Other Fuel Ideas

I’ve written in the past about the need for fuel in a Catastrophic Emergency. I mentioned solar ovens and rocket stoves, which use very little fuel and can heat a kettle of water by burning just a few twigs. But it always concerns me that, in my neighborhood, many people will all be relying on the same materials for cooking fuel. 

Several months ago, my husband and I visited my nephew, whose family lives in the North Georgia mountains. He has a large heating stove in his living room, situated in a corner that borders the stairway leading up to the bedrooms, that provides heat for the entire house. I realized that the location of a heating stove is critical. This location allows the heat, which always travels upwards, to make its way easily to the bedrooms upstairs, while also servicing the living room and dining room downstairs. The one disadvantage to his heater, which we discussed, is that it uses an electric blower, so it wouldn’t function if power were to be shut off. He told me he’s been pondering that problem and hasn’t yet come up with a solution.


I noticed big bags of wood pellets stacked next to his stove. I pulled out a handful and was surprised to see that they looked just like the pellets I use in my electric smoker, but I didn’t recognize the brand. I HATE paying full price for my smoker pellets, so I always look at Walmart for marked down bags. Very often, they discount a bag, often by 50%, because it has broken open. They tape the bag shut and mark it down significantly. I buy all the bags I can when I find them discounted like this. I have lots of bags of different types of wood and different brands, but this brand was entirely new to me. I asked my nephew where he buys his wood pellets that he uses to fuel his heater, and his answer surprised me.


“I get these huge bags at Tractor Supply for $5 each,” he told me. Even marked down significantly, I pay far more than $5 per bag for wood pellets. Since I get my duck feed and Deanna’s cat food at Tractor Supply, I decided I needed to check out their wood pellets. Sure enough, you can get 40 pound bags of wood pellet fuel for $5.99. 


Years ago, we put down a wooden pallet in our shed that allows us to stack items but keep them off the ground so they don’t rot. Now, every trip I make to Tractor Supply for duck food includes a purchase of at least one bag of wood pellets. They get stacked on the pallet for use in my smoker and for fuel for my rocket stove, if needed. I hope to accumulate at least 10 bags. That should allow me keep my rocket stove functioning and let me cook without having to scrounge for twigs daily, should the need ever arise.


So, if you’re in the market for a cheap fuel source, consider wood pellets from Tractor Supply. All you need is a dry place in which to store them and you can put up as many as you can afford. 

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