Are there really bad pellets out there?

[Yooperburner]

Are there really bad brands of pellets out there. I suppose there is .

Maybe a pellet doesn't burn properly because of improper storage or handling, which I would guess is probably the case most of the time.

I've only had my stove burning for a month and only burned 2 brands so far, so I'm curious.

Is there a brand you would never buy?

 

[zrock]

yes their are extremely bad brands. when we got ours i got a couple bags of each brand and ran them until i found the one that gave me the most heat. Even this year i have noticed my go to pellet is not burning as hot as normal this year and my other go to does not seem to be available this year.

 

[jackman]

It probably depends a lot on where you live. Out in the PNW I only burn the Packsaddle doug fir pellets. I tried Bear Mountain many years ago but I found them to be smelly. I think they spiked them with a petroleum product.

 

[Dataman]

I have not found any. Only 2 Brands up here. North Idaho Energy Logs and Purcell. Once got bags with lots of Decomposed Pellets. Those ran thru my stove just fine (Harmon XXV). About 2 full ash pans per Ton. (small ash pan). I like Purcell bags they come in better. No Vent Hold for moisture to get into and less decomposed pellets (None So Far). Delivered this year was about $900 for 4 tons. Checked temp other day (Meat Thermometer) it was over 200f (Guess about 220f). Heat output depends on Room Temp and Settings.

 

[Yooperburner]

The two brands I tried were made in WI pretty close to me in the UP of mi. I would reckon the closer they are the less likely they are to get messed up during shipping. I can't remember the brand names right now but they were purchased at TSC and Menards

 

[bogieb]

A couple of brands that I haven't seen in a while were really bad. They literally only put out luke warm air from the P61a: Maine's Best (NOT MWP) and Therma Glo's.

Luckily, I got the Therma Glo's for very cheap during the fire sales of 2016 when HD sent me a couple of tons (I don't even know where those came from since I had never seen them at an HD around here). The P61a does not heat a large space, so they weren't a total loss. The Maine's Best, I just got a couple of bags to try.

I tend to buy middling brands (not DF or full softies) because I have a small house so the stoves don't work hard. Really hot burning pellets will cause the stoves to short cycle, and cause a mess in the stoves and pipes. If I find an excellent deal on FBM/CL, then I usaully burn those in the P43 or blend them with some worse pellet s in the P61a.