Maine: Wood Pellet Shortage

[Maineiac]

BANGOR, Maine -- In the South, motorists are dealing with short-term gas shortage. In Maine, consumers are dealing with a shortage of an altogether different type of fuel - wood pellets.

Pellet fuel distributors in Greater Bangor are running out of pellets within days of shipments. Pellet experts said the problem is that people are stockpiling them.

George Soffron from Corinth Wood Pellets, the state's largest pellet manufacturer, said there wouldn't be any heating oil left if everyone took their entire season's worth in July. He said that's the situation that pellet companies are dealing with.

He said he's heard of people buying a two-year supply. He said consumers need to "hang on" because pellets will be produced through the winter.

http://www.wmtw.com/news/17596187/detail.html

Meanwhile, I am still waiting for the 5 tons I ordered back in July from Corinth to be delivered to a local distributor. I was third on the list.

 

[Shortstuff]

All we can do is hope that you get your pellets soon. My personal guess is that you will get them as promised, but there are no guarantees. There are a few things to be "blamed" for the shortage, one being that new home construction is down 8% from what it was a year ago (last months figures) which may not seem like a lot, but it really is, you can almost say that means 8% less pellet production - although many mills have increased their production rates. Another is the cost of fuel in that it costs more to truck the pellets good distances which increases the prices to shops that buy them to sell, many who are suffering from the economy already and unable to purchase as many tons as they used to. Then there's the incredible increase in pellet stove sales and all the new pellets users looking for their winter supply, then there are those who are in fact purchasing much more than they need thinking that they cost of pellets will continue to skyrocket. I think that warehouses will eventually overflow with pellets and the price will drop considerably, perhaps to what they were a year ago.

Just so many factors that are contributing to this years pellet shortages.

Steve

 

[Souzafone]

"George Soffron from Corinth Wood Pellets, the state’s largest pellet manufacturer, said there wouldn’t be any heating oil left if everyone took their entire season’s worth in July. He said that’s the situation that pellet companies are dealing with."
This is the situation created BY the pellet companies. If they want to compare themselves to oil companies, then don't sell by the ton, and offer free, timely delivery. My idea of fun does not include humping 40lb. bags into my basement, and upstairs as needed. By contrast, with no additional expense to me, I have a storage tank in my basement for oil that can be re-filled by simply picking up the phone, and they will even bill me for it AFTER delivery.
Do the same with the pellet fuel industry and I'll cooperate, but until then I'll do what's easiest for me, which is doing it once and being done with it.

 

[j00fek]

the problem i still think is that people are getting bad information from dealers, they say to get 4-5-6 tons for the winter when they should only get 3-4 tons

i went to home depot last night in auburn and saw 20+ tons in the back loading area, but they are penningtons

 

[mjbrown]

I am going to the Athens mill on saturday to pick up 4 ton. 2 for myself and 2 for my folks just to get us started. I live 11 miles from the mill , and they will sell to the general public within a 12 mile radius for 215 a ton. I bought a few bags at Paris Farms in Newport to see how well they were b4 buying by the ton and liked them. The pellets were a 1/4 - 1/2 long, so there was no worry of damming in the hopper, and there was little if no fines per bag. So, I decided to get a couple ton to start me out for the winter. when St.Albans Stove Shop gets there Cubex in, I plan on buying a ton or two of those and I should be set for winter.

The owner of Aubuchon in Newport has lost my business on ANYTHING he has to offer, as he sells Energex and puts down ALL other pellets brands and stoves to boot. He sells Pelpro stoves, and when I went to ask for info on the Cheap Charlie( first stove I bought), he said it wasnt the stove that was the problem, it was the pellets.I told him I was burning 3 bags of pellets a day, and the furnace was still coming on, and i was burning cubex pellets. he told me the pellets were junk, i told him he was an ***hole and walked out never to return. when i got home, i called canada and talked to tech support and found that 2 out 3 thermo switches were bad...so much for junk pellets. i fixed the switches, and installed the stove at camp, bought a harman p38 for the house and all is good.

mike

 

[Xena]

the problem i still think is that people are
getting bad information from dealers, they say
to get 4-5-6 tons...when they should only get 3-4 tons.

From my experience over the past 4 years I'd say 4-6 tons to heat
an average New England home during an average NE winter is accurate.
Especially if the stats I'm reading on this forum about 1 ton pellets = approx. 120
gal's of oil are correct.

 

[Maineiac]

the problem i still think is that people are
getting bad information from dealers, they say
to get 4-5-6 tons...when they should only get 3-4 tons.

From my experience over the past 4 years I'd say 4-6 tons to heat
an average New England home during an average NE winter is accurate.
Especially if the stats I'm reading on this forum about 1 ton pellets = approx. 120
gal's of oil are correct.

I agree. I bought 5 tons last year and still have about 1/2 ton left. Hopefully this will carry me through until more pellets show up.

 

[firewarrior820]

the problem i still think is that people are getting bad information from dealers, they say to get 4-5-6 tons for the winter when they should only get 3-4 tonsi went to home depot last night in auburn and saw 20+ tons in the back loading area, but they are penningtons

is there a problem with penningtons?

 

[PDawg]

Ordered 4 tons from my pellet retailer mid June got them late last week. I have been calling every week since early September, I was told that they had over 2000 tons pre-ordered this year. Those orders will all be filled before they start delivering pellets to the stores. I was also told that were a little over 3/of the thru the pre-orders and they had no stock left.

 

[j00fek]

in the past 4 yrs i have burnt no more than 2 3/4 tons in my fathers 1900 sqft house, this is a basement install as well. along with burning 500-700 gal/oil in the winter months (oil for hot water here)

maybe its different for everyone, maybe they have inadequate insulation, or other factors that impose upon their pellet usage. they could also be trying to use very little oil as possible. as i am installing my NPS40 in my new house that is 2000+ sqft (upstairs) i gather that i will need 3-4 tons to burn, i bought 4

in the past xpellet freakx, penningtons have been very poor in quality and burning

 

[firewarrior820]

in the past 4 yrs i have burnt no more than 2 3/4 tons in my fathers 1900 sqft house, this is a basement install as well. along with burning 500-700 gal/oil in the winter months (oil for hot water here)

maybe its different for everyone, maybe they have inadequate insulation, or other factors that impose upon their pellet usage. they could also be trying to use very little oil as possible. as i am installing my NPS40 in my new house that is 2000+ sqft (upstairs) i gather that i will need 3-4 tons to burn, i bought 4

in the past xpellet freakx, penningtons have been very poor in quality and burning

i bought 3 tons, doh!

 

[MainePellethead]

in the past 4 yrs i have burnt no more than 2 3/4 tons in my fathers 1900 sqft house, this is a basement install as well. along with burning 500-700 gal/oil in the winter months (oil for hot water here)

maybe its different for everyone, maybe they have inadequate insulation, or other factors that impose upon their pellet usage. they could also be trying to use very little oil as possible. as i am installing my NPS40 in my new house that is 2000+ sqft (upstairs) i gather that i will need 3-4 tons to burn, i bought 4

in the past xpellet freakx, penningtons have been very poor in quality and burning

i bought 3 tons, doh!

Last year they had some mill problems. They claim they have them worked out.

 

[j00fek]

you know what another thing i didn't take into thought was i have never burnt the stove while i was not @home

 

[slls]

I just bought 4 bags of Pennington's at Brewer Walmart for $4.94 a bag to try out, bags were dated and bar coded. The date is 8-29-08, fresh batch. I can't go wrong, if no good I can get my money back.