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I think it depends on what kind of smoker you have.
When I had my Electric Brinkman Gourmet I used chips and small chunks, now that I use an sNp I use large chunks that I cut to size myself.
Royal Oak. Thought it would depend on where the heat was coming from.
I found a place that seems cheap for pellets if you can measure smoke by the pound. Not sure about the shipping costs though. They got Alder, Apple, Cherry, Pecan.
I'll have to search the term Big Kahuna as I don't what know that is. I know that pellets burn fast as heck in the ash pan of my Stumps though and use chunks instead. I buy pellets from Chris at cookinpellets.com the best I've used in my opinion....I use them in my Traeger.
Chris has only had the mix since last spring due to supply problems. I've used his Hickory, Cherry, and the Mix. I really liked them all. The mix is a mellow blend in my opinion and I believe it is what most of his restaurant customers use. I have also used Candy Sues (http://www.bbqrsdelight.com/) but when I was lookiing they were more expensive. I can find these in Orschelins around here.
Traegers pellets are made with a high percentage of alder wood (60-80% if recall correctly). I very much prefer the pellets without the filler such cookin's and bbqrs.