Colour versus quality of pellets
It is often said that good-quality wood pellet fuel has the colour of light wood. There is some truth in it.
Wood pellets should be made from sawdust i.e. from wood. If you see small pieces of other materials (e.g. plastics) within, it certainly is a sign that we have not got good-quality pellets. In this sense, the colour of pellets is of relevance. Moreover, the best pellet fuel is produced from bark-free wood because bark contains sand impurities.
The colour of pellets also depends on the type of wood used for production. Walnut, cherry, chestnut and oak are much darker in colour than pine or birch. So it is hard to expect that light pellet fuel is to be produced, although its characteristics are equal to pellet fuel made of light wood. Equally often wood varies in colour within an individual tree type. So it is difficult to find two boards with exactly the same colour. The colour of pellets may therefore vary depending on a given production batch with no effect on its quality.
When you use poor-quality pellets it may also cause damage to your furnace.
See the good-quality pellets
Most often good-quality wood pellets can be recognised by the easiest and most popular method – visually. Just take a look: if granules are not crushed and you cannot see any impurities within, that’s fine.
Pellets should contain only wood only, with no artificial binders. So you can also test it by smell – when pellet fuel is combusted, your boiler-room should smell wood and nothing more.