Pellet Fuel(New Wal Mart stock)

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.

MainePellethead

Minister of Fire
Dec 9, 2007
904
Southern Maine
I was at our local Wal Mart yesterday and I passed by a "new" brand of pellets that they have in the store. They have no Penningtons. Whether they sold them or whether they took them out....I have no idea. But they have these new ones there that are white and red bags with black lettering. And the name just says.... Pellet Fuel for a name. It has a PFI stamp. And I think it said they were made in kentucky. There was no other markings. Anyone seen or burned these?
 
AwsumSS, as long as it has the PFI stamp, I would think the pellets would be halfway descent. With a guaranteed analysis right on the bag. I noticed the Pennington's that I WAS burning, has no stamp or guaranteed analysis. I'm burning a different pellet now and have seen a huge difference with them over Pennington. Low ash buildup for one thing. Mine also comes in a white bag, with black lettering, and points out very prominently the features of the pellets. I'll try to find out how makes my pellets. I may have overlooked the info on the bag.
 
galen said:
AwsumSS, as long as it has the PFI stamp, I would think the pellets would be halfway descent. With a guaranteed analysis right on the bag. I noticed the Pennington's that I WAS burning, has no stamp or guaranteed analysis. I'm burning a different pellet now and have seen a huge difference with them over Pennington. Low ash buildup for one thing. Mine also comes in a white bag, with black lettering, and points out very prominently the features of the pellets. I'll try to find out how makes my pellets. I may have overlooked the info on the bag.

I was just curious about them....saw they had no Penningtons in the store(wasnt looking....but usually see them), but instead they had these new brand. I am all set for the season as I have about a ton and a half left. I was just curious about that brand as I had not seen them anywhere before.
 
Sting said:
Kentucky kernel???

No....it was strange.....almost like a generic name...lol......just said "PELLET FUEL" . Was red and white bag with black lettering. Was print on the front side and back side was blank white.
 
The local Wal-mart here started selling spark man pellets red / white / black bag with orange lettering that says Wood pellets. are these the ones?
we bought a couple of bags to try out
I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THESE.
cold burn really,really messy lots of dust in bags a lot more pellets in the bag for a 40 lbs bag so i'm guessing they are not as dense.
just my .02
you're mileage may vary.
PICT0115.gif
 
chris03079 said:
The local Wal-mart here started selling spark man pellets red / white / black bag with orange lettering that says Wood pellets. are these the ones?
we bought a couple of bags to try out
I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THESE.
cold burn really,really messy lots of dust in bags a lot more pellets in the bag for a 40 lbs bag so i'm guessing they are not as dense.
just my .02
you're mileage may vary.
[

YES! those are the ones we saw.....
 
I just joined this forum. Just got a Harman XXV a few weeks ago, been burning Energex 20-lb bags I got with the stove, and they seem good. Now I'm looking for a more permanent supply (I live in a slightly remote area), and so I bought 2 of the Sparkman bags mentioned in this thread (from Walmart) just to try. $4.94/bag ($247/ton). I'll give them a whirl. If I don't like them, I can buy Energex 40 lb bags locally for $280/ton.
 
Just got a ton of Penningtons about a week ago. One word.... Horrible. I have burned about 6 different brands up until now, and never had any problems. These Penningtons have been clogging the feed tube almost daily. At first I thought it was the handfuls of sawdust in the bags. So I would dump half a bag in, and screen the rest with a 1/4" screen. Now I am not so sure. It almost seems that the pellets might be too long. They can be as long as 2", with a lot of 1" ones. Definitely not uninform in size, or even close to uniform.

I always buy full pallets, and handle them carefully. I have been buying from Tractor Supply Co for the past two seasons, until they ran out about 2 weeks ago. Got a few bags from Lowes, forget the brand, but they burned good. Then I got these Penningtons. If I knew they were not PFI approved, I would not have bought them. Before these, I have never seen any here that were not PFI. The supply house had no loose bags, so I bought the skid, wrapped in black plastic, When I got them home I saw no PFI. I complained to Pennington, and they want me to send back an empty bag, with a few handfuls of pellets in it. I would have brought them back, but TSC still doesn't have pellets, and heating oil is $3.40 a gallon!

TSC had Hardwood Heat, which were OK. They had Premiere, which was my favorite, until they got in some Lignetics. Man they were the best pellet I ever burned. With these 3 brands I would have a little clinker in the bottom of the burn pot when I would clean it daily. The Penningtons, there is not a speck of ash or clinker in the burn pot when the fire dies out. VERY odd. The fire is erratic, changing the feed rate makes no difference. The flames barely come out of the burn pot. They don't seem to burn very hot.

Quadra-Fire Santa Fe insert.

~Chuck
 
csmith669 said:
Just got a ton of Penningtons about a week ago. One word.... Horrible. I have burned about 6 different brands up until now, and never had any problems. These Penningtons have been clogging the feed tube almost daily. At first I thought it was the handfuls of sawdust in the bags. So I would dump half a bag in, and screen the rest with a 1/4" screen. Now I am not so sure. It almost seems that the pellets might be too long. They can be as long as 2", with a lot of 1" ones. Definitely not uninform in size, or even close to uniform.

I always buy full pallets, and handle them carefully. I have been buying from Tractor Supply Co for the past two seasons, until they ran out about 2 weeks ago. Got a few bags from Lowes, forget the brand, but they burned good. Then I got these Penningtons. If I knew they were not PFI approved, I would not have bought them. Before these, I have never seen any here that were not PFI. The supply house had no loose bags, so I bought the skid, wrapped in black plastic, When I got them home I saw no PFI. I complained to Pennington, and they want me to send back an empty bag, with a few handfuls of pellets in it. I would have brought them back, but TSC still doesn't have pellets, and heating oil is $3.40 a gallon!

TSC had Hardwood Heat, which were OK. They had Premiere, which was my favorite, until they got in some Lignetics. Man they were the best pellet I ever burned. With these 3 brands I would have a little clinker in the bottom of the burn pot when I would clean it daily. The Penningtons, there is not a speck of ash or clinker in the burn pot when the fire dies out. VERY odd. The fire is erratic, changing the feed rate makes no difference. The flames barely come out of the burn pot. They don't seem to burn very hot.

Quadra-Fire Santa Fe insert.

~Chuck
It's probably worth it for you to read through this long thread about the Pennington pellets. https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/14333/
 
I have started burning the Sparkman pellets from Walmart, and they seem to be doing fine (this is after about 5 bags). The pellets are longer than Energex (about 1" instead of 1/2"), and have a few more fines, but they seem to be burning well in my Harman XXV. They are $4.94 per bag (which adds up to $247 per ton). By the pallet they are $224 per ton. Too bad I don't have a big truck so I can't buy a whole pallet.

I do have a trailer, which is currently snow-bound. Maybe next year, if Walmart would let me pick up my pallet in 3-4 trips, I could buy this.....
 
I hear ya Dan. I just wish Home Depot and Lowe's in my area would carry pellets so that I would have 3 places to buy pellets. It looks like I might have to drive 200 miles round trip if I want pellets now. Either that or wait until Tractor Supply stocks them in the fall.
 
Wow packerfan and Phillip, that's too bad that you don't have many pellet sources. I have two sources within 2 miles of my house (Walmart and Aubuchons, which is a Northeastern hardware chain). And the Lowe's an hour away has them, as do the folks who put in my stove (less than an hour away). Am am looking at price per bag or ton, while you are having to look at getting them at all.
 
newpelletstove said:
Wow packerfan and Phillip, that's too bad that you don't have many pellet sources. I have two sources within 2 miles of my house (Walmart and Aubuchons, which is a Northeastern hardware chain). And the Lowe's an hour away has them, as do the folks who put in my stove (less than an hour away). Am am looking at price per bag or ton, while you are having to look at getting them at all.

There are 5 or 6 places around here to get pellets, but adding another place to compare brands and price never hurts.
 
For those of you in WI, I live in the Fox Valley. Here is a list of places I know carry pellets around the Valey.

Lowes
Home Depot
Menards (currently burning these, seem pretty good)
Tractor Supply Store
Wal-Mart
ESES
Warm Sensations
I can't remember the name of the place in Kaukauna, but they are on Crook's Ave

I know a few places are out of pellets for the season, since it's March, but Menards West still has them in Appleton.
 
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 them 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.

Lennox Montage
 
Status
Not open for further replies.