Maine Woods Pellets Athens Maine

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easiest thing i got out of all this trouble with pellets is, i will never buy a ton with out burning 5-10 bags first[/quote]<snip>

This is the logical solution and I plan to do this too but the distributors will have the final say. Home Depot, Lowes and the like sell by the bag or the ton but others sell only by the ton so lets hope we don't have a repeat this fall.

4124elad said:

Yes it is interesting that they are reselling the returns.

Most of our pellet stoves require the use of premium pellets or the warranty is void.

Mike Holton makes a valid point for patience and a civil disscussion. However, If this new company has marketed less than a premium product at above premium price then they need to held accountable for that. Might very well be a criminal act.

The local supplier "Ohara's" was demanding 290 a ton for this crap in December plus drop off fee. "Ohara's frequently posts on this forum but I have not seen any evidence thet they have purchased any ad space. The wholesale cost of pellets produced in Maine is 100.00 per ton. Not to pick on "Ohara's" but if they are going to continue to sell overpriced products that do not meet the specifications they should at least spend a few bucks on an ad here. Does not make it right but gives the appearance.

When you do the math on the out put of the mills it turns into a whole lot of money to just let it go as a learning experience that ends in a civil discourse. The attorney general needs to be involved and people need to go to jail. Frank Ohara has been there done that.

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please let me know where i can purchase pellets at wholesale truckload quantities for $100/ton.

steve

muss said:

The supplier i bought my 5 tons from last summer is suppose to come up here & swap the 2 tons i have in the garage for free as i told her out of the 5 tons they delivered at $30 charge ,for each ton mind you that i would "eat" the ton i have left in the cellar .Called them twice since & still waiting. Oh ! By the way, they are selling returned pellets for $3.50 a bag. Gonna wait 1 more week then i'm calling "big Brother" in Augusta & filing a formal complaint . Gotta do what i gotta do . Muss

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what was the name of your mwp supplier?

It's been a while since I've posted regarding the Maine Woods Pellets, but as a service to those who might be considering purchasing these pellets I've taken some samples from a few bags and posted the pictures here.

The top pellet seems to be mostly clay and dirt. The middle pellet seems to be dirty and mostly bark. The bottom pellet is what the majority of the pellets in the bags of Maine Woods pellets look like, and seems to be mostly wood and some bark. However, pellets like the top two samples are very easy to find. (for anyone interested - the Maine AG maybe? - send me a message if you want these pictures in hi-res).

The third picture is from Maine Woods Pellet Company's website. Those pellets on their website sure do look nice! Not one of the 4 tons of MWPC pellets I purchased this past autumn have any pellets that actually look like this.

Our stove never developed clinkers before these pellets, and now we get choked up all the time. I can't even run my stove on low anymore because these pellets don't put out enough heat to keep it going. I called both the distributor - O'hara's - and MWPC regarding my concerns when I started burning these dirty and high-ash pellets, but they didn't seem too concerned. O'hara's said they've received 'a few complaints' and that I should talk to Maine Woods. I called Maine Woods, and while the guy I spoke with admitted they've had a few quality control problems, he also said that I might need to run my stove differently using pellets that have bark in them. Neither one of them said "Hey, we know there are QC problems with these pellets, and we''ll do the right thing".

I can't wait to be done with this pellets, and because we have to burn them so fast to get the same heat that other pellets put out on lower settings, we should be done with them before this winter is over. Given the increasing demand, I'm sure MWPC will keep shipping pellets overseas and out of state to customers they haven't sold to yet, but I'll never buy or recommend these pellets to anyone.

Yeah I went through my only ton of these crappy pellets, finishing it in mid-January.

HUGE clinker every 24 hours.

I will never buy them again.

FG.

orudiskt said:

It's been a while since I've posted regarding the Maine Woods Pellets, but as a service to those who might be considering purchasing these pellets I've taken some samples from a few bags and posted the pictures here.

The top pellet seems to be mostly clay and dirt. The middle pellet seems to be dirty and mostly bark. The bottom pellet is what the majority of the pellets in the bags of Maine Woods pellets look like, and seem to be mostly wood and some bark. However, pellets like the top two samples are very easy to find. (for anyone interested - the Maine AG maybe? - send me a message if you want these pictures in hi-res).

The third picture is from Maine Woods Pellet Company's website. Those pellets on their website sure do look nice! Not one of the 4 tons of MWPC pellets I purchase this past autumn have any pellets that actually look like this.

Our stove never developed clinkers before these pellets, and now we get choked up all the time. I can't even run my stove on low anymore because these pellets don't put out enough heat to keep it going. I called both O'hara's and MWPC regarding my concerns when I started burning these dirty and high-ash pellets, but they didn't seem too concerned. O'hara's said they've received 'a few complaints' and that I should talk to Maine Woods. I called Maine Woods, and while the guy I spoke with admitted they've had a few quality control problems, he also said that I might need to run my stove differently using pellets that have bark in them. Neither one of them said "Hey, we know there are QC problems with these pellets, and we''ll do the right thing".

I can't wait to be done with this pellets, and because we have to burn them so fast to get the same heat that other pellets put out on lower settings, we should be done with them before this winter is over. Given the increasing demand, I'm sure MWPC will keep shipping pellets overseas and out of state to customers they haven't sold to yet, but I'll never buy or recommend these pellets to anyone.

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maine pellets are that bad are they? reason i ask is one of the local retailers here in nova scotia canada here has them now vs lignetics i burned all winter and they dont seem to be moving fast was wondering if people not buying many more this sesaon or they know they are not good quality. was gonna see if they dida price drop but if they arnt any good? rep from company coming on forum might not be a bad idea with their product now coming into canada now as well.

56 chevtruck said:

maine pellets are that bad are they? reason i ask is one of the local retailers here in nova scotia canada here has them now vs lignetics i burned all winter and they dont seem to be moving fast was wondering if people not buying many more this sesaon or they know they are not good quality. was gonna see if they dida price drop but if they arnt any good? rep from company coming on forum might not be a bad idea with their product now coming into canada now as well.

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They are shipping them to the Great White north because all of us in the lower 48 have known that these pellets are not premium grade...and therefore should not be sold as such.
Will never buy another product from these substandard producers of substandard pellets...

56 chevtruck said:

maine pellets are that bad are they? reason i ask is one of the local retailers here in nova scotia canada here has them now vs lignetics i burned all winter and they dont seem to be moving fast was wondering if people not buying many more this sesaon or they know they are not good quality. was gonna see if they dida price drop but if they arnt any good? rep from company coming on forum might not be a bad idea with their product now coming into canada now as well.

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I saw 33 pallets of them at the Dartmouth Crossing Canadian Tire for $5.99 a bag, the lignetics were $6.99 when they had them last.

With the $10 off $40 coupon in the latest flyer for Tuesday/Wednesday, I was going to pick up a couple bags.. maybe not now.

I just got a good supply of Eastern Embers from Home Depot this week for 5.49/bag.

i sold 52 tons of these pellets here in my area. first time selling pellets so i tried to make sure my customers were happy as i tend to take the long view when it comes to business practices. most of the people i sold to hadnt used pellets before, so they really had no experience to compare these with and were happy with their purchase. one older widowed lady has been burning pellets for 6-7 years. i made a special effort to make sure that she was happy and made a visit to her house. i told her that there were some people that were allegedly having problems and she said that she did see a difference in the amount of ash, but that at the time she bought these pellets, there wasnt anything else available and overall, she was happy.
im wondering what all the people who have had problems would be burning now if not mwp pellets?
i have to add that these pellets that i sold were manufactured in july and august.

I have been burning for 2 seasons and I have not bought one bag from either of these 2 mills. Merely based on what I have seen for results. I remember when Pennington had a problem last winter...AT LEAST they were generous and kind enough to not only come on this site to explain but they refunded every customer their money. I have tried some Penningtons this year and what a difference....they truly made a better pellet this year. Many people and companies know very well of this site that Craig has here and its vast popularity and opinions, results in pellet usage etc....it would be in their very best interests to come on here and explain. I will not buy their product in the future...only if I needed a couple bags in the future but never by the ton. Its a shame too...we mainers thought we had a good thing going by mills opening closer....wrong.

This was are first year with a pellet stove. We got 4 tons of athens pellets and stacked then in basement. The first ton we burnt had alot of ash and had to dump ash pan twice a day but we did not have anything to compare it to. They did put out good heat. When we got to our 2nd ton it was like night and day. No fines in bags and hardly any ash with good heat. We got lucky and the last 2 tons were also good. The last few weeks have been buying other bags and trying them. So far the only brand that was noticebly better was new england wood pelletts from Jaffery NH. As it stands right now I may still burn the athens pellets next year.

I burned 1 ton of these and had to clean my stove daily. Too much ash and a huge clinker every day. I called the plant manager at Athens/Maine Woods and he admitted they had problems. He said it was their first year in business.

He also said there was alot of bark in these pellets and that led to the daily clinkers.

Also said there was alot of sawdust.

He was correct.

I had reserved 2 tons, took 1 and let a friend of mine take the other.

I have a Breckwell Big E and he has a Whitfield.

I didn't have any problems with my clean-out tee as far as filling up but he did and it's a good thing he checked it. He went through 15 bags and checked it and said it was just about full to the point of blocking the exhaust.

You have to be careful burning pellets of this grade and maybe you should suggest to that older lady that she check and make sure her stove isn't getting clogged up more often.

What gets me is that Athens shipped these pellets. The plant manager admitted they had problems so they knew ahead of time the pellets were crap. The bags were full of fines.

Maybe they fixed the process and I may try a bag but I'll open the bag before I buy it.

FG.

ugenetoo said:

i sold 52 tons of these pellets here in my area. first time selling pellets so i tried to make sure my customers were happy as i tend to take the long view when it comes to business practices. most of the people i sold to hadnt used pellets before, so they really had no experience to compare these with and were happy with their purchase. one older widowed lady has been burning pellets for 6-7 years. i made a special effort to make sure that she was happy and made a visit to her house. i told her that there were some people that were allegedly having problems and she said that she did see a difference in the amount of ash, but that at the time she bought these pellets, there wasnt anything else available and overall, she was happy.
im wondering what all the people who have had problems would be burning now if not mwp pellets?
i have to add that these pellets that i sold were manufactured in july and august.

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i guess my reason for posting my experience was to bring up the availability of pellets at the time people bought these. in reality, for most in maine, there was nothing else available.
my advice would be;
burn them if you can. return them if you can. move on.

Agreed.

Lucky for them pellets were in short supply.

ugenetoo said:

i guess my reason for posting my experience was to bring up the availability of pellets at the time people bought these. in reality, for most in maine, there was nothing else available.
my advice would be;
burn them if you can. return them if you can. move on.

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Perhaps the companies should start packaging their pellets in see through bags. See posting(and pics) "Rocky Mountain Pellet Co." I love the packaging of this company as it allows me to SEE what I am buying

MainePellethead said:

Perhaps the companies should start packaging their pellets in see through bags. See posting(and pics) "Rocky Mountain Pellet Co." I love the packaging of this company as it allows me to SEE what I am buying

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https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/36536/

Great idea.

Not only would it provide potential buyers with a look-see-warm-fuzzy but it would motivate producers to only package quality pellets.

It would make it difficult for them to sell any bad product.

FG.

MainePellethead said:

Perhaps the companies should start packaging their pellets in see through bags. See posting(and pics) "Rocky Mountain Pellet Co." I love the packaging of this company as it allows me to SEE what I am buying

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with the building boom going BOOM, we may all have to get used to burning pellets made from whole tree chips with bark included. there wont be much millwaste available for a while. these pellets from mwp may have had quality problems, but they still produce btus with a little extra maintenance. at least thats what im getting from my customers. if you really feel that they are too much effort, there is always the petroleum solution.

Oil is not the only solution. My main heat is NG.

There are plenty of other pellet suppliers out there. Just have to get your order in early.

If I get caught in a pinch I'd buy a few bags of MWP's to tide me over till I find better quality.

FG.

ugenetoo said:

with the building boom going BOOM, we may all have to get used to burning pellets made from whole tree chips with bark included. there wont be much millwaste available for a while. these pellets from mwp may have had quality problems, but they still produce btus with a little extra maintenance. at least thats what im getting from my customers. if you really feel that they are too much effort, there is always the petroleum solution.

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flamegrabber said:

Oil is not the only solution. My main heat is NG.

There are plenty of other pellet suppliers out there. Just have to get your order in early.

If I get caught in a pinch I'd buy a few bags of MWP's to tide me over till I find better quality.

FG.

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Yeh, But your an Omega owner now, Would you buy them if you had the BigE still??

Just pulling your leg!

I going to try some Michigan wood pellets. They are made from whole tree's. No bark. I think thats the key. Bark will have sand=silica=clinkers.

Friend use a few bags and Liked them. If I could get the Maine woods here, I'd burn them. I'll burn anything I can get for under$240.00/ton

jay

I haven't seen clear bags yet, but packaging pellets on a clear bag is a great idea for any company that is going to stand behind their product. IF MWPC were to clean up their act, I'm sure I don't speak for myself in saying this would be the only way I'd buy from them again.

Bark in pellets I understand...as long as I know beforehand. MWPC pellets aren't premium, and if they said as much and charged accordingly I'd be okay with it. The clay, dirt, and whatever else that I've found in these pellets just isn't cool with me.

Yeah Jay I'd try them in the Omega for sure. They'd be no clinker issue with the agitator.

I'd never burn them in a Big E again, unless I wanted to do daily cleanings. 50 bags = 50 cleanings.

I paid my dues twice over cleaning that Big G for sure! I'm an expert now.

The Big E would be perfect for a small cottage or cabin. That's where it belongs.

FG.

jtakeman said:

flamegrabber said:

Oil is not the only solution. My main heat is NG.

There are plenty of other pellet suppliers out there. Just have to get your order in early.

If I get caught in a pinch I'd buy a few bags of MWP's to tide me over till I find better quality.

FG.

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Yeh, But your an Omega owner now, Would you buy them if you had the BigE still??

Just pulling your leg!

I going to try some Michigan wood pellets. They are made from whole tree's. No bark. I think thats the key. Bark will have sand=silica=clinkers.

Friend use a few bags and Liked them. If I could get the Maine woods here, I'd burn them. I'll burn anything I can get for under$240.00/ton

jay

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ugenetoo said:

i sold 52 tons of these pellets here in my area. first time selling pellets so i tried to make sure my customers were happy as i tend to take the long view when it comes to business practices. most of the people i sold to hadnt used pellets before, so they really had no experience to compare these with and were happy with their purchase. one older widowed lady has been burning pellets for 6-7 years. i made a special effort to make sure that she was happy and made a visit to her house. i told her that there were some people that were allegedly having problems and she said that she did see a difference in the amount of ash, but that at the time she bought these pellets, there wasnt anything else available and overall, she was happy.
im wondering what all the people who have had problems would be burning now if not mwp pellets?
i have to add that these pellets that i sold were manufactured in july and august.

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I for one am burning NEWP and Cubex. Both these pellets are great pellets. They produce very little ash...and feed correctly in my hopper. MWP are great for use as bedding for animals and for traction on icy walkways...that is about it.
Anybody that thinks MW pellets are great should put down the ash vac for a few minutes and try another truly quality pellet.

SparkyDog said:

ugenetoo said:

i sold 52 tons of these pellets here in my area. first time selling pellets so i tried to make sure my customers were happy as i tend to take the long view when it comes to business practices. most of the people i sold to hadnt used pellets before, so they really had no experience to compare these with and were happy with their purchase. one older widowed lady has been burning pellets for 6-7 years. i made a special effort to make sure that she was happy and made a visit to her house. i told her that there were some people that were allegedly having problems and she said that she did see a difference in the amount of ash, but that at the time she bought these pellets, there wasnt anything else available and overall, she was happy.
im wondering what all the people who have had problems would be burning now if not mwp pellets?
i have to add that these pellets that i sold were manufactured in july and august.

Click to expand...

I for one am burning NEWP and Cubex. Both these pellets are great pellets. They produce very little ash...and feed correctly in my hopper. MWP are great for use as bedding for animals and for traction on icy walkways...that is about it.
Anybody that thinks MW pellets are great should put down the ash vac for a few minutes and try another truly quality pellet.

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i dont think anyone said they were great. what im saying is that at the time there was nothing else available. in july, august and
september, as i recall, newp was down for a major fire, corinth was down for installation of new pellet mills, all the canadian suppliers were sold out a year ahead, the ashland mill had sold all their output until january. and all the pellet pigs were out foraging. mwp was the only game in town. without them, there would have been a number of customers that would have had no choice but to burn $4 oil. most that i have talked to were very greatful for the mwp pellets, even though they had to perform a little extra maintenance. as i said before "burn em if you can,return em if you can, and move on."