What Is The Difference Between Good And Bad Pellets?
Fuel Pellets are becoming much more popular, and so demand for fuel pellets is constantly increasing and this will continue into the future as the need for renewable energy increases. With this increase in demand and future potential, more and more organizations are setting up pellet plants. Also there is a lot of pellet importing going on, where pellets are being made in South America and Asia and then exported to Europe and the US. However to produce the best pellets, best practice is needed and not all pellets are the same. So it is important to look out for good and bad pellets.
What are quality and poor quality pellets, what are the differences between them, how can you tell the differences and why does it matter. Well put simply a quality pellet should be about one inch long, have a smooth surface shine, and when placed under horizontal pressure should snap neatly with a nice crispy snap sound, it also should produce very little fines under breaking. Ideally a good pellet should have all of those features, however some don’t shine, or maybe a bit longer or shorter. The main feature all good pellets should have is they separate clean under breaking with very few particles. This means they were made with sufficient pressure in the pellet mill and will perform better under burning. The particles or dust from the pellets is known as fines, these fines are either from the pellet production process or are from the pellets them selves from deterioration and breaking. A certain amount of fines is to be expected, the aim should be to keep them to a minimum as lots of fines can cause issues with your pellet stove or boiler. Poor quality pellets during transportation will cause lots of fines. During transportation poor quality pellets will break easily producing fines and crumbling into small particles.
The burning characteristics of the pellets is related to the material the pellets are made from, but also the quality of the pellets. If the pellet is of poor quality, when it starts to burn it will disintegrate and this will not give an efficent burn as a quality pellet should. This reduction in efficient burning means you will get less heat from the pellets, and also it will create more ash and give you more work cleaning you stove or boiler. Excessive fines during combustion can also create a clinker, this is where the ash melts to form a solid mass, clinkers in some stoves can cause serious issues. As you can see not all pellets are equal, it is important to note these facts when sourcing your pellets, so you get the best value for money, more heat and less maintenance work.
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