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[gmmaxim250]

I have a Maxim 250 furnace and I am looking for pellet comments.  I have burned vast quantities of Empire pellets(hardwood) going on the sixth ton, made right around the corner from me.  I have burned a ton of Curran mixed (softwood and hardwood).  I have also burned a half ton of Bear pellets.  Right now, the ranking would be 1a) Bear, 1b) Empire, and 5) Curran.  The curran really created some heat, but boy did they go fast.  The Empire burn slower and create a little less heat.  Bear was about the same.  Any thoughts...

[Onlypellets]

I also have a maxim and have been burning all softwood and have seen better results than using hardwood.

See my other post.

[MattyNH]

My bro-inlaw gets all of his pellets from Home Depot..He seems to never have a problem burning them in his Maxim

[Yooper]

I burn some pellets in my wood stove to get the fire going good and hot.  If you depend on them for all of your heat, they must get kind of expensive.  They are about $4 / bag.  The bags are 40 lbs.  There are 50 bags to the ton.

It's still December and if 6 tons have been burned:

$4 / bag X 50 bags/ ton X 6 tons = $1200

Pellets burn very hot too.  8500 BTUs / lb X 12,000 lbs = 102,000,000 BTUs

102,000,000 BTUs / 92,000 BTUs per gallon of propane = 1109 gallons of propane X $2.5 / gallon = $2772

There's a lot of savings there compared to propane.

[gmmaxim250]

Yooper-
I have purchased 7.5 tons as of today, now the last ton and a half is not been consumed yet, so your Cal's are pretty good.  I have paid $235 a ton, except for the curran which was $219 a ton.  The house is approximately 2700 sq ft.  There was no heat in the back bedrooms, so we added some during the install.  My workshop also has its own loop.  During the light months, October, November we have burned about a ton.  Now we are burning a ton in three weeks, I think.  Workshop was also heating the garage during a recent home improvement project.  That puts me at 1765 or so.  Don't forget the hot water savings too.  Am I saving money...yes!  My propane company would fill up two big tanks every month...it was killing last winter.  You wrote an excellent reply.

[open68]

So you can use pellets inside of wood in the same burner? Is there a real cost saving over straight wood or could you mix them both wood/pellets.

[gmmaxim250]

No, the maxim is made specifically to burn pellets/corn,  directions indicate no wood burning.

[open68]

No, the maxim is made specifically to burn pellets/corn,  directions indicate no wood burning.

Cool thank you for the info...

[Roger2561]

I burn some pellets in my wood stove to get the fire going good and hot.  If you depend on them for all of your heat, they must get kind of expensive.  They are about $4 / bag.  The bags are 40 lbs.  There are 50 bags to the ton.

It's still December and if 6 tons have been burned:

$4 / bag X 50 bags/ ton X 6 tons = $1200

Pellets burn very hot too.  8500 BTUs / lb X 12,000 lbs = 102,000,000 BTUs

102,000,000 BTUs / 92,000 BTUs per gallon of propane = 1109 gallons of propane X $2.5 / gallon = $2772

There's a lot of savings there compared to propane.

Yooper - The savings on fuel, whether it be propane or oil is incredible.  If I had to purchase fuel oil this year to heat my 3,000sqft home plus DHW, it would have cost me just smidgen over $5,100.00.  Last winter was my first season with the E-Classic 1400 OWB and I burned 6 cord of wood heating the house and DHW.  I get my firewood log length at $100.00/cord.  I usually get a 12 cord load.  It only cost me $600.00 to heat my house and DHW last year,  Oh, keep my house at 70 degrees 24/7.  I fired up the OWB early Oct and the oil furnace has been quiet since then.  Not a drop of oil has been burned.  Gotta love technology.  Roger   

[gmmaxim250]

Although I have now purchased 13.5 tons of pellets, I am still saving money.  Thank god I didn't stay with the propane, we would have been bankrupt.

[koutsman]

Menards had pellets for $3.35 a bag or $167.50 a ton thru Feb.24 at Valparaiso.In.

[Roger2561]

I know the bags store nicely but perhaps there's a saving if purchased in bulk?  Oh course you'd have to purchase or build a hopper large enough to hold the tonnage you need for your heating season but that would be a one time purchase.    Just a thought...  Roger

[gmmaxim250]

I buy them by the ton, 235 per, there is a local mill here in northern NY, so l am in luck there.  I can get cheaper, but burned a ton in three or four days less time of the cheaper ones, and had a lot more ash.  Now that the cold season is starting to warm up I will be turning down the feed rates o the maxim.  BTW-i can squeeze two tons on the truck, but it is really stuffed.

[gmmaxim250]

I forgot to say that the add on hopper from Central Boiler holds one ton.  I would entertain the big feed hopper, but I can't get bulk pellet delivers around here.

[Scott7m]

Someone should bring them to you I'd think.....  Call direct to the manufacturer and ask them, I'd buy them semi load at a time if I were you, expect to pay around 160/ton after shipping, you'd just have to have a way to unload