Located in Old Lyme CT, need 3 tons for myself and have friends that would need about another 15 tons. Any advice appreciated.
Where can I get good pellets now ?
- Thread starter Defiant
- Start date
-
Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.
We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.
We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil. -
Super Cedar firestarters 30% discount Use code Hearth2024 Click here
- Status
Defiant said:
Well, don't know what price range your looking to spend, but the easiest thing would be to buy from PelletSales.com. They have LG granules and Westwood (Okanagan) for delivery to your area for $275/ton, and if you and your friends put in 2 orders for 9 tons each (or 3 orders of 6 tons each), you get free shipping.
Around my area now, the dealers are all asking $290/ton, and charge a minimum of $30/ton for delivery on top of that.
From what I've read on this forum, both brands (softwood pellets) are good, and I can attest to pelletsales.com being a good company to deal with. Bought my pellets from them for the first time this spring, and everything went great.
Defiant said:
I get mine from Jeff at Eastern CT Pellets - (broken link removed)
He's out on Route 32 in N. Franklin. He has a good selection and stands behind his products. I had 3 tons of the bad Maine Woods last Fall and he took them all back and got me Lignetics. I highly recommend him.
BTU said:
I stand corrected. I was under the impression that the Westwood brand was the same pellet as the Okanagan brand (like CleanFire is really re-bagged NEWP, or so I was told).
Sorry
macman said:BTU said:
I stand corrected. I was under the impression that the Westwood brand was the same pellet as the Okanagan brand (like CleanFire is really re-bagged NEWP, or so I was told).
Sorry
I know it's not your fault but I hope you guys know how annoying this stuff can be to normal people.
Pellet information should be standardized like the Nutrition Facts box on food. Then the manufacturers can add all the fancy packaging and great pricing claims and convincing advertising they want. Right now this web site is fun and I'm learning a lot useful stuff but eventually I want my burning pellets to be as routine as driving my car. My goal is to have a regular dealer for repairs and cleaning, a couple of pellet suppliers and some pellet brand choices. Then kick back and enjoy the stove in the winter.
I want to add that I am not in any way knocking the people who post here or anyone else. They seem all friendly and capable. However, the pellet industry has been around for a while but seems immature and not ready for prime time or, in this case, not yet ready to support a mass market.
It reminds me of the early days of the PC. Engineers and technicians were soldering boards, there were a couple of things called DR-DOS and MS-DOS, you had to know BASIC to do anything, and the only applications were word processing and an early spreadsheet called Visicalc. Now people just walk into a store or go online and buy what they want and there are hundreds of apps.
Sorry if my comments come across as a rant, but I think this business needs a very heavy dose of product development to succeed. ;-)
It reminds me of the early days of the PC. Engineers and technicians were soldering boards, there were a couple of things called DR-DOS and MS-DOS, you had to know BASIC to do anything, and the only applications were word processing and an early spreadsheet called Visicalc. Now people just walk into a store or go online and buy what they want and there are hundreds of apps.
Sorry if my comments come across as a rant, but I think this business needs a very heavy dose of product development to succeed. ;-)
BTU said:
BTU,
Thanks for taking the time to reply. I recognize some of the difficulties in the pellet business that you have pointed out, like low margins, region-sized markets, poor economy of scale, uneven consistency of raw materials, weak self-regulation and so forth. I bet that real growth is going to be blocked until some of those barriers are cracked. You probably agree with me on that.
I'm glad that some standards are emerging from the Pellet Fuels Institute trade association, but as you imply, the standards are broad. I took a quick look at the PFI web site. I didn't go through in detail but I don't see where pellet providers have much incentive to meet PFI standards. The testing program looks like smoke and mirrors. So, it's not just a matter of loose standards but whether the standards are verifiably followed.
Three questions:
1. Is there any incentive like better sales to even bother with the PFI logo on a bag of pellets?
2. Is there an easy way for a consumer to check or verify that a product has been tested at a certified lab?
3. Is there a sanction for wrongly claiming to meet a PFI standard?
Here's a point in their web site:
(broken link removed to http://www.pelletheat.org/2/quality.html)
I'm just thinking aloud here with these questions, so no need to reply. But I think some people on this board find your comments about the industry informative.
I heard good things about Eastern CT Pellets as well. I only need another ton, so it's not worth the delivery charge for just the 1 ton. I thought for my first full year I'd get pellets from my dealer, since if there's any problem, I don't want to hear it's the crappy pellets I'm using! I do plan on using Eastern CT Pellets next year. I like the idea of getting a couple different kinds of pellets, just in case it's a bad batch year and I find myself sitting on 4 tons of subpar pellets.
richkorn said:
Yes, sorry. I dragged the thread in another direction. :red:
But I found BTU's comments very informative. He seems to really know his business and is open about it. I've learned a lot from his posts but I should have put my questions into another thread.
And now to bend the rules with an unsolicited commercial plug. - - he sells a good pellet called Okanagan. Tough to spell but I burned a few bags and bought two tons for next winter.
Thanks guys, lot's of interesting stuff, I did buy pellets from Eastern last year, he does :coolsmile: a great job and his facility is extremely clean. Just checking the forum before purchasing and I really do appreciate everyones input.
- Status
Similar threads
