Wood Pellets

Slickcraft · 02-11-2010, 04:10 PM

After three years of burning pellets I can say that there is a wide range of quality among what are rated as premium quality. That even goes for different batches of the same brand.

The best we ever had were softwood from Corinth Maine and softwood from NE Pellet that had come in bulk form western Canada and then bagged in Mass. All were high heat, low ash and low sand. Softwood pellets have the same 8200+ BTU per pound as hardwood pellets and often with less ash.

The worst were some hardwood from Walmart, Pendleton maybe. Lots of ash and sand.

We tried the local softwood brand Lakes Region Pellets made in Barnstead; good heat output, low ash but too much sand in the two sample bags we tried.

Last winter we burned Greene Team hardwood from Lowe's as it was all we could get. They worked out pretty well, moderate ash and very low sand. So I brought 4 ton home last fall, two separate shipments. The first two ton were good like last year. We just started the 3rd ton; high ash content and moderate sand. The pellets are shorter in length and lighter in color; probably form a different plant.

I normally try some sample bags prior to bringing home a ton but got burned on the last two ton when I depended on prior experience with a brand.

02-11-2010, 04:10 PM	#4
Slickcraft Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Welch Island and The Taylor Community Posts: 3,386 Thanks: 1,260 Thanked 2,148 Times in 983 Posts	After three years of burning pellets I can say that there is a wide range of quality among what are rated as premium quality. That even goes for different batches of the same brand. The best we ever had were softwood from Corinth Maine and softwood from NE Pellet that had come in bulk form western Canada and then bagged in Mass. All were high heat, low ash and low sand. Softwood pellets have the same 8200+ BTU per pound as hardwood pellets and often with less ash. The worst were some hardwood from Walmart, Pendleton maybe. Lots of ash and sand. We tried the local softwood brand Lakes Region Pellets made in Barnstead; good heat output, low ash but too much sand in the two sample bags we tried. Last winter we burned Greene Team hardwood from Lowe's as it was all we could get. They worked out pretty well, moderate ash and very low sand. So I brought 4 ton home last fall, two separate shipments. The first two ton were good like last year. We just started the 3rd ton; high ash content and moderate sand. The pellets are shorter in length and lighter in color; probably form a different plant. I normally try some sample bags prior to bringing home a ton but got burned on the last two ton when I depended on prior experience with a brand.