Best Wood Pellets for Your Pellet Stove: Grades, Hardwood vs Softwood, and How to Test Them
The best wood pellets for a pellet stove are PFI Premium grade pellets that burn with little ash in your stove. The brand matters less than the grade and the batch, so the practical answer is to buy pellets carrying the PFI Quality Mark, try a few bags before buying a ton, and keep the pellets that leave the least ash and clinker in your burn pot.
Below is what the grades mean, the truth about hardwood versus softwood, what the stove manufacturers require, and a quick home test. We sell pellet stoves, not pellets, so there are no pellet brands to push here. Every stove we sell ships with No Sales Tax in any state and free shipping.
Pellet grades: what the bag should say
The Pellet Fuels Institute (PFI) sets the US standard. Pellets from PFI-qualified producers carry the PFI Quality Mark on the bag, which means the plant is inspected and its pellets are tested by a third party.
| PFI spec | Premium | Standard | Utility |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ash | 1.0% or less | 2.0% or less | 6.0% or less |
| Moisture | 8.0% or less | 10.0% or less | 10.0% or less |
| Fines at the mill | 0.5% or less | 1.0% or less | 1.0% or less |
| Durability index | 96.5 or higher | 95.0 or higher | 95.0 or higher |
| Bulk density | 40–48 lb/ft³ | 38–48 lb/ft³ | 38–48 lb/ft³ |
| Heating value | 7,800 BTU/lb minimum | not specified | not specified |
Source: PFI Standard Specification, 2022.
In practice, nearly everything sold for home stoves is Premium: PFI's list of qualified production facilities shows only Premium-grade plants. ENplus A1 (and CANplus in Canada) is the European-style equivalent, with an ash limit of 0.7%.
What the stove manufacturers require
- ComfortBilt (HP22, HP50S, HP61 manuals): pellets of at least 40 lb per cubic foot, 1/4" to 5/16" diameter, no longer than 1", with less than 1% ash, meeting PFI standards for premium fuel. Corn, wood chips and other fuels void the warranty.
- Drolet ECO-65R: "Premium grade or better," with ash under 1% and roughly 8,500 BTU per pound.
- Englander 25-CBPAH: "Premium grade wood pellets only," ideally from PFI-certified facilities.
So if you own or are buying a ComfortBilt HP22, a Drolet ECO-65R or an Englander 25-CBPAH, premium pellets aren't a nice-to-have. They're what the stove was tested and warrantied on.
Hardwood vs softwood pellets
The old belief is that hardwood pellets burn hotter. It's usually the other way round. Softwoods contain more resin and lignin, which carry more energy per pound, and some pellet retailers put softwood pellets at around 10–20% more BTU per pound than hardwood. ComfortBilt's manuals list most softwoods among the lower-ash fuels and hardwoods with a high mineral content among the higher-ash ones. Englander's manual says the 25-CBPAH performs equally well on either.
What actually decides how a pellet burns is less about the species and more about what went into it: clean sawdust makes low-ash pellets, while bark raises the ash content. So pick on grade and on how a pellet burns in your stove, not on the word "hardwood" on the bag. Many good pellets are blends.
How much heat is in a bag
Quality pellets carry roughly 8,000–8,500 BTU per pound, so a 40 lb bag holds about 320,000–340,000 BTU. A ton of pellets is often compared to about 120 gallons of heating oil or 180 gallons of propane. A pellet stove used as the main heat in a cold climate typically burns 2–3 tons a winter for a home up to about 1,500 sq ft, and more for bigger homes. Our pellet stove vs propane comparison runs the costs.
A 5-minute home test
Before you buy a ton, buy a few bags of two or three brands. ComfortBilt suggests a 5-bag sample. Then check:
- Fines in the bag. Pour out a bag. A lot of dust at the bottom means poorly made pellets, and fines collect in the auger.
- Look and smell. Good pellets are smooth and shiny with few cracks, and smell like fresh-cut wood. Dark specks usually mean bark, and more ash.
- Length. Mostly 3/4" to 1 1/4". Long pellets can bridge in the hopper and feed unevenly.
- Water test. Drop a few in a glass of water. Good pellets sink and break down into sawdust within minutes.
- Burn test. Burn a full bag at your usual setting and check the burn pot. Less ash and no hard clinkers wins.
Signs of bad pellets
Englander's troubleshooting table lists "excessive pellet moisture" and "low quality pellets" as causes of a lazy fire, and low-quality or uneven pellets as a cause of high pellet use. Other signs are clinkers in the burn pot, an ash pan that fills much faster than usual, and an auger that jams. If a new batch causes any of these, switch brands before you start replacing parts. Our pellet stove troubleshooting guide covers the rest.
Storing pellets
Moisture ruins pellets: damp pellets swell and crumble into sawdust that won't feed. Keep bags dry and covered, off bare concrete where condensation forms, and outside the stove's clearance zone. Buying in late spring or summer usually means better prices and time to store them properly.
Even good pellets leave ash
Premium pellets still leave up to 1% ash, which means emptying the ash pan every few days and cleaning the burn pot regularly. A dedicated ash vacuum ($161) makes that quick and keeps fine ash out of your household vacuum, and a 3" vent cleaning kit ($30.99) handles the seasonal vent cleaning. Our pellet stove maintenance schedule lays out the daily, weekly and annual jobs, and why a shop vac is the wrong tool explains the vacuum.
Related guides
- Best pellet stoves of 2026
- How to read pellet stove efficiency ratings
- Pellet stove prices
- Pellet stove vs wood stove
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