There is a difference compared to other branded pellets; they do indeed give more smoke to the meat, but unfortunately they also smoke a lot inside the pellet container. So much so that if all that smoke were directed into the smoker, I believe we would have intense smoking comparable to a conventional charcoal-and-wood smoker. The solution to the problem is to mix the pellets with another brand and, for a more proper and safe operation, I would say, since the smoke was so intense in the container that at one point I thought the pellets might ignite there as well. Searching online, I found that this happens with pellets made from woods such as oak that have thick bark, and mixing is the solution, at the cost of aroma. You gain something, you lose something. Otherwise, startup and combustion as usual