# cheat river pellets



## shelbylul (Jul 29, 2011)

hey,
   anybody ever heard of cheat river pellets    lowes here on long island  has them for 298.00 a ton

                thanks


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## BrotherBart (Jul 29, 2011)

Never heard of'em. When I was doing white water rivers I went down the Cheat. It had wimpy rapids.  :-S 

Must be a West Virgina pellet.


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## Wood Heat Stoves (Jul 29, 2011)

Haven't heard of them but always try a few bags of pellets in your stove before buying a large quantity.


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## BrotherBart (Jul 30, 2011)

I just took a look and the trademark CHEAT RIVER HARDWOOD PELLET FUEL was approved a week ago. It belongs to Appalachian Wood Pellet Fuel, Inc.

Maybe somebody has experience with Appalachian's pellets.


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## jtakeman (Jul 30, 2011)

Appalachian Wood Pellet and Cheat River are new to market pellets. Appalachian Wood Pellet was started in April of this year but to new to have product in the area for a trial/test. I am not sure any members had a chance to burn any of there produce last season. But I am sure we will see some reviews come later this fall. 

Check link for more info.

http://www.trademarkia.com/company-appalachian-wood-pellets-inc-3708976-page-1-2


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## BrotherBart (Jul 30, 2011)

Kinda fascinating that they got a deal with Lowe's so fast.


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## jtakeman (Aug 2, 2011)

BB,

I am guessing they have something to do with Hamer pellet co. Pellet companies change bag names/brand names to sell in the box stores and pellet houses/stove dealers. They have been changing bag names to keep them seperate and less hassles. Dealers get ticked if they see the same pellet at the box stores for less than they caan buy for.

We saw Energex spin off Premier pellet as a sister brand. Just wondering if Hamer has done the same??? A wild guess on my part anyway. We also saw Curran spin off North American as well. The clue there was the address is the same for both brands. 

Anyone have the address from the Cheat River or AWP pellet bags?


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## johnny1720 (Aug 21, 2011)

I just picked up three tons of these pellets for $182 per ton with tax.  My stove will burn pretty much anything and the looked pretty good.

All three tons are neatly stacked in my basement waiting to be burned.


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## will711 (Aug 21, 2011)

j-takeman said:
			
		

> BB,
> 
> I am guessing they have something to do with Hamer pellet co. Pellet companies change bag names/brand names to sell in the box stores and pellet houses/stove dealers. They have been changing bag names to keep them seperate and less hassles. Dealers get ticked if they see the same pellet at the box stores for less than they caan buy for.
> 
> ...


 From the link you posted above they are located in Bridgeport WV. Also these are now available at my local Lowe's same price as all the other brands at all the other Lowes's


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## guwl7 (Aug 22, 2011)

We just bought a ton of these pellets for $203 + tx near Buffalo,NY.
Someone asked for the address - bag says "Appalachian Wood Pellets Inc
Cheat River Div., Kingwood, WV 26537.
Also says it's "Premium" Grade, 100% Hardwood
Ash content: 1% or less
Fines:           .5% or less
Sodium:        Less than 300 PPM
"Hot burning, low ash"

Still looking for some feedback from someone who has used this product...


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## LIpelletpig (Aug 23, 2011)

For $298 here on Long Island they're better choices and with good history to choose from.  Barefoot and Great American Pellet...Also, New England Wood Pellet but I really can't make any judgement since I've only burned 2-3 bags.


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## magsf11 (Sep 5, 2011)

I just came across them this weekend at TSC in Springville NY   for 190 something. going to pick up a few bags next weekend to tryout.


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## johnny1720 (Sep 6, 2011)

Last week it got down to like 48 here in Olean, I tossed in a bag and they burned really hot.  I was just itching to try them out.  The pellets are small which means they feed very quickly.  I turned down the number of pounds per hour and they still did well.


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## ducker (Sep 6, 2011)

these showed up for the same price as the NEWP--- er I mean Green Supreme that Lowes has in town.

So it sounds as if these are more desirable then the repackaged NEWP?


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## Hitch (Sep 6, 2011)

Saw a pallet of the Cheat River pellets at my local lowes as well (S.E. PA).  Lowes had written the same internal product number on the side of the pallet, so the guy said they would sell for $197 (same price as the re-bagged/named Currans).  If they are Hamer's I'll be buying.


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## ducker (Sep 7, 2011)

having no experience with the Hamer's back in the day... I'm dieing for a more seasoned burner to take a look at these
As I maybe splitting 2/2 tons with these and the NEWP rebagged tomorrow.


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## jtakeman (Sep 7, 2011)

I'm keeping an eye out for them. And a review if I do find some!


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## ducker (Sep 7, 2011)

let me just teleport a couple of bags down to you from central MA.

I'm kinda surprised CT Lowes aren't stocking them prior to MA Lowes


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## jtakeman (Sep 7, 2011)

I'm hoping to not start my stove until mid October, So I have some time to look around. I already have Platinum Fire and Geneva lined up and a bag of Power House the pellet fairy dropped off. Green Supreme's and Maine Choice are also on the list to scavange.


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## drekick1 (Sep 13, 2011)

LI Pellet Pig,
I live in Seaford where do you get your barefoot and okies from?  I got Barefoots from Gold Coast Flooring, but they have gone up to $320 per ton.
Thanks


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## LIpelletpig (Sep 13, 2011)

The Barefoot's I purchased end of last season from Gold Coast Flooring and the Okies are from Bravo Window and Door in Copiage also picked up late last season.  Bravo Window and Door currently has the best selection on pellets and they're a local supplier.  I hate supporting the Big Box stores and rather buy local, even if it cost a few extra bucks.


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## ducker (Sep 19, 2011)

got mine delivered on Thursday.  Burned them on Saturday night.  I was burning on the lowest setting so it's really hard to see what the true heat put will be like; but they seemed decent.

What I didn't like was the lose packaging they came in.  Not the pallet wrap from Lowes, but rather the individual bags, the bags themselves were on the lose side, which will cause the pellets to shift more within, and thus you'll see more fines/dust within the bag


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## Winslow2010 (Sep 25, 2011)

Funny thing is I am about 2 1/2 hours from where Cheat River Pellets are made and our Lowe's has them for a low price of $5.96 per bag!  I hate that since I am in West Virginia and I'd love to use a local pellet (for the right price).


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## fidiro (Sep 29, 2011)

Just stopped in Lowes today and they still have some Greene Team pellets but now just got in Cheat River as well.  They are $3.58/bag here.  I'm going to try and pickup a few bags to try out to see if they are better for me then the GT's for next season.


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## fidiro (Sep 29, 2011)

Picked up 5 bags @$3.58/bag today to do my own litte experimental test on mostly ash content/weight(build date 06/2011).  I'm no expert by no means but between TC, GreeneTeam and now these Cheat River pellets I can decide which will require less cleaning, although TC will not be available anymore(please don't bash they did fine for my needs but I could understand if I was burning 3-5 tons/season).


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## ducker (Sep 30, 2011)

will be interested in what you find.. because I didn't check it out between these and the green supreme


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## fidiro (Sep 30, 2011)

ducker said:
			
		

> will be interested in what you find.. because I didn't check it out between these and the green supreme



It will probably be some time before I'll have some results as right now I have the hopper full with GT's from a bag I poked a hole in.  I usually start off my heating season with just the firewood stove until it can't keep up with the outside temps to keep opposite side of house warm, that's where the pellet stove is to help.

I will definately take pics of pellets to show length and measure and weigh ash to let everyone know my findings to see how they may compare to anyone else doing the same with the same brand pellets.


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## Ralph777 (Oct 5, 2011)

I have owned my pellet stove for 4 years...I heat my house with it.  It is hard to beat Hammer Pellets or Link Jetex Pellets.  

However, the test run of two bags of Cheap River Hardwood Pellets, with/without the use Feed Corn, is excellent.

The color of the burn, and with charting the heat produced, I find this product to be satisfactory.

I will buy this product from my local Lowe's, if they will match the competitor from Hams from Southern States.

I have tried and recorded 5 different brands of pellets, including Pine, for temp., ash, heat, and clarity of the burn/glass.  Has anyone tried mixing Feed Corn into their pellets?

Any thoughts and comments would be appreciated.

Ralph


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## driftbuster (Oct 10, 2011)

Anyone find more info on these pellets? I wonder if these are the same as the Clean Energy that was bagged for Lowes last year? They burned great for me, i liked them as much as the Somersets.


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## Winslow2010 (Nov 3, 2011)

driftbuster said:
			
		

> Anyone find more info on these pellets? I wonder if these are the same as the Clean Energy that was bagged for Lowes last year? They burned great for me, i liked them as much as the Somersets.



My understanding is that this is a new plant that started up in early 2011.  I do not believe they are re-bagged pellets.  I just cleaned out my stove and have three bags to burn.  I cheated because Lowe's had three broken bags that I snagged for 1/2 off!  they were 95% full.


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## ducker (Nov 9, 2011)

So after burning about 10 bags of these so far... I've found the following
Inconsistent pellet length - quite a few very long (where my stove failed once, because of a pellet bridge in the hopper)
extremely dusty - a lot of pellet dust in the bag
lose bagging - it seems as if the bag itself is overly large for the amount of pellets inside, so they are shifting around quite a bit.

I'm fine with the heat output otherwise based on the sub $200 price I paid for them.
If I wanted high quality pellets - I'd pay a premium for them (over $250)

I got 2 tons of these and 2 tons of green team from Lowes... right now - I think I should have gone with just 4 tons of the green team and none of the cheat river.


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## fullfatboy (Nov 23, 2011)

I've burned these in my Harman Accentra. What I've found is that some bags may have long pellets which bridged my hopper and stopped the insert. I've also had a bag where the pellet size was fine. There do seem to be more fines and dust than normal. If you have the choice between these and Green Team, I would buy the Green Team. However, I measure heat output as well and these gave me more heat than Hardwood Heats and some other brands. I will probably buy another 5 bags and see how they go. If you use a Lowes 10% coupon the price can't be beat. You can get these coupons on EBAY and they are very cheap. Its a good tip for any lowes or home depot purchase as HD will take the lowes coupon as well. When these pellets first arrived at my Lowes they were $6 per bag and then a few weeks later $3.90 a bag.


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## Winslow2010 (Dec 3, 2011)

The Cheat River pellets burned well for me.  I just cleaned the stove and the burn pot had almost NO clinkers!  The ash is very fine.

The only negative is that the bags have lots of dust.  My stove would shut off when run on 1 due to the dust smothering the fire.  It burned fine on speeds 2-4. Before I put in a bag today, I used a Tupperware sifter and extracted the dust. 
+ Low/fine ash
+ no clinkers
-  lots of dust in the bag
Purchase again = Yes


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## fullfatboy (Dec 3, 2011)

I've actually become a fan of these pellets despite some of their shortcomings. They burn pretty hot. Just this morning I measured the heat output on my Accentra at 190'F. Much better than other brands I've tried. There is still the issue with dust and large pellets but hopefully they will work that out for the future.


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## Jim H. (Dec 3, 2011)

they are at the Lowe's in Bethlehem for 224 a ton,  not sure if I would purchase at this price....keep them in mind for later maybe.


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## ducker (Dec 8, 2011)

Winslow2010 said:
			
		

> The Cheat River pellets burned well for me.  I just cleaned the stove and the burn pot had almost NO clinkers!  The ash is very fine.
> 
> The only negative is that the bags have lots of dust.  My stove would shut off when run on 1 due to the dust smothering the fire.  It burned fine on speeds 2-4. Before I put in a bag today, I used a Tupperware sifter and extracted the dust.
> + Low/fine ash
> ...



you know, I have noticed that they do have quite a low ash output from what I've used in the past!


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## fullfatboy (Dec 9, 2011)

The main problem I've had with these pellets is the fact that they clog up my hopper due to the large length of some of the pellets. Seems like something they could easily fix and I hope they do for future lots. Last night my insert powered down due to this and it sucks waking up when the house is freezing. Other than that, good pellet!


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## fidiro (Dec 21, 2011)

Here are my results for two bags:

78.8 lbs of pellets 

38 oz of ash volume

6 oz of ash weight

Found a good size clinker in burn pot that I had to chisel away with the handle of the paint brush, don't remember finding one as big with the TC's I burned last year.  Ash volume is about the same as the TC's but if I remember correctly TC ash weighed more.  So far Greene Team are still a better choice for my needs even though ash weighs slightly more than CR's, I'm liking the less volume pellets.

I still have 3 more bags of these CR's and will do another 2 bag test in near future to see if it is close in results to this first test.  Right now I'm running a second 2 bag test of GT's.


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## fidiro (Dec 21, 2011)

If my math is correct these CR's test at .0047588  .47588%

Light but high in ash.

BTW, I keep reading about how pellet lengths clog augers but still have not had a situation like that with any of the few brands I've run through.


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## Hitch (Dec 21, 2011)

I have run a fair number of Cheat Rivers through my stove as well.  I haven't had any issues with long pellets (or clinkers).  To the extent that my stove responds to a long pellet, I usually just hear a grinding sound when the auger turns and it's over pertty quickly.  I've had that problem with Lignetics (over two seasons now) but not with the Cheat Rivers.

I'd pick up the Cheat Rivers again at the $197 price.  My local lowes has switched to Presto Logs at $244/ton - so I'm done with Lowes for now.


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## glenc0322 (Jan 7, 2012)

i purchased 10 bags of cheat river pellets from lowes and will be returning 5 of them they had a low heat output and alot of ash.  there was also alot of dust in the bag and they also had very long pellets in them over 2 inches long i was able to burn them no problem but would not recomend them.  I am new to the pellet family and only burned a few different brands i like the great american pellet but am trying different brands to see what is best for me


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## Ralph777 (Oct 31, 2012)

guwl7 said:


> We just bought a ton of these pellets for $203 + tx near Buffalo,NY.
> Someone asked for the address - bag says "Appalachian Wood Pellets Inc
> Cheat River Div., Kingwood, WV 26537.
> Also says it's "Premium" Grade, 100% Hardwood
> ...


 
Why are you paying tax on Pellets??  It is alternative energy...George Bush passed that law.  I don't pay taxes on it.  And if a Vendor wants to try and charge me tax on it (which no one ever has) I wouldn't buy it from them.


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## Ralph777 (Oct 31, 2012)

Fuel pellets are tax free.  George Bush, a Republican, who supports clean energy!  Tell your Vendor you are not going to pay tax on it.  I refuse to buy from Lowe's because they tax my pellets!  I buy my pellets from Southern States and local hardware stores that know Federal Law.


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## rideboard147 (Nov 2, 2012)

I burned some cheat river pellets last season I got from lowes in Tx. They burned pretty good for a hardwood in my stove. I usually only burn softwoods.


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## gfreek (Nov 3, 2012)

Purchased a ton of Cheat River Pellets from TSC, Warsaw,NY for 219/ton, a month ago.  Liked the way they burned in my Harman...


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## dw06 (Nov 16, 2012)

gfreek said:


> Purchased a ton of Cheat River Pellets from TSC, Warsaw,NY for 219/ton, a month ago. Liked the way they burned in my Harman...


I picked up 6 bags of Cheat River pellets a couple weeks ago to try before I bought 4 tons for winter. Must say I'm impressed, They burn hotter than any others I've used so far, in fact got my attention as I couldn't hold my hand up close to vent as it was too hot. So I checked temp and get 210'F when stove is calling for heat. Lignetics run 190'F
So this morning I picked up 2 tons of Ligs and 2 tons of Cheat River to burn when really cold. They have about same ash as Ligs but its lighter in weight as you can see holes where the air comes up through it, and seems cleaner burning as sides of stove stays clean and hardly any on the heat exchanger. I may have found a new favorite for a great price!


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## bonesy (Nov 16, 2012)

I just got a ton of Cheat River from Lowes @ $209. Havn't used any yet as I am finishing off my few bags of Green Supremes and PrestoLogs from last year.


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## will711 (Nov 16, 2012)

I burned a bag last week similar results as other posters real good heat,  fluffy ash , but several long pellets 2" + was concerned they would bridge the hopper kept a close eye the stove no issues. I would try them again.


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## dw06 (Nov 16, 2012)

Oh forgot about the price, was told last week they were $199.50 a ton, checking the slip and was charged $3.53 a bag!! You do the math


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## Vinculum (Nov 27, 2012)

I bought 4 ton of Cheat River's from Lowes this year. They had 4 tons of Green Teams proudly sitting by the entrance, but won't guarantee what pellet you get, because all of them have the same part # to them. Guess what I got? Yeah Cheat Rivers. Anyhow, they have LOTS of fines, dust, ect in them. I have over half a 5 gallon bucket full that my sifter pulled out after burning less than half a ton. This could be because they went through a lot of handling from the WV plant to my PA store. They seem to burn ok after I sift them. I did spot a few long pieces too. I'll burn 'em, but I won't get them next year..


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## mikhen (Nov 28, 2012)

Waiting for Lowes in Reading area to get something besides Cheat River.   They don't seem to throw much heat.   Hoping they get Green Teams back.  Or even better,   American Wood Fiber.


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## Vinculum (Nov 29, 2012)

mikhen said:


> Waiting for Lowes in Reading area to get something besides Cheat River. They don't seem to throw much heat. Hoping they get Green Teams back. Or even better, American Wood Fiber.


 
American Wood Fiber is available in York at the Agway store, if thats not too far for you to run.


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