How can WE help cooperate Big Box get good pellets for US?

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Now if we could only get the BB stores to cover their pellets properly. I usually only pick up four or five bags at a time when I need them and I'm at the store a few times a week so it works out good. Last weekend I was at HD and they had five open pallets, three out in garden and two at contractor pick up and all had either snow on them or water from the morning frost. None of their pellets are stored under cover so once someone hacks open the plastic it's a guarantee they will be wet by the next morning. I finally gave up and hauled home a sealed ton yesterday.
 
funflyer said:
Now if we could only get the BB stores to cover their pellets properly. I usually only pick up four or five bags at a time when I need them and I'm at the store a few times a week so it works out good. Last weekend I was at HD and they had five open pallets, three out in garden and two at contractor pick up and all had either snow on them or water from the morning frost. None of their pellets are stored under cover so once someone hacks open the plastic it's a guarantee they will be wet by the next morning. I finally gave up and hauled home a sealed ton yesterday.
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I am sure that cooperate, HD, would also like to hear you concerns. Spend the time to contact them. It doesn't take any more time.
Thanks for your HELP
Good Luck
 
funflyer said:
Now if we could only get the BB stores to cover their pellets properly. I usually only pick up four or five bags at a time when I need them and I'm at the store a few times a week so it works out good. Last weekend I was at HD and they had five open pallets, three out in garden and two at contractor pick up and all had either snow on them or water from the morning frost. None of their pellets are stored under cover so once someone hacks open the plastic it's a guarantee they will be wet by the next morning. I finally gave up and hauled home a sealed ton yesterday.
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When there was a bit of a crunch in late fall, I bought some at WalMart - and they picked them out for me. Never again. One bag slipped out of my hands as I loaded it into the car and all had moisture on them - I was a novice and just didn't think until I got home and snapped. I returned all 15 bags because 3 had solid clumps in them and I wasn't taking a chance at ruining my stove. Both local HDs and the one Lowes all know to keep their pellets under cover once opened. I would never buy from a place that kept them uncovered and would complain to the manager 'are you guys effing idiots??' if I ever see this again. Unprotected bags of pellets that get rained on are immediately junk IMO. Even if they aren't clumped or puffed, you have no idea what the moisture content is - which is heat lost.
 
I can't possibly imagine buying pellets repeatedly 10 or 15 bags at a time. That makes zero sense to me, unless of course you use the stove just to take the edge off or just for the ambiance.
 
SXIPro said:
I don't see pellets as a draw thru or loss leader at the big box stores at least for folks buying by the ton. If I am buying a ton I just want to pay, get them loaded and get the hell home. As far as supporting the local places, of they are selling newps for 300 a ton or okies for 350, there is just no way I can justify paying that, I might as well turn on the furnace.
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Think of it this way. Most people would walk in, find out they don't have pellets, and leaving angry thinking "________ SUCKS!". Most customers are going to get over it I'm sure pretty quick and wont even think to not go back, but some might. I've seen people get flat out pissed when I had to tell them we had no pellets. I've seen them do everything from walk away leaving their cart in the middle of the aisle... to actually push their shopping cart directly at me as if they wanted it to hit me.
 
SXIPro said:
I can't possibly imagine buying pellets repeatedly 10 or 15 bags at a time. That makes zero sense to me, unless of course you use the stove just to take the edge off or just for the ambiance.
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Assuming you're talking to me - this is my 1st year with a pellet stove so I was trying different brands before I bought like many tons - make sense? Also, it was difficult to find ANY pellets for a while at the time I was describing. I ended up ordering 3 tons of pellets from HD and 1 ton of different brands I tried. Actually seems kind of pragmatic if you think about it. :)
 
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woodmakesheat said:
Assuming you're talking to me - this is my 1st year with a pellet stove so I was trying different brands before I bought like many tons - make sense? Also, it was difficult to find ANY pellets for a while at the time I was describing. I ended up ordering 3 tons of pellets from HD and 1 ton of different brands I tried. Actually seems kind of pragmatic if you think about it. :)
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Not picking on you. I can see testing pellet brands a few bags at a time for sure. But folks that drive to HD every week to throw ten bags in their Prius confuse the hell out of me.
 
sinnian said:
Stop buying crap pellets from BBS
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Some brands at the BBS are far better and far cheaper than some of the brands offered by the local stove shop. Who in their right mind would pay $300 or more per ton for NEWPs when you can get prestologs or AWF white pine for $240 a ton?
 
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SXIPro said:
Not picking on you. I can see testing pellet brands a few bags at a time for sure. But folks that drive to HD every week to throw ten bags in their Prius confuse the hell out of me.
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Yeah, toss 'em in my Ford Focus - that makes a lot more sense to me. ::-)
 
SXIPro said:
I can see testing pellet brands a few bags at a time for sure. But folks that drive to HD every week to throw ten bags in their Prius confuse the hell out of me.
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So what's so confusing? Some folks might not have a means of hauling a ton home. Some might not have room to store more than they can use in a week. I always picked up a few bags when I went out. I finally got my workshop finished enough to make room in the garage so I bought a ton of pellets but I will still pick up more bags when I'm out. By the way, I never haul more than 6 bags in the Prius!!! It makes my mileage drop from 54 to 53 MPG
 
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funflyer said:
So what's so confusing? Some folks might not have a means of hauling a ton home. Some might not have room to store more than they can use in a week. I always picked up a few bags when I went out. I finally got my workshop finished enough to make room in the garage so I bought a ton of pellets but I will still pick up more bags when I'm out. By the way, I never haul more than 6 bags in the Prius!!! It makes my mileage drop from 54 to 53 MPG
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I can't possibly imagine installing a pellet stove if you don't have room to store more than a week's worth of fuel. And buying pellets a week's worth at a time makes as much sense as only putting five bucks of gas in your car every time you go to the gas station. That's just way more trips and way more time spent at HD then I would ever want to experience. Then again, I can't possibly imagine being a homeowner and not owning a truck.
 
SXIPro said:
I can't possibly imagine installing a pellet stove if you don't have room to store more than a week's worth of fuel. And buying pellets a week's worth at a time makes as much sense as only putting five bucks of gas in your car every time you go to the gas station. That's just way more trips and way more time spent at HD then I would ever want to experience. Then again, I can't possibly imagine being a homeowner and not owning a truck.
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Heh, I think you prompted me to be even more pragmatic. When I was out food shopping I thought "hmmmm, I should buy some of that silicone weatherstripping to seal up that leaky front door at the Home Depot that's on the way home." Oh! And while I'm at it, I think I'll be "one of those people" and grab 6 bags of whatever they're stocking at said local Home Depot. I mean, I've already determined that the 4 tons I have bought to date isn't going to last the winter and I'd hate to wait till the end of the season and have everybody out of pellets locally! I can after all store 1 ton inside my house and 2 tons in my detached 2-car garage - thankfully the T-Bucket is short and allows me to store the 2 tons side-by-side behind it if I pull it all the way forward. So, I can store more than 3 months worth of fuel. I can't imagine many homes that can store more than 4 tons of fuel on site, so I guess I can't possibly imagine not having to supplement my "stash" without occasionally stopping by the local pellet supplier when it's practical to toss 6-15 bags in my Ford Focus Prius.

:) I hope that read as amusing and sarcastic as it felt writing it with a wry smile on my face. :)
 
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sinnian said:
Stop buying crap pellets from BBS
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I purchased 7 tons of blazers at HD at $219 per ton and 4 tons Okie golds at local pellet house for $300 per ton. The " crap pellets" at the BBS are much better and much cheaper than the local pellet house " super premium" pellets. Furthermore, I pre- ordered and waited forever for the okie golds to be delivered and bought the "crap pellets" and had delivery in 2 business days. I am in a great position now to not preorder next year, and take my chances on getting more "crap pellets" next fall, as I have enough pellets to easily make it thru to mid Jan 2017.
 
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woodmakesheat said:
Heh, I think you prompted me to be even more pragmatic. When I was out food shopping I thought "hmmmm, I should buy some of that silicone weatherstripping to seal up that leaky front door at the Home Depot that's on the way home." Oh! And while I'm at it, I think I'll be "one of those people" and grab 6 bags of whatever they're stocking at said local Home Depot. I mean, I've already determined that the 4 tons I have bought to date isn't going to last the winter and I'd hate to wait till the end of the season and have everybody out of pellets locally! I can after all store 1 ton inside my house and 2 tons in my detached 2-car garage - thankfully the T-Bucket is short and allows me to store the 2 tons side-by-side behind it if I pull it all the way forward. So, I can store more than 3 months worth of fuel. I can't imagine many homes that can store more than 4 tons of fuel on site, so I guess I can't possibly imagine not having to supplement my "stash" without occasionally stopping by the local pellet supplier when it's practical to toss 6-15 bags in my Ford Focus Prius.

:) I hope that read as amusing and sarcastic as it felt writing it with a wry smile on my face. :)
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I had 5 tons on my basement this winter.
No room for more.
still stop at HD JUST TA SEE.....
Found of all Pellets, Blazers...
went home and moves stuff around in the basement.
went back and picked up 35 bags...
Never ends even when u have more than u need...
[No one ever laughs at a wood burner that has enough wood on his property to last 2 lifetimes..]
 
SXIPro said:
Not picking on you. I can see testing pellet brands a few bags at a time for sure. But folks that drive to HD every week to throw ten bags in their Prius confuse the hell out of me.
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Frankly, some live check to check and may not have the funds to commit to 10 tons like some of the hoarder posters here. Others, like my son, just don't have the storage space for more than a half ton at a time. I wouldn't make a special trip just to buy a few bags of pellets but I admit to being curious when out and around and have impromptu visited different vendors and have been pleasantly surprised and picked up some bags piecemeal through this heating season. I look at it as part of the fun of experimenting with different pellets, especially when I picked up a few bags of the best brand names for a pellet, "Country Boy White Lightning". They happen to be a great pellet to boot.
 
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Poughkeepsie NY Lowes had Somerset pellets awhile ago. I picked up a ton and was very happy. However, I haven't been able to get any Somersets since. I've emailed the company and called Lowes. No one at Lowes knows what they are getting or when they getting them.
Somerset doesn't even know where their product gets shipped. Damn it's annoying!
 
Well, as someone with a car smaller than a Prius, I know you can fit more than 20 bags into one, without too much trouble. I imagine a Prius could fit ½ ton in easily, and if you drive past one on your way home from work, why not stop in and pick up some bags? How is that any different than picking up a loaf of bread or gallon of milk?
 
chken said:
Well, as someone with a car smaller than a Prius,
I know you can fit more than 20 bags into one ..
How is that any different than picking up a loaf of bread or gallon of milk?
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you don't load/unload 800 pounds of bread and milk....:rolleyes:
(just kidding)

Dan
 
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Tonyray said:
But I do understand the draw of trying a few bags of something you never burned before just to check them out.
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Absolutely.
We can all read here about the "greatest", and the "crapiest".
But one man's junk, is another's treasure.....

I work with a dealer.. and when someone is undecided, or on the fence,
we ALWAYS suggest... get some of each..... even though we may have our own favorites..

Dan
 
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Jason Knapp said:
Poughkeepsie NY Lowes had Somerset pellets awhile ago. I picked up a ton and was very happy. However, I haven't been able to get any Somersets since. I've emailed the company and called Lowes. No one at Lowes knows what they are getting or when they getting them.
Somerset doesn't even know where their product gets shipped. Damn it's annoying!
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We know what we're getting once an actually P.O gets dropped. Then it shows in the computer the P.O number, the vendor and the ETA. But the majority of employees may not know what brand it is because it's the vendor name listed, not the brand name on the bag. So for example if they're getting Pres-To-Log they show up as Lignetics in the computer. Somersets show as Somerset, Green Supreme show as New England Wood Pellet, North American show Atlantic Forest Product, etc... Buyers don't like paying for Somersets to get shipped to NY much either - we lose a lot of money on Somersets. So we get them very rarely.
 
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Chris223 said:
We know what we're getting once an actually P.O gets dropped. Then it shows in the computer the P.O number, the vendor and the ETA. But the majority of employees may not know what brand it is because it's the vendor name listed, not the brand name on the bag. So for example if they're getting Pres-To-Log they show up as Lignetics in the computer. Somersets show as Somerset, Green Supreme show as New England Wood Pellet, North American show Atlantic Forest Product, etc... Buyers don't like paying for Somersets to get shipped to NY much either - we lose a lot of money on Somersets. So we get them very rarely.[/quote

]
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The Menards stores around here carry Somersets, and thats the best pellet I've found locally to be honest. I just wish it were closer, the closest Menards is to far for a pellet run for me, though I go fairly close to it on my way to work but I can't haul a trailer to work (garage in a highrise). A small hardware store also carries them, at a higher price, but makes up for the time and gas money to go to menards.
 
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