I bought another ton of Pennington’s Natures Heat pellets at Sam’s club and have burned 20 bags so far and they are doing great low ash and good heat. I emailed Randy at Pennington to let him know how good I thought their product was this year. He answered back about two days later and followed up with a call to tell me how much he appreciated the information. I thought that was pretty good service.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT PENNINGTON NATURES HEAT SOLD AT LOWES AND HOME DEPOT
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Update...I spoke with PEGGY at Pennington Seed. I sent back all they asked for and should get a refund on the bags used. It could be that the bags that I got were left over in the Home Depot warehouse from last year - especially since I got them around 8/15. Home Depot was great about the remaining bags: they came & picked up the remaining 70 bags and then delivered 70 bags of First Fuel 2 Premium Pellets (the only brand this Home Depot carries now) in exchange the very next day! I don't know much about this brand, but there is no sawdust in the bags, no fines - BUT it is weird the way they burn...the ash forms in hard clumps in the burn box...sometimes blocking the flame. I hope this brand isn't going to be problem! Anyone have any experience with FIRST FUEL 2?
Thanks!
Thanks!
slvrblkk
Minister of Fire
I wanted to give Pennington Natures Heat another chance. Last year I had a bad experience with them. They were filthy with ash. I did send the lot # along with the other info they requested. They sent the letter that they had a problem with one of their mills and were sorry, and sent a partial refund for the 2 tons I had purchased. This year I saw them again and felt I owed them a second chance because of their customer service with last years problem. I saw them in a local Walmart and asked the store employee when they were delivered. I was informed they just came in. This was the second week of Nov 2008. I purchased 15 bags and am once again disappointed. They are smaller than last year and not dark, but they are just as filthy. I do not want another "Im Sorry" letter from Pennington, nor do I want another refund. I will mix these pellets with a more superior brand for burning. I will now drive further to purchase another brand. Pennington, I'm Sorry.
I love Pennington fuel
I live in North Pole Alaska and pennington fuel works just fine in fact i have tryed about 4 difrent kinds of pellet and non of can put the same heat out put like my pennington, yes they create a little bit more ash than the other brands, but i really don’t care, i look for that heat out put. I purchasit my pellet at the local walmart for 5.67 a bag and over here that is a great price because in all other places are $7 to $9 a bag.
Lennox Montage
North pole AK
where winter is from 0 to -55 degress.
I live in North Pole Alaska and pennington fuel works just fine in fact i have tryed about 4 difrent kinds of pellet and non of can put the same heat out put like my pennington, yes they create a little bit more ash than the other brands, but i really don’t care, i look for that heat out put. I purchasit my pellet at the local walmart for 5.67 a bag and over here that is a great price because in all other places are $7 to $9 a bag.
Lennox Montage
North pole AK
where winter is from 0 to -55 degress.
Pennington Seed Customer Service said:
I called, about 10 days ago, had to leave a message, and no return call from pennington as of yet. So, I continue to sift the bags, tons of sawdust in the bags and lots of clinker formation. Not sure I will buy these again.
Hello I am new to this forum. I just purchased a Napoleon NPS40 stove. With the hard demand for pellets I went and bought 3 tons of natures heat pellets form my local Lowes store. It seems that these pellets do not put off much heat. I have done everything by cleaning entire stove and starting over and playing with the airflow control to get things right. It appears that the only way to get good heat output is to run stove on number 5 setting and have it dump loads of pellets intot he burn pot. Is anyone else experiencing the same thing. Right now I wish I would have waited on buying these pellets.
While it was decent of the Pennington folks to post here, I will never again purchase these pellets. They are the worst I have ever used causing my Saranac stove to jam because of the inconsistent pellet size (Extra long) If that were not enough, the heat output is far inferior to other pellets I am using. But wait - there's more! It is not uncommon to find more than 10-15% of the bag is actually sawdust. Really, I'm not kidding. I sifted a bag yesterday (I have to sift any of these I use or I jam my stove) and found a good 15% of the bag was fine sawdust.
Thanks for all the posts here. I will try and contact the firm and see if I can return them. I have 2 tons of the blasted things...
Thanks for all the posts here. I will try and contact the firm and see if I can return them. I have 2 tons of the blasted things...
Ductape
Member
You'll be lucky if all you find is sawdust. Just wait till you find rocks in Pennington's pellets !!
i am having a problem with heat output and clunkers from my new nps napoleon,clunkers 2 nites in a row using energex, i just screened to bags of pennington and look very clean,where i work we have used 2 tons and no problems so far.ill let you know by tomorrow.
pelletizer
Minister of Fire
I was at walmart earlier in Epping NH they had pallets of Pennintons out back I scoped out a pallet allwrapped up and was surprised to see it said "Pennington/Energex" on the bar code??????
We just had our Lopi Leyden installed a few days before Christmas, so not much experience yet... however, I did buy 4 tons of Pennington Nature's Heat from HD back during the mad rush in June. So far, no complaints. Not much fines from what I've seen. Maybe more ash than most, but I wouldn't know (I sweep the burn pot and inside the stove daily, empty the ash drawer every 3-4 days). And, knock on wood, no clinkers yet. Luckily, been on vacation since we've had the stove, so I've had fun tinkering with air intake, etc. We have a large house (3,000 sqft) so have mostly been cranking the stove on high during the day and letting oil keep the house in the low 60's while we sleep.
Anyway, for what it's worth. Hopefully my remaining 3.5 tons will perform as well!
Anyway, for what it's worth. Hopefully my remaining 3.5 tons will perform as well!
Right now I'm about as HOT as the pellet stove turned up to the Turbo Setting. I finally heard back from Peggy at Pennington Seed, after mailing everything requested (address cut from 1 bag, a bag with a sample of the product showing extra long pellets & sawdust, the original sales receipt for 2 tons). Now, remember I was told by her about 4 weeks ago when I mailed everything, that I would get a FULL REFUND for the 30 bags that we had burned. This is what other buyers have been getting: a full refund for a defective product. I was to return the other 70 bags to Home Depot.
Those 30 bags were absolutely terrible: 3-4 cups of sawdust in each one, PLUS very long pellets. We don't know which caused our pellet stove to go out EVERY 5-6 hours EVERY DAY. Both sawdust and long pellets can cause real problems. ... This was our first year with a pellet stove, and thought these bags were typical of all pellets, until Northeastern Fireplace Co. came to fix the problem of the fires going out - and saw the pellets we were using!
Well BACK TO MY STORY... Peggy called and said they have decided that they would only reimburse 10-15% of our purchase price for the 30 defective bags, because we were ABLE to burn them, even though they caused great inconvenience!! I was furious. I told her that this was totally unacceptable. She said she would have Mike, her manager, call me. That was 3 days ago.
Obviously, Pennington is paying out to a lot of unhappy consumers. But that is what their liability policy is for. Had they had better quality control, they wouldn't have encountered this problem. Sure, sawdust will burn - and long pellets will too (if they don't get jammed in the feed chute, as ours did). But the sawdust is terrible on the auger system and can permanently damage it.
For comparison: Imagine you purchased a lawn mower, and the blades kept coming loose (posing a danger) because the mechanism was faulty. However, it did manage to cut grass WHILE the blades stayed attached - but the blades had to be constantly refastened. So, you load it up in your truck and return it. Do you think the lawnmower company would only refund you 10-15% of your purchase price because, after all, it did cut grass?? No, they would refund your entire purchase price BECAUSE IT WAS A DEFECTIVE PRODUCT. May be not the best comparison, but you get the idea.
If you check the history of the posts here, you will see full refunds is what Pennington gave back last spring. However, saying they will do it this fall/winter and actually doing it are two different things....at least if you are an untrustworthy company, as Pennington has proven to be. The company looks good by posting here on the forum, but does not follow through.
The bottom line is this: I was told on 12/12 by phone that I would be reimbursed from Pennington for the 30 faulty bags. They have not kept their word. This is dishonest business practice.
Let this serve as a warning: NEVER purchase any product from this company. BUYER BEWARE. You may be lucky and get a good batch...but when you don't, plan on a big headache.
Those 30 bags were absolutely terrible: 3-4 cups of sawdust in each one, PLUS very long pellets. We don't know which caused our pellet stove to go out EVERY 5-6 hours EVERY DAY. Both sawdust and long pellets can cause real problems. ... This was our first year with a pellet stove, and thought these bags were typical of all pellets, until Northeastern Fireplace Co. came to fix the problem of the fires going out - and saw the pellets we were using!
Well BACK TO MY STORY... Peggy called and said they have decided that they would only reimburse 10-15% of our purchase price for the 30 defective bags, because we were ABLE to burn them, even though they caused great inconvenience!! I was furious. I told her that this was totally unacceptable. She said she would have Mike, her manager, call me. That was 3 days ago.
Obviously, Pennington is paying out to a lot of unhappy consumers. But that is what their liability policy is for. Had they had better quality control, they wouldn't have encountered this problem. Sure, sawdust will burn - and long pellets will too (if they don't get jammed in the feed chute, as ours did). But the sawdust is terrible on the auger system and can permanently damage it.
For comparison: Imagine you purchased a lawn mower, and the blades kept coming loose (posing a danger) because the mechanism was faulty. However, it did manage to cut grass WHILE the blades stayed attached - but the blades had to be constantly refastened. So, you load it up in your truck and return it. Do you think the lawnmower company would only refund you 10-15% of your purchase price because, after all, it did cut grass?? No, they would refund your entire purchase price BECAUSE IT WAS A DEFECTIVE PRODUCT. May be not the best comparison, but you get the idea.
If you check the history of the posts here, you will see full refunds is what Pennington gave back last spring. However, saying they will do it this fall/winter and actually doing it are two different things....at least if you are an untrustworthy company, as Pennington has proven to be. The company looks good by posting here on the forum, but does not follow through.
The bottom line is this: I was told on 12/12 by phone that I would be reimbursed from Pennington for the 30 faulty bags. They have not kept their word. This is dishonest business practice.
Let this serve as a warning: NEVER purchase any product from this company. BUYER BEWARE. You may be lucky and get a good batch...but when you don't, plan on a big headache.
I am in the process of working with them now and got a similar request to mail a bag, samples of the pellets...etc. etc.. They also indicated to me I should return the pellets to Home Depot.. I agree that doesn't jive with what I saw here. The quality is just awful. I took pictures today and sent to Pennington.. I opened a bag to find about 20% was sawdust. In addition, I had more than 50 pellets in excess of 2 inches and a couple over 3 inches...just crazy.
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The sad thing is that, once you go all through sending them what they have requested, they will NOT honor what they said they would do: refund in full for the defective bags you have already used. It was a pain, but I could handle returning the unused bags to Home Depot. Actually, Home Depot was great about it - they came & picked them all up and then replaced them with a much better quality pellet. (Future Fuel II). So, I would advise giving Home Depot a call. THEY kept their word each step of the way.
Wish I could say the same about Pennington Seed, but I can't. In my case, on my 30 bags, they were supposed to refund the full amount of about $165. Instead, they have the audacity to say they will refund $16.50. It wasn't even worth mailing the box with the required stuff back to them! I will contact the Attorney General's office to report their unfair business practice as well as defective product. We all thought we were buying Premium Hardwood Pellets - but what we got was far from that. I wonder how much sawdust is worth...
Wish I could say the same about Pennington Seed, but I can't. In my case, on my 30 bags, they were supposed to refund the full amount of about $165. Instead, they have the audacity to say they will refund $16.50. It wasn't even worth mailing the box with the required stuff back to them! I will contact the Attorney General's office to report their unfair business practice as well as defective product. We all thought we were buying Premium Hardwood Pellets - but what we got was far from that. I wonder how much sawdust is worth...
concep78 said:
Hope your good fortune continues, Lennox! Just be aware that the sawdust in each bag will eventually damage your auger, if yours is a bottom feed system...AND the 2-3 inch long pellets that appear in every bag may jam up your feed chute, as it did mine over & over & over! You're paying for Premium Hardwood - and not getting it. But, hey, if that doesn't bother you - and the stuff keeps you warm - then Great!
I've been screening my pennington natures heat pellets, some bags have 2 quarts of fines. What should I do??? sick of screening.....
HD41
Member
Some stoves burn fines without a problem others do not (auger plugging) depends on the the type of stove. I have never seen any buildup of fines in my Englander 25PDVC. I have burned tons of Somerset, American Wood Fiber and Lignetics which had very few fines. I have only burned one bag of last years Natures Heat as a sample test and it was not as good as what I had been using.robbie99 said:
That seems like sufficient fines to take this up with the dealer who sold you the pellets or Pennington. Posts here show that sellers or Pennington have responded to complaints of this nature.
I believe that auger orientation is key. Stoves with augers that are angled upwards and drop the pellets (top loading burn pot) do not deal with fines and crumbles like the bottom loading burn pots with the horizontal augers.
I recommend anyone looking to buy a stove purchase a horizontal auger so they know that they will be able to feed all brands.
I recommend anyone looking to buy a stove purchase a horizontal auger so they know that they will be able to feed all brands.
robbie99 said:
Egads, man! 2 QUARTS of fines in a bag?! Unacceptable! Ive burned my p61 for 7 years now, and havent as yet screened one bag. Id humbly suggest, that if there are THAT many fines, you get yourself a new brand of pellet. Cant imagine having to screen a bag every time I needed one.........
Last years batch of Pennington's that I had contained a large amount of fines in the bottom of the bag. In this years batch the fines are more dust spread thru out the bag. It's worse because a large cloud of dust blows out of the hopper as the bag is added. I've resorted to sticking the end of the shop vac hose in the hopper as I pour, what a friggin pain. I didn't have a choice as to brand upon purchase. Around here, I have to take what I can get.
A follow up to my story - Home depot took back my last ton of Pennington pellets (Nature's Heat) Pennington called me to follow up but I declined to deal with this further seeing it as more of a hassle than anything. I have to give them credit for following up with me but I am not interested in continuing the nightmare. 
On a related note, it appears my Saranac Stove (Freestanding) is having terminal jamming issues. At this point, I can't burn anything for more than 20 mins or so without a jam. I have dealt with jamming issues all year in addition to the Nature's Heat pellet issue. The pellets jam next to the "fins" on the top of the auger shaft. I was convinced the design is flawed. I can not understand why you would design something that leaves space in the tube just about the width of a pellet. I feel like they should be filed down or something. It seems to invite jamming. Well, I'm right. I contacted Inca Metals in Albany NY; the makes of the stove and they confirmed they have in fact re-designed the auger because of jamming issues. The person I spoke with was very nice and although the new parts are currently being manufacturered, she assured me her guy would come up the first part of March to install and honor the warrantly (My dealer sent out of business this winter (Sunrise Home and Hearth in Bangor)
I'm looking forward to my unit working again. When it does function, the heat output is great and the stove looks really nice.
On a related note, it appears my Saranac Stove (Freestanding) is having terminal jamming issues. At this point, I can't burn anything for more than 20 mins or so without a jam. I have dealt with jamming issues all year in addition to the Nature's Heat pellet issue. The pellets jam next to the "fins" on the top of the auger shaft. I was convinced the design is flawed. I can not understand why you would design something that leaves space in the tube just about the width of a pellet. I feel like they should be filed down or something. It seems to invite jamming. Well, I'm right. I contacted Inca Metals in Albany NY; the makes of the stove and they confirmed they have in fact re-designed the auger because of jamming issues. The person I spoke with was very nice and although the new parts are currently being manufacturered, she assured me her guy would come up the first part of March to install and honor the warrantly (My dealer sent out of business this winter (Sunrise Home and Hearth in Bangor)
I'm looking forward to my unit working again. When it does function, the heat output is great and the stove looks really nice.
Ductape
Member
At times I feel like a broken record. How anyone could continue spend hard earned money with a company that clearly cheated its customers is beyond me. I have had an even worse experience than many others here who purchaesd Pennington Pellets. Not only were they LOADED with fine, but I was lucky enough to find landscape rocks in my pellets.
I emailed a complaint to Pennington, complete with pictures of the problems. Over two weeks later I finally got a response from one of their representatives, Bobbie Black. I was asked for my mailing address so they could send me a form to fill out and return to them, along with pellet samples, empty bags, etc.Pennington suggested I return what was left of my pellets to Home Depot where I bought them, but HD would not take them back since it was beyond their 90 day return policy. I sent a response along with my mailing address.............. and that was the last I ever heard from Pennington.
I even tried to complain to the Pellet Fuels Institute, and my complaints fell on deaf ears there also.
Folks, continuing to support Pennington by buying their substandard product will only allow them to continue ripping us off. There will never be a reason for them to sell a premium pellet when they are allowed to continue selling, and mis-labeling substandard product as premium. I bought three tons of their crap and will never get back the hours of my life that I spend sifting rocks and fine out of their pellets. I'm lucky the rocks didn't damage my stove.
BUYER BEWARE
!
I emailed a complaint to Pennington, complete with pictures of the problems. Over two weeks later I finally got a response from one of their representatives, Bobbie Black. I was asked for my mailing address so they could send me a form to fill out and return to them, along with pellet samples, empty bags, etc.Pennington suggested I return what was left of my pellets to Home Depot where I bought them, but HD would not take them back since it was beyond their 90 day return policy. I sent a response along with my mailing address.............. and that was the last I ever heard from Pennington.
I even tried to complain to the Pellet Fuels Institute, and my complaints fell on deaf ears there also.
Folks, continuing to support Pennington by buying their substandard product will only allow them to continue ripping us off. There will never be a reason for them to sell a premium pellet when they are allowed to continue selling, and mis-labeling substandard product as premium. I bought three tons of their crap and will never get back the hours of my life that I spend sifting rocks and fine out of their pellets. I'm lucky the rocks didn't damage my stove.
BUYER BEWARE
!
Firenutz
New Member
I bought a half ton of the nature's heat from Sams club in Scranton PA. The bottom of the bag says Georgia but not sure if that's where they're made. Lots of dust, horribly uneven burning, they create tons more ash than previous pellets. After my experience as well as seeing pics of rocks and dust, I won't be buying these anymore. And no, I'm not hauling them back to the store for a refund either. If I want a bag of dust I'll go out in the garage and rip some 2X4s with my circular saw.
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