Bunnings, at least in Tasmania, is one of the most convenient places to buy wood pellets from. If you checkout the Bunnings website and do a search for wood pellets, you’ll see a range of pellets, from pellets for heating to bbqs and smokers. While you can use pellets made for bbqing in a pellet heater, it would be super expensive as bbq pellets usually cost twice as much as heating pellets. So I’ll only be talking about heating pellets. If you live outside of Tasmania, then it may be hit or miss if these pellets are available in your local store but in Tasmania every Bunnings shop carries them and it’s what many people burn in their pellet heater.
Bunnings hardwood pellets are extremely high quality pellets. If you are looking for a high quality wood pellet, then you definitely can’t beat Bunnings pellets in this area. They aren’t cheap, but you’ll get such a clean burn that you honestly will find difficult to forget if you switch to another type of pellet.
- $13-14 per 15kg bag
- Minimal ash and clinker
- Available primarily in Tasmania
Hardwood Pellet Price
Bunnings hardwood pellets are one, if not the most, expensive pellet for use in pellet heaters, at least in Tasmania. As you can see in the picture above, the price as of May 2023 is $13.45 a bag. If you check their website, the official price online is $14.15. Price has slowly risen from around $12.50 to where it sits today. It’s one of the most expensive pellets you can buy today in Tasmania for pellet heaters. Bunnings offer no discount on bulk or multi bag purchases, unlike Mitre 10 who discount on 10+ bags, but some people have reported they have gotten their local Bunnings to price match other brands of pellets.
Whether or not this works will depend on how lucky you are. The brand of hardwood pellets Bunnings sell is only sold in their stores. This means technically they don’t have to price match other wood pellets because they are a different brand and not identical. However, this hasn’t stopped people from trying and I have also managed to get my local Bunnings to match EcoPellet hardwood pellet prices. Don’t let this deter you and I’d definitely still give it a try. The worst that can happen is they don’t price match.
Hardwood Pellet Availability
In Tasmania, every Bunnings stocks hardwood pellets in 15kg bags. Even though they are one of the most expensive pellets in Tasmania, they are available all over the state, at least anywhere that has a Bunnings store. Outside of Tasmania, it will be hit or miss if you local Bunnings stocks these pellet heater hardwood pellets. I have seen forum posts online where people have talked about finding the pellets in their local store, but if you look at the Bunnings website and do a search you will see the pellets are basically “out of stock” everywhere except Tasmania.
Delivery appears to be available but it most likely won’t work out to be cost effective. Freight appears to be around $10 a bag, so probably $25 per bag once you include shipping. There are other hardwood and softwood pellet brands available in other states around Australia, and if you’ve read my post on where to buy pellets in Australia you will see that most prices are about $20 – $25. So, if your local Bunnings doesn’t stock these pellets, then I think you’d be better off checking to see if another brand was available as it would probably be cheaper and easier to get.
Hardwood Pellet Quality
Bunnings hardwood pellets, at least the “Eco Blaze” or the NSFP brand as we call it in Tasmania, burns EXTREMELY well. Even though it is a hardwood pellet, which produces more ash than softwood, it burns VERY clean and there is very little ash left over. It burns so clean that if you try a bag or two out and then switch to another brand of pellet, you’ll notice the difference because other brands, even good ones, produce more ash than Bunnings pellets.. There’s also basically no clinker build up in the burn pot even after repeated burns. It is an extremely high quality pellet and probably the best quality on the market.
Bunnings hardwood pellets burn so clean because they are produced from sawdust and other waste material direct from timber mills. Unlike other pellet mills, such as EcoPellets, the waste wood material used to make the pellets is very clean and contains very little to no impurities. This is why it produces so little ash and basically no clinker. The waste wood material comes directly from timber mills to the pellet mill and turned into pellets. EcoPellets, for example, uses plantation timber that contains bark and other material that needs to be filtered out. If you like clean burning pellets, then Bunnings hardwood pellets will definitely satisfy.
The only issue Bunnings has had in the past with their pellets is length. In my wood pellet length article I talk about how pellets shouldn’t be anymore than 4cm otherwise they may jam in the auger of a pellet heater. Unfortunately, sometimes Bunnings pellets contain pellets that are 5cm or 6cm long. Most of the time this won’t be a problem, but keep in mind that long pellets may jam in your heater. The easiest way to avoid this is to inspect a bag of pellets before you buy them. You might still get some long pellets in a bag but at least you’ll reduce how many you get.
Hardwood Pellet Heater Compatibility
I’ve seen posts around and people talking about certain heaters only being able to burn softwood or hardwood pellets. The truth is it doesn’t matter what brand of pellet heater you have, you’ll be able to burn Bunnings hardwood pellets and any other brand. Due to how clean Bunnings pellets burn, they are a popular choice for Piazzetta pellet heater and Palazzetti pellet heater owners. If you are yet to buy a pellet heater, then keep in mind you can burn budget pellets like EcoPellets in any heater just like you can burn Bunnings pellets in any type of pellet heater.
Bunnings Hardwood Pellet Alternatives
There’s no denying Bunnings pellets burn super clean but they aren’t cheap. If you are looking for some alternatives that still offer a high quality burn but don’t break the bank, then I’d strongly recommend Mitre 10 hardwood pellets or EcoPellets premium pellets. Mitre 10 pellets are of similar quality to Bunnings but are cheaper. So you still get a very high quality burn but at a better price. However, Mitre 10 pellets cost more than EcoPellets premium pellets. If you want a balance between price and a clean burn then premium EcoPellets is something I recommend you check out if they are available in your area.
If you live outside of Tasmania, then unfortunately EcoPellets and Mitre10, much like Bunnings pellets, are difficult to find or just not available in other states around Australia. If you want to buy wood pellets in Tasmania we are spoilt and have plenty to choose from. EcoPellets are slowly making their way to other states, such as Victoria, and while the price is reasonable compared to other brands, we are still lucky in Tasmania with a wide range of pellets being available at a price to suit just about anyone.
Should You Burn Bunnings Hardwood Pellets?
If you want a clean burn and don’t care what it costs, then I strongly recommend Bunnings hardwood pellets. They burn light years cleaner than EcoPellets and are just as good if not better than Mitre hardwood pellets. They are currently about $13.45 in Tasmania, making them about $2 a bag more expensive than Mitre 10 pellets and $3 a bag more expensive than EcoPellets. If you burn about 60 to 100 bags a year, then that’s anywhere from $200 to $400 extra that you’ll spend on heating with your pellet heater.
I personally do not burn Bunnings pellets. While I love how clean they burn I can’t justify the cost. I have bought their pellets in the past but I did so when they were price matching EcoPellets, something my local store no longer does. As I mentioned above, if you want a clean burn at a better price Mitre 10 and premium EcoPellets are highly recommended. However, for those out there that want a super clean burn and don’t mind paying for it or don’t run their pellet heater very often then Bunnings hardwood pellets are highly recommended.
Resources:
Bunnings hardwood pellets website
