Atomic Wood Pellets

Looks like the plant in Winchendon, MA is open for business.

http://awoodpellet.webs.com/

I might try to get a couple of bags to try for the coming season.

Who runs that operation?

Not much information on that site (BTU, Ash content etc.). It can be hard betting on a newbie like this... keep us posted if you do buy some bags in case they show up in local stores around here.

http://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/winchendon-pellet-mill-starting-up.85924/

Thanks Tweed. I'll let folks down that way do some first batch testing.

i e-mailed them about their pellets and got this from Jason at Atomic
We use blend of Pine and Hardwood I usually blend at about 80% pine and 20% hardwood blend. I have a 1 5/8 compression die this means that i make a dense pellet. industry standard is 1 1/2. My BTU is 7800 and the ash content is .5%. I grind and dry my wood from scratch so that we keep the best consistency .
I will be giving them a try.

Dave, thanks for the information. Sounds like a decent pellet. I'm in NH, just across the boarder from Winchendon so I will give them a try as well. I might wait until the temps drop a little more though

I see them advertising on CL. Anyone pick up any of these yet?

yep, try em.....neither the BTU's or ash content is remarkable though......

None of this jives. What this guy said to Dave V is not even what's on the website.

"
Premium Wood Pellets


50- 40 pound bags per ton. Delivery available. For more information call direct 1-978-855-0316 or 1-978-874-037
80% soft wood and 20% hardwood blend.
Q: What is better Hardwood Pellets or Softwood Pellets?
A: Most people jump to the conclusion that "we have always burned hardwood in our woodstove so hardwood must be better" - Not true with pellets.
The first and most important thing to remember is that you are buying pellets by weight NOT volume. A cord of dry hardwood vs. dry softwood weighs about 2-3 times as much. However, a pound of dry hardwood weighs the same as a pound of dry softwood.
So what counts is the heat output of each. This is where softwood wins. Below is information from a study done by the wood industry.
White Oak 8810 BTU/pound Yellow Pine 9610 BTU/pound
A softwood pellet will produce 10-20% more BTU's per pound than hardwood depending on the species and create a lighter ash.
Many retailers call their hardwood pellets "Premium" - and charge accordingly. we consider "Premium" pellets to be those made from all wood only with no bark. Hardwood pellets do cost more to produce because the raw materials cost more, this is a simple fact. Simply put, they put out less heat and produce denser ash. We use all recycled wood to produce are pellets."

So why use hardwood then. Your selling a hardwood mix pellet. Then they say they use recycled wood.

He told Dave above "I grind and dry my wood from scratch so that we keep the best consistency ."

How do you grind and dry recycled wood?

Did I read this wrong?

Not a bad price for a locally produced pellet. But what they're doing on the website isn't good advertising. They're using a study done by "the wood industry" to rate their pellets and make claims of btu?

yikes.

Isn't recycled wood considered pallets, demolition etc? That's how inferno gets their stuff from NER or something like that.

Pallets don't have bark

There is a pellet mill in northern Maine called Northeast Pellets. They make their pellets out of recycled wood as well. I called them and asked what they meant by recycled wood. Their respose was 2x4's, 2x6's, etc. and insinuated it was scraps from sawmills. I'm traveling up that way next week and plan on driving by and seeing what they are using for raw materials. I will probably buy 5 bags for testing just for something to do.

Did you ever get to try these? Saw some a t my local Tractor Supply but passed when I saw recycled wood.

Brethren to Inferno???
Low BTU, 80% pallets, and 20% bark

No. I passed when I saw the recycled wood label too.

I got 2 ton this year. lots of dust in each bag, makes a cloud when refilling, I am burning in a Quadrafire Mt. Vernon, some bags make a HUGE clinker, size of a rice cake and is almost glass like. jams the auto clean sometimes, Clinker so big, it jams the ash bin draw when opening. I think because they are made from demolition, there is fibreglass insulation, etc. mixed in. Some of the sparks cause imbedded molten beads on the glass. Going back to the LG Granules. Found these to be the best.

Not good, thanks for the info dg350z. Been waiting to hear some feedback on these and didn't wanna be the guniea pig. That's the wrong kind of pig

Welcome to the forum, sorry to hear they aren't working out for you. Try mixing them with with your LG's to use them up . How was the heat out put?

DG350z, As you can see, our bag has been changed to eliminate any confusion as to what we are using for wood. We purchase the best materials possible from local mills. Our sawdust, shavings and chips are all clean and bark-free. We DO NOT use demolition debris. The wording "recycled" has been removed as it was originally used to indicate that we are using mill residues not processing round wood for the sole purpose of pelleting. We had also added a the #4 plastic recycle logo to our bags as we are working with local plastic handlers to start a pellet bag program. I am sorry to hear that you had problems burning our pellets. I encourage you to give them another and in the future, if you ever have an issue with dust or any other problems please feel free to exchange or return them as we do offer a satisfaction guarantee! I am not sure where you got the idea that fiberglass insulation is mixed in, but I can assure you that is not the case.