Pellet Brand and Reviews

[nikeseer]

Hi All,

Well I posted this incorrectly as a conversation. Incorrectly done.. OOPs... I'm buring Made in Maine (hardwood) from TSC and just trying 3 bags of (softwood and hardwood blend) Greene Supreme from HD. Wondering peoples opinions. My father is buring Greene Supreme in his new Quadrafire Classic Bay 1200i He is getting a huge amount of buildup in his firepot. Has to clean it out every other day or every day. Any info on this? Any advise would be great. He is a little worried that he bought crap...I think he will be find just have to clean out more often this season. Going to give him a couple of bags of my Made in Maine and see how they burn in his stove. Thanks for any advise you can give.

 

[rmcgr8one]

I burned 6 bages about a week ago of GS. I also had about an inch wide and high of black ash. I just opened the door and scrapped it into the ash pan. I now am burning Vermonts and notice barely any ash. The ash is more like fine dust compared to the GS and I do not have to scrap it.

 

[nikeseer]

I burned 6 bages about a week ago of GS. I also had about an inch wide and high of black ash. I just opened the door and scrapped it into the ash pan. I now am burning Vermonts and notice barely any ash. The ash is more like fine dust compared to the GS and I do not have to scrap it.

Thanks.. My father is doing that and has 2 ton of it. Not happy for him right now. Good heat but lots of ash.

 

[movemaine]

for me:

Maine in Maine's - meh. I like the softwoods (100% softwoods) but not the blend or hardwoods.
Green Supremes are ok, low to mid level.

Also, without knowing your father's setup - buildup could be due to a number of issues.

That being said - if you like Hardwoods, you may try Cubex or some other more premium brands.

Personally, I like softwoods in my stove. I find they burn cleaner and hotter, but each person and stove like different things.

 

[subsailor]

FYI - The Made in Maine you talk about are Maine Woods Pellets (MWP), bagged for TSC and HD as Premium Wood Pellets. The MWP logo is in the center of the bag. They are a hardwood/softwood blend. In my opinion, it's a decent pellet for the price. Green Supreme, not to be confused with Greene Team, is bagged by New England Wood Pellet Co. (NEWP). They don't get a whole lotta love on this site. I think the only pellet that gets dumped on more is Inferno's.

 

[nikeseer]

for me:

Maine in Maine's - meh. I like the softwoods (100% softwoods) but not the blend or hardwoods.
Green Supremes are ok, low to mid level.

Also, without knowing your father's setup - buildup could be due to a number of issues.

That being said - if you like Hardwoods, you may try Cubex or some other more premium brands.

Personally, I like softwoods in my stove. I find they burn cleaner and hotter, but each person and stove like different things.

I'm trying the Greene Supreme I've gotten at Home Depot. My dad has 2 ton.. 1 from Lowes and 1 from Home Depot. Not Green Team but Greene supreme. He has the Quadrafire 1200i classic bay. He is currently running on high to keep the buildup low hopefully. But burning on medium with feed set perfect to the flame height specs the stove reccommends... He has a log set he got for it for the ambiance. I think personally that might have something to do with it. His stove baffles are angled. Mine on the Cab50 are straight up. Love my big Cab50. Which softwoods do you use and how much are you using a day and are you cycling or just running steady...? Thanks!

 

[nikeseer]

FYI - The Made in Maine you talk about are Maine Woods Pellets (MWP), bagged for TSC and HD as Premium Wood Pellets. The MWP logo is in the center of the bag. They are a hardwood/softwood blend. In my opinion, it's a decent pellet for the price. Green Supreme, not to be confused with Greene Team, is bagged by New England Wood Pellet Co. (NEWP). They don't get a whole lotta love on this site. I think the only pellet that gets dumped on more is Inferno's.

FYI - The Made in Maine you talk about are Maine Woods Pellets (MWP), bagged for TSC and HD as Premium Wood Pellets. The MWP logo is in the center of the bag. They are a hardwood/softwood blend. In my opinion, it's a decent pellet for the price. Green Supreme, not to be confused with Greene Team, is bagged by New England Wood Pellet Co. (NEWP). They don't get a whole lotta love on this site. I think the only pellet that gets dumped on more is Inferno's.

we shall see his weekend how they burn in my cab50. This is my brand of hardwood.
sorry for the side ways pic. New phone. Lol

 

[subsailor]

Those are Maine Woods Pellets (MWP) hardwood/softwood blend. I believe it 65/35 hardwood/softwood. That's all I've burned so far this year.

 

[rmcgr8one]

I am burning Vermonts, soft wood pellet. I run it on room temp on a higher degree when home and turn it down at night and while at work. My house has drafts and is not the best insulated, that is next years protect. I am just under a bag a day to almost a bag a day.

 

[DexterDay]

If he is getting ash build up in the pot? Where is it? In the bottom floor plate? Or on the back wall of the pot?

If he is getting that much, then ai believe he has a gasket leaking.

I have burned over a half ton (26) and have pulled my pot clean out rod 4 times. My pot is clean as a whistle.

A bad gasket will allow a large burn pot bypass. Less air through pot. Less ash ejection.

 

[CladMaster]

we shall see his weekend how they burn in my cab50. This is my brand of hardwood.
View attachment 84167 sorry for the side ways pic. New phone. Lol

My stove does not perform well with these pellets, will not be buying them again.

 

[nikeseer]

Those are Maine Woods Pellets (MWP) hardwood/softwood blend. I believe it 65/35 hardwood/softwood. That's all I've burned so far this year.

Weird because I don't see anywhere that it is a blend of soft and hardwoods.

 

[nikeseer]

If he is getting ash build up in the pot? Where is it? In the bottom floor plate? Or on the back wall of the pot?

If he is getting that much, then ai believe he has a gasket leaking.

I have burned over a half ton (26) and have pulled my pot clean out rod 4 times. My pot is clean as a whistle.

A bad gasket will allow a large burn pot bypass. Less air through pot. Less ash ejection.

All in the pot. Side and bottom. Gasket around the door?

 

[subsailor]

Weird because I don't see anywhere that it is a blend of soft and hardwoods.

True. But it also doesn't say 100% Hardwood on the bag either. I've been burning these pellets for a while. The plant is less than 50 miles away. Believe me, they make 2 kinds of pellets, the blend that you have, and in the spring of 2011 they started doing a limited run of 100% softwood which they continued this year and also did a limited run this fall.

 

[nikeseer]

True. But it also doesn't say 100% Hardwood on the bag either. I've been burning these pellets for a while. The plant is less than 50 miles away. Believe me, they make 2 kinds of pellets, the blend that you have, and in the spring of 2011 they started doing a limited run of 100% softwood which they continued this year and also did a limited run this fall.

How do you like them? Which softwood ones do you prefer that you find burn clean? My MWP are buring very well. Very little in pot and ash buildup about and 1/2 in 3-5 days. Do you find the softwoods burn faster and you use more?

 

[DexterDay]

All in the pot. Side and bottom. Gasket around the door?

Ash pan and Door gasket. Both need to be tightened. Or have the dollar bill test done.

 

[nikeseer]

Ash pan and Door gasket. Both need to be tightened. Or have the dollar bill test done.

Thank you.. Will do as soon as I go over next. I did the dollar bill test with mine and removed the washer on the door and it is tighter now. Thank you. I don't know if he has a gasket around the ash pan, but I will check.

 

[nikeseer]

My stove does not perform well with these pellets, will not be buying them again.

What stove do you have?

 

[DexterDay]

Thank you.. Will do as soon as I go over next. I did the dollar bill test with mine and removed the washer on the door and it is tighter now. Thank you. I don't know if he has a gasket around the ash pan, but I will check.

Its an insert. So I am not positive. But freeatanding does. And needs a gasket. It is open to the burn pot area. Open sides.

 

[nikeseer]

Its an insert. So I am not positive. But freeatanding does. And needs a gasket. It is open to the burn pot area. Open sides.

It has the two sides that open. The ash drawer has a little door you have to lift up to unlatch and pull down then pull the drawer out. I have not seen any gasket on it.

 

[movemaine]

How do you like them? Which softwood ones do you prefer that you find burn clean? My MWP are buring very well. Very little in pot and ash buildup about and 1/2 in 3-5 days. Do you find the softwoods burn faster and you use more?

Softwoods I burn/burned:

Maine Wood Pellets Softies (pretty good)
LaCrete's (good Canadian softwood)
LGs (okay softwood)
Okanigans (cadillac of softwoods)
Okanigans Black Hills (cadillacs of cadillacs - there is another thread about them having a lot of fines, but they still burn great)

As for how softwoods burn, if you look at BTU ratings (ask a user name jtakeman on here for his in-depth fairly scientific analysis), softwoods tend to have higher btu ratings.

This generally translates to higher efficiency because of how a pellet stove works. If you are running on stove or room temp, the higher the btu a pellet the quicker it will get you to temp, meaning you are burning less pellets.

Additionally, I've found that softwoods produce less ash and clinkers which saves time on maintenance and keeps the efficiency up (a dirty stove is an inefficient stove).

Hope that helps.

 

[nikeseer]

Softwoods I burn/burned:

Maine Wood Pellets Softies (pretty good)
LaCrete's (good Canadian softwood)
LGs (okay softwood)
Okanigans (cadillac of softwoods)
Okanigans Black Hills (cadillacs of cadillacs - there is another thread about them having a lot of fines, but they still burn great)

As for how softwoods burn, if you look at BTU ratings (ask a user name jtakeman on here for his in-depth fairly scientific analysis), softwoods tend to have higher btu ratings.

This generally translates to higher efficiency because of how a pellet stove works. If you are running on stove or room temp, the higher the btu a pellet the quicker it will get you to temp, meaning you are burning less pellets.

Additionally, I've found that softwoods produce less ash and clinkers which saves time on maintenance and keeps the efficiency up (a dirty stove is an inefficient stove).

Hope that helps.

It does.. Thank you. I hear softwoods get a bad rap around here so trying different ones out to see what works best. We will see how the Greene Supreme work through the weekend. Started burning about 7pm tonight with some leftover MWP.. By now those are burned and we are totally running on Greene Supreme.

 

[rwthomas1]

I was burning up the last of last seasons Genevas, mediocre heat and ash. Somersets burn way hotter and with last ash, best pellet so far. Grabbed 5 bags of Fireside Ultras at HD, despite lots of fines and more ash they burn just as hot as the Somersets. Not bad for $209/ton. I may go get a ton....

 

[pell it]

Weird because I don't see anywhere that it is a blend of soft and hardwoods.

(broken link removed to http://www.mainewoodspelletco.com/blend.html)

 

[DOLLARBILL]

well I can tell you this two years ago I burned MWP mix @ 199 a ton delivered (5 Tons ) and they were ok then I bought a ton of Cubex along with 4 tons of MWP super premiums wish now it had been the other way around !Ive found every bag burns differently ! But gives off a fair amount of heat ! This year ive yet to fill the cellar as ive got 1.5 tons left, over thinking of trying Spruce Points