pellets in western new york

[utahdl]

I have just had a mt vernon installed and am in the process of buying pellets.

Am i looking to buy hard or softwood pellets?

Is there a specific brand better than others?

Where can I find pellets in my area- Buffalo, NY?

Thanks

 

[johnny1720]

You can get pellets down on Springville at one of the feed stores. If you bought your stove from a local dealer somtimes you can get good pricing from them. I usually get pellets from Southern Tier Forest Products in Salamanca, NY the have the best pellets. Pinnacles put out the most BTU's per pound than any of the other pellets.


good luck


Also Wal-mart usually has fairly good pellets for a good price starting in mid to late august.


johnny

 

[Jabberwocky]

My dealer recommended softwood, but I suspect the Mt Vernon does well on either one.

 

[HarryBack]

Without examining the lab analyses of the pellets, Ive found that comparing pellets is like comparing Pepsi and Coke. Although both products have sugar and caffeine, will make you fat and rot your teeth, one guy will come in and say that Coke is great, pepsi sucks, and the next gal in the store will say that pepsi is wonderful and Coke is crapola. Its much the same way with pellets. One guy loves a brand, another hates it. Saying that, you want to maximize your BTU's per pound, minimize your ash content and fines, and minimize your chlorides, if you have lab analyses to look at. Theres actually many other things to look at, but the above seems to most often dictate the quality of the pellet.

Softwood versus Hardwood? A crapshoot. Usually SLIGHTLY more BTU's per pound in a softwood, and I tend to prefer western softwoods over eastern softwoods...they seem to burn hotter AND cleaner. Here in New Engalnd though, theres certainly a bias toward hardwood.....something about being brought up a stubborn Yankee, and softwood is only good for campfires at best, or the closest brushfire...blahblahblah...

The Quads are arguably the second best pellet units out there . Im sure your Mt. Vernon will burn either, so dont lose sleep over that.

As for Walmart, and buying pellets in August......Are you the type who tends to buy your Mothers' Day roses on Mothers' Day or the day before? Then maybe you would wish to wait till August and roll that "whats the price gonna be, if I can get it" dice. My reccomendation to you would be to buy them NOW. Theres little downside to buying earlier, and alot of upside. Most likely the prices will be higher in August, even at the vaunted Walmart. Theres a slight possibility of a shortage (anyone remember the winter of '05?).......I strongly suggest you dont wait, that you buy them now.

 

[Jabberwocky]

The Quads are arguably the second best pellet units out there . Im sure your Mt. Vernon will burn either, so dont lose sleep over that.

Who's number one in your opinion?

 

[DaveR]

Here is an interesting link that offers manufacturer submitted data on wood pellets energy content. I've found it very helpful in making better choices based upon heat value instead of just price. It is interesting that wood pellets show a range for BTU/LB on a dry basis of 8000-9200 BTU/LB that would need to be adjusted down for effective heat content based upon the pellets average moisture content. I've read where approximately 90 BTU/Lb of effective heat energy is lost in direct combustion for every 1% moisture content in the fuels. So it would seem not all wood pellets are the same. I've often wondered if this is because of the species of wood used or if it has something else to do with other composition characterisitcs of some wood pellets.

http://www.aer-online.com/aerpage.phtml?page=dirarch

Maybe this will help others make better value choices in pellets. ($/Bag)/(LBS/Bag*BTU/LB)=$/BTU

 

[GVA]

Don't forget that pellets seem to vary from year to year what you love this year may suck next year...

 

[webbie]

The Quads are arguably the second best pellet units out there . Im sure your Mt. Vernon will burn either, so dont lose sleep over that.

Who's number one in your opinion?

I can answer for Harry.....

HARMAN, of course.

The Cadillac of Pellet Stove. But there can also be Ferrari, Mercedes, Lexus and other brands......

 

[stoveguy13]

yea cadilacs but dont think for one second harry dosent want to sell a lexus (quad)

 

[utahdl]

One of the stores sells dry creek product pellets. Has anyone heard of them, if so, good or bad?

 

[johnny1720]

Without examining the lab analyses of the pellets, Ive found that comparing pellets is like comparing Pepsi and Coke. Although both products have sugar and caffeine, will make you fat and rot your teeth, one guy will come in and say that Coke is great, pepsi sucks, and the next gal in the store will say that pepsi is wonderful and Coke is crapola. Its much the same way with pellets. One guy loves a brand, another hates it. Saying that, you want to maximize your BTU's per pound, minimize your ash content and fines, and minimize your chlorides, if you have lab analyses to look at. Theres actually many other things to look at, but the above seems to most often dictate the quality of the pellet.

Most likely the prices will be higher in August, even at the vaunted Walmart. Theres a slight possibility of a shortage (anyone remember the winter of '05?).......I strongly suggest you dont wait, that you buy them now.

I worked closely with a pellet stove manufactuer. I have done analysis of several different types of pellets. I have burned at least 20 different brands of pellets in 10 different brands of pellet stoves. Through and through the highest BTU per pound has always been the pinnacle pellets. Dont be fooled by the fact that your stove burns hotter with these type or those types of pellets, because all pellets are different sizes. Smaller pellets feed faster and burn quicker than large pellets ie seem to generate more heat.

If you have a top feeder or if you have a bottom feeder also will play a role in what type of pellet you will enjoy the most. If you know how to adjust the feedrate/combustion fan speed and the air intake on your stove you can burn just about any type of pellet with great success.

You have to remember that it is best to get pellets that were made from wood that was harvested when the ground was not muddy/wet. When you are looking at the pellets open a bag and see what color they are. If they are dark brown/black that would lead me to believe that they have a lot of contamination, ie mud, sand and silica. I like to purchase my pellets in the middle of the summer in hopes of getting pellets that used wood that was harvested when the ground was dry.

Around here we have two pellet mills within an hour, allegany and dry creek. Most of the retailers dont stock pellets until mid august. And the ones that do have pellets now are still working off the winter inventory.

Good luck

Johnny

 

[johnny1720]

One of the stores sells dry creek product pellets. Has anyone heard of them, if so, good or bad?

I have seen great and I have seen bad. I have also heard that somtimes rail cars show up at that plant loaded with pellets and they unload the bulk pellets and bag them in there bags.



johnny


get some and try them, they are usually good pellets.

 

[HarryBack]

Without examining the lab analyses of the pellets, Ive found that comparing pellets is like comparing Pepsi and Coke. Although both products have sugar and caffeine, will make you fat and rot your teeth, one guy will come in and say that Coke is great, pepsi sucks, and the next gal in the store will say that pepsi is wonderful and Coke is crapola. Its much the same way with pellets. One guy loves a brand, another hates it. Saying that, you want to maximize your BTU's per pound, minimize your ash content and fines, and minimize your chlorides, if you have lab analyses to look at. Theres actually many other things to look at, but the above seems to most often dictate the quality of the pellet.

Most likely the prices will be higher in August, even at the vaunted Walmart. Theres a slight possibility of a shortage (anyone remember the winter of '05?).......I strongly suggest you dont wait, that you buy them now.

I worked closely with a pellet stove manufactuer. I have done analysis of several different types of pellets. I have burned at least 20 different brands of pellets in 10 different brands of pellet stoves. Through and through the highest BTU per pound has always been the pinnacle pellets. Dont be fooled by the fact that your stove burns hotter with these type or those types of pellets, because all pellets are different sizes. Smaller pellets feed faster and burn quicker than large pellets ie seem to generate more heat.

If you have a top feeder or if you have a bottom feeder also will play a role in what type of pellet you will enjoy the most. If you know how to adjust the feedrate/combustion fan speed and the air intake on your stove you can burn just about any type of pellet with great success.

You have to remember that it is best to get pellets that were made from wood that was harvested when the ground was not muddy/wet. When you are looking at the pellets open a bag and see what color they are. If they are dark brown/black that would lead me to believe that they have a lot of contamination, ie mud, sand and silica. I like to purchase my pellets in the middle of the summer in hopes of getting pellets that used wood that was harvested when the ground was dry.

Around here we have two pellet mills within an hour, allegany and dry creek. Most of the retailers dont stock pellets until mid august. And the ones that do have pellets now are still working off the winter inventory.

Good luck

Johnny

the problem here is that most pellet manufacturers will stockpile sawdust and pellets for quite some time. When buying the pellets, theres really no way to tell when the wood from the pellets were harvested...they could have been sitting in sawdust/chip form for quite some time prior to being made, and after being made, they also might have been sitting for quite awhile. Id guess that the risks of waiting till late summer/fall to buy the pellets would more than outweigh the risk of an elevated ash content by buying earlier.

 

[HarryBack]

never sold Dry Creek myself, but have heard they are a good pellet.

 

[HarryBack]

yea cadilacs but dont think for one second harry dosent want to sell a lexus (quad)

actually, stoveguy, I dont want to sell Quad. Not because they arent a quality unit, but because Id rather specialize in one brand, know it well, and be able to carry the parts required in most cases.

 

[Xena]

One of the stores sells dry creek product pellets.
Has anyone heard of them, if so, good or bad?

Two seasons ago I got a ton of the dry creek.
They burned really great in my St Croix.