I want to thank all of you for the advice regarding Maine Woods Pellets in Athens Maine. The first ton of pellets I bought with my new Harmon Accentra stove were premium quality. The next two ton shipment I received in September were not, however did not realize the problem until I started to burn them at Christmas time. I followed your advice and contacted the supplier, but no help there. I called the factory in Athens and spoke to the plant manager David Carr . He acknowledged they had a problem in production in the summer which was now corrected. I visited the factory and inspected the pellets before I exchanged out the bad ones. The quality is definitely premium now. The 2 tons were exchanged today. I was very impressed with the way I was treated and would urge others to give this company another chance. I too want to help a new business flourish in Maine.
Maine Woods Pellets Athens Maine
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I really hope these work well for you. I have not had the pleasure of burning any of these, but have been hoping they would iron out the problems they have apparently been having. I grew up in that area, and would like to support a Maine business as well. I hope to get some to try, and hopefully get next year's supply from them.
My biggest problem with the 4 tons of Maine Woods pellets I bought is consistency. I got them all at the same time, but compared to a bag of Corinth pellets, also from Maine, and its night and day. I have some Maine woods pellets that are 3/4" long which are causing a constant jam issue in my Lopi. The Corinth are uniform and a different lighter color. I too decided I wanted to buy from a Maine manufacturer also, the Devil you know as it were. I however, dont have access to David and dont have the means to send back 2+ tons of pellets.
We pellets from Maine Woods in June. The quality seems to be poor. They are really dark in color and some are over an inch long. They seem to put out alot of ash and it builds up in the pipe to the outside. Is this normal. I've heard from many people that they had quality issues.
Who is your supplier?
Ohara's is advertising 25 dollars a ton off if you mention their ad on Villagesoup.com . The last time I checked Ohara's prices they were selling for 290 a ton.
I wonder if they are reselling the pellets they have returned.
If your pellets are really causing problems with your stove then insist on a refund. If you do not get the refund then contact to Governors offfice and the Attorney General. Even better contact them even if you do get a refund.
Ohara's is advertising 25 dollars a ton off if you mention their ad on Villagesoup.com . The last time I checked Ohara's prices they were selling for 290 a ton.
I wonder if they are reselling the pellets they have returned.
If your pellets are really causing problems with your stove then insist on a refund. If you do not get the refund then contact to Governors offfice and the Attorney General. Even better contact them even if you do get a refund.
Hello,
Your pellets are only as good as the material the Manufacturer uses. They buy poor wood, you get poor pellets.
Another problem Manufacturer's are having they don't have access to good saw dust. Most now use wood chips and break it down to a dust using a hammer mill, here is the problem... wood chips have a moisture rate of around 43%... the plant has to run the saw dust to a 10% moisture rate through dryers so the saw dust can cohere in a form of pellets. Inconsistency in the moisture rates are giving the manfactor's a hard time and slowing the rate of production.
Take Care,
Your pellets are only as good as the material the Manufacturer uses. They buy poor wood, you get poor pellets.
Another problem Manufacturer's are having they don't have access to good saw dust. Most now use wood chips and break it down to a dust using a hammer mill, here is the problem... wood chips have a moisture rate of around 43%... the plant has to run the saw dust to a 10% moisture rate through dryers so the saw dust can cohere in a form of pellets. Inconsistency in the moisture rates are giving the manfactor's a hard time and slowing the rate of production.
Take Care,
[email protected] said:
The ash can be a problem. We didn't know any different when we started burning but found ash everywhere like you have. Took our pellets back and started burning other brands and can go days without ash build up now. We were doing a pretty detailed cleaning everyday with the athens to try to keep the stove problem free. What a vacation to let it burn a few days without looking at it!!
You may get better heat where yours seem to be long. Ours were all broken up so put out very little.
Good luck and welcome
boswell said:
They burned better???
Can you please elaborate on the burn quality?
Did they cure the inconsistant and broken up pellet size? My 1.5 tons were all no more than 1/4 inch in length.
But more importantly...have they stopped using inferior wood...suspect much bark and scrap?
Feel the dust that is left in the hopper after Miane Owoods have been in there...doesn't even feel like wood dust. So 80- 20 means 80% wood...20% filler.
Can you let your stove burn for a few days without having to mind the burn pot every 15 minutes?
These pellets produce WAY to much ash to be considered premium. If you don't believe me ...burn a true premium pellet and compare the ash.
I was emptying my ash vac as often as I used to clean my stove burning the Athens pellets.
The new pellets from Maine Woods are definitely a better quality pellet than before. These are more uniform, longer and burn cleaner. Not nearly as much ash. I would never use the poor quality pellets again.It was a nightmare. Visual inspection of the pellet is essential before you buy, which I did not do before. Rockys Stove Shop in Augusta are burning these pellets with good results also. I do not have problems with soot build up on the glass as before and don't have to empty the ashes as often. Hope this info helps
boswell said:
I have always got a kick out of people that can tell a good pellet by looking at them.
You have to burn at least 5 to 10 bags before you get any quantitative results.
I have to ask...how do you tell a good pellet from a bad pellet by sight?
Well just looking at pellets will not tell you much
However, smelling them, placing a handfull in water, weighing them relative to water displacement, and even tasting a few can provide alot of insight into the quality of the pellet.
A premium pellet should disolove in water within a few minutes and the consistency of the disolved pellets should be of a cornmeal cosistency.
If the dissolved pellets have chunks larger than a pencil lead then they are not of premuim quality and the pellet mill most likely does not have the machinery capable of creating the proper mix to enter into the premium market. Although many are profiting from just stuffing what they have into a bag.
The pellet pigs will accept anything. Including poor product and poor service. Then act surprised at the results.
Plenty of info on the web on how to examine pellets for quality.
This is not new technology. It is just new here.
However, smelling them, placing a handfull in water, weighing them relative to water displacement, and even tasting a few can provide alot of insight into the quality of the pellet.
A premium pellet should disolove in water within a few minutes and the consistency of the disolved pellets should be of a cornmeal cosistency.
If the dissolved pellets have chunks larger than a pencil lead then they are not of premuim quality and the pellet mill most likely does not have the machinery capable of creating the proper mix to enter into the premium market. Although many are profiting from just stuffing what they have into a bag.
The pellet pigs will accept anything. Including poor product and poor service. Then act surprised at the results.
Plenty of info on the web on how to examine pellets for quality.
This is not new technology. It is just new here.
4124elad said:
We at O'Haras are not reselling the product we have had returned. That duct goes back to atherns and they reuse it in there boiler they have. i visited the plant on 12/8/08 and made sure that they were not sending the returned stuff back out to us dealers. The reason the deal we have currently going on villagesoup.com is to boost sales because things are slow right now and we are looking to move some product out to get ready for summer. Anyone needs any pellets let me know
Butch Nichols
(broken link removed)
SparkyDog said:
lighter in color, shinyness to the outside,uniform length (which tells you they formed well and have not broken apart due to sogginess), uniform size, and dense. Try a bag of cubex, and you will see. the new maine pellets posess many of these qualities. not that some that are otherwise may burn okay, but its a good lithmus test when initially getting pellets.
I am starting to plan for replenishing pellets in the spring, and I will try the Cubex brand if they are available in my area. Thanks for the tip
I'm new to pellet stoves, and got 1 ton of Maine Woods Pellets to start off. I had a separate problem with the stove that led me to hear about the problems with MWPs. There's a noticeable difference between MWP and the Canadian pellets (no brand on the bag) I got while diagnosing the problem. The MWPs I got are very dark and sort of greenish in color, and if you bend them they crumble rather than snap. There's a lot of dust in the bags, too. Bags were kept dry since I had them, and stored in the basement. When I switched to the Canadian pellets I immediately noticed that the flame was higher and the stove hotter for the same feed rate. This morning (-5F at the house) the stove was running on medium to heat 1800 sqft, where it previously had run on M-MH with much warmer temps.
I'm committed to buying Maine pellets if I can, so I'll continue to try those out and I'm looking for some Corinth pellets I can try as well. I work with another pellet-burner, and we've arranged to pellet-swap to try out different brands. In the meantime, the ton of MWPs will make very nice kitty litter. :D
I'm committed to buying Maine pellets if I can, so I'll continue to try those out and I'm looking for some Corinth pellets I can try as well. I work with another pellet-burner, and we've arranged to pellet-swap to try out different brands. In the meantime, the ton of MWPs will make very nice kitty litter. :D
I called Athens today and had a nice chat with them.
They will swap bag for bag new for old. No problem.
I do have to travel 70 miles to make the swap....
Their price per ton is $215/ton and will sell to the public.
They do have some restrictions as far as amount.
Seems that the people I bought our pellets from ($299/ton) were not an authorized dealer.
Live and Learn!!
I told them that I do want to support a Maine business.
The girl I spoke with said that the test results were just in on the ash content.
.9%....not sure what the ash content is on the batch we have.
She said that they burn the returned pellets in their "Harman's"
Did the "girl" tell you what the mineral (salts) content in the ash was?
Be certain to let her know that you have a Harman.
As for the ash level, I think it was slightly over the standard line which is less than 3% for the late July vintage. BTW, it was more than just the ash level.
I'll take a short ride one of these mornings and pick up a few bags of the new stuff for another tryout.
Be certain to let her know that you have a Harman.
As for the ash level, I think it was slightly over the standard line which is less than 3% for the late July vintage. BTW, it was more than just the ash level.
I'll take a short ride one of these mornings and pick up a few bags of the new stuff for another tryout.
compressedwoodsupplier said:
This is where I bought the pellets:
(broken link removed to http://www.premiumspecialtyhardwoods.com/gallery/gallery.htm)
Maine Artisian Wood Gallery in Rumford
great i just wanted to make sure it wasnt a customer i sold them to and mwp wasnt honoring them. Thank You
compressedwoodsupplier said:
Are you an Athens Pellet dealer??
If so, where are you located?
I would like to try the newer pellets from them.
Thanks
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