Given the choice ( and a bucket of $$$) I'd be burning Softies. Vermont's if I had to choose. Tried the DF pellets when they first came around.....great and hot but not worth the price for me. ---Nailer---
I like softies a lot. Spruce pointe, vandies, lacretes, north country; but in the $225-250 range i have gotten them the past 2 years. Softies that are aggregated and distributed by others not so much. As they can change unexpectedly.
Another vote for softies if $$ wasn't pinched. I also like some of the good hardwoods but they too are $$$........ Hamer-Turman-Cubex to name a few. I think an affordable blend is worthy to have on hand. Better than 1/2 my friends are burning blends for a good portion of their stash.
Burning the next best softwoods to Top doug firs.. Easyblaze super premium softwoods.. ...next to NO ash..just a light grey powder in the burnpot.. Hotter than the hamer hots i burned and $80-$100 bucks less a ton.. the poor mans Douglas firs are quite impressive. bought 3 tons this season and 1 end of last season.
I burn both MWP blend and MWP softwoods. I've tested others. Didn't like them. Which is probably a surprise to nobody.
note: would rate them a 10 but, Quite a bit of fines in the bag. fortunatly, my harman has a fine box under the auger where they all drop to and easy nuff to vacuum periodically. was concernd also about pllet size being small and the stove eating them like candy but feed rate set on 3 and don't seem to be consumed any faster than others...
My priorities are (in this order): 1. Low cost 2. Heat output 3. Low ash Basically, BTU's for the money. Up to now I have burnt blends and occassionaly some 100% hardwoods. Mostly MWP Blend, Maine's Choice, and Nature's Own. Some North American (Curran) Blend, and NEWP.
Yeah, my main concern is always value, which usually means lower cost pellets. I usually run on cheaper blends but sometimes come across a good deal on CL (Cubex were $5/bag for 15 bags - and bonus ony 2 miles from home). I splurged on the 6 bags of Vermont's and have gotten a couple of other high $$ , but for my needs low cost, high ash pellets are my stoves' normal diets.
While I would prefer to burn softwood I also have to be budget conscious and elected to purchase all hardwood last year in the spring. If money was not an issue I would be right there with most everyone else and be toasting DF all the time. I go through a excessive amount of pellets as much as 10 tons annually and I went with 7 tons of Northern Max and 3 tons of Ambiance and am more than happy with the Northern's. Wont be purchasing the Ambiance again as they seem to be a lot less clean than the Northern's but do give off good heat. As far as heat the Northern's match or exceed anything I have thrown in the hopper ever with excellent heat output and I got them for $229.00 a ton in the spring of last year. Love these Northern's just some extra maintance in comparison to the softies especially DF but I knew that going in, kinda of aids in dealing with my OCD I do monthly maintenance weekly and annual maintenance monthly of what normal people do...
holy moly! 10 tons is no laughing matter...don't blame you at all. to be honest here, if all good softwoods we're north of 300.00 which most are, I would prob be mixing hardwoods in my stash. but, at 249.00 ton for Ezblaze super premos, why would i pay for box store hardwoods like HD stove chows or Lowes when they are same price...
Lunney if you sprung for those douglas firs i bet you would only need 8 tons they pack so much of a punch.
Well brother as I wrote that post I had come upon 5 bags of Doug Fir and had just loaded the hopper with em but the Northern Max give off as much if not more heat than the Doug Fir, they claim up to 9000 BTU and I have to agree its all of that. Sure wish I could but at $1000 in savings Ill continue to clean a bit more if I only had to burn eight then thats only 2 Franklin's in savings of the ten ..... They sure do create a heck of alot less ash argh do miss them to be honest
Tully if those were available I would be grabbing them as well, slam dunk at that price just cant find Softies up here anyway near that price. I try to find them close enough so that I dont have to pay any delivery charge as my company truck cost me nuttin but do not like to travel to far with it. Plus its good exercise that I do not get anymore as I was with firewood, breaking down the pallets, re-stacking them, shrink wrap em, and then when it time after spring and summer (damp basement) are over its time to unwrap them, load em up on the truck and down into the basement they go. I would pay an extra $30 per ton for softies in a heartbeat just not available around here.
I dont get it unless Scot your just busting chops I had the worst experience with a ton of MWP hardwoods last year, they were awful in they were dirty burning to the extent I was disgusted. I have a place that is literally 4 minutes from my house that sells pellets at a decent price a bit expensive but being so close convenience has to be considered and I was saddened to see they had taken load after load of MWP this year.
