Mechanical Durability
Mechanical durability simply refers to how dense the pellet is, and how well it is formed. Pellets that
are denser are of course stronger, the advantage is the pellets withstand transportation better and
work more efficiently in the pellet burner. When a quality pellet has exited the pellet mill it should have
a smooth surface, with little or no cracks. If the pellet is cracking and expanding it is because there is
too much moisture within the pellet, or poor compression within the pellet mill. Once a quality pellet
has cooled, it should resemble a colouring crayon. The surface of the pellet should be smooth, and
have a surface shine.Wood pellets tend to shine more than
others, the most important thing is the
pellets smooth compact state. Try
tapping the pellet against a hard
surface, to see if the pellet stays intact,
if they crumble or easily crush and
separate. The length of the pellet is not
really that important. However if pellets
are too long (above 1 inch) they can
cause damage to the auger in some
wood pellet stoves and boilers.