New Athens Pellets!

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lessoil

Minister of Fire
May 31, 2008
731
Western Maine
So far very pleased with their current offering.
Good heat and very little ash.
 
I think I'm on my 4th bag, they seem to burn clean, my glass is staying clear with all the low fire burns I have been doing, ash seems light too so far. They do smell good, you can smell the added softwood.
 
lessoil said:
So far very pleased with their current offering.
Good heat and very little ash.
I just picked up 2 bags today to try-still a little warm for testing so I've opened all the windows & gonna let her rip all night!I hope I like what I see in the morning,if so,I'm going to buy a couple ton-want to get them while they are still cheap!
 
I bought a ton in the $199.00 offer from the man in Jay. I've burned about 8 bags so far. Very impressed. To be honest, I can't tell if they are different from the Energex. I do have to says that my burn conditions are different than last year because I have added OAK. I need to burn some of the Energex under the same conditions to give an honest comparison. What I can share is that there is no ash left in the burn pot when the stove shut down. They give out a good hot burn on lower settings than I had with Energex without OAK. The cost savings is substantial. I'll be anxious to see what the cost of Energex and Athens will be next year. If Athens is lower, I would change my habits and buy from this local producer.
 
They have improved their lot, for sure, this year. I am glad to see it. They always delivered their product timely, and now that they are better it is a big plus.
 
I purchased a bag of Athens two days ago from my local Tractor Supply. I've been burning Cubex, so that was my point of reference. I was really disappointed with the Athens product. The pellets broke apart very easily and there were a lot of very small broken pieces; there was a significant amount of dust that came out of the bag when I dumped them into the hopper; the glass on my stove blackened on the top and both sides; there were sparks popping and moving around inside the stove; and there was significantly more ash created than with the Cubex. The stove was so dirty (and this is only after burning about a dozen bags for the season) that I shut it down and did a complete cleaning of the stove.

I've also been monitoring the basement temp (where the stove is located) and outside temp. Not very scientific, but with outside temps of 34 F each night, the basement temp was 69.9 most of the night with Cubex and only 67 with the Athens. I'm assuming the Cubex has a higher BTU rating than the Cubex.

I'm in Maine and would love to buy and burn a local product, but I'm not sold on my first experience with this product.

My two cents.
 
Maine_iac said:
I purchased a bag of Athens two days ago from my local Tractor Supply. I've been burning Cubex, so that was my point of reference. I was really disappointed with the Athens product. The pellets broke apart very easily and there were a lot of very small broken pieces; there was a significant amount of dust that came out of the bag when I dumped them into the hopper; the glass on my stove blackened on the top and both sides; there were sparks popping and moving around inside the stove; and there was significantly more ash created than with the Cubex. The stove was so dirty (and this is only after burning about a dozen bags for the season) that I shut it down and did a complete cleaning of the stove.

I've also been monitoring the basement temp (where the stove is located) and outside temp. Not very scientific, but with outside temps of 34 F each night, the basement temp was 69.9 most of the night with Cubex and only 67 with the Athens. I'm assuming the Cubex has a higher BTU rating than the Cubex.

I'm in Maine and would love to buy and burn a local product, but I'm not sold on my first experience with this product.

My two cents.

I wonder if you were sold the old product?
Are they light in color like a hardwood floor or dark greenish(Old Product)??
We also have the P61 and have not seen any of the issues that you have.
We are on our 2nd bag and will be on the 3rd bag this weekend.

Will post updates.
 
I held a handful of the Athens to a handful of Cubex and they were definately lighter in color than the Cubex, but I didn't pay much attention to the actual tint. Again, I could easily crumble a pellet between the fingers whereas the Cubex is very difficult to break apart.

The Athens bag has "Maine Wood Pellets Co. LLC" on the top and there is a picture of a log cabin with a pallet of pellets next to it. These were individual bags in the store; I'm not sure what the bags looked like on the pallets outside TS. They're advertising $219/ton with bulk discounts.
 
Got my curiosity up. Looked at my Athens bags. Same old bags as I have seen from the onset. Big green State Of Maine, no date or other unique data. Pellets are firm. little to no fines. Rubbed a few between my fingers. They did not crumble. Their color was like a light pepper.The person I bought from kept them stored inside. If it were me who had a bad experience with Athens, I would give them a call and discuss it with them. Willing to bet they would do most anything to gain your trust. This is a company that was in trouble. Recognised their problem, and did something about it.
 

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That is an excellent idea. I've just added "call Athen's pellets" to my calendar for Monday morning. I'll share my observations and get their take on things. I will report back.
 
I've got three tons of the new bag, (hope it is the new mix), last years mix always threw a lot of sparks when the auger was running, hope this years batch doesn't as the sparks made a ton of ash and kept my stove rather dirty.
 
I reached out to Athens (Maine Wood Pellet Company) this morning. Scot Linkletter, Plant Manager, responded to the comments I posted here earlier. He's got some excellent information that I know I benefited from. The second email is in response to a question I raised on how to spot a good/bad ton of pellets in a parking lot and if they were there for several months, would they pick up moisture. Based on his feedback, I'm off to buy a well-wrapped ton of some Maine-made pellets and refire the Harman!

************************************

Hello,

The pellets from Tractor Supply are made by us. The mixture is actually 65% hardwood and 35% softwood.

A lot of dust in the bags and crumbly pellets is a sign that they have absorbed some moisture. We keep the pellet moisture about 5% and we don't use additives like other mills. If they absorb any moisture at all, the pellets will break down into sawdust. That will also make them burn very poorly. At 5% moisture they burn great, but if they get even as high as 8% they won't burn well at all and when they get crumbly, the bags will have more dust in them.

When we bag them, the pellets are extremely hard and you wouldn't be able to crumble them in your hand. Even when they're still hot, it's hard to crumble them. That's where the durability test comes in. They are tumbled for 10 minutes in a drum at 60rpm. They've been testing at 98% durability. (Scot included the testing report from the University of Maine in his email; it is a PDF that I can't seem to attach to this email - I'd be happy to send it along upon request).

The Fines test is where they take a bag, screen it over a 1/8 inch screen and measure the amount of dust collected and compare it to the total bag weight. Our pellets always test less than 0.5% (1/2 of 1%) fines and are usually closer to 0.1%.

I'm wondering if it's possible that they left an uncovered pallet outside in the rain. Or if they got one with a hole in the pallet cover. The pallet cover is what we put on to keep each ton dry. The 40 pound bags are not waterproof and can't be left outside uncovered.

Scot Linkletter
Plant Manager

[email protected]
207-654-2237

*******************************

Hello again,

As long as the pallet cover is intact, they shouldn't pick up any moisture. I had one over 1 year old that I took apart and put in my own basement last weekend. It was still nice and dry.

If you're looking them over before buying one, I can tell you what I look for when I check the pallets here. I check the top for any holes (we're using a special cover now that doesn't have a seam in the top, only a crease where the bag was folded on the roll). Then I look at the sides for any holes and look on the ground to see if any have come out the bottom and I check the pallet cover to make sure it's covering the bottom row of bags. Then I look for any signs of swelling. Usually if a bag looks swelled it's because it wasn't stacked perfectly straight - we do all of our bagging and stacking by hand (Maine labor at work). If it looks swelled, I push it with the flat part of my thumb. If I can feel hard lumpy pellets, it's not wet, just stacked crooked. If I can't feel pellets, then it may be wet and swollen.

We do put stickers on each pallet so I can tell when each was bagged and by which shift but it's a sequential number - meaning I have to look it up in a table to determine the date. It's mostly so if there are a few ton that are stacked or wrapped incorrectly, I can figure out which shift is responsible and train them better.

You should find that the Super Premium pellets we're making now (and selling at normal Premium pellet prices) are the best pellet around. They've been testing very well and we've had a lot of positive feedback on them.

You're welcome to post on whatever forums you'd like to and thank you for your feedback. It's always nice to hear from customers, even when something isn't quite right.

Scot Linkletter
Plant Manager

[email protected]
207-654-2237
 
Just finished burning my 6 th bag so far. I would have to say I am extremely pleased with these pellets. smell great, not to dusty when filling the hopper, and best of all they are burning great with no buildup.
Maine finally has a good pellet. Lets hope they stay priced where they are. Im sure there will be alot more supporting the local economy. Im going to buy 2 more tons this week!
 
I was given a small demo bag at common ground fair. I filled the hopper with a what came in the bag. The fire was smaller than normal and no flair up on start up. The energex I piled on eventuality started burning and fire was normal.
I know it was not a good test but made me wonder.
 
I'm burning the Athens Pellets right now. They seem to be burning well so far. I'm impressed with the fact they want to build a better pellet and are addressing any or all issues they might have. I have my 1st 25 bags, and if they burn well, I'll buy more. So far, so good.
 
I am thinking about picking up two tons that I can get for $199 a ton and $60 for delivery. The delivery is for as many tons as I want.
 
Steveo said:
I am thinking about picking up two tons that I can get for $199 a ton and $60 for delivery. The delivery is for as many tons as I want.
Don't know where you live in Maine, but here is a link where you might be able to get them for $199. or $210 delivered http://site.sibwoodpellets.com/ This guy keeps them stored undercover. Just a thought.
 
I asked Tractor Supply in Oxford what brand they were carrying, he replied "Athens".The look on my face as I started to walk out of the store prompted him to give me 2 free bags of the new mix to try. He insisted it was much much better than the crap they were selling before. After burning the 2 bags I must say that I am very pleased with them. Low in ash,very few fines and good heat. Not as hot as my spruce pointes that I favor, but still very good. That was 4 weeks ago. If they can still be had for 199.00 I say it's a steal.
 
pellet burner said:
I asked Tractor Supply in Oxford what brand they were carrying, he replied "Athens".The look on my face as I started to walk out of the store prompted him to give me 2 free bags of the new mix to try. He insisted it was much much better than the crap they were selling before. After burning the 2 bags I must say that I am very pleased with them. Low in ash,very few fines and good heat. Not as hot as my spruce pointes that I favor, but still very good. That was 4 weeks ago. If they can still be had for 199.00 I say it's a steal.

Drove by the dealer this morning: http://site.sibwoodpellets.com
Sign still says $199/ton!
 
saw my buddy's P61A the other day... he's done 8 bags thru so far in his garage (he has a detailing biz there, has gotta keep it warm for the products to work right) burning nothing but athens. He keeps it on stove temp all the time. Turns it high to low depending on the weather. When I was there, it was burning on 2, and the heat output was respectable. There was some small ash buildup on the flat spots around the ashpan (obviously), but it was 1/10th of the amount the Athens pellets had back in 08-09. He hasn't cleaned it yet, and he's a pretty anal guy when it comes to clean (he is in the cleaning biz, after all), says the fines are very minimal, and they sound hard because of the sharp tinkle into the feeder sound (Harman users will know what I'm talking about), and are pretty well compressed. They look good to me.
 
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