Current MWP bags?

[pell it]

Are the MWP bags with the State of Maine on them a current production run? I have a local guy that claims he brings a truckload back from Athens every so often. He burns some himself and sells the rest. The bags he now has are the ones with the State of Maine picture on them. I thought the current bags have the cabin on them and the TSC re-bags have the stove on them. I grabbed a half dozen from him and they burned clean with just "okay" heat output. The pellets themselves are a light blonde color and have a "smell" to them. I also grabbed a couple bags of the TSC re-bags to compare. Those pellets (TSC ones) are more variegated and darker in color. (batch variance?)

I need to re-supply and he is close and reasonably priced, however, I do not want to pay current prices for last years leftovers.

 

[pell it]

Answered my question with an email to MWP. "We have not bagged in that bag for well over a year".

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Snip ...

Those pellets (TSC ones) are more variegated and darker in color. (batch variance?)

.... snip

There is at least one blend mix (likely two) change between that batch in the Maine State bag and current stuff.

The bags became log cabin or stove sometime in 2010.

 

[Bank]

So I take it there are three types of bags for MWP?, the ones with the State of Maine on them, the ones with the cabin and I have a few that just say Premium Wood Pellets! Yikes, I hate when they do that!

I still have just under a ton of the Maine's Choice and I gotta tell ya, it was 13*F in S. Maine this AM and my living room/kitchen was 72*F. Not bad for $230 a ton! I know people like those Oakies, but at $300 a ton? I guess I'm Ok with the supposedly lower grade pellets!

 

[mepellet]

So I take it there are three types of bags for MWP?, the ones with the State of Maine on them, the ones with the cabin and I have a few that just say Premium Wood Pellets! Yikes, I hate when they do that!

I still have just under a ton of the Maine's Choice and I gotta tell ya, it was 13*F in S. Maine this AM and my living room/kitchen was 72*F. Not bad for $230 a ton! I know people like those Oakies, but at $300 a ton? I guess I'm Ok with the supposedly lower grade pellets!

X2. I also was burning Maine's Choice overnight and had 5 deg F outside when I woke up and burned about half a bag to maintain 71 deg F in the living room. The $300/ton pellets aren't for me I don't think either.

 

[Bank]

Good thing about the Harman's is they'll take just about anything. I figure between a 100 gallons of oil from last year and 2.5 tons of pellets this year, I'll heat from mid October to mid-April for about $950. I like that!

 

[jtakeman]

Here is the Cabin bag. You will find these mostly at the pellet houses or pellet dealers. I'll post a picture of the stove bag later. If I can't dig one up, I'll have to run to TSC and grab some bags to snap a picture of.

Yes the green state of maine is the older stuff. But as long as its been kept dry? I don't see an issue if you can score them for a decent price.

 

[Bank]

I know I got some of the "Stove Bags" at D&J Hearth in Sanford earlier this year. Not bad, a little more ash, but the heat was decent.

 

[pell it]

Now that I know it is old stock, I have a bargaining chip to haggle with. I'm not interested in them at current stock pricing.

J. No need to travel to TSC, I have two bags here. Well, technically one is in the stove as I type this! I'll grab a picture of one to post. I will compare new to old in my stove.


Better Late than never!

 

[jerrieric]

I bought 4 tons of pellets made in Strong Maine, Maine Choice Premium wood pellets. Hardwood blend with less than .5% ash content. I have been getting pellet buildup in the fire box most days. Some days it burns perfect for 24+ hours and most days pellets pile up after only 12 hours. I burned Prest-o-log pellets the prior 2 years and did not have that issue. The Presto says hardwood and less 1% ash. Could the Maine Choice just have to much softwood? I called the stove tech support and we reset the control board yesterday afternoon but I got up this morning and pellets are piled up again. I dismantled everything yesterday and cleaned but the pipe and all stove parts were clean. I have had the stove for 4 years and this is a new problem.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I bought 4 tons of pellets made in Strong Maine, Maine Choice Premium wood pellets. Hardwood blend with less than .5% ash content. I have been getting pellet buildup in the fire box most days. Some days it burns perfect for 24+ hours and most days pellets pile up after only 12 hours. I burned Prest-o-log pellets the prior 2 years and did not have that issue. The Presto says hardwood and less 1% ash. Could the Maine Choice just have to much softwood? I called the stove tech support and we reset the control board yesterday afternoon but I got up this morning and pellets are piled up again. I dismantled everything yesterday and cleaned but the pipe and all stove parts were clean. I have had the stove for 4 years and this is a new problem.

It is more like have you adjusted your stove to burn a blend?

It is also possible you have a bad batch.

What stove and what settings are you using?

 

[jerrieric]

I bought 4 tons of pellets made in Strong Maine, Maine Choice Premium wood pellets. Hardwood blend with less than .5% ash content. I have been getting pellet buildup in the fire box most days. Some days it burns perfect for 24+ hours and most days pellets pile up after only 12 hours. I burned Prest-o-log pellets the prior 2 years and did not have that issue. The Presto says hardwood and less 1% ash. Could the Maine Choice just have to much softwood? I called the stove tech support and we reset the control board yesterday afternoon but I got up this morning and pellets are piled up again. I dismantled everything yesterday and cleaned but the pipe and all stove parts were clean. I have had the stove for 4 years and this is a new problem.

It is more like have you adjusted your stove to burn a blend?

It is also possible you have a bad batch.

What stove and what settings are you using?

Englander ss-shp240 pellet furnance. Tried high settng and middle setting. I think it could be pellets also. There is no setting to adjust for blend as opposed to hardwood that I know of or is in the user manual.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I bought 4 tons of pellets made in Strong Maine, Maine Choice Premium wood pellets. Hardwood blend with less than .5% ash content. I have been getting pellet buildup in the fire box most days. Some days it burns perfect for 24+ hours and most days pellets pile up after only 12 hours. I burned Prest-o-log pellets the prior 2 years and did not have that issue. The Presto says hardwood and less 1% ash. Could the Maine Choice just have to much softwood? I called the stove tech support and we reset the control board yesterday afternoon but I got up this morning and pellets are piled up again. I dismantled everything yesterday and cleaned but the pipe and all stove parts were clean. I have had the stove for 4 years and this is a new problem.

It is more like have you adjusted your stove to burn a blend?

It is also possible you have a bad batch.

What stove and what settings are you using?

Englander ss-shp240 pellet furnance. Tried high settng and middle setting. I think it could be pellets also. There is no setting to adjust for blend as opposed to hardwood that I know of or is in the user manual.

You change the fuel and/or air settings. The lower three settings on most england units. This may present a problem for you depending upon the year of manufacture of the controller.

The basic issue you are having is lack of air through the burn pot for the amount of fuel being fed. This can result in either a slow burn or not ejecting the ash produced. Both can lead to pile up.

 

[jerrieric]

I bought 4 tons of pellets made in Strong Maine, Maine Choice Premium wood pellets. Hardwood blend with less than .5% ash content. I have been getting pellet buildup in the fire box most days. Some days it burns perfect for 24+ hours and most days pellets pile up after only 12 hours. I burned Prest-o-log pellets the prior 2 years and did not have that issue. The Presto says hardwood and less 1% ash. Could the Maine Choice just have to much softwood? I called the stove tech support and we reset the control board yesterday afternoon but I got up this morning and pellets are piled up again. I dismantled everything yesterday and cleaned but the pipe and all stove parts were clean. I have had the stove for 4 years and this is a new problem.

It is more like have you adjusted your stove to burn a blend?

It is also possible you have a bad batch.

What stove and what settings are you using?

Englander ss-shp240 pellet furnance. Tried high settng and middle setting. I think it could be pellets also. There is no setting to adjust for blend as opposed to hardwood that I know of or is in the user manual.

You change the fuel and/or air settings. The lower three settings on most england units. This may present a problem for you depending upon the year of manufacture of the controller.

The basic issue you are having is lack of air through the burn pot for the amount of fuel being fed. This can result in either a slow burn or not ejecting the ash produced. Both can lead to pile up.

I called factory and reset lower to factory setting 1-4-1 but still get pellet buildup. Do you know if higher settings mean more air? Pellet buildup this morning again. So resetting did not fix the issue. Maybe I will try setting air at highest setting.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

It depends upon the actual program in that controller as to how things work.

But in general the air flow gets increased as the firing rate is increased.

The only question I have is does your controller (England has changed things over the years which is why it gets confusing on here) start at the low settings and prorate to the maximum or is that low setting only effective in heat range 1 & 2.

You could try 1-5-1 (but once again I don't know what your controller is going to do in high mode if on a t-stat.

It is also possible that you have a small burn pot air bypass.

Or too much EVL.

There are tons of threads on here dealing with pile up issues.

Sometimes it is a combination of several small things.

ETA: Piggy backing your problem on a thread about what the current MWP bag looks like isn't the best way to get help. You also should add your stove make and model to your signature line and start a new thread with the problem and stove model in the title. There are a lot of England stove owners on here and the head tech guy at England is an active member here.

 

[save$]

Are the MWP bags with the State of Maine on them a current production run? I have a local guy that claims he brings a truckload back from Athens every so often. He burns some himself and sells the rest. The bags he now has are the ones with the State of Maine picture on them. I thought the current bags have the cabin on them and the TSC re-bags have the stove on them. I grabbed a half dozen from him and they burned clean with just "okay" heat output. The pellets themselves are a light blonde color and have a "smell" to them. I also grabbed a couple bags of the TSC re-bags to compare. Those pellets (TSC ones) are more variegated and darker in color. (batch variance?)

I need to re-supply and he is close and reasonably priced, however, I do not want to pay current prices for last years leftovers.

I remember the nightmare the older MWP caused. They had that Me state image on the bag. I really like my MWP but no way would I bring home any bags with the state on them. To me, that would be risking taking a step backwards. If you have one of those magical Harman stoves that don't mind what you dump in them, then maybe there isn't the same ricks to you as the would be to me