i have been burning marth pellets for past 10 yrs. always consistant quality hardwood pellets. i have to drive 20 miles past tractor supply and the marth is 20% more expensive than t.s. but i usually don't burn for heat as much as 4-5 hrs in the evening for just having a fire in a stove. pellet prices in the last few years have made pellets so much more expensive than even bottled gas i flinch at burning full time. anyway..........the t.s pellets were ok for me. they do leave more ash but no more than i have gotten from an earth sense store when i had to substitute for marth. for the next trip for 1/2 a ton anyway i won't be driving the extra 20 miles.
tractor supply pellets
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It amazes me the difference in fuel costs and different parts of the country. Here, out West, pellets are by far cheaper than any other type of fuel!
Tier 2 electricity pricing is 24 cents a kilowatt hour. Natural gas is currently $4.60 a therm. Propane is $2.39 at Costco/$2.69 delivered with a 250 gallon minimum. But, pellets are five bucks a bag!
Tier 2 electricity pricing is 24 cents a kilowatt hour. Natural gas is currently $4.60 a therm. Propane is $2.39 at Costco/$2.69 delivered with a 250 gallon minimum. But, pellets are five bucks a bag!
SidecarFlip
Minister of Fire
Don't worry, by this time next year, pellets will be looking real cheap compared to propane and even NG (if you have that).
Been running TS pellets for years but our local TS gets Michigan Hardwood pellets and they are very good. I buy at least 5 pallets at a time and take the full pallet discount plus whatever I can finagle in price from the store manager mid summer on leftover pallets. Paid 200 a ton last summer for 5 ton and no tax. Farm expense. heating the farmhouse.
bogieb
Minister of Fire
A couple of years ago a TSC opened up 4-5 miles away from me. I too shifted to their product as my preferred pellet and 98% of the time they have MWP's in those TSC bags. Are they the best burning? NO, but they are the best value. I can pick them up myself (no delivery from over 30 miles away at $65-85 per delivery), decent heat even if a bit ashy, and always get a good price.
Like Sidecar, I can usually get mine between $200 and $225 per ton. Belonging to the Friends and Neighbors club ensures I get 10% off coupons quarterly . In November or December I can get 15-20% off coupon for heating supplies from their website (no tax in NH).
My house runs a propane boiler and that is $3.50/gal at the best of times. It was over $5.50/gal winter of 2013/2014 and I can see those prices hitting again next winter.
Like Sidecar, I can usually get mine between $200 and $225 per ton. Belonging to the Friends and Neighbors club ensures I get 10% off coupons quarterly . In November or December I can get 15-20% off coupon for heating supplies from their website (no tax in NH).
My house runs a propane boiler and that is $3.50/gal at the best of times. It was over $5.50/gal winter of 2013/2014 and I can see those prices hitting again next winter.
SidecarFlip
Minister of Fire
I'd plan on even higher propane prices as the days progress. Bidens green energy crap will cause a huge price increase in propane and motor fuel as well as NG. That coupled with his proposed tax increases will really bite individuals in the butt.
When I picked up my skids of pellets this summer, the manager at the local TSC offered me a job delivering pellets. to customers that bought them with no way to get them home but in the trunk of their cars or in the SUV's. I passed. I have zero desire to break down pallets of pellets and put them in someone's garage or wherever. I handle them 2 times as it is. Once when I unload them with my high-low and once when I mix them with the corn (on a pallet, 4 plastic 30 gallon garbage cans) and that pallet goes on the back deck via my high-low again. Too damn old to be lumping sacks of pellets anyway, no matter what the compensation is. Besides, I cannot imagine getting my crew cab pickup pickup truck and my 28 foot goose neck trailer in some tight spot in someone's driveway. Takes a football field to turn it now.
I wouldn't do it even for 100 bucks a delivery. I do much better raising commercial forage and my customer picks up the round bales from the field with his semi trucks. I don't handle them at all.
Mr._Graybeard
Feeling the Heat
The nearby TSC here in southern Wisconsin has been selling a Canadian pellet called BioPower. It's pretty good -- certainly better than Marth, which I have burned by the ton off and on for years. My local Menards has been selling Marth pellets for $250/ton, while TSC has been selling BioPower pellets for $204.50 with a 1-ton discount. I've bought 4 tons of BioPower pellets this season.
SidecarFlip
Minister of Fire
We go to Menards quite often and I've observed but never bought their pellets. The are usually outside, uncovered (no shrouding) and the pallets are picked over by people buying a few bags and rummaging through them for some reason. One thing I learned long ago about pellets in general and that is, the less you handle the bags the less fines you get. Why I buy full pallets and never touch them until it's time to mix them with my corn. Virgin bags are always better than bags that have been moved around multiple times.
Mr._Graybeard
Feeling the Heat
Really? I have two Menards stores within 20 miles and have bought pellets from both. Both stores brought skids out from under cover when I bought them, and I've probably bought a couple dozen or more skids over the years.
Generally, Menards stores around me have yards similar to a traditional lumber yard with lots of covered warehouse space. I do recall when that wasn't the case and things sat out in the open, but that was 30+ years ago.
Menards and Marth used to be the cheapest game in town for pellets -- I've paid less than $170/ton in prior years. The pellets were mediocre but cheap. Since Lignetics bought Marth, though, the retail price went up to $250/ton. I'm not paying that.
Anyway, I still get a bad taste in my mouth shopping Menards because John Menard has a well-earned reputation as a jerk. But sometimes you have to set aside values to save a couple bucks.
SidecarFlip
Minister of Fire
Really... I don't exaggerate about stuff like that. What I observed with my own eves.
Bezo's is a butthole too but that don't stop people from buying stuff on Amazon does it? Of course not.
Heck, I used to pay $100 a ton back in the day. Everything goes up but wages....
I like Menards, they have excellent prices, helpful staff and a huge selection, just not pellets.
I do miss the 11% off however. it offsets the sales tax a bit.
Again, I prefer TSC in the summer when I can get leftover skids of pellets and negotiate a price point with the store manager. I always keep at least 4 pallets in reserve in the barn anyway.
SidecarFlip
Minister of Fire
In my situation, I really don't much care what the pellet extruder is because all I do is add pellets to my medium dent Midwestern field corn to mitigate the clinkers as I don't run a clinker pot like Pete does. If I did, I would run straight corn and forgo the pellets entirely. Next year I may fabricate some clinker pots and sell them. I believe there is still a market for them and I do own a fabrication shop. Just don't have the impetus to make them now and my 1-4 pellets corn mix seems to do a good job with clinker mitigation.
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