PFI (Pellet Fuels Institute) Pellet Grading Certification

[Fairwind]

A few years ago , the PFI quality guarantee mark appeared on the bags of most pellet manufacturers. I checked a few recent bags I had saved, two or three local brands, and the PFI quality certification has disappeared..I checked the PFI web-site and the number of brands they certify has dropped to just a relative handful of predominantly east of the Mississippi pellet providers...Recent bags purchased in Denver still claim "Premium Quality" but no longer is there any mention of BTU content, ash content, fines content, moisture content. I don't know if the PFI guarantee was worth much but now we have even less than that...One of the long-time members, boglieb I think, ran an amazing test and analysis of many different pellet brands which at least gives you an idea of what works and what does not....

 

[bogieb]

I believe you are talking about Jtakeman's testing?

Looking at PFI's website, they state that in September they outlined the use of the PFI label. Maybe that had an impact? Or maybe the mfg's didn't find any advantage in the label and decided to save the money they were required to spend just to get the label. I notice Le Cretes don't have the PFI label, but I've heard a lot of good stuff about that brand, so a label wouldn't influence my decision to buy. I've also noticed that a lot of BBS pellets have that label, and I'm not talking about the good pellets either.

 

[Fairwind]

Yeah...the consumers main concern "How Much" ?? The manufacturers know that.........You pour them in, they burn, you clean out the ash as necessary....Apologies to Jtakeman for not crediting his efforts correctly on the pellet testing...

Backstage, there is more to the pellet story...The D.O.E. gives grants to companies who are starting up "green" energy projects like pellet plants..but once those start-up funds run out, many have trouble keeping the business going..In Colorado, there was / is a massive beetle kill in the pine forests..The spruce trees are also getting hit with spruce bud worms, resulting in a big die-off..The Forest Service allows forestry companies to harvest this dead timber for little or nothing. they are relieved to get the fire danger reduced.. Some of the wood ends up as lumber, some as cord-wood and some gets converted into wood pellets...So, as you can see politics plays an important role in who gets the stumpage rights, who gets the start up money, who gets tax relief......The end result is $220 / ton pellets in the Rockies and along the Front Range..Do they have the PFI blessing? Not !

 

[3650]

That rating meant very little anyway. I bought a ton of a brand I cant recall that had a premium rating and woke up to a 34* house. They did nothing but smolder, smelled like alfalfa and looked like feed. I returned them. I have very little faith in those ratings. Its better to follow peoples experience's on here that have the same stove as I do.

 

[Fairwind]

That rating meant very little anyway. I bought a ton of a brand I cant recall that had a premium rating and woke up to a 34* house. They did nothing but smolder, smelled like alfalfa and looked like feed. I returned them. I have very little faith in those ratings. Its better to follow peoples experience's on here that have the same stove as I do.

When I'm shopping for pellets, I always bring a 5-gallon bucket with me..I open a bag and pour half of it in the bucket and take a close look at what I'm buying..If there is a lot of fines or any sign of dampness, I move on....

 

[prairielife]

When I'm shopping for pellets, I always bring a 5-gallon bucket with me..I open a bag and pour half of it in the bucket and take a close look at what I'm buying..If there is a lot of fines or any sign of dampness, I move on....

How do you like the EcoFlame stuff? We've been burning it for a couple of years and it seems like it's been dry and burns well in our stove. Just curious how it's worked out for you. Our neighborhood has someone who works out a couple of tractor trailer loads of it per year, so we can order by the pallet and pick it up (or have enthusiastic high school boys with dad's pickup deliver them for $10) two miles down the road. Hard to beat that.

I had a scenario where I had some pellets that were smoldering (long story - pellet box fire triggered by an untimely power outage, a super cold night, a stove with negative pressure in a basement when the blowers aren't running, and me being stupid and not clearing the box after said power outage and a smokey burn due to the blower stoppage overheated the stove enough to smoulder some pellets near the auger entrance) and I had to take them outdoors and soak them with water in the driveway. Those EcoFlames expand a HUGE amount and disintegrate quickly into mushy oatmeal if they get at all wet. If they got wet inside a bag, they'd definitely burst the bag itself.

Other than freezing my butt off in the driveway at -10F that night making sure everything was truly extinguished properly, it was kinda fun to watch a 5 gallon bucket of them expand and grow out of the top of the bucket like a kid's volcano science project.

 

[Fairwind]

When you buy a less than a ton quantity at a big box store, half the time they have been moved around several times and the amount of fines produced by handling the bags multiple times can lead to problems..I put together a simple hardware cloth screen, 1/4 openings, rest it at a 45 degree angle and pour the pellets down the screen..The fines and sawdust fall through the screen and the clean pellets collect at the bottom. I only do this when I find a bag with excessive fines..I'm no pellet expert but the EcoFlame brand works fine for me....They are $4.95 / bag at HD right now....

 

[prairielife]

When you buy a less than a ton quantity at a big box store, half the time they have been moved around several times and the amount of fines produced by handling the bags multiple times can lead to problems..I put together a simple hardware cloth screen, 1/4 openings, rest it at a 45 degree angle and pour the pellets down the screen..The fines and sawdust fall through the screen and the clean pellets collect at the bottom. I only do this when I find a bag with excessive fines..I'm no pellet expert but the EcoFlame brand works fine for me....They are $4.95 / bag at HD right now....

I could definitely see that from the handling. Since ours get handled once into the tractor trailer, once onto a pickup truck, and once into the garage, they don't seem to have too many fines. If I pour the bag slowly the fines will end up staying in the bag.

 

[DBCOOPER]

When I'm shopping for pellets, I always bring a 5-gallon bucket with me..I open a bag and pour half of it in the bucket and take a close look at what I'm buying..If there is a lot of fines or any sign of dampness, I move on....

Do you get thrown out of a lot of stores?

 

[Fairwind]

Do you get thrown out of a lot of stores?

No, I buy the bag I opened......