MWP (Maine Woods Pellets?)

Seems people either love em or hate them! I'm just wondering what your comparing them too and what the price difference is?

I'm just finishing up the ton I bought. I hate them. I've burned about 6 different brands of pellets (no Infernos) and these are by far the worst. Low heat, lots of ash, very, very, dusty.

I've tried some leftover Instant Heats to see if there's something wrong with my stove, and the heat, etc., went back to normal levels. I have to run the stove on high to get the same heat I got on medium with all the other pellets (measured with a thermometer).

Two other people I know have similar results, with the pellets coming from different TSCs.

I will never buy MWP again unless I'm positive they've fixed whatever is wrong.

Did I mention they're very dusty? I cannot pour them into the hopper without creating a dust cloud. I have to scoop them in a bit at a time, and carefully to prevent the dust.

The price I paid was the same as I've paid for other pellets, around $214/ton, pickup.

They work fine in my Harman. The ash doesn't seem any worse than any other pellet, but the last 2 years I've been burning Greene Team, which are known to be ashy.

jtakeman said:

Seems people either love em or hate them! I'm just wondering what your comparing them too and what the price difference is?

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Seems to me I remember you rating them quite high after testing them.

subsailor said:

Seems to me I remember you rating them quite high after testing them.

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I have burned more than 6 batches(I just picked up some and they are in the stove now!) and they all seemed pretty close. What we see from ash is the volume volume, But what is measured is its weight. I will agree the volume seemed high, But by weight I see better than premiem quality. As for the heat, The density is on the low side. So you would need to compensate with the heat level. But they will last longer than a hot pellet. About the only thing I would like to see is more density.

With Barefoots and Hamers running $280+ per ton? I have to look at some alternatives to get by. With MWP and PowerHouse just about $200/ton. Thats $80 in my pocket for every ton I buy. I need to save something somewhere. Except in the cold!

I'm not choosing sides, Everyone has to burn what floats their boat.

jtakeman said:

I'm not choosing sides, Everyone has to burn what floats their boat.

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I agree. I paid for the stove that will take care of things for me, so I don't have to go chasing after the high heat pellets.

I have burned about 6 tons of MWP this winter in my 2 Harman stoves. I can't say enought good about them! And at $195 to boot.

Tom C.

They're crap!

I burned a few bags and they do the trick. Ended up buying 4 tons. Wouldn't call em low ash but not bad at all. Waaaay better than my last batch of NEWP and the Maine's Choice that are currently blanketing my stove with ash.

i will just reiterate that i like these mwp blend very well.
they will continue to be my main pellet.
burned 4 ton so far. never a clinker. and i was always warm.
just had to turn the stove on high for periods during the very coldest of nights.
granted it only got down to minus 16 this year.
if the mwp softies i'm getting are hotter, i will meter them out very stingily on the coldest nights.

sinnian- i'm mentally tiptoeing around this question. but with respect, and just out of pure curiosity, does the pinnacle require a very hot pellet to work well?
i mean, if you had a ferrari, you wouldn't put regular in it afaik.
i'm just struck at how this pellet gets such a wide range of opinion from folks here.

but maybe you just hate these things plain and simple
i can accept that.
just curious.

silverfox103 said:

I have burned about 6 tons of MWP this winter in my 2 Harman stoves. I can't say enought good about them! And at $195 to boot.

Tom C.

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We burned 4 tons last year and will have 4 more for next Winter.
Looking at this thread, it seems that most positive comments come from Harman owners.
I had to empty the ash pan every 4-5 weeks thru the Winter. Not too bad.
I guess I can't justify spending more on pellets. Do not think that I would save in the long run.
So sticking with MWP.
I just watched a video on YouTube about the Honey Badger. Funny
I am now thinking that the Harman design is like the Honey Badger.
It doesn't give a **it about what you throw at it. It WILL eat it!

IMHO

lessoil said:

We burned 4 tons last year and will have 4 more for next Winter.
Looking at this thread, it seems that most positive comments come from Harman owners.
I had to empty the ash pan every 4-5 weeks thru the Winter. Not too bad.
I guess I can't justify spending more on pellets. Do not think that I would save in the long run.
So sticking with MWP.
I just watched a video on YouTube about the Honey Badger. Funny
I am now thinking that the Harman design is like the Honey Badger.
It doesn't give a **it about what you throw at it. It WILL eat it!

IMHO

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Badger don't care!

lessoil, I like your comparison to the honey badger! "Harman stoves don't care" I burned 2 bags last winter and liked them. I would prefer the higher volume ash but less weight (light and fluffy) over less volume and more weight I would think. The heavier ash pellets create a sort of dam in front of the flame that seems to choke the flame.

Can't imagine we are talking about the same MWP. They are as good as anythig I 'have burned. Good heat, and much cleaner burn than most. My stove is a plain Jane type with very little automation. I keep it clean and it keeps me warm. So for me, I'll take all the "crap" and worse pellets you want to reject. Keeping warm and out of the poor house is my objective.

As others mentioned, you either like em or not I guess. Might just be variances from batch to batch but there doesn't seem to be many middle of the road reviews.

I went through a ton this past winter and thought they were fine, especially for 199. a ton. Very clean too.

I like the MWP pellets just as much as the Green Team I burned this year. The MWP seems to have less ash than the Green Team and the heat seems the same to me. I burned four tons of the MWP and probably over 8 tons of the Green Teams over the years. My P68 likes both brands. If the MWP is cheaper this year I will buy at least 4 to 5 tons of them since I only have one ton left.

I have burned these for two seasons as shoulder pellets and have loved them, have three more tons to be delivered in May. Good price for Good heat.
But honestly right now I am not thinking about heating my house, I am thinking about staying cool.... in Sunny Florida....(tried to upload photo but will not let me, sorry

St_Earl said:

i will just reiterate that i like these mwp blend very well.

sinnian- i'm mentally tiptoeing around this question. but with respect, and just out of pure curiosity, does the pinnacle require a very hot pellet to work well?
i mean, if you had a ferrari, you wouldn't put regular in it afaik.
i'm just struck at how this pellet gets such a wide range of opinion from folks here.

but maybe you just hate these things plain and simple
i can accept that.
just curious.

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The boiler will burn anything, it is multi-fuel, but the MWP Blend that I had were just plain crap. LOW heat, and HIGH ash ~ IDK why. They are by far the worst pellet I have ever burned ~ by contrast, the MWP Softwood pellets are the best I have ever burned.

1. MWP Softwood (HIGH heat, average ash ~ GREAT price point)
2. LG's (Medium heat, average ash ~ too many fines though)
3. Okanagan (HIGH heat, average non-biodegradable ash ~ I still have ash piles outside from the 2010-2011 burning season)
4. CleanFire Pacific (High heat ~ too much ash for a Super/Premium pellet)
5. Maine Choice Blend (Medium heat, average ash ~ GREAT price point)
6. CleanFire Hardwood (Medium heat, low ash ~ pellet compressed too hard and broke 3 Lovejoy solid steel couplings on my unit, and 1 at my dealer's).
7. MWP Blend (LOW heat, HIGH ash ~ wouldn't use them again if they were free)

Didn't like the blend, but the softies are great.