Fuelwood - Firewood
Wood pellets - wood pellet
Here you will learn what to look out for when buying wood pellets and how to determine wood pellet quality.
On the way to becoming a wood stove owner many people consider alternatives to a classical wood stove. One being the wood pellet stove. What to consider before buying a wood pellet stove can be found in the following article: wood pellet stove
However, the article below explains the character- istics of wood pellets as a fuel. Wood pellets are made of shredded wood or saw dust, compressed under high pressure to cylindrical pellets. Wood pellets are available in various thickness (6-10mm) and length. This is relevant if you are considering an automatic feed charge when the pellets should be as short as the minimal diameter of the feeder tube. This is to avoid pellets getting jammed and creating a back log
Wood pellets are a standardised fuel which means that there are different quality criteria for wood pellets according to DIN 51731 (or DIN Plus) in Germany, which have to be met. During the assessment, various characteristics and values are measured, for example heating values, ash content, and residual water content. It is worth mentioning that the norm is rather broad, leaving producers a lot of leeway. The norm does not mention high or low abrasion resistance. However, manufacturers of wood pellet stoves outline that wood pellets should not exceed an abrasion resistance of 2.5% to allow for a trouble free operation of the heating system. High quality wood pellets have an abrasion resistance of a maximum of 1%. It is worth mentioning that when blowing in the wood pellets into the storage, the emergence of dust is normal and is no quality indicator. Furthermore, the norm allows for 12% of residual water content, however, reputable wood pellet dealers only offer pellets with a residual water content of fewer than 10%.
You need to be aware that you might invalidate the wood pellet stove manufac- turer’s warranty, when burning wood pellets which do not meet the outlined requirements. A first quality indicator is the look of the pellets. High quality pellets have a smooth surface and do not bare any lengthwise cracks. Price is another relevant quality criteria. If the offered price is well below the average selling price you should be on your guard. Despite the common perception, it is not a quality criteria if pellets sink in water. Poor quality pellets sink as well. If you are uncertain of the wood pellet quality, most wood pellet stove manufactures offer to test whether they meet the requirements of your particular stove.
Good luck when buying wood pellets!
Source: kaminholz-wissen.de
