What brands of pellets have you burned this year ?

[rowerwet]

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.

 

[katwillny]

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.

 

[jenrn54]

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!

 

[Gweeper64]

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.

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

 

[Idahokid]

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

 

[Gweeper64]

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.

 

[Meneillys]

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

 

[Sinzitu]

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

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

 

[HEMI]

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

 

[tinkabranc]

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

 

[Czech]

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!

 

[Outerlimits]

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

 

[chris288]

instant heat
Warm Front
pure fire
freedom fuel
stove chow

 

[m159267]

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.

 

[Indiana]

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.

 

[opus74]

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!

 

[rideboard147]

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)

 

[EZsteve]

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.

 

[xuperman]

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.

 

[jtakeman]

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! ;-)

 

[kofkorn]

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.

 

[bikertrash_99]

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

 

[perchin]

The only pellet worth putting into my stove

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

 

[FordMastertech]

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.

 

[Reefwonders]

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.