# Bad Pellets.... ???



## SonnyE

How do those of you who use pellets decide if your fuel is decent?
And if it is made with "fillers".

Expecting 100% ______ to be 100% ______ seems to me like Government Intelligence and Clear and Transparent Administrations.

I'm beginning to wonder if I have a bag of creosote... :confused::mad:
But maybe I have more to learn.


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## daveomak

Pellets should not be made with fillers..   The natural lignin in the wood glues the dust into a pellet...   
Unless you mean fillers like....  Hickory with 70% oak and call it hickory...  Todd's pellets do not use fillers...    He has blends of woods and states so on the pack..


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## troutman

One thing that is misleading which I wish they would change is the use of the term "flavoring".  At first I thought they were literally spraying something on the pellets to enhance the flavor.  I called Lumberjack to inquire about this and they claim it means that they use a base wood, like oak or alder whatever is plentiful for them, then "flavor" the pellet with cherry or apple or whatever other wood gives it a different profile.  They should say wood "blend" or some other such term.  If it's the straight wood dust they just call it 100%.  I try to only buy 100%.  If I want to blend I'll do it myself thanks.


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## mneeley490

I believe Traeger does that, too. On a bag of cherry, for instance, they put "100% Hardwood", instead of the % of blend. It IS deceptive, imo.


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## SonnyE

daveomak said:


> Pellets should not be made with fillers..   The natural lignin in the wood glues the dust into a pellet...
> Unless you mean fillers like....  Hickory with 70% oak and call it hickory...  Todd's pellets do not use fillers...    He has blends of woods and states so on the pack..



I agree Dave. I shouldn't have thrown away the bag these Hickory Pellets came in. But coming from Walmart, and a low price has me wondering. I'm pretty sure it said 100% Hickory.
But shoe leather used in dog food can be called 100% beef, because it is a Beef byproduct. So I wonder... :rolleyes:
Did your smoker color up with smoke fairly quickly? Mine has a nice golden hue that seems even. It's just that it seems to be building faster than I would have thought it would.
Meanwhile, there is some danged hot fuel in my smoker being kiln dried. Thanks Again for that tip!



troutman said:


> One thing that is misleading which I wish they would change is the use of the term "flavoring".  At first I thought they were literally spraying something on the pellets to enhance the flavor.  I called Lumberjack to inquire about this and they claim it means that they use a base wood, like oak or alder whatever is plentiful for them, then "flavor" the pellet with cherry or apple or whatever other wood gives it a different profile.  They should say wood "blend" or some other such term.  If it's the straight wood dust they just call it 100%.  I try to only buy 100%.  If I want to blend I'll do it myself thanks.



I agree troutman. Probably the only way I could really know is to make my own fuel. Can't make pellets, but I can make chips with my jointer or planer. And have a 4x4x36" chunk of White Oak dunnage to experiment with.
I bought a $5 bag of Cowboy Brand Apple Smoking Chips. But there are some (to me) unusable chunks in the bag. So I set them aside for a different method. The contents _looks_ like it is all the same, and I have no reason to wonder.
But Pellets are like dog food, hard to say what is in it.


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## troutman

Not trying to push any one brand of pellet, that argument could go on for days, but I buy about 500# of pellets from Lumberjack in bulk about every 6 months or so.  I only buy oak, hickory and mesquite.  Why, because those burn the hottest BTU wise, and that's what I'm looking for is heat.  My pellet cooker doesn't produce a lot of smoke at higher heat settings so buying "blends" or "flavors" or exotic fruit woods in pellet form don't really matter since I'm generally not "smoking" per se on a pellet pooper.  My conventional smokers are another matter.

I believe that Lumberjack provides me with 100% oak or hickory or mesquite in pellet form.  Some other brands may not.  That's my two cents worth on the matter.  Others may have varying opinions.


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## daveomak

Did your smoker color up with smoke fairly quickly? Mine has a nice golden hue that seems even. It's just that it seems to be building faster than I would have thought it would.

Yep...   It goes from "golden" to black  pretty quick...


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## SonnyE

troutman said:


> Not trying to push any one brand of pellet, that argument could go on for days, but I buy about 500# of pellets from Lumberjack in bulk about every 6 months or so.  I only buy oak, hickory and mesquite.  Why, because those burn the hottest BTU wise, and that's what I'm looking for is heat.  My pellet cooker doesn't produce a lot of smoke at higher heat settings so buying "blends" or "flavors" or exotic fruit woods in pellet form don't really matter since I'm generally not "smoking" per se on a pellet pooper.  My conventional smokers are another matter.
> 
> I believe that Lumberjack provides me with 100% oak or hickory or mesquite in pellet form.  Some other brands may not.  That's my two cents worth on the matter.  Others may have varying opinions.



Oh, no push taken. What and where wasn't my wondering. More as to content of a little turd pellet.
Different users want different things out of the fuel.
Just looking for a good middle of the road here. Brand names are just a reference to me.
But pellets aren't FDA regulated, as far as I know... :confused::D
I have been a die hard hickory fan most of my days. But recently tried Alder for my Salmon smokes and like that. Seems milder.
I was always a chip bag guy. Never had to wonder. But now, who knows what goes? And the cost of Bradley Smoke pucks has made me want to change.
So I suppose you could say I'm evolving.
Even bought my first ever manufactured smoker... :eek:
(Which I've already highly modified)


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## tallbm

There are a few companies that do 100% of the wood on the label.

Lumberjack is one such company and they will more clearly call out any of their blends then other companies.
I don't mind a blend IF that is what I am intending to buy.  Like Pit Boss Competition Blend which is like 50-60% Maple, then the rest is equal parts Hickory and Cherry.  I think its a good little blend though Lumberjack does it's MHC blend at 33% of each pellet (Maple, Hickory, Cherry) so you get a little more Hickory which I think is better for that combo.

It all just depends.  
My approach is to buy Lumberjack 100% pellets and then make my own blends of those at my own desired percentages.

As for a pellet smoker I would buy the cheapest pellet for fuel that burns well and then I would use an A-Maze-N Pellet Tube for my smoke flavor and in the tube I would burn 100% lumberjack or my own blend combos.

When burning pellets for fuel/heat you don't get much smoke.  It is just the way nature works.  So pellets for fuel and pellets for smoke would be the way I would separate things... if I owned a pellet smoker :)


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## SonnyE

daveomak said:


> Did your smoker color up with smoke fairly quickly? Mine has a nice golden hue that seems even. It's just that it seems to be building faster than I would have thought it would.
> 
> Yep...   It goes from "golden" to black  pretty quick...



Yes, it has a nice darkening golden hue and not really too concerned about it. I expect it to layer up.
Just don't want to gunk it out with my tinkering. Not too fast anyway. No goo running out the door yet.
So far, I'm pleased with how it is going. But using pelleted wood leaves me reservations about the content of the fuel.
I never use to think about all this stuff.

I'd find a box - put a hot plate in da box - put wood chips in a can - heat da can till smoke leaks out - when da smoke stops, add more chips. Repeat the next time around.
Better than fish hangin in a tree over a small fire, but not much more concern. LOL!

Working on being a smarter dummy... ;):)


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## zwiller

Got the itch to try some Traeger pellets (texas beef) since my local Ace carries them and went on a search to authenticate. I got a real strong sense they are "legit".  Their site even says the only oil is used to lube the die.  Sounds honest to me.  I suspect that some mfrs won't say 100% "x" wood since supplier cannot guarantee it, even though it is 99% or better...  All this being said, I get a real sense of peace ordering from Todd and not risking it.  Totally agree packaging should be clear.  For me, unless stated I assume it is junk, especially if cheap.


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## radio

Since getting my pellet grill, I have been on a quest to learn as much as I can about pellets for it.  I have been talking with the owner of a pellet mill not far from me here in the Ozarks and was told there are actually no standards for pellet grill fuel. I also found out that tree bark is what makes the bulk of the ash produced by pellets.  Here in the Ozarks we are blessed with mostly hardwoods and little to no pine. The majority of the logs get ran through a de barking process before getting cut into lumber and the slabs get ran through a chipper.  The bark goes into burners and the remaing "clean" wood goes to various places like pellet mills, pressed wood factories and such that re purpose the sawdust and chips.  
I have a pellet stove fireplace insert and have bought several different brands of pellets over the last 10 winters.  I have settled on only one brand of premium pellets and will buy nothing else even though they cost about $40 more per ton than the others I have tried.  I can go through 8-10 bags of these before having to clean the ash pan where the cheaper pellets require it to be cleaned every 3-4 bags, plus the cheaper ones form clinkers in the burn pot


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## zwiller

radio said:


> plus the cheaper ones form clinkers in the burn pot



aha AHA!  It's a clinkerrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!


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## SonnyE

zwiller said:


> aha AHA!  It's a clinkerrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!



Did you not never know what a clinker was? 

Don't look in the Urban Dictionary, because they have it all wrong.
They have a Clinker and a Klingon confused. :confused:


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## zwiller

SonnyE said:


> Did you not never know what a clinker was?
> 
> Don't look in the Urban Dictionary, because they have it all wrong.
> They have a Clinker and a Klingon confused. :confused:



I didn't know for a long time but Dad set me straight when he told me his nightly chore as a kid was to shovel coal into the furnace.  I still have a hard time fathoming that.  In a similar vein of taking things for granted, he also explained the excitement and notoriety he had since he had relatives in Florida that would visit and bring oranges at Christmas.  All this being said, being from Sandusky, OH, clinker is undoubtedly more commonly used as a nickname for boats being home to Lyman Boats with company motto being "Clinker Built".  

By the way the Texas Beef pellets rocked!  Seriously doubt these were "filler".


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## SonnyE

Well, I'm minus one 4"x 4" of oak today. And up a pail of Genuine Oak Fine chips.
I pulled out my Jointer and took the oak I had and ground it down into fine chips.
I cleaned everything out to be sure I was getting Oak and not a mixture.
I should be set for a while now.








I'm doing a test burn of two handfulls to see how it burns down.
So Far, so good.
Time to go pallet hunting... ;)


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## eat more beef

I would have to say that pit boss pellets work best for me, the flavor and price are good.  Was not happy with my pit boss smoker, but the pellets redeem them.


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## SonnyE

eat more beef said:


> I would have to say that pit boss pellets work best for me, the flavor and price are good.  Was not happy with my pit boss smoker, but the pellets redeem them.



I was looking at those on Walmart.com
My store can order in the 40# bags, @ $29.99, 3 flavors. Competition blend, Apple, Hickory.
Or... they have in the store 20# bags of Hickory, for $9.88.

Now why would I order a 40 pounder for $29.99...
When I could drive over and pick up 2 - 20 pounders for $19.76? o_O

Told you California is Looney Tunes. :eek::rolleyes:


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## locolagarto

Not sure if this is on subject or not? I have had my pellet grill for a month.  I bought a 40# bag of pitboss comp blend for $15 at lowes.  The price seamed to be quite a bargain.  being a newbie, I dumped half the bag straight into the hopper and fired it up. made some steaks and shut it down.  next day I went to fire it up for chicken and the hopper was packed with sawdust.   turned out at least 1/3 of that bad was dust, not pellets.  I had to clean out the hopper and cycle all the dust out. the soft the pellets and load it back up.

did I buy a bag that had been tossed around to much or is it fair to say sawdust in the pellets is common? Does anyone else sift the dust out?


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## SonnyE

locolagarto said:


> Not sure if this is on subject or not? I have had my pellet grill for a month.  I bought a 40# bag of pitboss comp blend for $15 at lowes.  The price seamed to be quite a bargain.  being a newbie, I dumped half the bag straight into the hopper and fired it up. made some steaks and shut it down.  next day I went to fire it up for chicken and the hopper was packed with sawdust.   turned out at least 1/3 of that bad was dust, not pellets.  I had to clean out the hopper and cycle all the dust out. the soft the pellets and load it back up.
> 
> did I buy a bag that had been tossed around to much or is it fair to say sawdust in the pellets is common? Does anyone else sift the dust out?



I admit I'm pretty new to this pellet stuff, but haven't had your kind of experience. I did buy a 40# from Lowe's, and I put it into a large Pool Chlorine bucket with a sealing lid. (Cleaned of course)
But it gave me a good look at the entire bag, and there was minimal dust.
Have you tried taking it back as a defective product? Sounds like a bad run, or maybe humidity caused it to come apart.
But I would not be happy if my fuel did that.

As it stands, with my AMNPS, and my slow use, I still estimate I still have about 146 years of pellets in stock. :confused:o_O


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## TomKnollRFV

Pitboss is pretty much the bargain basement of Pellets, I got a 40 pound bag from Walmart, they produce -alot- of ash and I'm not overly sure on the flavour they impart. It's not a bad flavour, more like a lack there of. I might end up using them in the pellet stove come winter and just getting a bag of GMG or some thing.

I routinely blend the Pitboss Competition blend I got with other pellets. In a 50/50 blend. I don't even put my pellets in any thing fancy..the big bad is behind my bedroom door for lack of better storage options, the top rolled tight and a big clamp on it. 

Like SonnyE though; I am using mine in an AMNPS.


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## locolagarto

Thank you for the replies.

Not really knowing what to expect, I wasn't prepared to return it.  But know that I know it should not be half sawdust I will check the next bag.  I ordered a charcoal bucket with a lid to keep my fuel in.  I suppose as my experience grows I may look at the AMNPS tube for Flavor smoke and maybe continue with the PitBoss as a inexpensive fuel.


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## TomKnollRFV

locolagarto said:


> Thank you for the replies.
> 
> Not really knowing what to expect, I wasn't prepared to return it.  But know that I know it should not be half sawdust I will check the next bag.  I ordered a charcoal bucket with a lid to keep my fuel in.  I suppose as my experience grows I may look at the AMNPS tube for Flavor smoke and maybe continue with the PitBoss as a inexpensive fuel.


I just used pitboss Competition blend in my AMNPS for an overnighter..about half the tray, so I'm guessing half 6 hours. I didn't really bother to check it in the morning to see if it burned the whole way or not..but one thing I can advise is to never mix mesquite in. I swear mesquite burns quicker and hotter and lead to me having a 300f smoker..or it was just a one time thing.


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## locolagarto

I just opened my second #40 bag of PB Comp pellets from LOWE'S (different store) and they look pretty good.  So now that I know I will take them back if I get a dude bag


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## tallbm

TomKnollRFV said:


> I just used pitboss Competition blend in my AMNPS for an overnighter..about half the tray, so I'm guessing half 6 hours. I didn't really bother to check it in the morning to see if it burned the whole way or not..but one thing I can advise is to never mix mesquite in. I swear mesquite burns quicker and hotter and lead to me having a 300f smoker..or it was just a one time thing.



Mesquite pellets do burn hotter.  I use 100% Mesquite pellets all the time and I blend them in with some other stuff but usually never go below 80% Mesquite.  
Do NOT over microwave the Mesquite pellets.  Two sessions of 1 min 15 sec is plenty for 100% Mesquite pellets.  If you dry them out too much or a wind really kicks up on you they may want to flame up.  It's best not to baby them too much.  

I LOVE 100% Mesquite on beef, it can't be beat!  You should taste my brisket, beef ribs, or smoked meatloaves with Mesquite smoke :)





locolagarto said:


> I just opened my second #40 bag of PB Comp pellets from LOWE'S (different store) and they look pretty good.  So now that I know I will take them back if I get a dude bag



The PB Comp blend is good but the flavor is mild.  I burn 2 rows at the same time in my AMNPS tray and get much better flavor from it.  I often blend it with 100% Hickory to make it a blend of 65% Hickory and then everything else.  Too much hickory makes everything taste like bacon or ham to me.

The PB Comp is my go-to pellet for blending and/or if I'm not sure what smoke to add as I'm experimenting.  Just know how it works and you can use it to suite your needs as best possible.  Oh also, the AMNPS tray will burn pellet dust so you shouldn't have too much waste if you get some dust in a bag, just load it and burn! :)


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## SonnyE

locolagarto said:


> Thank you for the replies.
> 
> Not really knowing what to expect, I wasn't prepared to return it.  But know that I know it should not be half sawdust I will check the next bag.  I ordered a charcoal bucket with a lid to keep my fuel in.  I suppose as my experience grows I may look at the AMNPS tube for Flavor smoke and maybe continue with the PitBoss as a inexpensive fuel.



One of the selling points for me about the AMNPS, which is a tray, is it works for pellets and for dust.
But for me, I mix pellets and dust to get a more reliable burn.
So that might be a viable alternative to try.


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