The Best Pellets for Pellet Stoves

You can do as I did - Search online.

As for the bamboo myth, look here for pictures, btu details, ash residue and all.

Go forth and learn through search.

Regards, CJM

"There are two types of wood pellets: standard grade, which contain more ash, and premium grade, which burn a bit cleaner but are a bit more expensive. Some stoves can burn both grades and others are designed to burn pellets made of corn, wheat, and other materials. "Multifuel" inserts and stoves can burn pellets made from wood and wood alternatives."

I buy my pellets from here, New England Wood Pellets, 100% wood.

http://www.pelletheat.com/

I guess it comes down to what works best for you. I have a Harmon P61A, and heat my whole house with it. I have no desire to experiment with other pellets. I've had no problems, so, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Also, they're a US product, made in nearby NH.

Our company is in the business of providing raw materials & ingredients. One is English walnut shell media that we supply to cosmetic companies and a variety of other industries. We appreciate walnut shell media because it is ANNUALLY RENEWABLE, very consistent in composition year after year and very clean. We like to think of English walnut shell not as a waste product but as a resource that is out of place. There are many many good uses for walnut media from abrasives, polishing, anti-skid etc etc.

Regarding pellet fuel...English walnut shells burn hotter and longer than corn and most wood pellets available on the market today. Wood is a very generic term and certainly some wood products burn hotter and longer than other wood. I cannot comment on bamboo although I do enjoy bamboo flooring and other products but would not consider it a fuel.

Walnut pellets do not require the use of binding agents ensuring that it is all-natural. I am not sure what wood pellets makers use as a binding agent, but this would be worth investigating. If they are using a pine oleoresin there might be issues with creating cresote. A pine based binder could be rather aromatic. This is non-issue with walnut shell pellets.

Walnut pellets are 1% ash, 6-8% moisture with a bulk density of 40# per cu ft and a BTU rating of 8900-9200. They could be harder to light but this might be a trade off for a hotter fuel. Walnut may produce more ash than corn but again this could be a trade off.

Having said all of that my real interest is in using English walnut shell media as an ingredient in all natural products. If you have an interest in this area send me an email at jmcrae@pureandsimpleways.com or visit our website www.pureandsimpleways.com

I'm going to guess that this uprise in these exotic pellet fuel types beyond typical "wood" has to do with the high cost of saw dust. Fall 2008 1 ton of sawdust cost $100 per ton where years prior you'd get paid to haul it away. Since sawdust is a by product of the lumber industry and new construction slowing due to a poor economy, the demand for sawdust has exceeded supply.

Personally, I buy the cheapest wood pellets. I've not seen any bamboo or walnut shells near me. The BTU rating should be listed on the bag. Old pellets or ones stored improperly in damp conditions will draw in moisture which will significantly reduce the BTU's produced during combustion. In my opinion, high volume pellets have the best price and quality due to inventory turnover.

When burning these new exotic pellets, I'd be curious about the consistency of the ash. You might have to put up with more frequent cleaning of the burn pot, etc. On the other hand they might be better. It might be worth trying a few bags just to see.

If your pellets burner produces smoke, except just when igniting from cold, then you have a problem......

Pellets stoves when burning produce almost no visible water vapor, even in cold weather and once burning no smoke (which is really only very fine particles, very bad for the lungs!).

In Austria, they have found that it only needs one wood burning stove to be running, to make the air quality really bad for a whole village, which is why right now in Germany and Austria, laws are being made to require wood burning (and coal & coke) stove households, to fit electrostatic smoke scrubbers on the chimneys. Probably within the next 2 years.....Pellet burners are completely exempt. Running and maintenance costs will usually be between €200-€300 per year, more than I pay for my pellets for the whole year!!! (€150-€180)

The scrubber is quite large (utilitarian & unattractive) and has quite a high wind resistance, which will force many households either to stop burning wood and coal, or have the chimney rebuilt, plus the costs of the scrubber, estimated to be around €2,500 the last time I looked, plus the cost of running mains power to the same spot! Estimates vary but a normal installation will probably run to €5,000. When one sees that price and the fact that small pellet burners start at around €1,200, it may spell the end for many companies selling just wood burning stoves!!!

There are already emmission laws for oil and gas heating systems here as there are in most developed countries.

Hi Gang,

I work for the manufacturer of the "Walnut" pellets and feel that I should clear up some misconceptions about the product.

Please understand that this is not an attempt to advertise but I do feel it's necessary to mention the brand name and company name, once, in case there are additional questions or concerns.

Eco-Burn pellet fuel is NOT made from walnut shell. The primary ingredient is a by-product from our company's, (Eco-Shell, Inc.), walnut shell grinding process. This by-product contains a substantial amount of crude fat and fiber and is blended with other orchard by-products. Our fuel does produce more ash. It burns hotter and longer than wood. This by-product also acts as an all-natural binding agent. The specs provided in the comments from our friends at Pure & Simple Ways are correct. (Please don't feel bad Pure & Simple, it's a common misconception that the pellets are made from shells.)

Improvements were made for the 2008-2009 season. We added a small amount of wood to the pellets to aid with start up and "clinkers" which occurred in some models of pellet stoves. The "Improved" product has been working better in a greater range of pellet stoves. But not all pellet stoves. We have had the best results in stoves designed for multi-fuels and stoves that have independent controls for air flow & feed. Since our product burns longer, burn quality can be improved by turning the feed down and air flow up.

Our first season, 2007-2008 was a challenge and even now opinions vary. I have spoke with customers with identical stoves. One loves the fuel the other hates it, but for the most part we have had a good season. Although we tested extensively there is no true test of consumer acceptance, especially with something as unique as this fuel.

We did not launch the product with the intent to take over the wood pellet fuel industry, but rather to offer a cost effective, consistently available alternative.

Regarding price. On the West Coast, we recommend that dealers offer our pellet fuel at a price substantially lower than wood pellets.

mac5777 I do not understand why your dealer was selling them at a higher price than wood.

All in all our bio-fuel is finding it's place in the market. Were pretty proud to be one of the first to commercially offer a pellet fuel that's annually renewable. I'm confident that this industry trend will continue and that we are going to see a wide variety of pellet fuels made from materials, other than wood in the future.

The bamboo pellets I have come across have all been coming from outside the U.S.

We welcome questions and are willing to offer assistance to other manufacturers working on developing alternative pellet fuels. Please feel free to contact us for more information. My e-mail address is marty@ecoshell.com.

I hope this was helpful! Happy 2009 everyone!

No one has apparently commented on your statement that you understood bamboo to be silica based. Bamboo is a living, growing plant, and while it might contain PPM of silica in the minerals it absorps from the ground, there is no practical amount of silica present. One way to check this would be to make a 5 per cent solution of the ash in water. Any silica present would not dissolve, and would be present as a mineral precipitate, which could be isolated on filter paper.

Hi Cardio07, you make good points about the silica. I have been told that rice hulls have a class A fire rating because of the silica content and bamboo contains the same type of silica. There seems to be conflicting thought. Testing seems to be the answer. I will return to the supplier and get more info on cost etc. They were out of the walnut pellets at the time, so I was not able to get spec info on the pellets. Thanks for all of the information, mac5777

Ironic rice hulls are used for fuel in steam engines