"I will always remember that you are a company that stands by its products."
- Tony, Great Meadows NJ
FAQs
What is the best pellet?
There are a lot of great pellets available. All PelletSales.com pellets are tested by third party test labs to make sure you are getting a quality fuel no matter which one you select.
No really, what is the best pellet?
The higher the BTUs, the hotter the burn. The lower the ash content, the less maintenance you will need to do. Those are general rules of thumb, however length of fuel, density, and moisture content also play a part in good combustion. Read the article on this page for more information.
Why is my glass turning black and firepot overfilling?
Poor combustion. That's the simple answer. You are not getting enough air into your firepot for the amount of fuel you are burning. It could be feed rate settings, a damper control, or your firepot, heat exchanger, or vent may need cleaning. Consult your heating system owner's manual for more information.
Is it possible that my pellets are bad?
Sure, but not likely. It is however, very possible that your pellets are different than the last brand you used, or if they are the same brand, they could have changed from batch to batch. You may have to adjust your feed rate setting or damper control. Consult your pellet system owner's manual for adjustment instructions.
I think my pellets are wet. How can I tell?
If the pellets won’t light at all, the pellets crumble or feel moist, the bag is tight or the pellets don’t move around in the bag, and the bag weighs more than 40lbs, than it’s likely those pellets are water damaged and should not be put into the pellet appliance.
High quality pellets come in all colors and sizes!
There are more to pellets than just softwood or hardwood. Matching pellets to appliance is an important step in order to receive the highest heat output, cleanest combustion, and highest efficiency. Here are some things to consider when choosing your fuel.
Wood Pellet Color
When choosing a fuel, you may notice that there are many different colors of fuel. Usually the lighter fuels are softwood while the darker pellets are hardwood. The fuel in the center of this photo is made from lodge pole pine that died from pine beetle infestation. The enzymes they secrete into the wood makes it blue, so the pellets turn out darker. Some softwood whole-tree pellets are also darker because of the bark and needles mixed with the wood. In other words, it's tough to pick a "best" pellet based on color.
Wood Pellet Length
From one brand to another, or even from one season to another of the same brand, it's very likely that the pellets you buy could be shorter or longer in length on average. This is very normal. There are several variables that determine the length of a pellet during manufacturing and any one of them could be different from brand to brand or season to season. How does this affect burn? Longer pellets will feed less fuel into the firepot with every rotation of the augur than shorter pellets. If everything else in the appliance stays the same, and the only difference in the fuel is the pellet length, the shorter pellets will provide more fuel to the firepot than the longer pellets. You will need to reduce the feed rate or increase air flow through the firepot to maintain the correct fuel to air ratio. If you don't, you could have incomplete combustion, leading to more and darker ash, blackened glass, a lazy fire, and lower combustion and heat transfer efficiency.
Wood Pellet Density
Pellet manufacturers compress the wood fiber to a consistent density of at least 40lbs per cubic foot. That means that if you fill a cubic foot container with the pellets (just pour them in), it should weigh at least 40lbs. But it's difficult to compress to that exact density consistently, so most pellet mills compress to 41lbs or 42lbs. It's not uncommon that the pellet could be as dense as 44lbs or more. If one bag of wood pellets is denser than another, it will deliver more fuel to the firepot with each rotation of the augur than the less dense pellet. If you have two brands of pellets, you can stack eight bags of one brand on top of each other next two eight bags of the other brand. The taller stack is the less dense pellet. Being less-dense or more-dense isn't bad, but it does change the fuel-to-air ration in the appliance. If you switch from a less-dense pellet to a more-dense pellet, you will need to reduce your feed rate or increase airflow through the firepot to maintain the correct fuel to air ratio.
