When it comes to the best wood pellets for heating your house, the Pacific Northwest has us New Englander’s beat!\u00a0 Douglas Fir wood pellets (softwood pellets) are sourced from the opposite side of our country. British Columbia and Washington state are 2 of the areas these trees grow, and when taken down, the best wood pellets are then produced.\u00a0 \u00a0This is also the reason for us New Englander’s having to pay WAY more for these wood pellets.\u00a0 Freight alone makes up about 1\/2 of the cost and in fact, your local dealers really don’t make a lot of money on pellets.\u00a0 Even these pellets that are shipped clear across the entire country, your local dealer is lucky to make $40-$50 \/ ton on these or any pellet they sell.\u00a0 I got my Doug Fir pellets from woodpellets.com and you can read about them here<\/a> or on their website here<\/a>.<\/p>\n One factor in a great Douglas Fir wood pellet that is not mentioned often is the age of the trees that were sourced when making your pellets.\u00a0 The old-growth Doug Fir trees are massive!\u00a0 These trees are like giant redwoods and I have seen some up close.\u00a0 Some with a girth the size of my living room!\u00a0 These older trees have fewer minerals in them compared to younger trees.\u00a0 Ever hear of “clinkers”?\u00a0 Yup,, you got it.\u00a0 The old growth Doug Fir trees (and this goes for all sourced trees for pellets) have fewer minerals which also produce much less ash which have the result of less ash, less cleaning your stove, and fewer clinkers mucking up your burn pot, and this all pans out to less maintenance.\u00a0 When I say less ash, I really mean it.\u00a0 I burned a brand of Doug Fir pellets a few years back called Pacific Pellets (I think) and after 6 bags of these bad boys, there was only about a 1\/4 cup of the finest “talcum power” like ash at the bottom of my stove.\u00a0 I burned a whole 2 tons of these pellets before I even thought of emptying my ash bin.\u00a0 Are all Douglas Fir pellets this low on ash? No.\u00a0 I have burned some that my stove needed emptying after 1 ton.\u00a0 But again, that beats a cleaning after 25 bags or so.<\/p>\n Doug fir pellets have a much higher BTU.\u00a0 This means that when you pair a quality pellet stove, such as a Harman which is able to adjust its feed rate based on room temperature, then 40lbs of Doug Fir wood pellets go a lot\u00a0further and last longer than a bag of oak pellets.\u00a0 I know what you old-school New Englanders are thinking.\u00a0 “But Rob, those are softwood and I love my hardwood”.\u00a0 Maybe so when it comes to a cordwood-burning stove.\u00a0 We are old school over here and it takes a lot\u00a0to talk a former cordwood burner into burning softwood pellets.\u00a0 But that is fine, burn what you want.\u00a0 The point of this little pellet post is to tell you that you don’t know what you are missing.<\/p>\n Here is a checklist and how one should rationalize spending $100-$150 more \/ ton on Douglas Fir wood pellets.<\/p>\n Happy burning everyone!<\/p>\n\n\t\t\tOld-growth Douglas Fir trees & quality<\/h3>\n
Higher BTU pellets last longer<\/h3>\n
Douglas Fir wood pellets Conclusion<\/h3>\n
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