Wood pellets what do you use?

[kenstrac]

I would like to hear what you are using for wood pellets and how well they burn for you.
This is my third year burning pellets when I bought the stove I bought 1 ton of Pennington from Home Depot ,it burned dirty and inconsistent. I got another ton from Lowe's they were made in Canada a little better,Lowe's got a different supplier Green Team those burned very hot and clean.
Second year I bought 5 ton of Green Team from Lowe's good heat clean burning and very little dust from the bag when I fill the stove.
After reading that Pennington had improved and Sam's club had them on sale I purchased 5 ton. I started the season burning Green Team, glass stays fairly clean even after burning for 2 days I was down at Lowe's and the had some broken bags I don't remember the name but they were in brown bags those burned ok .
Now I'm into the Pennington 12 hrs of burning and the glass is completely black have to clean the stove every 12 hrs full of clinkers and I have to run the heat up to the next number to get the same heat out, and when I dump the bags in dust is all over the place.
Now I have 5 tons of this garbage to use, and now I can't find Green Team around here.

 

[whistlepig]

We use Ozark Hardwood Products pellets. They burn with very little soot. The glass stays clean unless we crank the pellet stove all the way up. We buy them at Menards.

 

[Steve C]

I would like to hear what you are using for wood pellets and how well they burn for you.
This is my third year burning pellets when I bought the stove I bought 1 ton of Pennington from Home Depot ,it burned dirty and inconsistent. I got another ton from Lowe's they were made in Canada a little better,Lowe's got a different supplier Green Team those burned very hot and clean.
Second year I bought 5 ton of Green Team from Lowe's good heat clean burning and very little dust from the bag when I fill the stove.
After reading that Pennington had improved and Sam's club had them on sale I purchased 5 ton. I started the season burning Green Team, glass stays fairly clean even after burning for 2 days I was down at Lowe's and the had some broken bags I don't remember the name but they were in brown bags those burned ok .
Now I'm into the Pennington 12 hrs of burning and the glass is completely black have to clean the stove every 12 hrs full of clinkers and I have to run the heat up to the next number to get the same heat out, and when I dump the bags in dust is all over the place.
Now I have 5 tons of this garbage to use, and now I can't find Green Team around here.

We have been using pellets produced in weidman michigan by Maeder Brothers, they seem to work well. I am suprised that the pellet prices are so high this year. I bought them for 129 a ton last year this year they are around 200. Other energy sources seem to be down in price. Propane is on sale in this area compared to years past.

I didn't know sams club had pellets. What did they sell them for

 

[Sackett2]

Our pellets, Bear Mountain and Goldenfire, are both satisfactory but not perfect. plenty of soot.
Prices in Oregon have been 200-225 a ton for the last 3-4 years ;(

 

[kennyd]

$250 per ton in my parts...

 

[SPIKER]

I dont have a pellet stove:
but see prices in my area are 229 / ton as spray painted onto the wall of pellets out front of TSC.
north ohio.
mark

 

[RonMar]

5 tons from Sams Club... Take them back if they are no good... That was a substantial order, and you dealt with them in good faith that their product would be functional. One thing that is lacking in the pellet field is tracking ability for particular pellet lots. These last two pallets I bought had packing slips and the date the pallet was loaded at the plant, and by whom. It was about a month prior to me purchasing them... What you bought could have been several years old, and what was not selling well before they improved their quality. I think the ammount of dust in the bags is an indication of this. Older pellets have most likley been moved around more. Movement works the pellets together in the bags and causes them to shed more and more dust. This could also be a factor of time... Depending on how long and how they were stored, could effect how much moisture they have absorbed. Added moisture will break the pellets down. I bought some pellets 2 years ago from a local hardware store. They had just gotten a fresh load in and I was waiting for that. But sure enough the kid on the forklift came motoring out from the back lot with a pallet loaded with a plastic cover that had moss growing on it. I made him take it back and load some of the bright shiney new batch... Caveat Emptor...

I have always tried a few bags before I commit to a large quantity buy.

I am in the northwest. I have used Atlas, Bear mountain, Armstrong and Cleanburn. Those 4 brands have all burned pretty much the same, with about the same cleaning interval and ammount of ash. All had few clinkers. Prices were between $195 and $225 over the past 3 years depending on what kind of sale I caught. Got this years 2 tons at Dels farm and feed on sale for $200...

 

[Willl]

Natures fuel, about 225 @ ton

NATURE'S PELLETS

 

[whistlepig]

$235 a ton here. We don't use a pellet stove as primary heat. We have geothermal which is cheaper. We use the pellet stove as backup heat. Also on bitter cold nights we fire it up just for comfort. We don't buy in bulk so we buy pellets in small quantities. We have tried several brands and Ozark Hardwood Products is by far the best.

 

[charlz]

I've also had some bad experiences with 'clinkers' etc. Same brand, different year went from mostly fly ash and no clinkers to almost no fly ash and clinkers. The clinkers particularly suck in my stove as it is an 'insert' and there is very little room under the fire pot to get them out.

Our pellets out here are all softwood so YMMV but I try to go by the color of the pellets.. if you see green/black stuff in there... very likely no good. The best I have had so far was 'Firemaster' out of Canada. They are/were processing pine beetle killed trees into pellets and they were the nice 'straw' color of a pine board. They package them in a clear bag since they look so good

This year I am using 'Natural Glow' which is made in Oregon. I bought a ton of them at the end of last year and had good luck. I bought 5 ton on sale for $185/ton (last time I saw the price was 2005) regular price $199/ton at a local farm supply place. They were the cheapest pellets, others like Bear Mountain were $250/ton, but I think they are a good pellet, mostly fly ash and they burn hot. Not sure if they think the Natural Glow are a 'cheaper'/lower BTU pellet or if it's just because they are made about 200 miles away and freight is cheaper.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I use premium hardwood pellets, usually lignetics or TSC brand. Price here in MD is around $250 ton and up.

 

[20 20]

Use a mix of hard wood pellet with corn 50/50 been using that for a couple of years now. Heard of folks mixing coal in with pellets, burns a lot hotter, so they say???? Before that I used what ever was cheaper{over 10yrs with pellet stoves} hard wood is better. Averages around here seem to go from $230.00 a ton up to over $300.00, depending on the need.

 

[Dirtysailor]

Tried a lot since 05 when bought the house with stove in it. Had best luck with Lignetics bought for $218/Ton in western PA. Still have lots of soot but best heat. Lowe's seemed to burn cold for same amount of pellets in same stove.

 

[MDM]

How long does a ton of pellets last burning the stove continuously? I would hope that a ton would last 5 weeks or so in a typical Ohio winter.

 

[coobie]

I burn pro-pellets in a green and white bag.I always try to burn high quality pellets.coobie.

 

[charlz]

How long does a ton of pellets last burning the stove continuously? I would hope that a ton would last 5 weeks or so in a typical Ohio winter.

This will vary by the BTU rating of the stove, they usually have a 'burn rate' in lbs/hr on the brochure.

 

[DaveOmak]

Kenstrac, Mornin'. I've burned pellets for 3 yrs. The glass was always dirty and clinkers were a plenty.
The igniter had to be replaced 2 months ago. The tech came out to the house and did his work. Told me the doors and ash pan had to be adjusted. There was air leaking around the gaskets.
He adjusted all the gasketed surfaces and lit the stove. I could not believe the difference in how the flame looked and acted. It burned hot and clean. He showed me how to regulate the air to keep the flame yellow without the black smokey tips. The stove is easier to adjust now.
Now I know. Keeping the stove air tight is a must.
No clinkers now. Less ash. Complete combustion. More heat.
Try sealing up your stove first. Put a dollar bill in the gasket area and close the door or drawer etc. Try pulling it out. Continue all around the stove on all gaskets. Hopefully that will help.
I burn pine/fir pellets. Was told they were dirty to burn. Not so with a properly tuned stove. Dave

 

[Ductape]

Kens..... last year was my first burning pellets. I bought three ton of Pennington's at the Depot. You wouldn't believe the crap i found in their bags..... shards of wood, ROCKS (!!!!!!!!!), etc. I posted this info with pictures over on the Hearth forum. I was NOT the only one with these problems. I tried repeatedly to get satisfaction from Pennington with no luck. Unfortunately, i had bought them during the summer to beat the winter price gouging, and since it was beyond 90 days when i found rocks in my pellets..... the Depot refused to take them back and give me a refund. They would only refer me back to Pennington.... who refused to stand behind their product.

I had decent luck with the pellets made over in Jaffrey (though they were more $$), and also had good luck with three different brands i bought through TSC (if i recall the names, i'll post them).

Best i can figure...... Pennington uses the same bagging equipment for landscape stone as they do for their wood pellets. I've done my best to warn everyone i could as to the (lack of) quality of Pennington's pellets. Here are a few pictures. Imagine these running through the auger in your $2000 pellet stove. Also.... the amount of 'fine' (loose sawdust) in the bags was unbelievable !

 

[Ductape]

More.......

 

[kenstrac]

Kens..... last year was my first burning pellets. I bought three ton of Pennington's at the Depot. You wouldn't believe the crap i found in their bags..... shards of wood, ROCKS (!!!!!!!!!), etc. I posted this info with pictures over on the Hearth forum. I was NOT the only one with these problems. I tried repeatedly to get satisfaction from Pennington with no luck. Unfortunately, i had bought them during the summer to beat the winter price gouging, and since it was beyond 90 days when i found rocks in my pellets..... the Depot refused to take them back and give me a refund. They would only refer me back to Pennington.... who refused to stand behind their product.

I had decent luck with the pellets made over in Jaffrey (though they were more $$), and also had good luck with three different brands i bought through TSC (if i recall the names, i'll post them).

Best i can figure...... Pennington uses the same bagging equipment for landscape stone as they do for their wood pellets. I've done my best to warn everyone i could as to the (lack of) quality of Pennington's pellets. Here are a few pictures. Imagine these running through the auger in your $2000 pellet stove. Also.... the amount of 'fine' (loose sawdust) in the bags was unbelievable !

Update I contacted Pennington and Sam's Club they will take the pellets back ,I found that 2 of the skids were made in IN. and 2 were made on OH. I tried the OH ones and they burn better so I am only going to return the 2 I have left from IN.
I had very good results with Green Team and found some at Lowe's.found 3 pallets mixed in with another brand.
And I know what you mean about HD I dealt with them last year when I was renovating the kitchen and bath that's why Lowe's got 26K of my business