Hi all, I'm a newbie user of pellets and I'm trying to work out what to look for on the bag. Do you guys care about things like the PFI label and the numbers in it? Or do you look more at the numbers from the manufacturers themselves? Or do you guys not really read any of the bag and just base your decision on what you've used before? If there is one or two things you always look for, what would they be? Thanks all, just trying to find the best pellets out there!
Welcome pelletnewbie I did a write up on this which can be found here. Pellet Guide for Newbies Most of us share info as best as possible on the good and the bad brands. What brand of stove do you have?
The labels don't really tell you a lot of use full information. <1% ash sounds good but that's a lot of ash. Some of the best pellets are like .25% ash. If you have any pellets in mind, it might be best to check with the users on this site before buying a large amount. Invariably you will be told try a few bags before you commit to any large quantity purchased.
Thanks very much! Super super helpful. I got an Englander from Home Depot. Any thoughts on what you would buy come the fall if you're in Western Mass / Berkshires region?
I've seen a lot of Green Supreme in the big box stores near where I live in Western Mass, but because I didn't have a stove yet I've never bought. Any thoughts on that?
Keep reading all the references available to you on this forum. Other factors are the stove itself, the operator, and the maintenance. Anyone of these can attribute to huge variances with the same brand of pellet. Those of us who have been around here for a while can speak to common characteristic that some brands of pellets have. Example, brands famous for the amount of ash, or burn hotter, cost more, or have crap in the pellets. Some brands change hands and with that often comes a change in the pellet. Some stores like to sell "pellets" as all the same. Those that put their name of some bags but are bought from many suppliers. There many be codes numbers on the bags that will tell where they came from. If you can, buy from a pellet dealer, esp. one that has been around for awhile. Chain outlets will carry good and bad, but won't know a thing about their product, or offer you services like delivery.
savemoney has pretty much hit the nail on the head for your research, and subsailor is right on the bags not telling much, and jtakeman is always good at advice (and links) - and keep in mind that those numbers are under ideal conditions, and may not be indicative of how things work in your set up. PFI - my opinion is that means not so much, kind of like ISO or AS9100 certifications for manufacturers - it really means that they paid some money to some auditors and does not indicate how good their product is. Pellets are different for everyone and to make it even tougher, stoves of the same brand/model may not act the same with the same pellets in them. Some people aren't tolerant of any but the bare minimum of ash. Whether that is because of ash pan size (small pans fill up more quickly), how often they have to clean their stoves or other factors, it is a personal preference. I tend to be fairly tolerant of ash with large ash pans, and nothing better to do with my time than clean stoves every couple of weeks Some people can't see paying top dollar for pellets regardless of how good they are - I would be one of them although sometimes I will splurge on a couple of bags just to experience them. Or, if I find a great deal on CL, I'll live it up for a while. Some people only buy pellets that are in their immediate area which may mean they only have access to a small selection - I tend to fall in that category now that a TSC is local and has a nice middle of the road brand (MWP) in their bags, at a fair price. I still occasionally hit a BBS after work (otherwise they are 30 miles from me) but they aren't the main mix in my 5-6 tons of use each year. Some people wouldn't use hardwood pellets on a bet - personally my P61a loves most hardwoods (except a couple of the really low tier brands), but others say their P61a just hates them. OTOH, my P61a is not impressed at all with most pure softwoods (although it loves Vermonts) and the only noticeable difference is heat, while others with the same stove swear by them and wouldn't use anything but. Some people burn lower quality pellets in the fall and spring (shoulder pellets) and then use top tier pellets for the cold winter months. I tend to balance value (price versus heat versus ash) because I am heating a small area and although I may burn a few more bags of pellets, it certainly isn't enough to cost more than if I were to burn premium brands. Green Supremes can be tricky. There are 5 or 6 different types. I only find the Northeast blend around here - very ashy, but decent heat. Others can find Appalachian mix, which to most reports is a solid pellet. As others have stated, buy a few bags of several brands and price ranges, see what you like and go with that.
X2. If you happen to run across Maine Woods Pellets, aka MWP, these are a decent pellet. Not the lowest ash nor the highest heat, but a good overall pellet. A lot of people on this forum burn them. Maine Choice pellets are not the same so don't get them confused.
When you do the math of the cost of your BTU's the higher priced pellets compared to MWP do not support the higher cost with higher heat value. The few extra BTUs you may get are disportionately higher. As far as ash goes, I don't have an issue with the ash of the MWP in my p68. Get a good stove, a quality pellet, and some good cleaning habits and you are all set.
So now let me just make it easy for you. If you have a little deeper pockets than most or if you live in the Pacific Northwest just by Douglas Fir pellets. These essentially are Bear Mountains or Olympus or any one of there spin offs. I don't need to go into the details but besides burning the hottest, it also produces the least ash -- and if your dealing with mechanic parts -- and you are -- then less ash is good thing. If your looking for good value w/o the deeper pockets -- come back here throughout the burn season and learn. It's too crazy for me to keep up but I think it's great that people are throwing in their experiences burning them. By the way, I never knew how good I had it until I burned some Liggie Green Supremes. Not a bad pellet but 2 bags into 8 told me everything I needed to know: don't ever buy a ton of these. One final note: listen to these guys/gals. They know what they are talking about and they are very friendly. I've gotten some great info here -- particularly with stove maintenance. I know run the whole show now in confidence including troubleshooting, stove cleaning, flue cleaning, the essential tools, and to a lesser degree actual pellet buying. That's the easier one for me anyway (and fun!). They'v'e saved me a lot of money these last couple of years. The peeps here are great.
Thanks everyone - it's been super helpful to read all these responses! I'm surprised at how bad people think the Green Supremes are, considering I see them everywhere, but that seems to be the consensus...
I am just now reading this. My comment above about Green Supremes was independent of yours. I'm glad my finding were the same as yours. I bought like 8 bags because they were 50% off and gave them a try. At that price they were worth it but if I had to pay full price for them -- I'd be screaming. The reduced heat output was noticeable as well as about 2 or 3 times increase in ash. Given a choice, I would not buy them again but if it's all I had or it was a really good price -- like 50% off -- then no problem.
Words to live by. pelletnewbie get yourself a good shop vac or similar and other tools. Keep it clean and you can burn anything you want. In the meantime, experiment a bit. Find out what works and what doesn't and come back and share it here. It'll take a couple burn seasons but I suspect that your results will be very similar to the results posted around this forum. If you're looking for best value immediately, then just take their advice, do what they do, and prove it to yourself over time by trying new products on the side.
Yeah, they are at a certain BBS and at my local Aubuchon's (for WAY more than I would ever consider paying for them). If you want to buy from a BBS, try to find FSU's (Fireside Ultra's), they are usually at HD. They are a nice, middle of the road pellet that usually run reasonably well in just about every stove. Sometimes they'll carry Stove Chows, which are basically the same thing (from what I hear). Yes, they are ashier than the Douglas Firs that dotman17 man was talking about, and less heat output, but DF's are very expensive here in the Northeast. However, if you have oodles of money, and/or have a need for extremely low ash, by all means, knock yourself out . If you are looking at running very good to the best pellets, you won't find them at BBS, or even most local hardware stores.
I agree ^^^. If I had to pay those prices... I don't think I would. I've tried some North Idahos and some Purcells and other fir mixes and that have been good. Even some CleanBurn which I found mediocre. But I don't think I really appreciated what you folks back East have to deal with until burning these Liggies Greens.
Echoing above, MWP (Maine Wood Pellets), FSUs (Fire Side Ultra) from Home Depot, and if available, Cubex pellets (have burned great for me in the past, but read online that quality has suffered last few years: so try a few bags b4 committing) Edit: excellent Cubex thread here: Cubex $279 a ton worth it? +1 w/ all above on the Green Supremes / NEWP (New England Wood Pellet) brands: very ashy, only 'ok' heat / better choices out there. But heck, it's -your- stove, so if available and cheap, pickup a couple of bags and give 'em a whirl, they may burn great in your stove there. That's part of the fun of pellet burning, trying out new brands .. and finding one that works best for you. LG Granules / (aka: "Satisfaction" bagged/branded) pellets are the primary choice for our (softwood only) pellet stove here.
My stoves love Cubex (a hardwood pellet). Unfortunately they are tough to find in my area and are fairly pricey too. But, I was able to jump all over a deal on CL a couple of years ago where I scored 26 bags for a ridiculously low price because the person was moving to a place that had a gas insert instead of a pellet stove.
