SURVEY: Buy more than one kind of pellet for one season? If so, why?

[quietcorner dad]

I'm about to pre-buy pellets for the first time.

I'm still in the stage of experimenting, finding out what works well given my stove, wallet, and willingness to vacuum and scrape.

Still, I'd be grateful to hear some of you more experienced owners talk about what you're thinking about or aiming for when you buy more than one kind of pellet, or if you even do that.

Please feel free to answer in a post below rather than the survey if you can't find an answer you like there.

 

[TimfromMA]

I've never understood why people would buy a different kind of pellet on purpose just for the shoulder season. Buy the pellets you like and burn them. When the weather starts warming up, burn less.

 

[bogieb]

I voted for two categories that were true for me this past winter; best value and other. My other reason is because my Hastings really likes FSU's as the pellet length is short and consistent. If I get longer, inconsistent pellets, I end up having to play with the damper too much. My Harman doesn't care so I feed it whatever else I have and save the FSU's for the other stove. I can only store 2-3 tons. I go thru 5-6 tons, so the same pellets may not be available when I go to buy more. Plus, this year I pre-paid for 3 tons of pellets that worked well for me the previous year, but they were turds this year so I was really happy I didn't pre-pay for all the pellets I would need (that dealer only carries the one brand).

Now next year, I will have the PP38+ in place of the Hastings, so I probably won't be saving FSU's for one particular stove. However, since my storage area hasn't increased, I will most likely get a couple different kinds of pellets next year depending on what is available at the time.

 

[kofkorn]

I generally only buy one brand as I only purchase once a year from the big boxes. However, I normally have approx 1/2 ton left over from previous year (safety stock) that is often a different brand. I'll usually do a quick comparison in the early fall to see which brand gives out the best heat, and I'll try to save those for the days when the temp only gets to 15deg or so.

 

[boo boo]

I buy the same
If I see something I haven't burned I will pick them up to try
Some folks I have read will buy a higher BTU more expensive pellet for the colder part of winter and the less expensive lower BTU ones for knocking the chill off

 

[johneh]

I only buy one brand .
It works for me . If it's warm out
I burn less If it's cold I burn more

 

[mbella1026]

I try to stick to one. The past few years I had to burn what I could get.

 

[erzeez77]

Living in a small community we only have 2 locally owned stores that sells pellets. I like to spread the wealth to both stores.

 

[IHATEPROPANE]

I've never understood why people would buy a different kind of pellet on purpose just for the shoulder season. Buy the pellets you like and burn them. When the weather starts warming up, burn less.

How many less bags did you use this year compared to others? Did the DF make a difference besides ash?

 

[TimfromMA]

I used 1/2 ton less than previous years despite having one of the coldest and snowiest winters on record.

 

[moey]

because its cool and provides entertainment in the middle of winter...

 

[IHATEPROPANE]

I used 1/2 ton less than previous years despite having one of the coldest and snowiest winters on record.

Was it one of the coldest? It was warm up until Feb, which was one of the coldest in history. And snow is a very good insulator. I burned mostly Blazers and Vermont Wood (my favorite pellet) last year (two years ago) and mostly MWP this year and am on pace to be within maybe five bags either direction of last year. I have two tons of Blazers bought this year for next, but am not a believer that pellet have much difference in btu. Ash on the other hand is very noticeable and that is why I would buy shoulder pellets, to save money and clean once a week in the shoulders and spend more and clean once a week when I am burning two or three times more pellets.

 

[TimfromMA]

Stove efficiency does not change simply because it starts warming up outside. You will expend the same number of BTUs to heat your area regardless of what type of pellet you decide to burn. A lower grade pellet means you have to burn more of them cutting into whatever savings you think you are getting. If these "shoulder pellets" can truly heat your house for less this time of year, they will still save you money in dead of winter so you should burn them year round.

 

[IHATEPROPANE]

Stove efficiency does not change simply because it starts warming up outside. You will expend the same number of BTUs to heat your area regardless of what type of pellet you decide to burn. A lower grade pellet means you have to burn more of them cutting into whatever savings you think you are getting. If these "shoulder pellets" can truly heat your house for less this time of year, they will still save you money in dead of winter so you should burn them year round.

They heat it no problem. And the BTU difference amongst pellets is negligible IMHO, I have tested many,many brands of pellets and all are pretty much the same convection temp when feeding at the same lbs/hr. But that is not my point. My point is there is a reason to buy different pellets if you want to maintain a certain cleaning schedule. In this case once a week all burning season. If I had only "shoulder" pellets I would have to clean once or twice a week more come mid winter.

 

[moey]

Stove efficiency does not change simply because it starts warming up outside.

Ahh... It does though. When it gets warm your stove cycles. Every cycle lowers your efficiency. If you burn a lower btu pellet the stove runs longer and spends more time burning at its optimal settings rather then at startup/shutdown part of the curve.

 

[quietcorner dad]

Ahh... It does though. When it gets warm your stove cycles. Every cycle lowers your efficiency. If you burn a lower btu pellet the stove runs longer and spends more time burning at its optimal settings rather then at startup/shutdown part of the curve.

Moey notes that a stove cycling off and on to maintain appropriate temperature reduces efficiency during warmer days.

In somewhat colder weather--but still not the heart of winter--would a high BTU pellet that keeps your stove always in its lowest mode make you lose efficiency compared to a lower BTU pellet, which might sometimes make a stove cycle up to a next higher level? does anybody know, for their particular stove, how much more efficient the stove is if you're burning above the lowest setting compared to the lowest setting?

many of the best pellets also seem to be 8700 BTU or higher... is there an argument to be made for having at least some good quality pellets--like Vermont, LG, Turman--that are lower BTU and let your stove spend more time above the lowest setting than a pellet like blazers or hamers hot ones?

 

[Tonyray]

I;m buying some pellets I never used before but get good ratings here so I sprung for 1 Ton each of Lacretes and Lignetics..
my normal burn is Energex Golden Hardwoods. I;ll see if HD get's any Blazers, Presto logs, or AWPWhite pine softwoods to round out my 5 ton supply for next winter.

 

[allaboutpelletheat]

Sometimes the same pellet companies have different blends from year to year. That is why I am always leery of buying pellets ahead of time. I have bought PellHeat's for many years and for some reason, I got a ton that was just not the same. Comparable heat-wise from last year, but very ashy. I usually see what brands are around my area, buy a few bags here and there to test them out, then go ahead and buy a few ton of the one I like the best.

 

[bbfarm]

One year we bought some cheaper shoulder pellets. Never ever again. The extra work cleaning and all the extra ash was not worth it

 

[Arti]

I choose other,
If corn is a pellet we burn corn in the Basement Dweller
In the Parlor Stove my favorite pellet has a strong odor and we carry the pellets up in open buckets so we use Marth Pellets in real cold weather we mix Heartland with the Marth.
In my work shop we burn my favorite pellet (Heartland)

 

[Pete Zahria]

We encourage trying different brands "IF" a customer asks "What do you recommend"?
If they say they have been using stuff that they are unhappy with, we tell them that they
will probably like anything we sell. And that they will then perhaps find one they like a lot.
We never try to sway a customer to something else, if they ask for a particular brand.
If they ask "what do you burn?", that's different.. I say "in MY application, these work very well.."
I just suggest to them, that they burn the different brands, at like times of the season.
You can't compare brand A burning in September, to brand B burning in January...
Reading about what others have to say, is good, if a particular brand is weighted heavily in one
direction or another. But it's always good to burn a few yourself... IMO, of course..

Dan

 

[Bioburner]

I have more than one stove and the Ecoteck is ash sensitive so a better pine blend for it. The Harman PC45 does not care but gets fed a corn blend with cheaper hardwood pellets. Bought a ton already for next season for under $200 and now just watching market to buy corn. Only thing around here now left to plant is some beans and hope for rain.

 

[Tonyray]

We encourage trying different brands "IF" a customer asks "What do you recommend"?
If they say they have been using stuff that they are unhappy with, we tell them that they
will probably like anything we sell. And that they will then perhaps find one they like a lot.
We never try to sway a customer to something else, if they ask for a particular brand.
If they ask "what do you burn?", that's different.. I say "in MY application, these work very well.."
I just suggest to them, that they burn the different brands, at like times of the season.
You can't compare brand A burning in September, to brand B burning in January...
Reading about what others have to say, is good, if a particular brand is weighted heavily in one
direction or another. But it's always good to burn a few yourself... IMO, of course..

Dan

forgot to mention that 1 reason I like to try different pellets is I get tired of seeing the same looking bag all winter..