Pellet Stove Fuel

Alternative pellet stove fuel has a higher ash content than premium grade wood pellets and should be used in a multi-fuel stove.

It is usually possible to add some percentage of these fuels to pellets being burned in a wood pellet stove, but be aware that more frequent cleaning will be required and that the use of fuels not recommended for your stove might void the warranty.

Availability of the fuels below at a reasonable cost will depend on your geographical location. I don't personally like the idea of burning potential foodstuffs, but sometimes crops can be spoiled either in the field or in storage and rendered unfit for consumption.

Unpelletised fuels such as fruit stones should be well dried to about 12% moisture content, otherwise they will not burn well and will create creosote deposits in your stove.

Some unprocessed fuels, particularly nut shells, take up a lot of volume for their weight. This means more frequent filling of the stove's hopper.

TIP: Try a small quantity of fuel before buying in bulk

If you don't want to be dependent on premium grade pellets, you will need a multi fuel pellet stove which is better able to deal with high ash levels.

Wood Pellet Fuel

Premium grade wood pellets produce the least ash of all the fuels, and many stoves can burn only these pellets. Numbers are Btu. per pound
Premium grade wood pellets: 8400
Standard grade wood pellets: 7740
Bark pellets vary widely according to species: 7400 to 9675
Paper pellets again vary widely: 5000 to 11000

Grass and Straw

Numbers are Btu. per pound
Grass pellets: 8000
Wheat straw pellets: 7375
Oat straw pellets: 7626

Cereals

Numbers are Btu. per pound
Barley: 8200
Corn (maize): 8333
Distiller's grain pellets: 9500
Rye: 8416
Wheat: 8416

Nutshells

Numbers are Btu. per pound
Almond shells: 8119
Hazelnut shells: 8500
Macadamia nut shells: 10052
Peanut hulls: 8024
Pecan shells: 816
Pili nut shells: 11604
Pistachio nut shells: 7831
Walnut nut shells: 8462

Fruit Stones

Fruit pits should be un-bleached. Bleached pits can cause corrosion in the venting system.
Numbers are Btu. per pound
Apricot pits: 9000
Cherry pits: 9523
Olive pits: 9300
Peach pits: 9004
Prune (plum) pits: 8638