What do you think of the Vermont Wood Pellet Co. pellets?

Would like to hear from you Vermont pellet burners!

Well, I am more than happy to be the first one to respond to this thread! I had actually posted a thread similar to this a few weeks ago and got some very positive feedback. I have been meaning to swing down to the plant and pick up a few bags to try for the past 2-3 weeks and for one reason or another I kept getting sidetracked. Around monday (Jan 25) I looked at the weather and saw we were going to have a few days of real cold weather so I made a point of stopping at the plant on friday and picking up a few bags.

I actually got to talk to both the CEO and the president of the company and was impressed, very impressed actually, with how down to earth and genuinely interested in my feedback they were. Not only that, they seemed genuinely interested in making a high quality pellet and getting it right the first time. I mentioned that I had wanted to buy last seasons pellets from them but they opened about a month after I bought-their response was that they didn't want to open to soon, before they knew they had a good, quality pellet. That impressed me!

Now to the pellets! The first thing I noticed when I opened the bag was a clean pine smell. I was surprised by that, I am used to opening a bag and smelling a dusty somewhat wood/cardboard smell. I don't know if this is because I got them direct from the plant and they didn't have to be shipped or what, but I liked it and so did my wife-which is double good for me.

The pellets are a softwood pellet, made from pulpwood (still not sure exactly what that means) and they burn HOT and CLEAN. There was very little ash from my weekend's worth of burn and my burnpot had little if any carbon buildup. I don't have a stove thermometer so I am not sure if the temps were actually hotter, but they sure felt hotter.

I haven't burned many different brands, 4-5 I think. These pellets are easily the best, followed by the premiers I got from TSC at the beginning of last season. If you are in the Southern VT area I would say try these! You won't be disappointed! Great company and great product!

I'd be glad to give you my impressions if you ship a couple of bags down to me. :cheese:

Pulpwood is wood that isn't used for producing lumber and is normally used for producing paper. Basically, its logs that don't make the grade as saw lumber. But it does really well as a pellet fuel. VWP uses pine (pine pulp) to produce their pellets.

I would love to test them for our forum members. If you would like to send me 2 bags I can post a review.

Some of the reviews I have done are in the links:

http://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/50101/

http://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/42511/

If you are interested please send me a PM.

Thanks you
jay

BigJim13 is correct. I too have tried them and found them cleaner than the Lignetics and burn just as hot in my Big-E. That and they are at least $30 a ton cheaper when I last checked prices. It's what I'm going to burn next season. I live a mile from the plant so if you want me to on check anything I'd be glad to.

Tom

How are they being marketed ? Any stores in New York have em ? Always looking for a good pellet.

Schoondog

That is correct, a couple of stores in the Rutland area and a store in the Middlebury area a few miles north are carrying them. That and you can go direct to the plant. Don't know if they plan on getting bigger and moving their distribution out further or not. I'm guessing that it won't be anytime soon as they seem happy to be making a quality pellet for a local area and may not want to get to big to soon, which IMHO is a good thing. Sometimes companies get to big to fast and sacrifice quality for quantity and lose what made them good in the first place. I'm hoping that doesn't happen here!

anybody know what the mill hours are for picking up pellets?

I'm not totally sure but I think they are open for pickup 9 to 5 weekdays but I can check with them if you'd like me to. Plus I think Crosby's in Danby, VT is selling their pellets now.

Haven't tried them out in 8 months and last time they were really pretty good - but a lot of fines. Just got 10 bags in Middlebury. Heat is very hot. The pellets still smell like pine needles, apples, and clean sawdust. Fines are low normal, this time. Ash is very, very low. Clinkers and carbon buildup seem low, so far. I'm planning on buying local for next winter. I'm looking forward to it. The Energex are very good but the Vermont Wood Pellets really seem to be great. Really really great. And local jobs.

Mon thru Sat 9-5 at the mill. EC Crosby's in Danby or Bourdeau Brothers in Middlebury have them also.

Well good luck you Vermont folks. I think its great that someone is producing a quality anything here in the USofA. If you get really good and make so many pellets the vermonters can't burn anymore, you can send em down south to us N.Y. folks let the forum know and we get first dibs on em

Schoondog

They are sold primarily in VT. But I did some checking for a friend of mine in Southern NH and Precision Heat/Nature's Way also carries them. Their website is http://www.precisionheatnaturesway.com/. They were pretty reasonable on delivery pricing and said they had a supply of pellets on hand to pull from.

Precision Heat/Nature's Way does carry the Vermont Wood Pellets. I have burned almost a ton now, and they do burn hot with very little ash, quite pleased with them. Current price is $249 per ton. They used to carry Okanagan's and I wanted to try them as everyone claims they are the best, but when they got the Vermont pellets in the Oakies were no longer available. I am going to wait and see if they will bring the Oakies back in stock before I order for next winter. If not, I will buy the Vermont again as I can't find anyone close to me that has the Oakies and will deliver.

Bought 25 bags to try a few weeks ago. Like the smell. Like the heat. Like the low ash. DO NOT like how many fines there are in each bag. DO NOT like that they don't seem to slide down the hopper on my XXV (I've had my stove go out when there is almost a half of a bag still mounded up on the sides of the hopper). Overall a good pellet for the price. Precision Heat is currently out of them, but they believed they would have some in stock the end of this week or next.

Is this the presicion heat in Asuculot?? just over the ma border?

Yes it is Precision Heat in Ashuelot. Have to agree with Ladderlieu about them not sliding well in the Hopper. I have the same problem. I don't think the fines are too bad, I've seen worse, and the heat output plus very low ash makes up for this as far as I'm concerned.

Yep, they're in Ashuelot, NH.

I hadn't noticed the issue with them sliding in the hopper. Matter of fact I didn't think there were alot of fines either, but I have been burning Maine Woods this season and the cloud of dust that puffs up when I pour them in the hopper is amazing, and of course the handful of sawdust at the bottom of the bag-so it's possible there are alot of fines but I am not noticing because I am used to alot of fines.

Good ash and heat output though, I will agree and the smell when you open the bag is nice!

I've got an Accentra and have had the same problem with pellets sliding down the hopper with a lot of different brands. I called Harmon about the problem and they said it was fairly common in most of their stoves that this was happening. Their great words of advice were to take the pellets in the hopper and mound them towards the center that way there would be more downward pressure as the hopper emptied and that would help out. Not too sure I like this idea, but I tried it and it seemed to work. But in reality, the amount of pellets that are left on the sides of the hopper are, for me, pretty low so I'm really not all that worried about it.

I've been burning the Vermont Wood Pellets all winter long and ended up burning my last ton a few weeks ago. So I've been going in and buying ten or so bags at a time as I needed them. The bags I've been getting are pretty darn low on fines and seem to hold up pretty well. I did get a few bags in the past that had a few more fines than I liked. But when I stopped I asked Chris, one of the owners, about it and he said that they had just installed a second screening system before their bagger and in addition were pulling air from the bagger before the pellets went into the bag to grab any dust that might become airborne. It seems like it cut down on the fines. Personally I love these pellets and like the idea of buying local. But that's just my .02

I just ordered two tons of these after trying 8 bags - As far as I'm concerned it is the best pellet that I have ever burned. I just can't believe how little ash is left after a burn.

Hoping someone is stocking these in the WRJ VT area this year!

Received a tip from a pellet burning neighbor to help pellets slide down the hopper easier. Empty the hopper and vacuum it out well to get all dust out. Then use waxed paper and rub the hopper walls well with it, refill the hopper and go. I tried it last night, and it seems to be working. The pellets are sliding down much better now, at least in my stove. Give it a try and see if it works for you.

Well, if I could get some here, I'd burn 'em, and you'd hear from me.