Maine choice pellets

[jim3854]

Bought these at the end of last year for use as a shoulder pellet . Have a bag going now and cannot believe the heat from them. I bought them for 179 a ton last feburary now I wish i bought more.

 

[midfielder]

I bought a ton for shoulders at Walmart and have been burning them for a couple of weeks. I like 'em. They're definitely in the premium range for ash, I'd say moderate, but still noticeably better than the Fireside Ultras I'm working through from last spring. Not bad heat - not in the same class as Vermonts for sure, but not bad at all. And they burn clean, no carbon or clinkers in the burn pot and clean glass. I paid 190 early October and would happily buy again for early and late season for that price.

 

[subsailor]

Bought these at the end of last year for use as a shoulder pellet . Have a bag going now and cannot believe the heat from them. I bought them for 179 a ton last feburary now I wish i bought more.

I bought a ton for shoulders at Walmart and have been burning them for a couple of weeks. I like 'em. They're definitely in the premium range for ash, I'd say moderate, but still noticeably better than the Fireside Ultras I'm working through from last spring. Not bad heat - not in the same class as Vermonts for sure, but not bad at all. And they burn clean, no carbon or clinkers in the burn pot and clean glass. I paid 190 early October and would happily buy again for early and late season for that price.

They either made a lot of changes or you guys are getting different pellets than what they sell up here. They last time I bought some (2 years ago) I took them back.

 

[IHATEPROPANE]

I like them a lot...very good pellet for me. Not everyone has had the same experience

 

[subsailor]

As they say, every stove has it's preferences. My Harman likes MWP better than MC, and I think other Harman owners will say the same.

 

[midfielder]

Maybe they did - dunno, my first batch of these. They are a tree to pellet plant so they should be able to control their quality ok. No dirt or bark or junk in them as far as I can tell. jtakeman told me that one of the problems with tree to pellet is getting pieces small enough to make pellets of good density. Maybe that's easier with softwood than hard - Vermonts are a tree to pellet plant with pine and they do real well. Species seems to be important too (aside from soil minerals and all those other variables) and for hardwoods especially with the lack of volatile resins. I think Maine's Choice has a decent blend, at least in the ton I got - from the smell of them it seems like they got more sugar maple and yellow birch instead of paper birch and red maple in these. For me, the MC's are way better than any of the many NEWPs products I've tried, also hardwood, but as I understand for the Jaffery plant that I've gotten my pellets from (local), fiber bought off the open market. Funny thing though, I've also been burning Ambiance which are made from flooring factory dust - oak, hard maple, and cherry (you can smell the red oak in them) and they are excellent. In their case, the dust is probably mostly from planed, clean, and largely clear kiln-dried stock. Hard to wrong with that I guess...

 

[save$]

Not everyone has had the same experience

How true! Jay has advised us that things change from year to year, alway try a few before you commit to something that you may come to wish you hadn't. It took me three years to work my way through 6 tons of Energex. I ended up giving a ton away to my son who was very happy with them.
Heat was ok, but way too much ash and clinkers. He burned them in an Englander without problem.

 

[smalltown]

I also think the Maine Choice have more ash than the MWP hardwood blend.

 

[save$]

I also think the Maine Choice have more ash than the MWP hardwood blend.

Same experience here. But didn't try them this year. Things change, but I am happy with what I have.

 

[jim3854]

I dont mind cleaning the ash as long as I have HEAT....

 

[Melissa220]

Same experience here. But didn't try them this year. Things change, but I am happy with what I have.

First year with a pellet stove for me and I bought 8 bags of Maine's Choice. I have buried the last half bag at the bottom of a pile. For me, and my stove, there was a lot of ash, and the amount of carbon buildup on the burn pot was..... well let's just say it took a LOT of chipping with a screwdriver to clean it out.

 

[P38X2]

I never had a problem with the heat and the clinkage factor was low but the ash was ridiculous. MWP is a vastly superior product in my stove. 50 bags of punishment from the MC for not trying them first. The worst part was across the street is a TSC that had MWP for the same price ($209). Unfortunately, I didn't know anything about em at the time. On the plus side, they've sold em 2 years in a row so hopefully I can pig out on them at re-up time next year.

 

[subsailor]

I never had a problem with the heat and the clinkage factor was low but the ash was ridiculous. MWP is a vastly superior product in my stove. 50 bags of punishment from the MC for not trying them first. The worst part was across the street is a TSC that had MWP for the same price ($209). Unfortunately, I didn't know anything about em at the time. On the plus side, they've sold em 2 years in a row so hopefully I can pig out on them at re-up time next year.

I agree. MWP much better in my stove. I won't buy Maine Choice.

 

[P38X2]

Subsailor, I took a stroll through the USS Albacore a few years back. Bad a$$! Very eerie. I assume you were in the USN. What an intense experience that must have been. Anyway, thanks for your service in protecting our country.

.....Back to our regularly scheduled program.