Multiple 1-2" pellets found in Maines Choice bags.

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Gman12

Member
Sep 16, 2011
100
Rutland, MA
Well I bought maybe about 10 bags of Maines Choice Pellets to try and the heat is good, but so far I've found far too many pellets that are too long! Ranging from 1"- 2" in size. Not just one, but multiple. I've found myself sifting through the bags and breaking them up before putting them in my stove. I have never had issues with my Green Supreme I use or previous pellets. I definitely will be using up what bags I have left of Maines Choice first to get rid of and never buy them again. Anyone else finding this? I realized how big they were when I heard my auger making a horrible noise and decided to look in the hopper at the pellets. No more noises after breaking them up though.
 
There are a few of us on this forum that will not use Maine's Choice. I bought 7 bags myself to try, being a first year pellet burner, I found them completely inconsistent in size as well and like you, I broke apart what I saw and heard my auger break the rest of them! <> They also seemed to dirty my stove quickly, had quite a bit of ash, and the burn pot was loaded with clinkers - both bottom and sides. I actually emptied my hopper of the last half bag that remained when I cleaned this past weekend. I will not buy them again unless there is nothing left to purchase and I am desperate.
 
mepellet the ones I found were few and far between, but enough to be noticeable. And I also found it varied per bag.
 
I burned a ton of them last season during the shoulder.
I didn't have any complaints about them. Not a lot of heat and were dirtier, but they were cheap.
Don't remember them being excessively long.
I'd buy them again for shoulder season if price is right.
---Nailer---
 
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Gotta agree with Nailer, Maine's Choice are dirty and low-heat producing, but then again, I am running a cheap-ass Lowe's pellet stove. I switched to the "North American" pellets sold by Home Depot for the same price. They seem to produce more heat and less ash when burned in my U.S. Stove.
 
I have noticed a lot of ash build up as well with these pellets. Out of 5 bags so far, two of them actually where normal size broken up nicely. The other bags I noticed like Melissa said weren't all 1.5-2" in length, but enough to notice all of them and have to sift through the bag and not just dump it in. I was pleased with the bags that had the smaller ones though. I even checked the bags to see if they were made at different plants but all said it was made by Geneva.
 
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