Australian Woodstove pellets

[poopandpee]

Hi,

most information on bunny stuff is from America, I am trying to buy woodstove pellets with no accelerants? but in Australia, they're not very descriptive, under specification it just lists colour lol?
I am currently using pine pellets $14 for 15kg - but the supplier is very far away and I hear woodstove pellets are cheaper?

Are these the right ones?
Maxiheat Wood Pellets - 15KG - $17
https://www.bunnings.com.au/hardwood-15kg-bbq-and-heater-pellets_p0046730 - $13

other ones I find are all fancy apple, hikory wood pellets and I am not planning on BBQ'ing my buns anytime soon.

 

[Satrevino]

I also use wood stove pellets for my rabbits litter and when you search then up as “wood stove pellets”, your going to see pellets that are for burning and most likely have chemicals added to them. Have you tried searching up “pelleted bedding” instead? It’s the same thing pretty much, just pelleted bedding is made for or animals so it doesn’t have added chemicals. People use them for horse bedding, so if you have any store with horse stuff nearby, check them out. I get mine from a horse store: 40lbs for $3.65, they usually have good prices.
For the wood stove pellets that you found, it doesn’t say if it has added chemicals or not, but it probably does since it’s for burning.

 

[poopandpee]

with the Bunnings one, it says 100% hardwood, I am in lockdown at the moment so can't check, but lets say it is there's no extra additives, is hardwood pellets ok? Most I see are pine pellets for bedding

 

[Satrevino]

I think as long as it doesn’t have any additives it should be fine, whether it’s made of hardwood or a softer wood doesn’t matter. I have seen that softer woods are a bit more absorbing though.

 

[JBun]

I don't know that hardwood is going to work as well and may not be as absorbent, and some hardwoods could be harmful if ingested. I would stick with softwood pellets like pine if possible.

 

[poopandpee]

They don't eat the pellets fortunately or chew on any of my furniture, I also have a grate on top of the pellets. I will see if Bunnings has a softwood option though.

 

[Zee-Man]

I can't say for sure about Oz, but wood fuel pellets do not contain anything but wood. The feed stock is put into a bin where it gets mashed into and through a die. Think play-doh or pasta on an industrial scale. The feed stock is heated to expand the lignins before mashing. That is all that holds the wood fibers together. No glues or waxes are used, they simply are not needed. If you are really concerned about accelerants, use the pellets designed for smokers and BBQs.

Read more about pellet fuel standards here: http//pelletheat.org I can't think that it is very different down under. A good place to start for Autralia and New Zealand might be Wood fuels - Bioenergy Association

PS, for softwood pellets, look for standard grade. Premuim will always be hardwood. Either way, the moisture content is what counts. The pellets will expand and fall apart as the rabbits pee on them, if they are not litter trained that is.

 

[poopandpee]

Amazing thanks! Most of the pellets I find are for bbqs.
What pellets are the accelerant ones used for our of curiousity?

 

[Zee-Man]

There are no accelerants used in wood pellets in the USA and not likely in the EU/OZ/NZ. Accelerants are not part of the standard. If an accelerant is needed to ignite pellets (usually gelled alcohol) it must be applied by the end user. Wood pellet appliances rely on a precise mixture of air to fuel. If a pellet manufacturer added accelerant to the pellets it would mess up that ratio and be potentially dangerous to the end user and harmful to the appliance. If you find wood pellet that has accelerant in them you should avoid them for all uses (except maybe campfire? who would want them for that?).