Softwood pellets and creosote?

[Lake Girl]

Just finished reading the following article on the Indeck pellet website that mentions southern pine pellets leave more creosote build-up. Would this also apply to BC produced softwood pellets? I find this hard to believe as there is less build-up in the burnpot.

(broken link removed to http://www.indeckpellets.com/news/Dangerous) Softwood.pdf

This article reviews emissions of hardwood vs. softwood pellets:
(broken link removed to http://pelletheat.org/pdfs/hwswpellets-rev10.pdf)

While the emissions from softwood are less, is the black color an indication of more complete combustion or ? Any interpretations on this? Would ask the hubby, Fire Chief, but he is away from home teaching for the Ontario Fire College!

Local pellet supply (NW Ontario) is pretty sad. Hardwood premium pellets: Indeck @ Menards, made Indeck, Ladysmith WI; Lumberjack $5 Cdn/bag from local trucking firm that backhauls, made Great Lakes Renewable Energy, Hayward WI. Softwood premium pellets: Firemaster $5 Cdn/bag @ Canadian Tire, SBC Firemaster, Langley BC. Can't remember the brand @ Wally World but they were stored outside. Still a fair number of loggers in our area so wood stoves are the norm. For myself, bucking up wood and loading the outside boiler we had kept me fit but that was over 10 years ago! The only plus to the boiler was that it liked green wood.

The Firemaster brand appears to burn cleaner (less build-up on the glass, close to the same amount of ash but finer). From what I've read here, they are likely comparable to the Oakies... Hope there are no pellet pigs around because I still have to stock up!

Lumberjack brand loses points due to quality control at least a dozen pellets 2" in length per bag and more fines.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

If you have the draft set properly and keep your stove clean you'll see very little creosote with a pellet stove regardless of the pellet you burn.

This is also true of wood in a wood stove as well.

 

[exoilburner]

Bottom line; what Smokey says is what I have experienced. I was getting a tar looking build up on the window of my pellet burner and a creosote build up in my fire box. My only adjustment for air/fuel ratio is a fuel feed adjuster. I turned it down to half the value the factory recommends and the build-up on the window turned from tar to a dark brown ash.
Do you get much smoke out of your pellet vent? If you do that may be another idicator of too much fuel or not enough air.

 

[lbcynya]

That article, in my opinion, tried to discourage the use of softwood pellets generally speaking, but they specifically called out Southern Yellow Pine, which is specific to the SE portion of the US only. SYP is harvested every 5-7 years, contains lots of inorganics, primarily form the soil and is ideally suited for pulp/paper industry and cheap, high quantity export pellets. Why are the 2 largest (was 3) pellet exporters located in SYP territory - cheap fiber, quick repleshment.

Ever heard of Appling County Pellets? Most say they are HORRIBLE. Guess what - SYP is their primary feedstock...

I would agree that SYP is problematic, but that doesn't mean softwood from other parts of North America follow suit.

 

[Lake Girl]

Smoke only on start-up for both pellet types with less ash build-up on glass and less burnpot build-up with softwood. No sign of creosote. Just wanted to avoid potential problems instead of learning it the hard way...

 

[tinkabranc]

Take those articles with a grain of salt.
I have been burning mainly softwood pellets for years now and prefer em over hardwood pellets.

Most of the dealers in this area still beleive that hardwood pellets are King but they will come around one day. ;-)

When possible, always try out a few bags of a brand before buying in bulk.

 

[3650]

my sis just had a horrible creasote issue with her stove and southern indiana hardwoods. took me 40 minutes or so to get the glass clean. i tried to burn what was left over in my harman and it strted turning black, so we will use them at a weinnie roast. i think if you find something that burns good you just stick with it whether its hard or softwood.

 

[Eatonpcat]

my sis just had a horrible creasote issue with her stove and southern indiana hardwoods. took me 40 minutes or so to get the glass clean. i tried to burn what was left over in my harman and it strted turning black, so we will use them at a weinnie roast. i think if you find something that burns good you just stick with it whether its hard or softwood.

New to pellets, But I totally agree!