I'm looking for hardwood pellets and having a hard time as everybody carries Mid Michigan premium wood pellets around me and I haven't heard anything good about them.... Suggestions?
Most cord wood burners stick to hardwoods for many reasons. But once the fiber is made into pellets things equal out and generally a softwood pellet contains less ash content. I'm assuming that your a bit frugal(like most of us burners) and want them on the cheap or as low a price as possible without buying crap.Best thing to do is some traveling to see what ya got locally and post what ya find. Will help ya. If you see Somersets, And the price is reasonable. You want to grab some. Pretty much the best pellet you find at a box store. Couple other brands are Pres To Logs and American Wood Fibers.
Unfortunately, We don't see softwoods at box stores(not in my area anyway). So you might see mostly hardwoods available unless you can find a pellet dealer/house. But some of the hardwoods can rival the softwoods in both heat and ash content. As long as the pellet starts with a clean fiber the end pellet will be good. The best fiber you see a hardwood pellet made from is oak. Somersets are an all oak pellet and produce very similar results to a softwood. Of the softwoods a Douglas fir will be the tops of the chart. Cleanest fiber know of any pellet I have tested/seen available. The most common softwood will be a SPF or Spruce-Pine-Fir and are another good choice. There are a couple a mills that make pellets in Michigan, But from what we've seen and heard about them. They aren't using a good fiber source and can be rather dirty and ashy.
This is what I found in Michigan that's not Michigan pellets everybody else is selling the Mid Michigan hard wood pellets I haven't heard very much good on them yet. the only other place that sells softwood pellets is Menards and they don't give you a brand new just come in a white bag.
Pennington should stick to grass seed IMHO. Not by any means are they a good pellet. I would only use if you have no other choices available or they are so cheap you won't mind dealing with low heat and lots of ash. They will burn, But you poor little stove might choke on them. I'd be checking out the no name softwoods if the price isn't crazy. Or looking for more choices. These days most every one sells pellets during the heating season. Do you have other box stores or farm and fleet stores?
I'd keep an eye out for Pro Pellets, Magic Spark, and Somerset. The first two are made by the same company, they are based out of White Pigeon MI or something like that. Softwoods are great and all, but they're almost $100 more per ton around here, at least what I've found.
O gosh Busch light! I'm gonna throw up! I like my PBR and HomeBrew... The beast is what you need Milwaukee's Best anybody
