Pellet Fuel
A good pellet is very important to the efficiency, savings, maintenance, and longevity that your pellet stove should provide. Pellets are made of compressed sawdust that is dried out and bound into these long rods that are then cut into little rods that can range anywhere from a quarter of an inch to an inch and a half. Softwood pellets provide the highest caloric value, meaning they will produce the most heat. A pellet stove can burn softwood efficiently, unlike a traditional wood stove, because it operates in a vacuum-sealed control environment. With that being said, in the Northeast, we have been brought up with burning hardwood, and that is what we have an abundance of. So, you will not see as many softwood pellets here as you will out west. When you are choosing a pellet, you want to make sure that there is a testing chart on that bag, there are many manufacturers that will not test their pellets, and there is no way to determine if you are buying a good product or not. It is like buying gasoline. There are different grades. Your car may run on regular, but over time, if you use premium, your car will run longer without service. If you are burning pellets of lower quality, you will have more ash buildup, which leads to more frequent maintenance, auger jams, and less heat output these problems usually lead to service calls. So, in the long run, it might be wiser to spend a little more upfront for a quality pellet. When looking for a pelle, you want something that is low in ash and high in BTUs.