We chose a widely available pellet that is sold through big box stores in an effort to use a representative fuel that is neither among the most expensive, nor the least expensive. We used a premium grade pellet by the Pellet Fuels Institute (PFI) Standards Program and had it independently tested at a third party lab to further check its moisture and ash content. We bought two batches of the same brand of Curran pellets. The first batch tested at 3.7% moisture content and 0.67% ash content. The second batch had 5.47% moisture content and 0.56% ash content. We encourage consumers to look for PFI graded pellets as this provides an assurance that the pellet meets quality control standards. PFI certification is likely to provide even more assurances for consumers buying less expensive pellets than it is for those who buy the most expensive ones.