Skana wood pellets

[erictomlin]

Good afternoon, my pellet burning comrades. Can anyone give me any insight to the quality of Skana wood pellets? I have not been able to find much info here, or on other sites.

The place that I was going to buy my Okanagan Gold and Douglas Fir pellets from told me today that they are not accepting new orders for these particular pellets until Oct 27. And even then, there is no guarante that they will be able to fill the order in a timely manner.

They do have Skana wood pellets available and they tell me that ash is 0.3% and 8900 btu for this particular brand. Price is $310 per ton which is consistent with other pellets they sell (Okie Gold and Platinum). Please...let the information flow!

Thanks!

fwiw, I have a 5 year old Country Stoves PS40 stove that has been very relible.

 

[TimfromMA]

I know the place you went to. I bought my stove and all my pellets there. I am confident enough in their integrity and quality to be comfortable buying any pellet they carry.

 

[ttdberg]

I bought a half ton of the Skana pellets at the end of last season and burned 5 bags near the end of the season. They are marketed as Skana, but actually they are called "Platinum Pellets" and are produced by Vanderhooft Specialty Wood Products from BC. I really like them a lot - they are some of the best I have burned, and I can't wait to use them again this season. When you open the bag, the fresh cut spruce / fir smell is unbelievable. They are very clean, almost no dust or fines, and they burn with a nice large bright flame, and create ash very similar to Vermont Wood Pellets; black and powdery, and very little of it. I would say the ash content is a tad higher and I did get a speed bump in the burn pot slightly quicker than Vermonts, but nothing to worry about for sure. I have since gone back and bought another ton to add to the bunker for this season.

 

[jtakeman]

hey are marketed as Skana, but actually they are called "Platinum Pellets" and are produced by Vanderhooft Specialty Wood Products from BC.

So they are actually these?

 

[ttdberg]

Yes they sure are!

 

[erictomlin]

Thanks for the replies. I think what I'll do is order 5 ton of the Skana and ask them to wait on delivery till the 27th. That way, at least I'll have pellets ordered for the season. I'll ask them to wait till the 27th so they can tell me if they'll have the Okie Gold and/or DF available, and if they do, I'll take those instead. If they don't, then I'll have them deliver the Skana. At least now I am comfortable with the Skana, if that is what I end up with.

Moral of the story: Don't wait till mid October to order pellets. As a 5 year vet of pellet stoves, I should know better. Right?

 

[jtakeman]

Yes they sure are!

Supposed to be good, I think I found some.

 

[erictomlin]

Supposed to be good, I think I found some.

You had better keep your grubby mitts off of my stash!

 

[ttdberg]

Supposed to be good, I think I found some.

That's great - confident you will really like them!

 

[ttdberg]

Thanks for the replies. I think what I'll do is order 5 ton of the Skana and ask them to wait on delivery till the 27th. That way, at least I'll have pellets ordered for the season. I'll ask them to wait till the 27th so they can tell me if they'll have the Okie Gold and/or DF available, and if they do, I'll take those instead. If they don't, then I'll have them deliver the Skana. At least now I am comfortable with the Skana, if that is what I end up with.

Moral of the story: Don't wait till mid October to order pellets. As a 5 year vet of pellet stoves, I should know better. Right?

Even if the Okies are available, recommend grabbing at least a ton of these anyway, quite certain you will be glad you did!

 

[TimfromMA]

These guys offer an early buy discount and start getting their Spring pellets in April. Something to keep in mind for next year.

 

[erictomlin]

These guys offer an early buy discount and start getting their Spring pellets in April. Something to keep in mind for next year.

Good to know. What was the price for the Okie DF in the spring?

 

[ttdberg]

$345/ton

 

[TimfromMA]

$345/ton

What he said.

 

[erictomlin]

$345/ton

$345 per ton is what they're charging now.

 

[ttdberg]

Their early buy prices really don't differ much from their regular prices. They only fluctuate by $5 or $10 and in some cases, they don't change at all. Their prices are more reasonable than most that sell the same brands anyway, so you are getting a good deal whether you get the early buy price or not.

 

[daument]

$345 per ton is what they're charging now.

Wow.... they better be good, my WPI's burn well in my Harman and were 215 a ton.

 

[TimfromMA]

Ive still got 20 or so bags of Oakie Platinums left over from last year to burn through before the DF hits the stove.

Ill let you know.

 

[ttdberg]

Thanks for the replies. I think what I'll do is order 5 ton of the Skana and ask them to wait on delivery till the 27th. That way, at least I'll have pellets ordered for the season. I'll ask them to wait till the 27th so they can tell me if they'll have the Okie Gold and/or DF available, and if they do, I'll take those instead. If they don't, then I'll have them deliver the Skana. At least now I am comfortable with the Skana, if that is what I end up with.

Moral of the story: Don't wait till mid October to order pellets. As a 5 year vet of pellet stoves, I should know better. Right?

Just curious, what did you decide to do in the end?

 

[erictomlin]

Just curious, what did you decide to do in the end?

I ended up with 5 ton of the Skana for the 2014-2015 winter, and they burned very well. For 2015-2016 winter I was able to order 5 ton of Vermont Wood Pellets from Robbins in Oxford. These pellets are my favorites of all that I have used so far.