Pellet shootout! 6 brands tested only one winner

[Pelletman308]

Hello all, I am new to the forum and have been in the shadows trying to figure out which pellet fuel is best for me. It’s a very subjective topic because every stove is different. I have a Harman accentra 52i pellet insert and had BIG problems with the pallet of tractor supply fuel I purchased. It was my fault for not testing a few bags before buying a skid of the tractor supply brand because I had lots of issues with this fuel. My stove isn’t picky by any means but when the bag has a cup of sawdust, and the pellets are grotesquely ranging in size it leaves the door open for issues. I’d say half of the bags left me waking up in the morning to a stalled out stove with a full hopper and a sink hole in the middle. I blame this on the inconsistent length of the pellets and the texture of the poor outer sap coating (I forget the technical name).

Anyways enough ranting about that, I bought several bags of pellets from various manufacturers I was able to get my hands on in my area and this is what I found.

Hammers hot ones (hard wood) 8.20per/395
Easyblaze (soft wood) 8.20per/395
Energex (hardwood) 7.70per/370
Lignetics (blend) 7.70per/370
Michigan wood heat (hard) 7.00per/319 sale
Tractor supply as of sept 2023 6.97per/330

Please understand while ranking these pellets that it is my opinion, and my experience is specific to my stove and my region. I am ranking these on my experience taking price into account as a main factor. Surly the most expensive brand is the best, right? Not necessarily. I think they are definitely of a higher quality but it’s not the end all be all.

The overall winner for me was the Energex, best all round pellet in my opinion when you factor in the price and quality. These burned long, hot and created little ash compared to the competition. No clinkers, smelled like real fire wood unlike some of the cheaper brands that smelled like a structure fire. uniform pellet size, nice coating, and little sawdust in the bag.

The hammers hot ones were the best in my opinion, if money was no object. They burned hot and they burned long, smelled like real wood. They created ash that was manageable and no clinkers, like the energex they were consistent and of excellent quality.

The easy blaze was third place behind the hammers hot ones and energex because personally I don’t care for the softwood. It smelled real nice like real wood, had fluffy easy to clean ash, and was consistent in size and sawdust with the other two brands above but for the price it really didn’t wow me. I also felt like they burned a lot faster than the other brands. I have nothing negative to say about them but they just didn’t do anything for me.

Fourth place goes to the Michigan heat, again price is taken into account and for the price they are a solid pellet. Sort of inconsistent in length like the tractor supply but nowhere as
egregious. The coating is much better on them as well so I didn’t have any issues with them feeding. They burned as you’d expect similar to all the other hard wood brands. Smell was not as good as the more premium brands. I would definitely give these a try if I can’t get my hands on the energex. Good bang for your buck.

Fifth place belongs to lignetics, I wasn’t impressed with the bags I purchased, they had feeding issues like the tractor supply pellets and they were too expensive for what they were. They were indeed clinkers and made tons of ash and carbon buildup in my pot. Lots of sawdust, Smelled like structure fire, not much else to say about them. Not bad but wouldn’t buy a skid of them.

Last place… you guessed it TRACTOR SUPPLY. I already ranted about these on the intro so I won’t get into it again, but these pellets have a place. I would buy these for a shop, garage, workshop, or patio stove that doesn’t have high stakes. They burn ok light off like most other brands, make about the same ash as the lignetics but have reliability issues feeding. Wouldn’t buy again or recommend to a friend.

All in all I hope this was helpful to someone, I really did it for myself to find a pellet that works best for my stove. Please share with me if you feel I was wrong about any of these brands or if you feel like you had a similar experience. Cheers!

 

[bogieb]

Many people like to burn the hottes, cleanest pellets. I, myself, like to burn pellets that give value (which is what you appear to do to). I have Harman P-seires stoves and I've never had an issue burning even when bags have a lot of fines in them. BUT they are a different beast than your stove. I'm also tolerant of a fair amount of ash with large ash pans and not feeling like cleaning every 3 weeks or so is out of line.

I personally like the TSC pellets from my local store. But, each region carries different brands in their bags. My store has MWPs in their bags, and they are consistent size and burn. Other TSC stores in the state have different brands in their bags so I pay attention to the code on the bags.

I have come to appreciate GS northeast blend too, after getting a great deal on them 2 years ago (still burning some of the 6 tons I bought then). Are they ashy? Sure, but put out the "right" amount of heat for my place, so are a good value. I've also found some really long pellets in the GS, like that last picture, but they haven't caused any hiccups in my stoves.

Everyone's circumstances are different. In my case, I don't have a huge place, so burning hotter pellets have at times lead to a gunked up stove because the burn isn't long enough to get the exhaust good and hot. If I get really good pellets of of CL or FBM, I usually mix them with cooler burning pellets to avoid that issue.

 

[BansheeTwin350]

Good info and analysis! Do you know which brand the lignetic green supremes were. There are multiple versions each from a different location and plant and have different properties. So it's always necessary to list that as well.

 

[Pelletman308]

Many people like to burn the hottes, cleanest pellets. I, myself, like to burn pellets that give value (which is what you appear to do to). I have Harman P-seires stoves and I've never had an issue burning even when bags have a lot of fines in them. BUT they are a different beast than your stove. I'm also tolerant of a fair amount of ash with large ash pans and not feeling like cleaning every 3 weeks or so is out of line.

I personally like the TSC pellets from my local store. But, each region carries different brands in their bags. My store has MWPs in their bags, and they are consistent size and burn. Other TSC stores in the state have different brands in their bags so I pay attention to the code on the bags.

I have come to appreciate GS northeast blend too, after getting a great deal on them 2 years ago (still burning some of the 6 tons I bought then). Are they ashy? Sure, but put out the "right" amount of heat for my place, so are a good value. I've also found some really long pellets in the GS, like that last picture, but they haven't caused any hiccups in my stoves.

Everyone's circumstances are different. In my case, I don't have a huge place, so burning hotter pellets have at times lead to a gunked up stove because the burn isn't long enough to get the exhaust good and hot. If I get really good pellets of of CL or FBM, I usually mix them with cooler burning pellets to avoid that issue.

Very good information, I am new to this and you’re 100% right there’s so many variables. It must not be super cost effective to ship pellet fuel across the country so I’m assuming the ones I am able to get locally here in NY are made in PA and Canada. It would explain why some love brands that others dislike.

 

[Pelletman308]

Good info and analysis! Do you know which brand the lignetic green supremes were. There are multiple versions each from a different location and plant and have different properties. So it's always necessary to list that as well.

Ahh man I wish I had taken pictures of the exact bags I had purchased but if it’s any indicator this is what the bag looked like

 

[stvigi1960]

Hello all, I am new to the forum and have been in the shadows trying to figure out which pellet fuel is best for me. It’s a very subjective topic because every stove is different. I have a Harman accentra 52i pellet insert and had BIG problems with the pallet of tractor supply fuel I purchased. It was my fault for not testing a few bags before buying a skid of the tractor supply brand because I had lots of issues with this fuel. My stove isn’t picky by any means but when the bag has a cup of sawdust, and the pellets are grotesquely ranging in size it leaves the door open for issues. I’d say half of the bags left me waking up in the morning to a stalled out stove with a full hopper and a sink hole in the middle. I blame this on the inconsistent length of the pellets and the texture of the poor outer sap coating (I forget the technical name).

Anyways enough ranting about that, I bought several bags of pellets from various manufacturers I was able to get my hands on in my area and this is what I found.

Hammers hot ones (hard wood) 8.20per/395
Easyblaze (soft wood) 8.20per/395
Energex (hardwood) 7.70per/370
Lignetics (blend) 7.70per/370
Michigan wood heat (hard) 7.00per/319 sale
Tractor supply as of sept 2023 6.97per/330

Please understand while ranking these pellets that it is my opinion, and my experience is specific to my stove and my region. I am ranking these on my experience taking price into account as a main factor. Surly the most expensive brand is the best, right? Not necessarily. I think they are definitely of a higher quality but it’s not the end all be all.

The overall winner for me was the Energex, best all round pellet in my opinion when you factor in the price and quality. These burned long, hot and created little ash compared to the competition. No clinkers, smelled like real fire wood unlike some of the cheaper brands that smelled like a structure fire. uniform pellet size, nice coating, and little sawdust in the bag.

The hammers hot ones were the best in my opinion, if money was no object. They burned hot and they burned long, smelled like real wood. They created ash that was manageable and no clinkers, like the energex they were consistent and of excellent quality.

The easy blaze was third place behind the hammers hot ones and energex because personally I don’t care for the softwood. It smelled real nice like real wood, had fluffy easy to clean ash, and was consistent in size and sawdust with the other two brands above but for the price it really didn’t wow me. I also felt like they burned a lot faster than the other brands. I have nothing negative to say about them but they just didn’t do anything for me.

Fourth place goes to the Michigan heat, again price is taken into account and for the price they are a solid pellet. Sort of inconsistent in length like the tractor supply but nowhere as
egregious. The coating is much better on them as well so I didn’t have any issues with them feeding. They burned as you’d expect similar to all the other hard wood brands. Smell was not as good as the more premium brands. I would definitely give these a try if I can’t get my hands on the energex. Good bang for your buck.

Fifth place belongs to lignetics, I wasn’t impressed with the bags I purchased, they had feeding issues like the tractor supply pellets and they were too expensive for what they were. They were indeed clinkers and made tons of ash and carbon buildup in my pot. Lots of sawdust, Smelled like structure fire, not much else to say about them. Not bad but wouldn’t buy a skid of them.

Last place… you guessed it TRACTOR SUPPLY. I already ranted about these on the intro so I won’t get into it again, but these pellets have a place. I would buy these for a shop, garage, workshop, or patio stove that doesn’t have high stakes. They burn ok light off like most other brands, make about the same ash as the lignetics but have reliability issues feeding. Wouldn’t buy again or recommend to a friend.

All in all I hope this was helpful to someone, I really did it for myself to find a pellet that works best for my stove. Please share with me if you feel I was wrong about any of these brands or if you feel like you had a similar experience. Cheers! View attachment 323527View attachment 323528View attachment 323529View attachment 323530View attachment 323531View attachment 323532

The main problem I find with Tractor Supply is you never who who makes them? Last year it was a white bag with Blue lettering. This year a Clear bag with red lettering. I agree on the large amounts of fines, also this year Clear bags were noticeably thinner than others, was quite easy to poke a hole into the bag. the only problem my Harman Absolute 43c has is with brands that add vegetable oil or vegetable oil byproduct, creates a sooty mess with my stove.

 

[Pelletman308]

The main problem I find with Tractor Supply is you never who who makes them? Last year it was a white bag with Blue lettering. This year a Clear bag with red lettering. I agree on the large amounts of fines, also this year Clear bags were noticeably thinner than others, was quite easy to poke a hole into the bag. the only problem my Harman Absolute 43c has is with brands that add vegetable oil or vegetable oil byproduct, creates a sooty mess with my stove.

Agreed, this year I revived the clear bags with red/ white lettering. Junk IMOP! Also my harman accentra has the same issue, seems the cheaper brands that use additives cause “clinkers” or fouling of the burn pot. Have to use a chisel to get it off.

 

[bogieb]

The main problem I find with Tractor Supply is you never who who makes them? Last year it was a white bag with Blue lettering. This year a Clear bag with red lettering. I agree on the large amounts of fines, also this year Clear bags were noticeably thinner than others, was quite easy to poke a hole into the bag. the only problem my Harman Absolute 43c has is with brands that add vegetable oil or vegetable oil byproduct, creates a sooty mess with my stove.

You can go by the UPC sometimes. That is how I know my TSC carries MWP's in their bags.