WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT PENNINGTON NATURES HEAT SOLD AT LOWES AND HOME DEPOT

[erhalt1]

I HAVE BEEN BURNING THESE PELLETS BUT THEY ARE AROUND 5.50 A BAG, SHOULD I JUST BUY A TON OF SOMETHING ELSE? WHAT IS RECOMMENDED? I HAVE A ENGLANDER. THEY LEAVE ALOT OF ASH, AND BURN QUICK. I AM NEW TO THIS, HOW DOES GETTING A TON IF YOU DON'T HAVE A TRUCK TO GET THEM, I LIVE IN WESTERN OHIO.

SORRY FOR THE CAPS




ERHALT1

 

[galen]

ER, you could rent a Lowe's truck. but then that drives up your per bag cost. You could rent a trailer, same thing. If you have a friend that owns a truck, I would be nicer to him than any of my other friends. But bottom line is if you don't own a truck then your going to have to make a bunch of trips right? I just got back from Lowes and I bought a ton/50 bags. It was a load on my F250. Put her down on the overload springs. I burned several different types and only saw a very little difference in bags. One company that I tried did have low ash but was a 1.60 higher. Didn't think it was worth it. But I did like them. Lowe's still had 800 bags on hand. That's 16 pallets. I'm going to check back come spring and see if they want to unload them. I have a spot in my barn for them.

 

[erhalt1]

Galon thanks,

I do have a friend with a truck and i have a tilt trailer but it still sound like i am going to have to unload the skid no matter what. How much did you pay for the skid if i may ask, I have heard that buying a skid is cheaper than buying ind..

thanks for your help you are so kind

erhalt1

 

[MainePellethead]

ER, you could rent a Lowe's truck. but then that drives up your per bag cost. You could rent a trailer, same thing. If you have a friend that owns a truck, I would be nicer to him than any of my other friends. But bottom line is if you don't own a truck then your going to have to make a bunch of trips right? I just got back from Lowes and I bought a ton/50 bags. It was a load on my F250. Put her down on the overload springs. I burned several different types and only saw a very little difference in bags. One company that I tried did have low ash but was a 1.60 higher. Didn't think it was worth it. But I did like them. Lowe's still had 800 bags on hand. That's 16 pallets. I'm going to check back come spring and see if they want to unload them. I have a spot in my barn for them.

What brand did you buy at lowes galen?

 

[MainePellethead]

Galon thanks,

I do have a friend with a truck and i have a tilt trailer but it still sound like i am going to have to unload the skid no matter what. How much did you pay for the skid if i may ask, I have heard that buying a skid is cheaper than buying ind..

thanks for your help you are so kind

erhalt1

I am burning "Fireside Ultras" from Home Depot. I absolutely love them....high heat...low ash....and not to bad on the fines. I bought a ton for 223....

 

[erhalt1]

i just went to my home depot and they have the same brand as lowes PENNINGTON NATURES HEAT.

 

[galen]

Wow, what an afternoon. I was sitting at my business and saw an accident. T bone Luckily no one was hurt. I let the police watch it over my security DVR. They were real impressed to be able to watch it over and over. But back to pellets. Yes, they were Pennington's AwsumSS. ER, I paid 171.00. That included tax. 3.42 each. But single bag price was 3.80. I think the reason we have it good here in Missouri is we have a Pennington plant a Green field MO. Which is down by Stockton Lake. North of Springfield MO. I think its on 160 Hwy. So transportation costs are going to Be reflected.

 

[MainePellethead]

I'm not hearing a very good review regarding the Penningtons on here. Some were saying they were pretty dirty. Theres no tax on pellets here in maine....

 

[galen]

I think its more a batch run thing. Some are better than others. My bags did have some but really, not that much or believe me I would not have bought them. Now the Lignetics were very clean with just a small am out of fines but not to justify 1.60 more per bag. No way Jose. If in your area, the Penn's are priced close to Lignetics then I would defiantly pick the Lig's

 

[erhalt1]

You all have been so kind an knowledable about everything. I guess I will just go ahead and get a pallett of the penningtons or call around some of the stove places and see what they will charge for different types. The thing i noticed about the penningtons is that one bag can be a light colored wood, and another a real dark color, and the dark color seems to burn better. I guess i don't understand the 2 color thing. The englander seems to be a good stove not great, I wish it had a bigger window, and it stayed CLEAN! but for 750.00 I can't complain it seems to be an ok stove, customer service is great but you have to wait 15-20 min to talk to someone, I asked the rep about it and he told me they only have 10 people working there lines there, and they are getting ready to open up in canada, so they are going to have to add more soon.

 

[Corie]

I've burned the Pennington pellets in every one of our stoves and have found them to burn quite well. Perhaps some light adjustments are needed on low fuel feed, low burn air or the restrictor plate? I've found them to be more or less comparable to any other good pellet I've tested?

 

[petejung]

I have an Englander PDVC and really don't like the Pennington's that I bought from HD. Really dirty, lots of fines. Could have been a bad batch. As we mostly burn our stove on setting 1 or 2, I adjusted the low heat fuel down to 1 (yes, 1) to keep it running correctly, rather than adjusting the restrictor plate. The Somerset's I used require a different setup completely. I am thankful to only have 5 bags of Pennington's left, then back to the Somersets, which at least in my limited experience have proven to be superior to the Pennington's.

 

[kshew97]

I am using my 6th (and last) bag of Pennington pellets. I bought these at Lowes near Cincinnati. I checked Home Depot and they are now carrying the same brand as well. This is only my 2nd season using my pellet stove as my primary heat source in my 1700sf house. These pellets are the worst I have ever used ! I started buying my pellets at Lowes/Home Depot because of conveinence (4 miles from house), but a trip to Tractor Supply and/or stove specialty store (15 miles) is well worth it. LOTS and LOTS of ash, dusty, nasty, long pellets, less heat than almost every other brand I have tried.

........Just my $0.02

 

[dumbodog00]

I was able to get these pellets at Lowes for my in-laws really cheap because of price matching. However, I bought 5 tons, loaded 3 tons wrapped and sealed into a trailer. The other 2 tons I had to open to distribute between truck and trailer. Of the 2 tons that were opened, there were about 30 bags that had been wet and were as hard as a rock. After getting the other three tons opened, there were another 40 bags that had been wet and were hard. They were all replaced, but I thought it was pretty bad they were damaged from the get go. TSC keeps them outside in the weather and never had a problem with them. It may have been a manufacturing issue because they were wrapped well to prevent water intrusion.
My father-in-law says they produce more clinkers and ash than other brands he has used. I hate buying so much quantity before trying them, but the price was right and last year they were hard to find this time of year.

 

[bblack]

Issues have been brought up in this Blog about the quality of Pennington Wood Pellets. Concerns have ranged from how well they burn, the amount of ash and clinkers they produce, the presence of long pellets, and an excess of fines or dust in the bag. The fact that many of you have encountered problems with our pellets is very concerning to us and we would like to work with you to resolve them.

Some background - Pennington has five wood pellet plants in the East and Midwest of the US. The pellet mills in Missouri and Virginia have been in operation for many years and make an excellent product. In the last 12 months, three new pellet mills have been built to help alleviate the pellet shortages from previous years. We have experienced some quality problems from these plants as they were started up. Pennington Seed has high standards for all of their products, and we regularly test our wood pellets for ash, length, fines, and BTU. Despite these tests and our best efforts, it appears some sub-standard pellets from these new plants made it into the marketplace.

If you have recently purchased Pennington Wood Pellets and not satisfied with them, you can contact Customer Service at 1-800-658-0410 or email [email protected]. Please note the lot number on the bag (usually embossed near the top seal of the bag), where and when you bought them, and what the issues are with the product.

Below are some comments concerning other questions raised by several Bloggers:

Pellet storage - When possible, store wood pellets inside, out of the weather. If kept dry pellets can be stored from season to season. If this is not possible and you must store outside, keep product off the ground to prevent moisture from wicking from below, and cover with a tarp to protect from rain, snow and sun.

Small holes in bags - The small holes along the top seal are added to assist bagging and palletizing of the product during the manufacturing process. These holes allow air to escape after sealing. In the absence of these holes, the trapped air would blow-out the seals when product is stacked on a pallet.

Brands - Bio Plus and Nature’s Heat are both manufactured by Pennington. Nature’s Heat is a new brand launched in 2007 and is meant to replace the older Bio-Plus brand.

Customer Service – Pennington Seed

 

[slheinlein]

I bought a ton of Pennington Natures Heat wood pellets from Lowes in Merrimack NH in Mid-January. I thought I was getting another brand of pellets that I had burned before but when I got them home and unwrapped them, they were Penningtons. I almost took them back but since I hauled one ton of pellets in my .5 ton truck, I didn't want to make the trip back so I kep them. I noticed when I opened the first bag the difference - longer than normal pellets, lots of grain and they were very dusty.

I have had trouble burning them - a lot of ash, don't seem to put out as much heat and my stove get much dirtier than when I burn other brands. In addition, my stove stopped feeding pellets on two separate occasions which is something I have never had happen before. I assume the hole the pellets feed into the auger is getting clogged up maybe due to the unusually long size of the pellets. I was out of town the first time it happened and my wife couldn't figure out what to do so she ended up unplugging the stove and turning on the propane furnace. This is exactly what I don't want to happen when propane costs so much these days and the only reason I purchased a pellet stove in the first place.

I seriously thought about taking some of the pellets back to Lowes and trading them out for another brand but it is just too burdensome so I am trying to get these to work. However, they definitely produce high ash, do not burn as clean as my window gets very dirty and don't seem to produce heat. In some case zero heat when things get clogged.

I plan to take your offer and send this Email to the address above.

 

[petejung]

Pennington Seed -

Thank you for your concern.

Unfortunately, I cannot provide you with any lot information regarding the pellets I was having trouble with, as I thankfully have, as of this past week, finished burning the ton that I had purchased and all of the emtpy bags are at the landfill.

The only information I can give you is that I purchased these in late October, early November from the Home Depot in Lebanon, Ohio (45036). I believe that the pellets I bought there were in the first batch they received to sell, as no one there at the store had a clue as to how to ring them up or where they were located physically in the store. perhaps that will help you track down the lot#.

I am interested in hearing what the general consensus is regarding where the Cincinnati pellets were manufactured.

 

[MainePellethead]

Issues have been brought up in this Blog about the quality of Pennington Wood Pellets. Concerns have ranged from how well they burn, the amount of ash and clinkers they produce, the presence of long pellets, and an excess of fines or dust in the bag. The fact that many of you have encountered problems with our pellets is very concerning to us and we would like to work with you to resolve them.

Some background - Pennington has five wood pellet plants in the East and Midwest of the US. The pellet mills in Missouri and Virginia have been in operation for many years and make an excellent product. In the last 12 months, three new pellet mills have been built to help alleviate the pellet shortages from previous years. We have experienced some quality problems from these plants as they were started up. Pennington Seed has high standards for all of their products, and we regularly test our wood pellets for ash, length, fines, and BTU. Despite these tests and our best efforts, it appears some sub-standard pellets from these new plants made it into the marketplace.

If you have recently purchased Pennington Wood Pellets and not satisfied with them, you can contact Customer Service at 1-800-658-0410 or email [email protected]. Please note the lot number on the bag (usually embossed near the top seal of the bag), where and when you bought them, and what the issues are with the product.

Below are some comments concerning other questions raised by several Bloggers:

Pellet storage - When possible, store wood pellets inside, out of the weather. If kept dry pellets can be stored from season to season. If this is not possible and you must store outside, keep product off the ground to prevent moisture from wicking from below, and cover with a tarp to protect from rain, snow and sun.

Small holes in bags - The small holes along the top seal are added to assist bagging and palletizing of the product during the manufacturing process. These holes allow air to escape after sealing. In the absence of these holes, the trapped air would blow-out the seals when product is stacked on a pallet.

Brands - Bio Plus and Nature’s Heat are both manufactured by Pennington. Nature’s Heat is a new brand launched in 2007 and is meant to replace the older Bio-Plus brand.

Customer Service – Pennington Seed

Thank you for your thoughts/words.....however...after seeing alot of negative...I will not even "try" a pennington pellet until next year maybe later....

 

[stoveguy2esw]

personally, i thought it was a pretty stand up thing to do submitting the post that they did. i stated before that the folks i had worked with in georgia were very attentive and quite positive in wanting to field a quality product, i believe they will if not are already fielding a good product. if you have had issues give them a call ,or drop an e mail. by posting in public here they are offering you the opportunity to contact them in an open way. that goes a long way in my book.

 

[ImInTheWind]

I'm going to chime in here.

I work at Lowe's. I tried six bags of Pennington's from our stock and they were green in color, various lengths, full of dust and seemed to be on the cooler burning side. I then tried six bags of Pennington's from another local Lowe's and they were dark brown in color, about 3/8 to 1/2 inch in length, dust free and seem to burn hotter than my trusted Lignetics.

It looks like it may be hit or miss, depending on the lot or location of manufacturer. That seems to be a very difficult QC problem to overcome and even at the ton price, a bad batch will leave a very dissatisfied impression.

At this point, I would have to break open a bag or two of each ton, before I would purchase 3 to 5 tons.

I truly hope that Pennington can harness the QC, because the dark brown pellets really throw some quality heat.

 

[drtnshtr]

I just bought these pellets here in central ohio and I have noticed the same issues...now walmart is carrying them as well as lowes...they arent burning nearly as hot...

 

[webbie]

I hope everyone keeps in mind that every single pellet stove is varied as to what it's perfect fuel might be. So there are more variables than just the pellets - there is the stove! Ideally, this would not be as much of a problem as it is - manufacturers should ideally engineer stoves which burn most of the stuff out there with few problems. But they don't.

 

[JimmyD]

personally, i thought it was a pretty stand up thing to do submitting the post that they did. i stated before that the folks i had worked with in georgia were very attentive and quite positive in wanting to field a quality product, i believe they will if not are already fielding a good product. if you have had issues give them a call ,or drop an e mail. by posting in public here they are offering you the opportunity to contact them in an open way. that goes a long way in my book.

I wrote them a pleasant email outlining my dissatisfaction with Nature's Heat pellets on 1/20/08 and never heard back so much as a thank you for the input. Provided purchasing information and date codes as well. I'll try again with this new contact, but my hopes aren't all that high at the moment. At least my local Agway has quality pellets for my use.

Thx,
Jim

 

[slvrblkk]

After reading this forum for quite a while, I decided to register and post on this topic. I made the mistake of buying a ton of the Nature's Heat brand of pellets from the Lowes in Whitehall, PA (because it looked like a good buy at $193.00) without trying a few bags first. I'm very disappointed in the fact that most of the pellets are between 1-1 3/4" in length and quite a few between 2-2 1/2" in length. I've had four outages so far due to the auger being bound up by the long pellets. I've burned about 16 bags so far and have had no change in the length of pellets. I have never had this problem with any other brand of pellets and I normally burn Wood Pellets Co. pellets. So far, I haven't heard anything from the company and I sent them everything they wanted (sample pellets,empty bag, receipt, etc.) last week. As far as burning the pellets they are very dark in color, burn clean, but they do not have a lot of heat output. My stove is a Englander 25_pdvc. This is the reply from the company from the email I sent them:





Stephen

Welcome to Pennington Seed and thank you for choosing one of our many
products, our ultimate goal is customer satisfaction.

We are very sorry you have experienced a problem with our hardwood
pellets. This is not the quality of hardwood pellets that Pennington
Seed strives to manufacture for their customers.

We regret you are finding long pellets in your bags of pellets. We
will
notify the mill and corrective action will be taken.

Would you tell me the number of bags that have the long pellets.
Please
mail the original receipt (this will be returned to you) and a complete
empty bag with the top of the bag intact, several handfuls of pellets
(we will refund your postage) with your name, physical address and
phone
number to the following address:

Customer Service
Pennington Seed, Inc.
PO Box 338
Greenfield, MO 65661

Pennington Seed will need some further information. We will be mailing
this questionaire to you as soon as possible. You can either wait
until
you receive the inquiry and mail everything in together or mail them
separate.

If you have other questions, or we can be of further assistance, please
advise.

Thank you,

Peggy S. Gordon
Pennington Seed, Inc.
Customer Service
1-800-658-0410 ext 187

 

[MainePellethead]

I see "almost" the same thing in that response letter as to when I write my Congressman or Senator...... "blah blah blah blah blah blah.....oh....and blah ba ty blah. "