Will the pellet questions end in 2010?

[crausch]

In July the Pellet Fuel Institute (PFI) voted and passed the pellet standards. Currently they have posted that the implementation of the standards will follow this general guideline:

Jan. 1, 2009: Start data collection and verification of standards and products.
Jan. 1, 2010: Completes full year of data collection. Start review of data and systems.
July 1, 2010: Start official program with full product packaging/labeling, compliance monitoring and enforcement.

Spending a little time on this forum you can see numerous threads looking for feedback on various brands of pellets. It is my hope that once July 2010 rolls around and the labeling standards are in place we won't need to have such concerns. If a pellet manufacturer belongs to the PFI, then they will be required to meet specific pellet standards and label their bags accordingly. Once this takes effect, shouldn't all pellets being sold under the same spec burn equally? All you should have to do is look for the PFI logo on the bags, buy your choice of super-premium, premium, or standard, and you should be able to be confident in the quality. I see these standards as a good thing for the pellet industry especially end users/purchasers of pellet fuel.

I would like to see a handling and storage standard imposed on dealers who sell pellets. The PFI standards make sure that manufacturers provide a quality product and that is what we as buyers will expect when we buy pellets meeting the standards, but what if a third-party seller mishandles the pellets causing excessive fines, or does not properly store the pellets and we receive them with additional moisture?

If you buy a bags/tons of pellets that say on the bag that they meet certain specifications, then that is what we expect on delivery, not just out of the factury.

This was just a rant from me, but I definately acknowledge the great work at the PFI and kudos for getting the standards passed. Also, these folks had a big hand in getting that tax cut pushed through.

 

[hossthehermit]

Wonder how the enforcement end is gonna work?

 

[nailed_nailer]

Standards and regulations are great for the "end-user" But they are going to come at a price. If the PFI gets the industry (manufacturers, distributors and re-sellers) to adopt their standards, we as consumers are going to benefit from a higher quality product. However, it is going to cost the industry more costs in cleaner raw materials, better packaging, handling standards and storage requirements.

We are already whining about the cost of pellets rising from last year parallel with the price of oil. How would you like to pay even more for a standardized pellet?

Lets face it. We want the best (quality) pellets for the cheapest price. All honesty...I really haven't found a "bad" pellet. Just some better than others.

I think forums like Hearth.com are a better place than a board room for deciding what consumers want.

Caveat emptor
(broken link removed)

---Nailer---

 

[crausch]

Well, I am just getting back to the forum after a busy weekend.

I imagine there probably will be a slight cost increase but that doesn't have to mean that it will be on top of current prices. Lets all hope the prices subside eventually from where they are now. I would agree that first hand experiences such as those reported on this forum about pellets is great, but without standards, it seems that you could read good reviews on a particular pellet brand but not have such a good experience yourself. It would just be my hope that we could eventually trust the quality and not have to worry about it.