Yup, call me frugal. Proud of it. If I were going to have it sit on the fireplace mantle, I might get something that looks better. But when I am going to burn it up, and burn over and over, $ value per real BTU is my first consideration. Insulation and stove selection does the rest. No extra Ca Ching from my money going up the flu!
Frugal is the new hip! I am quite proud of my own Frugal living too. I'd like a bumper sticker stating that for my truck LOL. Frugality is the reason we bought this extreme fixer upper home....
Many of us pellet burners are frugal. It seems to be part of the adventure. Otherwise we'd just pay more to heat with fossil fuels. Seems to be different levels of frugal. Some spend more on cleaner burning stuff. Some just go as cheap as possible. Neither way is wrong as both still save over fossil fuels. I'm in the middle as I do spend a bit more on some of the stash. I try to keep some good stuff for the cold spells. I also try to get the best possible quality for the lowest possible dollar. But thats another story and a whole lot of blah-blah!! Burn what you can afford!
Jay you are absolutely correct... I do not burn personally...but I have used about 5 lbs of my own product to soak up something I spilled on my driveway 2 years ago...Work great too. But you and I have a different view of this. I sell pellets for a living and in the course of 6 seasons now in NE have sold 10's of thousand of tons of pellets. My business has doubled each year over the last and this year will be no exception. There are very few dealers in all of New England that I haven't talked to at one time or another and have actually a pretty good idea from thousands of feed back conversations, what seems to be working well with pellets, and the ones not so much. Here is what I know and can state for a FACT 1. A very high percentage of people do not know how to operate their stove properly...have never opened or watched the video or instruction manual that came with the stove when new 2. Most people do not keep their stove(s) clean enough. 3. Most people are creatures of habit and will buy whatever they bought before at the same place. 4. Most people are still burning the same brand of pellets their dealer first gave or sold them with the stove when it was purchased. I also realized very quickly when I first started that for me to be able to compete in the NE market, I had to offer something that wasn't available at the time and it had to be something well above what was offered locally. NEWP had tried to offer their Green Supreme brand which was actually a very good pellet from BC, but for several reasons, they had to drop it, which is where we came in right behind....timing is everything in life... Today there are a good handful of excellent softwood pellets available now...there are also dozens of middle of road pellets that really aren't that different from one against the other. Nothing to really make them stand out. But they sell and if someone is happy with that...who am I to say they shouldn't use them.........but then again, there is a segment of the market that asks (maybe even demands something much better than that) and that is where our pellets hit a sweet spot in the market....especially the Douglas Fir. I give Kevin a hard time about the NI has stocks, but truth is they are a very good pellet, as is the Blazers and probably any other 100% Douglas Fir pellet that might find its way back there. There is no such thing as a perfect pellet....but for some people (not all, but some) the DFir comes probably as close as they need, since they don't have to clean their stove as often, will probably keep their glass panel if they have one much cleaner longer and will most likely be the hottest pellet they have ever burnt. For the extra money involved, its a no brainer for them...for others, they don't see the value for their needs and choose to use something else....which is fine by me. Whatever works. Wood pellets are like Baskin Robbins ice cream....31 flavors, so there is something for everyone. PS...being frugal is fine as long as you aren't kidding yourself and are just cheap. I have seen over the years that people buy these "extreme fixer uppers" to build sweat equity and for some that works well, but for far to many, they get in over their heads very quickly and the place still looks a pile of dog crap 10 years later...but I digress
Very much agree with Doug's #1,2,3,4 above. Many folks who frequent these forums, and another not-to-be-mentioned forum, don't seem to realize that the EXTREME majority of pellet users aren't as "into it" as many of the folks here, and that means, they don't keep their units clean to run at anything even resembling optimal efficiency, and frankly, they don't care what they burn either. Frugality is subjective as well. I think its great, although it can be pretty trying from the other side of the coin when the buyer cares about nothing but cost....but you know what? I think I am over that. If the cost is the major, if not the ONLY consideration, well, there's always some one cheaper than me, or someone that sells something for less, so, go there......next? I cant match the prices of my stupidest competition, as I wont be around long if I do. We have been around a LONG time....since the Civil War.....got to be doing something right? I dunno. Frugality is wonderful, more folks should be that way. Cheap isn't wonderful.
Are North Idaho's 100% Douglas Fir? I thought they were a mix. I live within a stones throw to try North Idaho's and Purcell, another mix?
AFAIK Purcell is owned by North Idaho. NI smelled very much like Douglas fir. I didn't save the bag, So hopefully LW can confirm.
They are 100% inland Douglas Fir....ours are 100% coastal Douglas Fir....different color and mine have like 2% moisture content...which is why they burn so damm hot and clean...for some, I'm splitting hairs...both are a good pellet.. Purcell is the mixed pellet I think....but I could be wrong on that
Got 4 ton ligs in basement,because that is what came in first.Have used them many years,do well in the integra.Last year burned a dozen bages each of NI and oakies,both excellent products,slightly hotter than ligs,and cleaner.
A lot of good points have been made in this thread. I've had my house at 75F when it's been -10 before using middle of the road pellets, but the stove is really working. I got a taste of burning better pellets last year with AWF, LaCrete and the 1 bag of Blazers that I burned. So this year I splurged and bought a ton of LaCrete to go along with the Blazers as a hedge against really cold weather. Hopefully I still have them in the spring. If not, at least I stayed warm.
Check your email Kevin....already sent Subsailor....LaCrete are a fine pellet, you should be very happy with them...
I've burned them in limited quantities in the past and have been happy with them. I know they're not your Okies, but they are a nice pellet.
Doug - in your post you mentioned the Green Supreme line, and referred to them as a good pellet. Is that the same Green Supreme line that I see stacked up at Lowes? I had very little luck with those in my stove, and that seemed to be the consensus from most other pellet burners as well. Just curious if that's the same thing, or something different. Thanks.
Back is about 2005 or maybe 2006, NEWP imported bulk pellets from BC and called them Green Supreme. That is where the name came from. They set up a bagging operation in Palmer MA and were bringing in the carloads of bulk product for about 3 years. I won't go into detail, but it just didn't work out for them as planned, so it was stopped and that is when we entered the market in a much larger scale. SO...the Green Supreme product you see today in the boxes is their own pellet, but branded under their old label and sold to 3 or 4 box chains as Green Supreme. The tan bag that says NEWP is sold in speciality pellet stores, hearth stores, lumber yards etc.... As I understand it, they are both the very same pellet, but with different labels.
