ash and low heat compared with MWP which are ashy too but with good heat. Between all these brands I personal would take the Maine Wood or just go to the Energex dealer and get their all hardwood pellets ( my stove has no problem burning hardwood pellets).. But I like pellets actually, that are rated at or around 8500 btu or better. Some of these box store brands are only 7800 or maybe up to 8200 which is fine in the shoulder season but when the cold weather hits my stove and house combo works out better with a better pellet, less messy cause it chews up a bunch of those low heat pellets that are ashy to begin with.

 

[Peterfield]

I burned some actual MWP last year, not Tractor Supplies brand that they say was MWP.

Sometimes the "generic" brand is the real deal. Spoke with a stove shop owner recently that confirmed although the name was different, a local HD was carrying Green Supreme under another name and the area rep for Green Supreme confirmed the pellets were exactly the same, even though the price at HD was lower than what the stove shop was paying wholesale to sell the same pellet.

 

[JohnD]

I guess the delemma I have isn't really that bad.....I've been checking pellet availability here in central mass and fortunately there seems to be a very abundant supply. This is my first season burning, bought an Englander through AMFM. I've been picking up single bags to try but am worried that I won't be able to test them all before the local inventory is scooped up.

HD has green supreme and fireside...TS has Geneva, Pure Fire, O'Malley's, AWF, inferno golds, MWP, instant heat, nations choice, TS brand (MWP they say) , North American's....

Anybody have any opinions on any of these?.... Thanks

I have only tried Geneva and MWP....hated Geneva...dirty burn, tons of ash and the only brand to leave clinkers in my fire pot. I love MWP! They are my go to pellet. They are a blend of hard soft wood. Burn long and hot with not too much ash. I use these every year!

 

[JohnD]

At least you are well supplied for the upcoming season ! Nothing wrong with 6 tons But when you REALLY get burning, I'd like to hear your comparison of Barefoot to Instant Heat. I'm curious to see how my LaCrete will be compared to the Barefoot - I have high expectations due to what all I have read on here

I burned a ton of lacrete last year. Heat was awesome but they had a bit more fines and dust than I would expect from a super premium pellet. I would, however, use them again. Just wish they were cheaper.

 

[Mr. Spock]

I have only tried Geneva and MWP....hated Geneva...dirty burn, tons of ash and the only brand to leave clinkers in my fire pot. I love MWP! They are my go to pellet. They are a blend of hard soft wood. Burn long and hot with not too much ash. I use these every year!

Funny how experiences can be different. I burned Geneva my first season and although I had to empty the ash pan more often they burned hot and left a fine white powdery ash on the walls around the flame. It made the firebox look nice.

 

[Danny9909]

At least you are well supplied for the upcoming season ! Nothing wrong with 6 tons But when you REALLY get burning, I'd like to hear your comparison of Barefoot to Instant Heat. I'm curious to see how my LaCrete will be compared to the Barefoot - I have high expectations due to what all I have read on here

I burned both barefoot and La Crete last year. I found that the La Cretes burn hotter and cleaner than the barefoot.

 

[Deromax]

With all the possible variations involved in evaluating pellets, I'm begining to think that opinions about them are only anectdotal and have not much value...

 

[BrotherBart]

With all the possible variations involved in evaluating pellets, I'm begining to think that opinions about them are only anectdotal and have not much value...

You have great grasp of the concept Grasshopper.

 

[Danny9909]

With all the possible variations involved in evaluating pellets, I'm begining to think that opinions about them are only anectdotal and have not much value...

You Think?

 

[Big papa]

Some of the pellet brands are less desirable due to ash mess in the stove I have observed but has anyone had a pellet that wouldn't do the job of heating or is it just the ash that's mosly the problem

 

[pastera]

Some of the pellet brands are less desirable due to ash mess in the stove I have observed but has anyone had a pellet that wouldn't do the job of heating or is it just the ash that's mosly the problem

I had some Instant Heat that should have been named "Where's the Heat"
So, yeah, there are pellets out there that are flat out bad but it's mostly opinion.

 

[dlehneman]

I tested 8 different brands last year and tried to keep testing as consistent as possible each time. Heat output of the air was measured and recorded at 3 different heat settings for each pellet. I didn't measure the amount of ash, just subjectively did a visual comparison of amount. I found a difference of 20 degrees between the worst and the best at the lowest setting I tested at (2 out of 9 on my stove). At the highest setting I had a hard time testing because I chose to run it for exactly 1 hour each time to let it stabilize and be consistent. The problem is that running on high overheats the house really quickly unless it's way below zero, so I wasn't able to get max reading for each one. The ones I did though, had a range of about 25 degrees from worst to best. Those numbers are pretty significant on a stove with a big blower like mine (250cfm) since it's moving a lot of air at a higher temp.

So there is a pretty big difference in heating performance from what I found. The stove and exhaust stayed significantly cleaner with some over others, so over the course of a ton or more of pellets, that could really add up in how hard it is to keep clean.

I burn cheaper, dirtier pellets that don't burn as hot in the shoulder seasons and the cleaner, hotter ones in the dead of winter. That way it's easier to keep from overheating the house or having the stove cycle on and off too much when I don't need as much heat, while saving money. Then when the serious cold comes I get more heat and less cleaning (which requires shutting down of course) by using the really good stuff.

I suppose if money wasn't an issue, then I'd just burn whatever the best I could find was all year, but like most people I try to balance budget and performance.

 

[Big papa]

Thanks for the info I just haven't had too many people say the pellets wouldn't heat just that they were crappy due ash mess they would say lower heat but not that it couldn't heat their space