# What brands of pellets have you burned this year ?



## justinc25 (Jan 29, 2011)

Just curious. Jay is exempt from this question 
If he wants to be, since the pellet review thread
exists, and the list is quite long for him.


Here's my list in order of burning:

Maine's Choice
Cleanfire Hardwood
Maine Woods
Fireside Ultra
Energex
Greene Team

* nothing else to do on a saturday at 6 in the morning when I can't sleep.


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## slvrblkk (Jan 29, 2011)

ok...I'm in:

Clean Energy
Stove Chow
Pellheat
Winter Warmth
Lignetics
TreeCycle
Harhwood Heat
Presto Logs


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## Bank (Jan 29, 2011)

So far I've burned:
Grannuels LG
Maine's Choice
CleanFires


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## Fsappo (Jan 29, 2011)

Curran softwood and mix.  I may have to try some Okies soon since Currans are bein dropped in my backyard.  You dont get much clout with a pellet company when you only sell a few truckloads a year, I guess.

Buy at 205 per ton landed, sell 200 tons at $55 dollars profit ($260 per ton) for a total of $11,000 GP or sell 500 tons at $25 bucks a ton each ($230 per ton) $12,500 profit.  1000 tons at $20 a ton each, like my neighbors? $20,000 a year?  5 times the work, forklift fuel, broken bags, etc for something that is still a fraction of our business?  

Sorry, I like the first choice. 200 tons a year I can do by myself and still run the showroom and our propane department solo.  1000 tons, I'd need to hire someone, so that extra $8,000 would get eaten up pretty fast.


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## BadDad320 (Jan 29, 2011)

BareFoot
Hamers Hot Ones 
TreeCycle (after 3 or 4 bags of these I gave up on this brand for this year)


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## ChrisWNY (Jan 29, 2011)

Stove Chow: hottest pellet I've burned, relatively clean burning
Pennington's Nature's Heat: Cleanest burning, lowest ash/soot, but least amount of heat
Freedom Fuel: Dirtiest burning, not as hot as Stove Chow
Presto Logs: Almost as much heat as Stove Chow, somewhat more ash


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## wazilian (Jan 29, 2011)

TreeCycle - They gave decent heat but gave off a lot of ash. 3 tons from Lowes back in September started to burn in mid-Nov. Gone now.

Stove Chow - mostly cause they are cheap, this is what I'm finishing the year with. I bought a few bags a week ago and they give about the same heat as TC but with less ash. Not a lot less but certainly less. Maybe I should have measured it lol.


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## bacsibob (Jan 29, 2011)

Somerset

Great heat, very low ash, $3.48 at Menard's.


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## Xena (Jan 29, 2011)

Okanagan   - one ton *burned* 
Barefoot -     one ton *burned *
Cleanfire -    20 bags *burned*
Lignetics -      8 bags *burned*
Greene Team - burning now til the end of the season
Vermont Wood Pellet - only two bags to try em 
Nations Choice - two bags to try em
Stove Chow     - two bags to try em
Maines Choice - two bags to try em


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## The Radiator (Jan 29, 2011)

ok, this is what I've fed my stove so far---------

Hamers
NEWP
Stove Chow
Okanagan

The Hamers have been a real good burning pellet in my stove.
NEWP were ok but had more ash.
Stove Chow were similar to the NEWP
Okie's had good heat but too much dust.


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## countk (Jan 29, 2011)

NEWP
Okanagan
Dragon Mountain
Lignetics
Fireside Ultra
Green Team
Stove Chow
Maine's Best


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## Cozy Old Coot (Jan 29, 2011)

Hamers Hot Ones :roll: 
Energex American  
Greenway - (2 tons still in the shed left from this year's supply) :cheese: 
Stove Chow - (6 tons in the shed for next year's supply) ;-)


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## SmokeyTheBear (Jan 29, 2011)

Granules LG
Maine Woods
Cubex

I should be set until the first of 2013.  But I'm still looking as I have some room and can make more ;-).


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## Jack Morrissey (Jan 29, 2011)

Barefoot                                                                                                                                                                                                            Premier                                                                                                                                                                                                             Stove Chow                                                                                                                                                                                                                Vermont


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## magsf11 (Jan 29, 2011)

2 ton of summersets. so-far best pellet I have burned, great heat and very low ash. going to pick up a few bags of stove chow and see how the stove likes them.


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## LIpelletpig (Jan 29, 2011)

Barefoot - Horrible (8/09,5/09 Batches)
Okanagan - Great


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## DexterDay (Jan 29, 2011)

1 ton Pro Pellets (gone) Good pellet

1 ton AWF's (20 bags or so left) not a fan- Way to long. Some over 2"

3 tons Somersets (20 bags or so left)
Great pellet $175/ton

Burned several bags of the following:
Penningtons
Stove Chow (Can't find anywhere now) 

5 tons of Presto Logs - to finish this season and 2011-2012 season.


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## hossthehermit (Jan 29, 2011)

MWP
3 or 4 bags Maine Choice now that the pile is down to them


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## imacman (Jan 29, 2011)

Stove Chow*
Premier Hardwood
Rocky Mtn.
Barefoot
Spruce Pointe*
Okanagans*
Cubex*
Tree Cycle*
Maine Choice*

* burned only 1 or 2 "test" bags


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## Idahokid (Jan 29, 2011)

North Idaho energy log pellets
Atlas ultra premium
Blazers
Northwest pride


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## Glosta (Jan 29, 2011)

Best to Worst list for my Quadrafire 1200i

1.  Oakanagans - "Coldest Day Of The Year... High Heat Pellet, very...very clean burning with very little ash, More Fines than normal, No Clinkers "  Most expensive pellet $279 per ton

2.  Stove Chow - "Best Bang For The Buck Pellet"  Very Good Heat, clean burning, very little ash, No Clinkers.  $187 per ton

3.  Green Team - " Runner-up Best Bang For The Buck Pellet"  Very Good Heat, clean burning, very little ash, No Clinkers.  Inventory at Lowes was minimal on Green Team this year. $187 per ton

4.  Maine's Choice - "Good Heat, Slightly More Ash, Few More fines, Several Clinkers"  $187 per ton

5.  Fireside Ultras - "Good Heat, Slightly More Ash, Few More fines, Several Clinkers" $187 per ton

6.  Freedom Fuel - "Average Heat, Dirty burning with Lots of ash, No fines, No clinkers.  Larger diameter pellet, which seemed to burn longer requiring less fill-ups of the hopper, but did not deliver the heat.  $187 per ton


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## slls (Jan 29, 2011)

justinc25 said:
			
		

> Just curious. Jay is exempt from this question
> If he wants to be, since the pellet review thread
> exists, and the list is quite long for him.
> 
> ...



How did you like MWP ?


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## kinglew (Jan 29, 2011)

lingnetis
fireside ultra
stove chow
pa pellets


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## Gweeper64 (Jan 29, 2011)

Hey folks,
    Been really busy since Christmas. Haven't had any time at all to check in here.

Here's my list for the season so far:
Barefoot
Pennington Nature's Heat
Freedom Fuel
Maine Woods
Clean Energy (Lowes)
Stove Chow
Lignetics (blend)
Maine's Choice
Potomac
Inferno
PWI
Vermont Wood Pellet
Blazers
Cubex
Energex
Fireside Ultra
New England Wood Pellet

I was very impressed with the Fireside Ultras especially for the HD price. I was only able to get them one time now. HD is back to stocking Stove Chow again (or was last week anyway).

Going out for pellets again today. Let's see what I come home with this time...........

Edit: came home with "generic" MWP. See this thread -


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## Vinelife (Jan 29, 2011)

So far this year I've burnt 1 ton of Somersets, and 2 Tons of ProPellets.  And one bag of AWF just to try.  I will say in my stove the ProPellets give me more heat and burn better than the Somersets.  Although ProPellets give you alittle more ash, but for the heat its worth it.


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## AVIVIII (Jan 29, 2011)

The Keepers (and the bulk of the growing stash for next year):
Okanagan
Vermont
Maine Woods

The 'I would like them if I could get the reliably or inexpensively':
Rocky Mountain
Spruce Point
Cubex

The 'eehhh, I'll pass, thanks':
NEWP
Lignetics

The 'eff no never again':
Inferno
AWF
Maine Choice

Still have to try:
Curran Soft
Curran Blend
Stove Chow


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## Countryboymo (Jan 29, 2011)

2 tons of pro-pellets and 4 bags of somersets this year.  I want to get a pot gasket and blower gasket and clean both really well before the season is up and see how much it changes things.  The pot has a lot of buildup that is a pain to get off even with using a small prybar for a scraper and the combustion blower has never been cleaned to my knowledge before I purchased the stove off of CL.

I will probably finish the year out with rocky mountains.

I seem to get a lot more buildup with the pro-pellets than I did with the rocky's last year in the burn pot.


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## Wachusett (Jan 29, 2011)

In order favorite burning first

1. Spruce Pointe
2. Barefoots
3. Dragons
4. Green Team (best bang for the buck)
5. Stove Chow
6. Clean Energy
7. Fireside Ultra (would like to try a few more bags, batch issue?)
8. NEWP (leftover from last year, Craigslist buy, Yuck)
9. Infero (one bag)


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## richkorn (Jan 30, 2011)

In favorite order:

1. Hamer's Hot Ones
2. Barefoot
3. Okanagan
4. Lignetics (green bag)


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## twojrts (Jan 30, 2011)

Tree Cycle...........total crap!~  No heat, dirty.  Still have 33 bags left.  Will give them away!!

TriState .........works well, my stove likes them.  But I was told they had a 2nd fire and are not back up running yet.


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## ohbix (Jan 30, 2011)

AWFs - very good in my stove; pellets nice and short
Somersets - good; not as good as previous years
Presto Logs - hot, but more ash than AWFs and long pellets.  Much better than the green label lignetics I tried last year.

Are Rockies still made?  I have a few bags buried in the back from two years ago and haven't seen them since.  Good pellet.


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## pnjwilson (Jan 30, 2011)

1 bag of eurekas (auger jammed right up)
rocky canyon(a couple bags decent pellet)

lignetics( bought 1 ton $245 delivered)
bear mountain(2 bags probable best pellet 285 a ton)
oakies( bought 23 bags HD $3.54 a bag)
blazers(bought 30 bags from HD $3.54 a bag)


Hav not tried blazers yet, I will try tonight.


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## dw06 (Jan 30, 2011)

So far
 Tristate
 AWP
 Hardwood Heat
 Green Team

 Looking to try a few more.


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## krooser (Jan 30, 2011)

I started with about 20 bags of Marth softwoods... 

I've also used about 10 bags of Lumberjack softwoods...

My first full ton were Western Elite Doug Fir...

Now I'm burning Southern Indiana Hardwoods...


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## Rooscooter (Jan 30, 2011)

I have two stoves and I usually buy 3 tons at the beginning of the year and another ton as prices fluctuate during the year. 

This year I bought 2 tons of North Idaho Energy Pellets and one ton of Westwood Premium Wood Pellets (AKA Okanagan Pellets). 

I have bought "trial amounts" (3 to 5 bags at a time) for evaluation of the following:

Armstrong SPF (Very Good)
Armstrong Premium Douglas Fir (Very Good)
Rocky Canyon Ultra Premium Red Fir (Very Good, but inconsistent on the amount of fines in bag) 
Atlas Ultra Premium Red Fir (Good....out of business unfortunately)
Blazers (Very Good)


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## Ralph 44 (Jan 30, 2011)

starlight,AWF,green team,greenway,kentucky kernel. Would not buy starlight again many long pellets 2 1/4" ,low heat and above average ash.


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## schoondog (Jan 30, 2011)

Lets see,
     Hardwood heats 1/2 ton - good pellet
     Somersets  1/2 ton - good almost great pellet
     Stove chow  working on a ton - pretty good pellet this year
      2 bags of Great Northern soft wood - ok pellet
      2 bags of Okies - great pellet
      5-6 bags of Presto logs  - shoulder season pellet
      5-6 bags of AWF  - shoulder season pellet
      5-6 bags of Penningtons  - shoulder season pellet
      15 bags of Hamers -  great pellet

Wish I could find another ton of Somersets at $178 a ton. I almost got to burn a few ags of the SIH pellet but by the time I got to Lowes they were gone.

Schoondog


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## Harman-p68a (Jan 30, 2011)

So far this year I have burned Currans soft woods I like still have about a ton left and working on 10 bags of stove show now they seem ok pretty hot just cleaned stove yesterday and have burnt all chow so looking to see how much ash I have seem good and hot so far,might hit up lowes or depot and get somemore..........


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## Trophy_67 (Jan 30, 2011)

Somersets
Hard Wood heat
AWF
just picked up 20 bags of Treecycle for a $1/bag
house is nice an warm


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## jtakeman (Jan 30, 2011)

justinc25 said:
			
		

> Just curious. Jay is exempt from this question
> If he wants to be, since the pellet review thread
> exists, and the list is quite long for him..........



If I didn't reply I would feel left out! Always have to add my 2 cents to a pellet thread. 

Test pellets aside. My pellets burned so far. My only dislike are the O Malleys(no heat and way to much ash!)

2 bags of Cubex
2 bags of Hamers
27 bags of Turmans(trading the remaining 27 bags to a fellow that has issues with Hamers)
38 bags of Stove chow
2 bags Clean Energy
6 Bags of Pres to Logs
14 bags of O Malleys

Best bang for the buck. Nominee's

Stove Chow, Clean Energy, SIH.


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## Pellet-King (Jan 30, 2011)

pnjwilson said:
			
		

> 1 bag of eurekas (auger jammed right up)
> rocky canyon(a couple bags decent pellet)
> 
> lignetics( bought 1 ton $245 delivered)
> ...



Oakies sold at HD?????????????????? $3.54, thats lower than his overated wholesale
I guess BTU is getting desperate to UNLOAD!


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## jtakeman (Jan 30, 2011)

Pellet-King said:
			
		

> pnjwilson said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Let's see? pnjwilson is from Montana. He's getting Blazers for the same price as the Okies.

Blazers here are well over $300/ton So I'd say much bigger markup! You really got it out for BTU don't ya? Well he's been booted from the forums. So don't expect a reply from him! 

My 2 on this! The box stores are basically giving the pellets away this season. Most are loosing money to compete with the other bigbox's in the area. There prices shouldn't even be compaired to the pellet house's. Just remember the seasonal deal from the box stores. Once its time to roll out the lawn and garden crap. The pellets go away with plenty of heating season remaining. See if they will order you a ton of fuel to finish up the season! I think you'd freeze first. I can get pellets all season long from the pellet house's as there always in season there!


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## Pellet-King (Jan 30, 2011)

I like to tease the fellow.....hehe, didnt realize he was booted...why?
Week ago my local HD, Enfield, had only 5-6 tons left and were sold to a cust, might go there today and take a peek, I only have maybe 2.5 tons sitting in garage, with 3 bag's of oakies, 1 bag of 3 yr old dry creek and 25 bag's 2yr old bags of Instantheat-less and ton of Nature's Ash
Garden area was full of boxes of summer stuff, lawn mowers and patio heaters, which i feel are the biggest watse of money!!, heat up a patio?, i had a $4000 stamped concrete patio installed last spring, would i heat the open air around it....not!!


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## schoondog (Jan 30, 2011)

j-takeman said:
			
		

> Pellet-King said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Jay   I was just talking to a buddy about this. BB are cheap. Will that hinder a perspective business person from opening a pellet house ? I wish that there was a house closer to me. I sorta hate to buy from the BB, but thats what I've got. I would love to buy from a place like BT Enterprise, but man, pay a little extra for a quality pellet, spend a day traveling, fuel for the truck, trailering,etc. Or just stop on the way home and grab a ton of Hardwood heats, Somersets, Chow, etc. deal with uneducated pellet people, pick out my ton that hasn't been moved a thousand times with the lower bags ripped open, and go home. Will oil going back up encourage someone to open a house locally with the hope that more folks will buy pellets  from them? Hope so. I will pay a little more for good service and consistant people.

Schoondog


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## jtakeman (Jan 30, 2011)

schoondog said:
			
		

> Jay   I was just talking to a buddy about this. BB are cheap. Will that hinder a perspective business person from opening a pellet house ? I wish that there was a house closer to me. I sorta hate to buy from the BB, but thats what I've got. I would love to buy from a place like BT Enterprise, but man, pay a little extra for a quality pellet, spend a day traveling, fuel for the truck, trailering,etc. Or just stop on the way home and grab a ton of Hardwood heats, Somersets, Chow, etc. deal with uneducated pellet people, pick out my ton that hasn't been moved a thousand times with the lower bags ripped open, and go home. Will oil going back up encourage someone to open a house locally with the hope that more folks will buy pellets  from them? Hope so. I will pay a little more for good service and consistant people.
> 
> Schoondog



I think the box stores are tough on any business. But its the game we play. But some mom+pop's manage to compete somehow. If they go at it right and not try to over price? Sure they could compete. But there sales window will be once the box stores quiet selling them at below cost. As I think about it, We start burning in Late Sept. early Oct. Burn right up till end of May. How long do the boxes carry pellets? Not all that long. Most don't even have them when I start burning. They will get them in around mid Oct. or so. I think they pack it in around end of Jan. early Feb. So again, There is a window for sales. Another is the box stores don't start the season very low. Lowe's and HD both started out at $299/ton this season locally. I could buy some dandy pellets from the houses for that!

I have 3+ local pellet house's now. All less than 30 miles from me. So I consider myself very lucky.


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## quickrch (Jan 30, 2011)

penningtons (never again)
american wood fiber (seemed OK)
Southern States (AKA Hamer Hot Ones)

I am going to stay with Southern States they do a good job but I do get the hard ash in the burn pot each night (after 24 hours on high).


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## 2fas4u (Jan 30, 2011)

Stove chow 
Freedom Fuel


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## EZsteve (Jan 30, 2011)

Best to worst.

1) Somerset ( my stove like these best Great heat and low ash $300/ton)
2) Lignetics(good heat but $340/ton)
3) Stove Chow(best bang for buck!)
4) AWF (the same as stove chow but more ash and money. $40/more a ton)
5) Nations Choice( $200/ton clean but not much heat)


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## Zackdog (Jan 30, 2011)

Only pellets I have burned for the last three winters are Rocky Mountains, but I don't have a lot of other choices where I live, not that I would change.  Great pellets.


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## Youppi99 (Jan 30, 2011)

Hello,

        since the last 3 years I burn 3 tons of Granules LG every winter!

        Regards

       Youppi99


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## rowerwet (Jan 30, 2011)

MWP (second year on them, ash doesn't seem as bad this year) 3 tons
NEWP 3 tons (no issues)
FF (they were cheap and I mix my pellets, 1 bag of each type as I fill the 11 bag hopper) they are bigger diameter and don't seem as dense as the other two, and FF has a lot of corn in it, including whole kernels many times.


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## katwillny (Jan 30, 2011)

Stove Chow Baby. Best damn Pellets i have burned in 7 seasons and at 187 a ton, is even better. I also burned Penningtons, about 15 bags.


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## jenrn54 (Jan 30, 2011)

Okanagan-burn very hot, little ash
Barefoot-burn very hot, little more ash
Energex-burn hot, little ash
Cornith-not hot, tons of ash--gone and never burn again!


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## Gweeper64 (Jan 31, 2011)

pnjwilson said:
			
		

> 1 bag of eurekas (auger jammed right up)
> rocky canyon(a couple bags decent pellet)
> 
> lignetics( bought 1 ton $245 delivered)
> ...



$3.54 for blazer? I hate you!  Rub it in, why don't ya.


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## Idahokid (Jan 31, 2011)

Eureka's for 169.00 at the post falls ace hardware.The northwest is a great place to live.


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## Gweeper64 (Jan 31, 2011)

Idahokid said:
			
		

> Eureka's for 169.00 at the post falls ace hardware.The northwest is a great place to live.



What are these Eurekas?  A place near me has them. They are the most expensive of everything they carry.


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## Meneillys (Jan 31, 2011)

Franks said:
			
		

> Curran softwood and mix. I may have to try some Okies soon since Currans are bein dropped in my backyard. You dont get much clout with a pellet company when you only sell a few truckloads a year, I guess.
> 
> Buy at 205 per ton landed, sell 200 tons at $55 dollars profit ($260 per ton) for a total of $11,000 GP or sell 500 tons at $25 bucks a ton each ($230 per ton) $12,500 profit. 1000 tons at $20 a ton each, like my neighbors? $20,000 a year? 5 times the work, forklift fuel, broken bags, etc for something that is still a fraction of our business?
> 
> Sorry, I like the first choice. 200 tons a year I can do by myself and still run the showroom and our propane department solo. 1000 tons, I'd need to hire someone, so that extra $8,000 would get eaten up pretty fast.



Thats the good thing its just my pop and I and we already had the equipment so start up was cheap. You can buy your pellets from us and resell them like Vellas and the Equine store on 37 does!

I have burned
Cubex 2.5 ton love them
NEWP 1 for testing big improvement from last year good pellet
AMF 1 bag seemed good
Somerset 1 bag good pellet
Lignetics 1 bag burned ok but lots of long pellets


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## Sinzitu (Jan 31, 2011)

American Wood Fibers (1 ton)
Stove Chow (~10 bags)
Lignetics (2 Bags)

Still to burn:
Pres-to-logs (2 bags)
Pennington (4 bags)


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## HEMI (Jan 31, 2011)

okies

vermonts

lignetics

stove chow

freedom fuel........just a few trial bags, and thats all it took to know i will never buy them again


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## tinkabranc (Jan 31, 2011)

Currently burning through the last of my favorite NEWP Green Supremes then
will be burning Okies for the rest of the winter.


Earlier this season I burned a few bags of each:

Spruce Pointe
Dragon Mtn
Cleanfire Pacific
LGs


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## Czech (Jan 31, 2011)

InDecks $187 ton, first ton ok, second ton ashy, recent 6 bags from Menards really ashy!
Blazers $200 ton, best pellet I've burned this year, hottest I've ever burned.
Some beetled killed ones from CO, nice pellet, not quite as hot as the Blazers, but great pellet, $200 ton.
Noah's Animal Bedding, same as Blazers I'm told, same results, $200.
1 test bag of a new plant in Athens, WI burned this weekend, nice hot pellet but needs a titch more pressure to hold 'em together better.

Note that all of these pellets with the exception of the 6 bags bought at Menards were from the local farmer who trucks them in out of the goodness of his heart because I know he ain't making much. So thanks Paul, so much for $7 corn!


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## Outerlimits (Jan 31, 2011)

Here is what I have managed to stock pile and burn over the course of a couple of years:
Eureka
Uncle Jeds
Sommerset
Clean Burn
Southern Indiana Hard Wood Pellets
Rocky Mountain
Atlas/Nothwest Pride
Fire-Pit Pellets-Cherry Pits


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## chris288 (Feb 1, 2011)

instant heat
Warm Front
pure fire
freedom fuel
stove chow


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## m159267 (Feb 2, 2011)

Not a lot of choices in the Midwest...

1 ton *Greenways*
5 bags *OHPs*
The other 5 bags of *OHPs *I bought are being used as additional weight in the bed of my pickup (with camper shell). 

Comparison:
*OHPs*: Less ash, minor clinkers, lots of fines, disappointing heat.
*Greenways*: More ash, more clinkers, far less fines, great heat output.

Will not buy *OHPs *again. I'll take the additional ash & clinkers along with the great heat of *Greenways*.


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## Indiana (Feb 2, 2011)

Just bought 10 bags of Nations Choice for trial.  So far very pleased.  Burning at about 30% the rate of the Stove Chow I burned for the past 3 months.  Not as hot as stove chow but lasting 30% longer on the same settings.  Ash is lower than the chow.  So far not too bad.  I'll give and update after the 10 bags are gone.


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## opus74 (Feb 2, 2011)

Just OHPs.
Got a good deal on 3 tons last winter.
Love 'em Good heat. Small ash.

Just about to start on my last ton.
Not  bad for February!


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## rideboard147 (Feb 2, 2011)

Rocky Mountains (lots of ash, and burned fast)

Heat resourses (ok, I need to try a few more bags)

Bayou (burns dirty,dusty, but burns hot)


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## EZsteve (Feb 2, 2011)

Indy3 said:
			
		

> Just bought 10 bags of Nations Choice for trial.  So far very pleased.  Burning at about 30% the rate of the Stove Chow I burned for the past 3 months.  Not as hot as stove chow but lasting 30% longer on the same settings.  Ash is lower than the chow.  So far not too bad.  I'll give and update after the 10 bags are gone.



Is it cold there now? For me the Nations Choice isn't very hot. Does me no good when temps get below 30degees.


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## xuperman (Feb 7, 2011)

My wife just rolls her eyes when I pop in a new store to see what pellets they have, but I've tried 14 brands so far. I received a ton of PA Pellets with my Harman and they just weren't very good (not hot not clean) so I got to comparing... It amazes me how different folks' experiences are, but here's what this winter has shown me. Keep in mind I'm in NE Pennsylvania and didn't take a very scientific approach.

Barefoot are among the hottest and cleanest but pricey at $260 per ton.
Freedom Fuel are very hot for me but produce a lot of ash and due to diameter and texture don't always slide well in my hopper. ($187ton/$3.74bag).
Maine's Choice, American Wood Fibers and Nation's Choice are all nice and hot. MC are ashy and AWF dirty. At the current Lowe's price they're each a good buy. I believe these are all blends.

Allegheny Pellets, Southern Indiana Hardwoods, and maybe Warm Front get an honorable mention; Tristate Biofuels, Stove Chow, Prestologs and Clean Energy just sort of blend in to the crowd.  As I'm burning in an unfinished basement, dust and ash aren't a big deal...the bottom line is heat for me, and these range from good to mediocre.

For me the clear losers have been PA Pellets and and Curran Renewable Energy. Not much heat and PA pellets are dirty, making a mess of my glass.  I actually scooped the Curran's back out of the hopper and mixed them with Freedom Fuel just to use them up. My stove died with both of these and when starting, sometimes wouldn't get the chamber hot enough to engage the auger before burning out.

I like blends and don't mind more ash. Everyone loves Okies which are a pricey softwood. Can't find any locally. The Freedom Fuel lasts well and is a softwood blend for $100 or more less per ton. I have been mixing 3 bags with 1 of PA Pellets in a plastic barrel both to us the PA's up and help the Freedom's slide in the hopper. I am going to try and buy a ton of Maine's Choice if I can get them for $187 a ton.  I may end up with SIH for that price which would be ok too. The AWF are also at Lowes in Dickson City PA but for $200 a ton and were $219 a ton at Tractor Supply until they ran out and stocked Stove Chow. I'm willing to play the odds and bet that pellets will be more expensive next year...maybe get a couple ton while I can get something I know I like. Hopefully I won't get any bad surprises.

Hoping to try Hamer's and Green Team but haven't seen any in our area.


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## jtakeman (Feb 7, 2011)

xuperman said:
			
		

> My wife just rolls her eyes when I pop in a new store to see what pellets they have, but I've tried 14 brands so far. I received a ton of PA Pellets with my Harman and they just weren't very good (not hot not clean) so I got to comparing... It amazes me how different folks' experiences are, but here's what this winter has shown me. Keep in mind I'm in NE Pennsylvania and didn't take a very scientific approach.



Sounds like you caught the testing bug. I get them same looks!  Before you know it you might be one of the piggies around here! ;-)


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## kofkorn (Feb 7, 2011)

Only a few types for me this year:

*Potomacs* - 2 tons - Good heat, lots of ash, particularly fly ash blocking my vent cap, some loose clinkers when running on high for long periods
*Stove Chow* - ~10 bags - Good heat, a little more of a problem with clinkers in my stove
*Nations choice* - 2 bags so far - Long pellet, but good heat (measured 242F this morning) and may have put my stove into an overheat shutdown for the first time.  Should be a good shoulder pellet with the longer length giving longer burn times per bag.
*Freedom Fuel* - ~10 bags - Maybe good for soaking up puddles or something else.  Only thing that made bigger clinkers was my Fireside Ultras, but at least they gave off heat.


I've got some more of the Nations choice to burn, so I'll be keeping an eye on the performance.  I did notice that they have the longest pellets on average, but I didn't see anything longer than 2" in the first couple of bags.  Interested to see if I get any bridging or auger problems from them.


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## bikertrash_99 (Feb 7, 2011)

Maine Choice- great
Comfort-Hottest
LG's- clean
Pennington-clean
Maine Wood Pellets from Athens-poor


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## perchin (Feb 7, 2011)

The only pellet worth putting into my stove

      UNCLE JEDS COLD REMEDY---- Best darn Premium soft wood there is


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## FordMastertech (Feb 8, 2011)

In no particular order
Stove Chow  
Lake Region  hh: 
Prestologs  
Okanagan :cheese: 
Somerset ;-) 
Nations Choice >:-( 
Freedom Fuel :red: 
Hammers Hot Ones :ahhh: 
Spruce Points :coolsmile: 
Vermont Super Softwood Pellets :kiss: 
Infernos :roll: 
SIH :coolsmirk: 
Rocky Mountains :lol: 
Cubex 
Natures Own :zip: 
Lignetics :smirk: 

Maybe a few more depending on what else I find in my travels.


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## Reefwonders (Feb 8, 2011)

Pro-Pellets :blank: 
Somersets  
Lignetics :cheese:


In all fairness the pro-pellets is what I used when I first got the stove and was learning. I'll be able to tell for sure when I un-burying the rest of the ton. The Somersets are great fairly clean and HOT. The Lignetics are one bag in and is is running a lot hotter then the Somersets.


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## jtakeman (Feb 8, 2011)

FordMastertech said:
			
		

> In no particular order
> Stove Chow
> Lake Region  hh:
> Prestologs
> ...



Another person with a sickness.


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## FordMastertech (Feb 8, 2011)

j-takeman said:
			
		

> FordMastertech said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Yea, this sickness is wide spread in NW CT and moving east. :bug:


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## jtakeman (Feb 8, 2011)

FordMastertech said:
			
		

> j-takeman said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



 ;-P


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## xuperman (Feb 12, 2011)

[quote author="xuperman" date="1297060296"]My wife just rolls her eyes when I pop in a new store to see what pellets they have, but I've tried 14 brands so far. I received a ton of PA Pellets with my Harman and they just weren't very good (not hot not clean) so I got to comparing... It amazes me how different folks' experiences are, but here's what this winter has shown me. Keep in mind I'm in NE Pennsylvania and didn't take a very scientific approach.

Barefoot are among the hottest and cleanest but pricey at $260 per ton.
Freedom Fuel are very hot for me but produce a lot of ash and due to diameter and texture don't always slide well in my hopper. ($187ton/$3.74bag).
Maine's Choice, American Wood Fibers and Nation's Choice are all nice and hot. MC are ashy and AWF dirty. At the current Lowe's price they're each a good buy. I believe these are all blends.

Allegheny Pellets, Southern Indiana Hardwoods, and maybe Warm Front get an honorable mention; Tristate Biofuels, Stove Chow, Prestologs and Clean Energy just sort of blend in to the crowd.  As I'm burning in an unfinished basement, dust and ash aren't a big deal...the bottom line is heat for me, and these range from good to mediocre.

For me the clear losers have been PA Pellets and and Curran Renewable Energy. Not much heat and PA pellets are dirty, making a mess of my glass.  I actually scooped the Curran's back out of the hopper and mixed them with Freedom Fuel just to use them up. My stove died with both of these and when starting, sometimes wouldn't get the chamber hot enough to engage the auger before burning out.

I like blends and don't mind more ash. Everyone loves Okies which are a pricey softwood. Can't find any locally. The Freedom Fuel lasts well and is a softwood blend for $100 or more less per ton. I have been mixing 3 bags with 1 of PA Pellets in a plastic barrel both to us the PA's up and help the Freedom's slide in the hopper. I am going to try and buy a ton of Maine's Choice if I can get them for $187 a ton.  I may end up with SIH for that price which would be ok too. The AWF are also at Lowes in Dickson City PA but for $200 a ton and were $219 a ton at Tractor Supply until they ran out and stocked Stove Chow. I'm willing to play the odds and bet that pellets will be more expensive next year...maybe get a couple ton while I can get something I know I like. Hopefully I won't get any bad surprises.

UPDATE: I tried North American Pellets which are a hardwood softwood blend from Currans and was very impressed given the Lowes price of $3.74.  They come in a clear bag with few fines, not a lot of dust but best of all they're pretty dang hot!  I'm glad I tried a different Curran type since they were such a bust the first time.  I'll buy some more along with some Nation's Choice to get me through the season. Tried for Southern Indiana Hardwoods or Maine's choice but they were long gone.


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## UncleAnthony (Feb 13, 2011)

barefoots
greene team
nature's own


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## esuitt (Feb 13, 2011)

Lignetics - works very well on mild days, 25 and up
Stove Chow - use these on the cold cold nights/ days
and Pennington (these became ice/ snow melt for our yard)


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## AlanDean777 (Feb 13, 2011)

Spearfish (hot and fairly low ash) kinda pricey
Rocky Mountains (good heat little heavier ash) not as pricey
Pennington (hot and lowest ash) cheapest in town
White Flame (cold dirty flat junk not worth getting them for free!)
Green Tree (just bought 6 bags to try since they were out of the 3 mentioned above)


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## stoveguy2esw (Feb 13, 2011)

FordMastertech said:
			
		

> In no particular order
> Stove Chow
> Lake Region  hh:
> Prestologs
> ...



i gotta say , that was one of the most entertaining posts ive seen in a while   :lol: 

FTR ive burned 2 ton of blue letter (VA ) lignetics and a ton of independance brand pine pellets also a Va product this season , had no complaints at all from either one overall though the lignetics seem to have a bit more ash in them than im accustomed to from burnig the green letter (WV) lignetics  in past seasons but on the good side i had practically no clinkering from either brand.   

short version , I Be Happy


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## smalltown (Feb 13, 2011)

Finished off my Maine Choice
All Okies at the this point Burning great!


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## Alternative Guy (Feb 13, 2011)

Is anyone still burning Treecycle?  A friend said she tried a few bags from mid-2010 and the ash was pretty bad.  Just curious - heard the company is running out of money, and looking for investors after a large investor decided it is a failed company and won't invest any more in the plant.  They are in violation of stack emissions and sound levels, and could use an infusion of capital.  But if they can't sell pellets that probably won't happen.  They have been in operation for over 2 years but don't seem to have ironed out the bugs.  Anyone having success with their pellets?


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## pej4130 (Feb 17, 2011)

Oakies - best heat, least ash :cheese: 
Barefoots - good heat, but more ash than the Oakies


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## twojrts (Feb 17, 2011)

Alternative Guy,.

I had 33 bags of TC and GAVE them away!!  The guy that got them likes them.  Go figure!  Oh well,  at least they aren't taking up bike room in my shed!!


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## fidiro (Feb 17, 2011)

Greene Team, Nature's Own, TreeCycle, Prest o logs.

TreeCycle puts out plenty of heat but it is high in ash volume.  I've been getting up to 24oz of ash per 41 lb bag.  Ash weight has been within premium limits(well under 1% limit on several tests)  Nature's Own Pellets is slightly cleaner then TC(not by much),  I didn't get a chance to collect any info on greene team's but have used it before and they are noticiable that the ash volume levels were less then these first two.  Prest o logs I just got 2 bags yesterday to test the ash.


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## fidiro (Feb 17, 2011)

twojrts said:
			
		

> Alternative Guy,.
> 
> I had 33 bags of TC and GAVE them away!!  The guy that got them likes them.  Go figure!  Oh well,  at least they aren't taking up bike room in my shed!!



I wouldn't just like them If someone gave me 33 bags of whatever brand, I would LOVE them.       Just mix them with half of a better pellet or use them shoulder season.


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## jrsdws (Feb 17, 2011)

Dang you guys have a lot of choices  I've only been burning a month and have been primarily mixing with corn and I've tried:

ProPellets
Somersets

The only other pellets I've even seen here are Indeck.

I've burned a fair amount of the ProPellets and only one hopper mix with the Somersets.  The Somersets seem to produce way more heat.


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## Alternative Guy (Feb 17, 2011)

twojrts said:
			
		

> Alternative Guy,.
> 
> I had 33 bags of TC and GAVE them away!!  The guy that got them likes them.  Go figure!  Oh well,  at least they aren't taking up bike room in my shed!!


Why did you give the Treecycle away, and do you remember approximately when you bought them?


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## twojrts (Feb 17, 2011)

I bought them the beginning of the burn season.  Maybe Oct.  

The pellets looked like they had been beaten to death with a baseball bat and then bagged for sale.  Dirty, lot of fines, left clinkers and did not put out much heat at all.  The ash wasn't as bad as the Ligs I burned last year.  My stove just didn't like them.  Neither did I.

My little stove is a very finicky eater!  LOL


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## Alternative Guy (Feb 17, 2011)

twojrts said:
			
		

> I bought them the beginning of the burn season.  Maybe Oct.
> 
> The pellets looked like they had been beaten to death with a baseball bat and then bagged for sale.  Dirty, lot of fines, left clinkers and did not put out much heat at all.  The ash wasn't as bad as the Ligs I burned last year.  My stove just didn't like them.  Neither did I.
> 
> My little stove is a very finicky eater!  LOL


Thanks - just trying to get a handle on their quality control.  It sounds like they were somewhat better in 2010, but still have issues.  The last I heard they changed to a bag that seals better, which hints they are working on more than one issue.  They have been bringing decent looking raw material this past year (it looked absolutely horrible in 2009 - dirty - maybe stumps, old pallets?), but they also have numerous old pAllets they brought in two months ago that appear to be waiting to be ground up.  Many of them do not look like hardwood, and some came from China and appear to not be 100% wood.  I hope they learned their lesson, because they need to put out a consistent product if they want to survive.


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## twojrts (Feb 18, 2011)

I bought these from my installer.  Apparently, the girl  did not do her homework.  The date on the bag was 10/08, but that could have been the date the bag was made.  I called Mike, but he never called me back.  These remind me of the 09 bad pellets.  Who knows, they may have sold them to my installer at a great price.

They were supposed to be on the right track, but I don't know what happened.  If I still had my pick up, I would have hauled them back to Nazareth, PA and asked what they were going to do about the lousey pellets.

The best thing I can say about them is NO moisture!  Did the microwave test and had to look hard to see the moisture!!


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## Alternative Guy (Feb 18, 2011)

twojrts said:
			
		

> [snip] The date on the bag was 10/08, [snip]
> They were supposed to be on the right track, but I don't know what happened.  If I still had my pick up, I would have hauled them back to Nazareth, PA and asked what they were going to do about the lousey pellets. [snip]


10/08 - that was the beginning.  That plant put out a toxic cloud at the time, I mean it burned your eyes and throat.  Never found out if it was the process or what they were burning, but they cleaned it up.  Still smells horrible and makes a lot of smoke most of the time.  Sounds like you got Alpha pellets.  There was a period in early 2010 when they had stacks and stacks of returned pellets sitting out back - maybe they were from the 2009 batch.  Rumor is that if they don't get some large orders they are closing up shop.  Saw they shipped out one load of pellets a few weeks ago, so they still have some stock on hand (plant is shut down).  Don't know if that means demand is poor or what.


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## fidiro (Feb 18, 2011)

twojrts said:
			
		

> I bought these from my installer.  Apparently, the girl  did not do her homework.  The date on the bag was 10/08, but that could have been the date the bag was made.  I called Mike, but he never called me back.  These remind me of the 09 bad pellets.  Who knows, they may have sold them to my installer at a great price.
> 
> They were supposed to be on the right track, but I don't know what happened.  If I still had my pick up, I would have hauled them back to Nazareth, PA and asked what they were going to do about the lousey pellets.
> 
> The best thing I can say about them is NO moisture!  Did the microwave test and had to look hard to see the moisture!!



10/08 those are old.  If you say they looked beat up then they were old stock that has been moved around quite a bit.  Without going through the "Tree Cycle followup" thread I'm going to guess that those were still the really bad pellets that are still around I guess.  They were changed to better pellets sometime late 2009/early 2010.  

Mine are dated 06/2010 and produce plenty of heat, don't have many long pellets and any long ones break real easy, never jammed auger, light great, never had stove go out and I run stove mostly on lowest settings, low fines probably because I had them delivered late July 2010.  Everything about this pellet has been great except for ash volume which is plenty high at about 20-24 oz per bag.  There is definately better deals now on better quality pellets but at the time I took a chance on and am not dissatisfied.  The reason for no moisture on those you had is probably due to them being over a year old and kept dry.


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## fidiro (Feb 18, 2011)

10/08 - that was the beginning.  That plant put out a toxic cloud at the time, I mean it burned your eyes and throat.  Never found out if it was the process or what they were burning, but they cleaned it up.  Still smells horrible and makes a lot of smoke most of the time.  Sounds like you got Alpha pellets.  There was a period in early 2010 when they had stacks and stacks of returned pellets sitting out back - maybe they were from the 2009 batch.  Rumor is that if they don't get some large orders they are closing up shop.  Saw they shipped out one load of pellets a few weeks ago, so they still have some stock on hand (plant is shut down).  Don't know if that means demand is poor or what.[/quote]

I remember a member here that said the same things your saying about the TC plant.  https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/47828/ read all about the good and bad of TC over the last few years.  Hope they did clean the plant up and hope they get better at pellet production.  Sounds like your pretty close to the plant yourself reading that you see so much going on in and around the plant.  Do you know how long plant has been down?

BTW, what brand of pellets have you been using this season?  Need to get back to what this thread is about.


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## Alternative Guy (Feb 18, 2011)

pelletnubi said:
			
		

> [snip]Sounds like your pretty close to the plant yourself reading that you see so much going on in and around the plant.  Do you know how long plant has been down?
> 
> BTW, what brand of pellets have you been using this season?  [snip]


Live in the area.  The plant was shut down for the season in late November.  It usually opens around April, but this year may be different.  I use tree pellets - I am a woodburner (scab alert).  I didn't see many people mentioning Treecycle pellets, and I wanted to find out more about the recent batches.  You can return to your regularly scheduled program.


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## jhskick (Feb 19, 2011)

On my third ton of Independence Pellets. They need a bit more air but have very low ash and glass stays real clean except when burning on low setting.


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## aburress1223 (Feb 19, 2011)

All I have been able to find here in SW Va the two seasons I've had the stove is AWF.  I have bought 2 tons for $199.00 at the Tazewell County Farm Bureau and 2 tons for $175.00 at Southern States Co-OP.  Paid $265.00 for a ton at local Tractor Supply early in the season.  Wish I had more storage I would stock up @ $175.00 a ton.


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## justinc25 (Feb 19, 2011)

The mwp burned well, but are too expensive for me @ 6 bucks a bag.


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## gpack (Feb 20, 2011)

Just Somerset so far.  
I just picked up 10 bags of American Wood Fibers pellets at TS the other day to get me through until I can find more Somersets or Hamers..
First time I've come across the AWF pellets....only the burn will tell..


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## skidozer (Feb 24, 2011)

In my Quad Castile insert I burn'

1.5 tons of DRY CREEK they put out good heat not bad on ash.

5 Bags of PA Pellets they would plug up the hopper and put the stove out

5 bags of stove chow- good heat -low ash  would be great at$45 cheaper than the dry creek

going to by a few brands this weekend to try.


PA PELLET just bought dry creek out as seen on board-I hope they don't screw them up.


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## Augmister (Feb 28, 2011)

Green Team  (one ton burned)  Shoulder season opener for 2010-2011   Good heat, low ash but get clinkers if I don't burn on high fan speed   ($255/ton  Fall 2009)

Barefoot (1.5 tons burned)  Class "A" main event pellet for 2010-2011  Great heat and lowest ash.  One of the best pellets I have ever used  (Plan to carry over the other 1.5 tons for 2011-2012  ($245/ton Spring 2010)

Maine's Choice (a few bags into one ton)  Shoulder season closer for 2010-2011  Surprisingly good heat but more ash    Would consider as the shoulder pellet for 2011-2012  ($209/ton 2011)

Tested:  

Maine Woods --- almost the heat of the Barefoot but more ash    Might be the Class "A" pellet in the 2011-2012 season ($240/ton  Spring 2011)

Curran's (Blend) --- decent heat on par with Maine's Choice, but more ash  ($209/ton  Winter 2011)


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