Wood burning is a complicated science. Finding the right pellet fire pit or pellet stove is hard enough. But even if you end up with the perfect heater for your living situation, the next thing to consider is the type of wood pellets you should use in your appliance.
There are so many questions to address: should you use softwood or hardwood pellets? Should you buy a 20-pound or 40-pound bag, or should you buy a pallet’s worth? What’s the difference between cooking pellets and heating pellets, anyway?
At HY-C, we manufacture wood heating pellets under our Flame Genie brand, so we know the ins and outs of choosing the right pellet fuel. And that’s exactly what we want to help you with here.
This guide will outline five of the top pellet fuels on the market today. We’ll compare and contrast each fuel by price, weight, wood type, and BTU output. By the time you’re finished here, you’ll have all the info you need to pick the right pellet fuel for your heating appliance.
Wood Pellets for Cooking vs. Wood Pellets for Heating
Before diving into the list, let’s make a quick distinction. There are two kinds of wood pellets: those used for cooking, and those used for heating.
Cooking wood pellets are used in pellet grills, pellet smokers, wood pellet pizza ovens, and other cooking-specific appliances. These pellets can contain several flavors like apple, hickory, maple, and more to add some seasoning to the food they’re used to cook.
Heating pellets, on the other hand, are like firewood: their only purpose is to be used for heating. They’re used in pellet stoves, pellet fire pits, and pellet furnaces to warm you up when it’s cold out. This guide will specifically cover heating pellets (in no particular order).
5 Best Heating Pellet Fuels
Lignetics Golden Fire Heating Pellets
- Price: $7.49 – $8.99
- Wood Type: 100% softwood (douglas fir)
- BTUs: 8,700
- Bag Weight: 40 pounds
Lignetics is the largest wood pellet manufacturer in the United States. They know pellets well — in fact, they manufacture heating pellets, cooking pellets, and wood pellets used for animal bedding. It’s no surprise that they’re featured on this list, as their Golden Fire Heating Pellets are well-regarded by wood burning enthusiasts.
These pellets are made of 100% softwood, meaning they tend to cost a bit less than their hardwood counterparts. They also light more easily than hardwood. Golden Fire pellets are made of Douglas fir wood, a very common tree in Lignetic’s native Colorado.
Greene Team Platinum Hardwood Pellets
- Price: $8.28 – $10.60
- Wood Type: 100% hardwood
- BTUs: 8,100
- Bag Weight: 40 pounds
Greene Team is another U.S. wood pellet manufacturer. Located in Southwestern Pennsylvania, their offering includes a few different wood pellet varieties. But it’s their Platinum Hardwood Pellets that make our list.
These 100% hardwood pellets burn for an extended period, offering plenty of heat. They contain less than 8% moisture content, meaning they’ll put off little to no smoke. They’re relatively ash-free, too — Greene Team mentions that the Platinum Hardwood Pellet’s inorganic ash contents are 1% or less.
Flame Genie Premium Hardwood Pellets
- Price: $8.99 – $9.99
- Wood Type: 90% hardwood (oak) 10% softwood (Southern pine)
- BTUs: 8,000
- Bag Weight: 20 pounds
Next on the list are our very own Flame Genie Premium Hardwood Pellets. They are designed and intended to be used on our Flame Genie smokeless fire pits, but they’ll work well in pellet stoves and other pellet fire pits, too. They’re sold in 20-pound bags, and they’re available in palleted quantities of 15 bags, 50 bags, and 100 bags.
The Premium Hardwood Pellets are made of a unique blend of 90% hardwood and 10% softwood. The oak / pine mix and low moisture content result in pellets that are easy to light and provide a long, warm burn with minimal ash left behind. They’re also made in the USA.
Solo Stove Premium Wood Fuel Pellets
- Price: $15.99
- Wood Type: 100% hardwood
- BTUs: 8,100 – 8,300
- Bag Weight: 20 pounds
Solo Stove is the world’s premier smokeless fire pit manufacturer. Smokeless fire pits work best when they use low-moisture pellet fuel, so it’s no surprise that Solo Stove produces their own pellets for use in their fire pits.
The Premium Wood Fuel Pellets are made in the USA from locally-sourced wood. They claim a very respectable 8,100 to 8,300 BTUs, resulting in plenty of heat when burned in a smokeless fire pit. They’re made from hardwood, which means they’ll burn longer than softwood pellets like the Lignetics Golden Fire. They’re a little pricey at $15.99 for a 20-pound bag, but they’re also very well-reviewed.
Lignetics Green Supreme Wood Pellets
- Price: $7.98 – $9.99
- Wood Type: 90% hardwood / 10% softwood
- BTUs: 8,800
- Bag Weight: 40 pounds
We started with some Lignetics pellets, and we’ll end with some, too. The Green Supreme Heating Pellets claim the highest heating output of any wood heating pellets on this list with 8,800 BTUs. Like Solo Stove’s pellets, they’re made in the USA out of materials sourced from local sawmills.
Like the Flame Genie Premium Pellets, they’re made from a 90% hardwood / 10% softwood blend to capitalize on the best properties of both kinds of woods. For a 40-pound bag of wood pellets for under $10, you can’t go wrong.
Which Wood Heating Pellets Should You Get?
When shopping around for the best wood pellets to burn in your stove or fire pit, the best thing you can do is begin to narrow down your options. That’s what we’ve tried to do here — weed out the endless options to provide a list of comprehensive choices.
But which one should you buy?
Thankfully, wood heating pellets are relatively inexpensive, especially in comparison to the heating appliances in which they burn. Now that you understand some of the best options available to you, our advice is to try out a few and see how you like them.
Maybe you’ll prefer 100% hardwood pellets like those from Greene Team and Solo Stove. Or, maybe you’ll like a hardwood / softwood blend like the Flame Genie or Green Supreme pellets. Try out a few different varieties, test out their heating capabilities and ash output in your wood heater, and then stick with the one you like best.
Are you looking for a pellet fire pit to burn your pellets in? Our Flame Genie vs. Solo Stove comparison takes a look at two of the most popular smokeless fire pit brands on the market, pitting them head to head to help you find which one is best for you.
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