Making the “best” pellets requires several important steps:
- Use only the best raw materials: All of our pellets contain 100% natural Douglas fir. Only Douglas fir offers the unique combination of the highest heat value and the lowest ash content. No other wood species can match Douglas fir for heat output and low ash.
- Produce low moisture pellets: The raw materials (sawdust and shavings) used to make wood pellets, generally contain 40%-55% water. In order to make high quality pellets that produce the most heat, most of the water needs to be removed. Industry standards require that “Premium” pellets be less than 8% moisture. After 20 years of experience, we have learned that pellets with 4%-5% moisture provide the ideal mix of high heat and burning consistency.
- Avoid shortcuts: It can be tempting for some pellet companies to save money by using lower quality raw materials such as stumps, used wooden pellets, water wood, urban waste wood, or lower value wood species. These “shortcuts” lower both the quality and consistency of wood pellets and should be avoided. If you drive by our Shelton, WA plant you will never see these “shortcut” materials.
- Plant Efficiency: In order to produce consistently high quality pellets, a pellet plant must be run by experienced operators running premium quality machinery in a clean and safe environment. Our plant manager has over 20 years of experience making pellets and our plant is considered the cleanest and most efficient in the Western USA.
