Wood Pellet Brands

[OldHillcrestGuy]

Ok my pellet folks. I know there have been other threads on this topic every year, my source of pellets that have been of excellent quality is longer available. Went out looking today and it looks like my choice is going to be between Hamers, which Ive used before and liked, Lignetics which I used 6 years or more ago or American Hardwood. Did not like Lignetics at all back then but have seen where others have posted and have liked them. I understand there are 2 types of Lignetics one is 100% hardwood which is the best and then there is other one that you can get from Lowes or Home Depot that are not 100%. The difference is the color of the bag its either blue or green, with green being the better pellet. Would like to hear what other people use and like.

 

[kom526]

My BIL used American Wood Fiber Pellets (soft wood) from American Hearth (Hardware) last season and loved them. He said he had the lowest ash output he ever had with his stove using those. I picked up a ton (me strong) and will be giving those a shot. The pellets I got from Southern States last year were horrible, but the year previous to that were fantastic. :shrug: I liked Hamer's when I used them, Lignetics were always hit or miss with me. Maybe quality control at the factory. Who knows.

The label for the AWF pellets states: 100% white pine .25% ash output and max average 8,600 BTUs/LB.

 

[dave1959]

Ok my pellet folks. I know there have been other threads on this topic every year, my source of pellets that have been of excellent quality is longer available. Went out looking today and it looks like my choice is going to be between Hamers, which Ive used before and liked, Lignetics which I used 6 years or more ago or American Hardwood. Did not like Lignetics at all back then but have seen where others have posted and have liked them. I understand there are 2 types of Lignetics one is 100% hardwood which is the best and then there is other one that you can get from Lowes or Home Depot that are not 100%. The difference is the color of the bag its either blue or green, with green being the better pellet. Would like to hear what other people use and like.

What were you using...???

 

[OldHillcrestGuy]

What were you using...???

I was using Henry County Hardwoods out of Tennessee and Country Boy White Lightning out of Kentucky.

 

[kom526]

I was using Henry County Hardwoods out of Tennessee and Country Boy White Lightning out of Kentucky.

I talked to Chris from American Hearth when I picked up my load and his master plan is to lease some storage space at the tobacco barns in Hughesville and to sell out of there. He will eventually be carrying AWF, Hamer's Lignetics and Country Boys. I hope he gets his ducks in a row for this because he would have a HUGE mostly underserved market down here in SMC.

 

[Bonehead]

We used the Tractor Supply brand and liked them better than Lignetics for heat output and ash. TS will price match any local supplier. This year 225$ per ton no tax.

 

[OldHillcrestGuy]

I talked to Chris from American Hearth when I picked up my load and his master plan is to lease some storage space at the tobacco barns in Hughesville and to sell out of there. He will eventually be carrying AWF, Hamer's Lignetics and Country Boys. I hope he gets his ducks in a row for this because he would have a HUGE mostly underserved market down here in SMC.

That would be great, Im 3 miles from Hughesville would make it easy for me to pickup pellets. Country Boy's are really great. I also heard the AWF pine ones have gotten good reviews.

 

[GWguy]

It was my understanding that the Lignetics softwood pellets were WEST coast, and the hardwood EAST coast. Read that recently, don't remember where....

I ordered 4 tons of Lignetics from Lusby Hardware, no delivery fee, $249/ton. Going to deliver tomorrow or Wen.

I'm happy with Lignetics, used a few different brands, these seem to work best in my stove. Under no circumstances get the Pennington. Just crap.

 

[kom526]

Okay, here's my update on the AWF soft wood pellets.

1) They seem to burn pretty fast and hot, so I am getting shorter run times on the stove and my family room (18' ceilings) warms up nicely.

2) Extremely low ash output. We've burned 4 bags so far and have maybe gotten a cups worth of ash.

3) Clean burning. My fire pot is not getting caked up with crap at all. I guess that the higher burn temps have something to do with that.

I do recommend these pellets, but tomorrow sounds like it'll be a good test for them.

 

[Vince]

Just got a ton of hardwood pellets from ACE Hardware delivered. Trae is the brandname. Anyone give these a try yet? They were out of Lignetics and Hammer.

 

[Chris0nllyn]

Just got a ton of hardwood pellets from ACE Hardware delivered. Trae is the brandname. Anyone give these a try yet? They were out of Lignetics and Hammer.

I've only ran a few bags of Trae through my stove.

Unfortunately, it was about the same time my control board crapped out.

Not having experience with other brands makes it tough for me to review, but they seemed to produce a good amount of heat (for the 10 minutes my stove will run), but there seemed to be a bunch of ash after less than a full bag.

 

[Midnightrider]

I've only ran a few bags of Trae through my stove.

Unfortunately, it was about the same time my control board crapped out.

Not having experience with other brands makes it tough for me to review, but they seemed to produce a good amount of heat (for the 10 minutes my stove will run), but there seemed to be a bunch of ash after less than a full bag.

Is that a breckwell you are having issues with?

 

[Chris0nllyn]

Is that a breckwell you are having issues with?

Sure is.

$400 for a replacement. F that.

I'll be ordering the relays and components needed to build my own this week. I can build one, with the same options and safety features as the original for less than $150.

 

[Vince]

I've had my Breckwell about 8 years now. Only thing that ever went was the auger motor.

 

[Chris0nllyn]

I've had my Breckwell about 8 years now. Only thing that ever went was the auger motor.

I got mine used and one of the fuses was BLOWN, not like a jolt so the fuse popped, but it must have been a huge surge because the element was blown to molten bits.

The previous owner/genius decided to wrap it in aluminum foil and plug it back in.

It runs its 10 min startup period then just shuts off. I've gone through the wiring schematic and tested the voltages and bypassed the POF and high temp thermodisc switches to no avail.

What really throws me off is the convection blower doesn't come on when the POF thermodisc closes at 110* (like it's supposed to), nor does it come on when I bypassed the switch.

I have a feeling the one of the triac(s) on the board is bad, among other things. Maybe I'll try and fix it one day, but for now I just want to use it and see how I like it before buying another one.

 

[Midnightrider]

I got mine used and one of the fuses was BLOWN, not like a jolt so the fuse popped, but it must have been a huge surge because the element was blown to molten bits.

The previous owner/genius decided to wrap it in aluminum foil and plug it back in.

It runs its 10 min startup period then just shuts off. I've gone through the wiring schematic and tested the voltages and bypassed the POF and high temp thermodisc switches to no avail.

What really throws me off is the convection blower doesn't come on when the POF thermodisc closes at 110* (like it's supposed to), nor does it come on when I bypassed the switch.

I have a feeling the one of the triac(s) on the board is bad, among other things. Maybe I'll try and fix it one day, but for now I just want to use it and see how I like it before buying another one.

I had a Big E I bought online. It ran fine for a week or so then the board blew. I contacted the seller and was told call the manufacturer. The folks at brekwell were very nice when they told me I had bought from an unauthorized dealer and tat I had no warranty. After jerking around with the seller I ended up calling Breckwell back to just by a new part. They ended up sending me the new part for free and going after the seller.

Otherwise the stove was pretty nice and reliable. I only sold it because I found the pellets to be just as much work as a wood stove but I couldn't find a source for free pellets.....
Good luck

 

[MR47930]

Just got a ton of hardwood pellets from ACE Hardware delivered. Trae is the brandname. Anyone give these a try yet? They were out of Lignetics and Hammer.

I haven't heard good things.. but it appears to be the only brand in town. Whats your take on them?

 

[OldHillcrestGuy]

I bought 4 tons of pellets for this winter, 3 tons were Hamars and 1 ton came from Tractor Supply. I decided to burn the Tractor brand first, to see how they did. Not very well, tons of ash build up, like Ive never seen before. Needs cleaning every other day. Thank goodness its been cold in November for the most part, because I will run out of Tractor Supply pellets by Christmas.

 

[MR47930]

I bought 4 tons of pellets for this winter, 3 tons were Hamars and 1 ton came from Tractor Supply. I decided to burn the Tractor brand first, to see how they did. Not very well, tons of ash build up, like Ive never seen before. Needs cleaning every other day. Thank goodness its been cold in November for the most part, because I will run out of Tractor Supply pellets by Christmas.

I've been burning O'Malleys, gone through about 20 bags so far. Good amount of heat but they are pretty ashy and the carbon build up needs chipped off the burn pot weekly. For the price (free when we bought our stove) I cant complain. It'll be interesting to see the difference when I switch to the Lignetics to see the difference.

 

[GWguy]

Just got a ton of hardwood pellets from ACE Hardware delivered. Trae is the brandname. Anyone give these a try yet? They were out of Lignetics and Hammer.

http://forums.somd.com/threads/304255-Freeze-Warning?p=5589418&viewfull=1#post5589418