The most common question we get from new users is how much they will need. This is not a very easy question to answer because there are so many variables to what it takes to heat your home. These include how tight your home is, how many square feet you are heating, the height of your ceilings, the type of pellet you're using, and the quality of your stove's heat exchanger. With so many variables, it is best to talk to your stove shop about how many they believe you should stock up on. A rule of thumb here in Northern Michigan is that a 1500sqft home would need anywhere from 2.5 tons of pellets in a warm winter to around 4 tons in a cold or long one. These numbers are very rough, but they are a good start for you to see what your needs might be during your first winter. While we sell pellets year round, many big box stores stop getting pellets in March. So that means buying a few bags at the end of the heating season isn't nearly as much fun as having too many coming into spring. Remember, these pellets don't go bad so long as you keep them dry. And if you do get them wet, well, they make a great mulch for your garden. So it's always better to stock up with more than you need than it is to run out.