# Quality pellets in MI



## TG3930 (Jan 15, 2012)

OK MI pellet PIGS, where do you find quality pellets in MI ? So far I have found AWF, Isabella, Pro Pellets, Marth, Meader Bros and North American Pellets. The best has been NAP followed by Pro Pellet which seems most consider both to be shoulder season pellets. I've requested dealer info from a few brands like Blazer, Barefoot and Hammers with no response back.

Do these even make it into MI?

 Thanks... Tom


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## pelletash (Jan 15, 2012)

I haven't seen barefoot, blazer or hamer on the west side of the state.  Best I've seen are Somerset and Uncle Jeds at my local stove shop.  The box stores are hit and miss between AWF which are OK and various other sub-shoulder season brands.


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## lbcynya (Jan 15, 2012)

pelletash said:
			
		

> I haven't seen barefoot, blazer or hamer on the west side of the state.  Best I've seen are Somerset and Uncle Jeds at my local stove shop.  The box stores are hit and miss between AWF which are OK and various other sub-shoulder season brands.



+1

Pro pellets are like ash factories compared to my Somerset's.


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## pelletash (Jan 15, 2012)

lbcynya said:
			
		

> pelletash said:
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> ...



I haven't tried pro pellets yet, though the stove shop carries them.  They are only $30 less a ton than somerset.  I'll spend the extra 30 bucks for now.

If you want an ash factory, burn some Michigan pellets.  One bag gets me darn near a full ash pan.  I wish they were better because i'd love to buy locally made goods, but the sad face my stove put on when I dumped a second bag in the hopper made me think twice about buying more.


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## TG3930 (Jan 15, 2012)

Pelletash where did you find Somersets? I know you said your local stove shop, but who and where are they?


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## pelletash (Jan 15, 2012)

Smart Energy Solutions in Grant, MI.  Haven't been there recently as I got my final load before Thanksgiving.


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## mrbill (Jan 15, 2012)

Which Michigan pellets have you been burning?I got the ones from Grayling in the multi color bags.They are much better than the ones from Holland in the plain white bag with green lettering.I can go 4-5 days longer between times to empty the ash.I don't have a lot of choice,I want to try the Kirtlands from Boyne City but haven't found any yet.Has any of you tried them yet?


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## pelletash (Jan 15, 2012)

mrbill said:
			
		

> Which Michigan pellets have you been burning?I got the ones from Grayling in the multi color bags.They are much better than the ones from Holland in the plain white bag with green lettering.I can go 4-5 days longer between times to empty the ash.I don't have a lot of choice,I want to try the Kirtlands from Boyne City but haven't found any yet.Has any of you tried them yet?



These are the white bag/green letter made in Holland.  I bought 10 bags at Menards when they were $3.44 a bag.  Heat is marginal, ash is high and forget about looking through the glass after a few hours.  

I've never seen the other Michigan pellets around, nor the Isabella softwood pellets I read about now and then.  I get up to Mt. Pleasant for work once in a while.  Might have to poke around and see if I can find some Isabellas up there.


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## mrbill (Jan 16, 2012)

I've been told they are a different company,not too sure.The other ones are pretty decent,I live so far off the beaten path that it would cost more than it's worth to find other pellets.I am going to try to find other brands this summer.


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## TG3930 (Jan 16, 2012)

Thanks Pelletash. I'm burning North American Pellets now and they give off good heat in my stove but ashy. So far they are the best I've burned but would like to try a known quality pellet to compare them to. The search continues.


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## imacman (Jan 16, 2012)

TG3930 said:
			
		

> .....I'm burning North American Pellets now......



I bought some of those from Lowes last fall, but they are barely a shoulder season pellet, IMO.  

I burned some of the Marth and AWF  (both hardwood) last year, and was pretty pleased with them....they are the best of the ones you listed, IMO.


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## HopeItBurns (Jan 16, 2012)

Hey TG3930, stay away from Maeder Brothers unless you want to clean your stove everyday and use a razor blade on your glass. Actually took a ton back to where I purchased them. They have way too much ash, I tried the Penneywise (not impressed) and  tried Michigan Pellets with the green writing and they suck too. Now originally was turned onto the Somersets back a few years ago at a Lowes in Monroe. Later found them at Menards in Ohio for much better price. IMO would check your Menards in Jackson. Keep in mind that pellet prices are usually high this time of year so I usually stock up in early to late fall when Menards puts em on sale. Hope this helps.


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## divertim (Jan 16, 2012)

mrbill said:
			
		

> Which Michigan pellets have you been burning?I got the ones from Grayling in the multi color bags.They are much better than the ones from Holland in the plain white bag with green lettering.I can go 4-5 days longer between times to empty the ash.I don't have a lot of choice,I want to try the Kirtlands from Boyne City but haven't found any yet.Has any of you tried them yet?



My brother works for Kirtland products. He gave me about 10 bags to burn. They burned good I didn't have much ash. I think he told me you can buy them right from the factory in Boyne City.


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## Outerlimits (Jan 16, 2012)

This has been the worst year I have had so far for finding good pellets at the box stores.  Unfortunately, the box stores are stuffed with Michigan Wood Pellets and Wood fibres inc.  I refuse to buy or burn either brand as they are both ash factories.  I did find some Somerset about a month ago for $3.50 a bag.  This was a good score.  As far as quality pellets is concerned, Somerset are the best for the price.  The Kirtland will be a very good pellet as soon as they can lower the ash content which they may have already done.  Those Kirtland put out some mad heat, so I can deal with a little higher ash content.  The company sure seems to have a lot of potential.  If you are willing to pay, the Jed's are great but expensive at $259 a ton.  I bought the Jed's I have during the spring buy for $229 a ton.  I know my current stash is 70 bags of Jed's, 70 bags of Somerset, 55 bags of Black Hills Gold, and about 20 bags of random pellets from Heat'rs to Eureka.  I feel my stash is too low!


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## frizman86 (Jan 17, 2012)

Over here in Ludington area we can only get AWF which i am happy with. I clean my stove every 5 days (with aprox 8 bags burned), and there is about 1/4 inch of ash buildup. AWF is made is wisconson. There is a company out of Holland that I keep trying to get since I would rather buy local, but they cant keep up with demand around here. I am not sure of the Holland brand. I can check on Friday when I buy a ton. Other then that I know Baldwin has a pellet stove dealer and they cary all of the more expenseve brands.


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## burrman (Jan 17, 2012)

i burn uncle jeds...i love em...


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## pelletash (Jan 17, 2012)

frizman86 said:
			
		

> Over here in Ludington area we can only get AWF which i am happy with. I clean my stove every 5 days (with aprox 8 bags burned), and there is about 1/4 inch of ash buildup. AWF is made is wisconson. There is a company out of Holland that I keep trying to get since I would rather buy local, but they cant keep up with demand around here. I am not sure of the Holland brand. I can check on Friday when I buy a ton. Other then that I know Baldwin has a pellet stove dealer and they cary all of the more expenseve brands.



The ones made in Holland are Michigan wood pellet, unless there is another manufacturer there I haven't heard of.  I had hopes for them because they are local, but they are a high ash, marginal heat pellet, at least in my stove.  I've only seen them at Menards.  If they got down to $125/ton I might pick some up.  I'd rather burn those than oil though.  

I'm hoping they just had a bad year and will improve next season.


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## Outerlimits (Jan 17, 2012)

I tried the I will buy local thing with the Michigan Wood Pellets from Holland.  I even called to complain about the high ash content to see what they would say a couple of years ago.  The lady who answerd the phone told me if I didn't like them to not buy them.  I took her advice.


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## pelletash (Jan 17, 2012)

Nice to see they take their customer feedback seriously.  

As is often said, vote with your wallet.  I guess the majority of my pellet dollars will continue to go to Kentucky.


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## lbcynya (Jan 17, 2012)

Michigan Wood Pellet, Holland converts green wood to pellets.  In other words, it's a tree on Monday and a pellet on Friday.  Their wood lot is dirty (introduces inorganic materials).  Everything is 100% dried with a rotary drum dryer which uses exhaust heat to fry the wood.  This exhaust heat is from burning green wood, so a lot of the fly ash from the combustor ends up in the pellet.  Most of the wood products plants in their area use engineered wood products, so it's unlikely they'll get some good, low ash kiln dried residuals from manufacturing....

This is why Somersets tend to be much better, all premium kiln dried wood dust from their hardwood flooring plant. 

Have a bag of Jeds, but haven't burned it yet.  

Pro Pellets is a mix of ground up pallets to wood residual from the Northern Indiana Cabinet makers and the RV Industry (lower quality woods).  Pro Pellets are a definite shoulder pellet and the ash is crazy, but the heat is OK.  Fines are tolerable as well.


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## pelletash (Jan 17, 2012)

I finally looked up their website.  I've driven by there several times and never knew it.  I didn't know they used raw wood for their pellets.  I also didn't know they also manufactured North Country.  I'll put that on my list of pellets to avoid.

Maybe we need a Michigan vs Inferno 'burn off'.


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## frizman86 (Jan 24, 2012)

Well went to lowes this past Sat. in ludington, and they had summersets for $3.53 a bag. So i bought 2 tons of them. I thought for that price I could not go wrong. I guess from what they told me is they got 4 truck loads in. So they dont have AWF's anymore


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## team486 (Jan 24, 2012)

divertim said:
			
		

> mrbill said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 i picked up a couple bags of kirtland in gladwin when i was delv. there last week. they burned so well and hot i drove up there sat. and bought 2 tons. they are a great pellet with hardly any ash. glad i am almost finished with my ton of natures fibers from menards, absolute junk pellets. bought a bag of nrg pellets made in fruitport and the bag had more fines in it than pellets,they burned alright though. picked up a bag of penningtons and a bag of greenways today to try out. have not tried mader brothers or isabella yet and i drive by their plants all the time. i delv. to mader brothers a few years ago and they gave me a bag to try but at the time i was burning corn and just mixed them in. anybody have any luck with the isabellas? i have tried awf and pro pellets they burn good but dirty. so far kirtland wins my vote hands down. they are the first softwood i have burned and i am happy by far.


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## pelletash (Jan 24, 2012)

frizman86 said:
			
		

> Well went to lowes this past Sat. in ludington, and they had summersets for $3.53 a bag. So i bought 2 tons of them. I thought for that price I could not go wrong. I guess from what they told me is they got 4 truck loads in. So they dont have AWF's anymore



Good price.  Makes me wish I had a reason to go to Ludington.


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## fighting_demons (Jan 24, 2012)

Good Morning,

I live near the maeder bros. plant and have been burning them for two years.  I thought I was supporting a local business so it made me feel good.  It wasn't until I burned some of the isabella soft woods that I realized how crappy the maeder bros. were.  I can go two weeks (with isabella's) in my p38 without the glass getting dirty.  They seem to heat good but I haven't taken temp. readings so its just a gut feeling. I probabaly have ten tons of maeders that need to be used up.  And don't get me started telling you guys about the six tons of penningtons I got a swinging deal on.
denny


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## Mike49024 (Jan 24, 2012)

I don't claim to be the connoisseur of pellets like many of the folks on here.

I burn whatever I can get for a good price at the local stores (usually around 3.50 a bag)
This year it's been primarily Magic Spark and Somersets.

In contrary to what others say, I see little difference in terms of both cleanliness and heat output. Klinkers are probably a bit worse with the magic spark, but not to the point where I avoid buying them.  Maybe my p35i isn't that picky?


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## 440rick (Jan 24, 2012)

BENS SUPERCENTER IN BROWN CITY HAS SOMERSETS FOR 220 A TON OR IVE FOUND PROPELLETS IN RICHMOND rICK


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## team486 (Jan 25, 2012)

fighting_demons said:
			
		

> Good Morning,
> 
> I live near the maeder bros. plant and have been burning them for two years.  I thought I was supporting a local business so it made me feel good.  It wasn't until I burned some of the isabella soft woods that I realized how crappy the maeder bros. were.  I can go two weeks (with isabella's) in my p38 without the glass getting dirty.  They seem to heat good but I haven't taken temp. readings so its just a gut feeling. I probabaly have ten tons of maeders that need to be used up.  And don't get me started telling you guys about the six tons of penningtons I got a swinging deal on.
> denny


 guess i will have to Try Isabellas. I have not read many good maeder bros reviews.


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## tigerjeb (Mar 10, 2012)

I have to grab one more ton this season, and I have a choice between pro pellets or index (I think?) pellets. I don't know if I heard wrong or just can't find any information on them. I would appreciate any help the board might be able to provide. Both brands are at a tractor supply if that helps at all. Thanks!


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## shisits (Mar 10, 2012)

My choice would be the pro pellets. I just tested 2 bags of Indecks and in my stove and the Pros were much hotter and less ash. In fact the ton of Pros I just started using are hotter than my Uncle Jeds. This pallet of Pros have a lot of black pellets which seems to be caused from greater compression. They are black or brunt looking all the way through. 
These pellets are really hard which also indicates high compression. I love the heat I am getting from these!         YMMV


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## tigerjeb (Mar 10, 2012)

shisits said:
			
		

> My choice would be the pro pellets. I just tested 2 bags of Indecks and in my stove and the Pros were much hotter and less ash. In fact the ton of Pros I just started using are hotter than my Uncle Jeds. This pallet of Pros have a lot of black pellets which seems to be caused from greater compression. They are black or brunt looking all the way through. These pellets are really hard which also indicates high compression. I love the heat I am getting from these!         YMMV



Thanks for the tips! I tried 4 different brands this year, and propellers were #2 on the list. 

For my cab50, awf was 1, propellers were 2, can't recall 3, and nrg was worse than just pouring straight sawdust into the hopper.


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## shisits (Mar 10, 2012)

I am waiting for some Somersets to show up in my area. If Lakeview Farm Supply has a special on the Pros I will probably bite the bullet and add them to my  stash ($169 last yr). I am in no hurry. I want to pick up a couple bags of Kirtlands to try, lots of people like them.    :coolsmile:


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## burrman (Mar 10, 2012)

shisits said:
			
		

> My choice would be the pro pellets. I just tested 2 bags of Indecks and in my stove and the Pros were much hotter and less ash. In fact the ton of Pros I just started using are hotter than my Uncle Jeds. This pallet of Pros have a lot of black pellets which seems to be caused from greater compression. They are black or brunt looking all the way through.
> These pellets are really hard which also indicates high compression. I love the heat I am getting from these!         YMMV


no way that pro's are hotter then jeds ive burnt 3 tons of jeds this year and im working on a ton of pro's.....i miss my jeds


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## ToddO (Mar 11, 2012)

My dealer suggested that I try Kirtlands and he was right I'll be buying at least four tons when prebuy time comes around. They burn hot and clean with very little ash. My burn pot requires little more than a vacuum to clean.


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## shisits (Mar 11, 2012)

I agree Jeds are one the best. I have burned 1 ton of my Jeds and 1 ton of Pros. In fact I sold a ton of the Pros I had to a buddy because of not being impressed with them. Just started a second pallet of Pros(for shoulder season) and these look and burn different from the first ton. I was totally surprised by the heat. It must be a different batch. Even my wife when standing in front of the stove commented how much hotter the stove was on the same setting. Pros were $80 a ton cheaper for me than the Jeds last summer so for the price difference the Jeds are not that much better. I am still holding out for the Somersets if they are available near me for less than $200 a ton. Somersets are just as hot as the Jeds (in my stove) and are much cheaper. As always YMMV.    :coolsmile:

Wingnut.. now you got me traveling to Grant to pick up some Kirtlands first thing Monday...


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## xjarcher (Mar 11, 2012)

I'm in Grant as well. I won't burn Pro's or West MI. at all, I like Kirtlands (won a ton in December) and can't afford Jeds so I burn the "black bag" as my kids call them. Or Kritlands. Two are the best values that Smart energy sells. Smart energy has the best selection and dollar for dollar, "Black bags" and Kirtlands are it.  Ask them, those are what they burn in their own stoves.


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## letsblaze (Mar 12, 2012)

Keep all us Central Michigan peeps posted when the sales hit. I will prebuy a few ton when they do. I live 20 mins from grand and have been to Smart energy and love the store.


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## xjarcher (Mar 12, 2012)

They have a pretty good website, name is odd so searches don't get it.  http://visitsmartenergy.com/t/  Generally there's a sale in the spring. BTW you can buy a few tons and warehouse them there.  They also do deliveries.


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## ToddO (Mar 12, 2012)

Shisits where in mid michigan are you? I get my Kirtlands in Saginaw. So far the bags that i've burnt have very few fines so i'm pretty happy. I'll post the pre buy price when I get it.


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## Outerlimits (Mar 12, 2012)

The Pro Pellets I have burned this year have been a plesant suprise.  I also like the pellets Smart Energy sells for $3.85 a bag.


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## tigerjeb (Mar 13, 2012)

Thanks for all of the replies.  I will be having a trial period with the Indecks to see how they burn in the Heatilator Eco-Choice CAB 50.  Of course, with the temperature in the 60s, I might not get to test them until next year!  Oh well, it never hurts to have pellets in storage.  Just need to keep them dry and covered until (if?) it gets cold again.

Just out of curiosity, how much has everyone in mid-Michigan burned this year?  I am just south of Lansing and have used just short of 3 ton since installing in early November.  I don't know of anyone in the Montcalm County area burning, but I know groups in the Cadillac area that burned 5-6 ton for the same size house (~1750 sq feet, 2 level old farmhouse).  

This forum has been instrumental in getting me through questions that I have had, and it has saved me from the fuel oil curse enough to pay for the stove, piping, and other accessories in the first year.  Thanks to all!


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## ToddO (Mar 13, 2012)

I've burnt a little over four tons this winter. I'm heating a 2200SF two story home. I'm glad I still have plenty left because I don't believe winter is done yet...Mother nature just setting us up for at least one more shot


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## shisits (Mar 14, 2012)

Wingnut13 said:
			
		

> Shisits where in mid michigan are you? I get my Kirtlands in Saginaw. So far the bags that i've burnt have very few fines so i'm pretty happy. I'll post the pre buy price when I get it.



I am about 70 miles west of Saginaw just off m46. 2 miles from US131 EXPRESSWAY....Looking forward to trying the Kirtlands.
I have burned about 2.5 tons. Heating 1500 sq ft. Not hardly burning any pellets because of this warm spell...WOOHOO.... :lol:


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## team486 (Mar 14, 2012)

I'm between Saginaw and flint burned 2.5 tons have 1/2 ton of kirtlands left.burned a ton and a half of them and love them so far. Although I did pick up a bag of greenways and they were fantastic. Wish I would have bought more.I have a 1500 square foot house. Had to go to gladwin to get the kirtlands but I have heard the kernel burner know has them thanks to me haha.my first ton was wood fibers Inc. I won't even go there.


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## smoke show (Mar 14, 2012)

team486 said:
			
		

> my first ton was wood fibers Inc. I won't even go there.



Thats a guy way to ruin a persons idea of saving money.  :lol:


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## Vinelife (Mar 17, 2012)

I find that the pro pellets burn hot with moderate ash.  I do currently burn Somersets .. very nice.. get them at the local hardware store and they deliver.


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