The pellets , both brands you mentioned , are made from Doug fir , here on the East coast they are in the $400 + range , because of shipping .
Stick to Bears/GFs or Olympus. There are some other good ones out there (like Packsaddle) but you won't beat the price. But I know what you mean. If you hang around here long enough, you'll want to start trying other things. They have all kinds of stuff back east. Personally, I would love to try a hard pellet just for the fun of it but I can't get access to them up here. Basically buying pellets in the West is an easy choice but boring.
douglas fir are a softwood pellet[ I assume from the doug fir trees in the Northwest] that commands top dollar in the east..[being over 3000 miles away from production also commands high freight charges thus pricey.. they are also the lowest leftover remaining ash pellets you can buy. far acceding hardwoods for ash content. cheapest you can buy in the east may be 350.00 ton but usually they sell for closer to 400.00. I burn a Sprucewood softie that I feel is as hot as any fir I ever burned and pretty much 2nd to firs as far as remaining ash for 100.00 less a ton. all depends if you want to pay for a Lexus or a Ford.. they both get you from A-Z and back though gas mileage will vary.. wood pellets will heat your home it's just that some do it cleaner and hotter..
Um, probably not. I usually pay $5.49/bag for middling pellets. The ones you name are pretty much top-notch, from what I hear. That type is what we pay over $7/bag - if we can get them at all. I suppose in some pellet-rich areas there are some better deals, but when you live 30 miles from any meaningful town, most dealers buy cr*p to middling pellets and act like they are gold. I live 15-17 miles from a pellet plant, and even those pellets (which are a long way from top notch) go for about $6.50/bag. Thank goodness for TSC opening up a store nearby 2 years ago so I can get MWP's at a decent price. And, I belong to the Friends and Neighbor's club so get decent coupons one a quarter.
Had a warm up in March, so we went thru 26 bags in March. Stayed about a bag per day since install other than that. Best part of this is that I was able to turn off the electric baseboard for the winter. I have a lot to learn as this was my first venture with the stove.
I get ridiculously low prices on DF pellets. I get them in bulk for like $4.15 a bag. The only other option besides DFs are mixed fir or I have seen some pine... but why bother? Get the best for those prices. Like I say, buying pellets out West is easy... if not boring. A nice problem to have. I still wish I could try some of those ones back East. It would be nice comparing experiences with the folks online here.
We get almost zero calls for hardwood here.... Mostly from people that used to burn wood, and bought pellet stoves. Dan
22 bags used in April. Grand total so far is 284. If it doesn't warm up and/or get sunny soon, will hit 6 tons for the heating season easily.
I did 4 skids this year but not counting 5 bags of doug firs I won from a contest and 4 bags of Green Supremes from home depot I wanted to try just to RE-confirm why I don't buy ashy pellets from Box stores.
Nah, I'm pretty sure that Luneyburg will be at least double my usage - and he's south of me (but he is heating a larger, older house).
