MWP Softwood Pellets

[SmokeyTheBear]

MWP are dirty and don't produce a lot of heat. My wife and I also found they had an unpleasant smell to them. I sealed everything on the stove with hi-temp tape and fire blocking silicon but still the smell persisted; the smell hurt my sinuses too. I have never noticed a smell with other brands.... this year (spring) I had a chance to buy into MWP's again for fairly cheap (w/ delivery) but opted to go back to Energex pellets

When did you buy those pellets?

Spring 2010... I had met a guy in Brewer who was selling them. In fact I digitized the flyer he gave me and sent it to a few members on here.

The price was good, the heat was ok (nothing like Energex), and the I found they are dirty. Also, like I said they had an odor to them. I've never had an odor like that from any other pellet brand I've burned.

Sounds like possible leftover 2008/2009 stuff but I really can't say. I didn't buy any after the first quarter of 2009. I sat out the changes that were being made at the plant until fall of 2010.

There is no abnormal smell to what I have and they aren't particularly soft nor am I getting much in the way of fines. The ash level is far better than any of the 2008 and 2009 batches (6 tons worth) that I managed to burn in my under performing at the time top feeding stove stove. It isn't at the level of my Cubex but then I wouldn't expect it to be.

Sometimes I wonder.

Thanks for the information mainegeek.

 

[Hardy_Boy]

Maybe a lot of people are mistaking MWP with Maine Choice. Both sound and have similar looking bags but Maine Choice is indeed crap. I have found MWP close to Green Teams, Green Supremes and several other middle of the road pellets.

 

[IHATEPROPANE]

MWP are dirty and don't produce a lot of heat. My wife and I also found they had an unpleasant smell to them. I sealed everything on the stove with hi-temp tape and fire blocking silicon but still the smell persisted; the smell hurt my sinuses too. I have never noticed a smell with other brands.... this year (spring) I had a chance to buy into MWP's again for fairly cheap (w/ delivery) but opted to go back to Energex pellets

When did you buy those pellets?

Spring 2010... I had met a guy in Brewer who was selling them. In fact I digitized the flyer he gave me and sent it to a few members on here.

The price was good, the heat was ok (nothing like Energex), and the I found they are dirty. Also, like I said they had an odor to them. I've never had an odor like that from any other pellet brand I've burned.

Sounds like possible leftover 2008/2009 stuff but I really can't say. I didn't buy any after the first quarter of 2009. I sat out the changes that were being made at the plant until fall of 2010.

There is no abnormal smell to what I have and they aren't particularly soft nor am I getting much in the way of fines. The ash level is far better than any of the 2008 and 2009 batches (6 tons worth) that I managed to burn in my under performing at the time top feeding stove stove. It isn't at the level of my Cubex but then I wouldn't expect it to be.

Sometimes I wonder.

Thanks for the information mainegeek.

Mine must be the newer stuff since they were not sold at my local dealer before the spring. I really think a lot of people including myself were expecting less ash....not what I would consider avg. ash. I think my local place has them listed at .26 ash compared to .19 for the Blazers I am burning now. I have to clean my stove after 5 or 6 bags of MWP and right now I am burning bag 15 of the Blazers and am guessing I can go to about 25. So one of those numbers is inaccurate at least for me. I do think they are a decent pellet and would definitley buy them again. But would relate them to Maine's Choice, NEWP and other middle of the road blended pellet.

 

[jtakeman]

MWP are dirty and don't produce a lot of heat. My wife and I also found they had an unpleasant smell to them. I sealed everything on the stove with hi-temp tape and fire blocking silicon but still the smell persisted; the smell hurt my sinuses too. I have never noticed a smell with other brands.... this year (spring) I had a chance to buy into MWP's again for fairly cheap (w/ delivery) but opted to go back to Energex pellets

When did you buy those pellets?

Spring 2010... I had met a guy in Brewer who was selling them. In fact I digitized the flyer he gave me and sent it to a few members on here.

The price was good, the heat was ok (nothing like Energex), and the I found they are dirty. Also, like I said they had an odor to them. I've never had an odor like that from any other pellet brand I've burned.

Sounds like possible leftover 2008/2009 stuff but I really can't say. I didn't buy any after the first quarter of 2009. I sat out the changes that were being made at the plant until fall of 2010.

There is no abnormal smell to what I have and they aren't particularly soft nor am I getting much in the way of fines. The ash level is far better than any of the 2008 and 2009 batches (6 tons worth) that I managed to burn in my under performing at the time top feeding stove stove. It isn't at the level of my Cubex but then I wouldn't expect it to be.

Sometimes I wonder.

Thanks for the information mainegeek.

Mine must be the newer stuff since they were not sold at my local dealer before the spring. I really think a lot of people including myself were expecting less ash....not what I would consider avg. ash. I think my local place has them listed at .26 ash compared to .19 for the Blazers I am burning now. I have to clean my stove after 5 or 6 bags of MWP and right now I am burning bag 15 of the Blazers and am guessing I can go to about 25. So one of those numbers is inaccurate at least for me. I do think they are a decent pellet and would definitley buy them again. But would relate them to Maine's Choice, NEWP and other middle of the road blended pellet.

The ash content I have been seeing is in the 0.35 to 0.38% range. Worst case was .42% and still in the Super Premium standards. Where did you see the .26% ash content/ That is a bit low IMHO.

Comparing even a super premium BC softwood to a Douglas fir is a strech! Doug fir will shame many many brands that most think are awesome. I'd say your standards have been spoiled rooten with one of the cleanest fibers out there. ;-) You'd need to move west to get a cleaner burning brand and it's also a doug fir pellet.

 

[IHATEPROPANE]

MWP are dirty and don't produce a lot of heat. My wife and I also found they had an unpleasant smell to them. I sealed everything on the stove with hi-temp tape and fire blocking silicon but still the smell persisted; the smell hurt my sinuses too. I have never noticed a smell with other brands.... this year (spring) I had a chance to buy into MWP's again for fairly cheap (w/ delivery) but opted to go back to Energex pellets

When did you buy those pellets?

Spring 2010... I had met a guy in Brewer who was selling them. In fact I digitized the flyer he gave me and sent it to a few members on here.

The price was good, the heat was ok (nothing like Energex), and the I found they are dirty. Also, like I said they had an odor to them. I've never had an odor like that from any other pellet brand I've burned.

Sounds like possible leftover 2008/2009 stuff but I really can't say. I didn't buy any after the first quarter of 2009. I sat out the changes that were being made at the plant until fall of 2010.

There is no abnormal smell to what I have and they aren't particularly soft nor am I getting much in the way of fines. The ash level is far better than any of the 2008 and 2009 batches (6 tons worth) that I managed to burn in my under performing at the time top feeding stove stove. It isn't at the level of my Cubex but then I wouldn't expect it to be.

Sometimes I wonder.

Thanks for the information mainegeek.

Mine must be the newer stuff since they were not sold at my local dealer before the spring. I really think a lot of people including myself were expecting less ash....not what I would consider avg. ash. I think my local place has them listed at .26 ash compared to .19 for the Blazers I am burning now. I have to clean my stove after 5 or 6 bags of MWP and right now I am burning bag 15 of the Blazers and am guessing I can go to about 25. So one of those numbers is inaccurate at least for me. I do think they are a decent pellet and would definitley buy them again. But would relate them to Maine's Choice, NEWP and other middle of the road blended pellet.

The ash content I have been seeing is in the 0.35 to 0.38% range. Worst case was .42% and still in the Super Premium standards. Where did you see the .26% ash content/ That is a bit low IMHO.

Comparing even a super premium BC softwood to a Douglas fir is a strech! Doug fir will shame many many brands that most think are awesome. I'd say your standards have been spoiled rooten with one of the cleanest fibers out there. ;-) You'd need to move west to get a cleaner burning brand and it's also a doug fir pellet.

I have been spoiled by these Blazers...I am going to spend the rest of my winter trying to convince myself to pick up 2 tons for next year..

The numbers I got from a local pellet house....
Here is what they have listed:

Blazers .16
MWP . 27
Comfort .40
Turman .28
PWI. .35
Vermont Wood .23

By this they would be about the same as Vermonts or Turmans. I have not burned any Turmans but I did a few bags of Vermont and the two are not comparable. I would say they are closer to NEWP. So if you were expecting that type of ash you would have been disappointed. If you were expecting NEWP type ash you would have been happy.

 

[roadking88]

i wish they had blazers here in Maine.......

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

MWP are dirty and don't produce a lot of heat. My wife and I also found they had an unpleasant smell to them. I sealed everything on the stove with hi-temp tape and fire blocking silicon but still the smell persisted; the smell hurt my sinuses too. I have never noticed a smell with other brands.... this year (spring) I had a chance to buy into MWP's again for fairly cheap (w/ delivery) but opted to go back to Energex pellets

When did you buy those pellets?

Spring 2010... I had met a guy in Brewer who was selling them. In fact I digitized the flyer he gave me and sent it to a few members on here.

The price was good, the heat was ok (nothing like Energex), and the I found they are dirty. Also, like I said they had an odor to them. I've never had an odor like that from any other pellet brand I've burned.

Sounds like possible leftover 2008/2009 stuff but I really can't say. I didn't buy any after the first quarter of 2009. I sat out the changes that were being made at the plant until fall of 2010.

There is no abnormal smell to what I have and they aren't particularly soft nor am I getting much in the way of fines. The ash level is far better than any of the 2008 and 2009 batches (6 tons worth) that I managed to burn in my under performing at the time top feeding stove stove. It isn't at the level of my Cubex but then I wouldn't expect it to be.

Sometimes I wonder.

Thanks for the information mainegeek.

Mine must be the newer stuff since they were not sold at my local dealer before the spring. I really think a lot of people including myself were expecting less ash....not what I would consider avg. ash. I think my local place has them listed at .26 ash compared to .19 for the Blazers I am burning now. I have to clean my stove after 5 or 6 bags of MWP and right now I am burning bag 15 of the Blazers and am guessing I can go to about 25. So one of those numbers is inaccurate at least for me. I do think they are a decent pellet and would definitley buy them again. But would relate them to Maine's Choice, NEWP and other middle of the road blended pellet.

The ash content I have been seeing is in the 0.35 to 0.38% range. Worst case was .42% and still in the Super Premium standards. Where did you see the .26% ash content/ That is a bit low IMHO.

Comparing even a super premium BC softwood to a Douglas fir is a strech! Doug fir will shame many many brands that most think are awesome. I'd say your standards have been spoiled rooten with one of the cleanest fibers out there. ;-) You'd need to move west to get a cleaner burning brand and it's also a doug fir pellet.

I have been spoiled by these Blazers...I am going to spend the rest of my winter trying to convince myself to pick up 2 tons for next year..

The numbers I got from a local pellet house....
Here is what they have listed:

Blazers .16
MWP . 27
Comfort .40
Turman .28
PWI. .35
Vermont Wood .23

By this they would be about the same as Vermonts or Turmans. I have not burned any Turmans but I did a few bags of Vermont and the two are not comparable. I would say they are closer to NEWP. So if you were expecting that type of ash you would have been disappointed. If you were expecting NEWP type ash you would have been happy.

That figure for MWP is likely for the 100% softwood pellet.

 

[IHATEPROPANE]

I don't think they ever had the softwoods and their website says hardwood.

I am trying to figure out the polar opposites in public opinion.

My guess would be it has to do with expectations. If you expected an ash level of .27 then very pikely you were disappointed...on the opposite end if you had burned the older crappy MWP..you would probably be very happy with these.

 

[jtakeman]

I don't think they ever had the softwoods and their website says hardwood.

I am trying to figure out the polar opposites in public opinion.

My guess would be it has to do with expectations. If you expected an ash level of .27 then very pikely you were disappointed...on the opposite end if you had burned the older crappy MWP..you would probably be very happy with these.

Can you share the link? I like to check it out.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I don't think they ever had the softwoods and their website says hardwood.

I am trying to figure out the polar opposites in public opinion.

My guess would be it has to do with expectations. If you expected an ash level of .27 then very pikely you were disappointed...on the opposite end if you had burned the older crappy MWP..you would probably be very happy with these.

The bag clearly says < 1 % ash on it, what Smedly Dealer puts on a sign or website doesn't matter. Except that Smedly just became liable for accusations of false advertisment.

However given comments I've seen about their 100% softwoods I wouldn't rule out that .27% ash figure as being for them.

One of the big problems even here is not being specific about things. Take Curran Pellets for example, they currently have three different ones listed on their web site, I've seen yuck applied to their pellets without specifying which one. The same thing happens with pellets produced by the same company that has multiple plants. Makes it hard to pin down with what and where a problem is.

 

[IHATEPROPANE]

I don't think they ever had the softwoods and their website says hardwood.

I am trying to figure out the polar opposites in public opinion.

My guess would be it has to do with expectations. If you expected an ash level of .27 then very pikely you were disappointed...on the opposite end if you had burned the older crappy MWP..you would probably be very happy with these.

Can you share the link? I like to check it out.

Don't know how to do that on my phone....Google Robbins Garden Center Oxford MA....go to pellet pricing.

 

[jtakeman]

I don't think they ever had the softwoods and their website says hardwood.

I am trying to figure out the polar opposites in public opinion.

My guess would be it has to do with expectations. If you expected an ash level of .27 then very pikely you were disappointed...on the opposite end if you had burned the older crappy MWP..you would probably be very happy with these.

Can you share the link? I like to check it out.

Don't know how to do that on my phone....Google Robbins Garden Center Oxford MA....go to pellet pricing.

Thanks! Will do.

 

[nksdad2007]

i just talked with a guy that picks up loads of pellets at MWP and he said they were telling him that they were so busy keeping up with the demand for the hard/soft mix bags that they just can't shut down the line to switch over to do more 100% softwood. Hopefully they will do more when things slow up. I would like to try them, just haven't gotten a chance to find any.

 

[smalltown]

Last week I picked up about 10 bags of the MWP (with the stove on the cover). Can't find any date of manufacture. They do state less than 1% ash.

They burn OK, reminds me of MAINE Choice pellets from 2009. Not great heat output and I can see the increase in ash over my OKIES.
Decided that it's not a pellet I want to burn on cold nights like we have right now, but the price was good for warmer nights if you don't mind cleaning the stove more often.

 

[mr coffee]

Last week I picked up about 10 bags of the MWP (with the stove on the cover). Can't find any date of manufacture. They do state less than 1% ash.

They burn OK, reminds me of MAINE Choice pellets from 2009. Not great heat output and I can see the increase in ash over my OKIES.
Decided that it's not a pellet I want to burn on cold nights like we have right now, but the price was good for warmer nights if you don't mind cleaning the stove more often.

these are what the semi local TSC has "this week".. they keep the hardwood heats out back and none of the employees will use the MWP in their stoves. Interesting when I asked about them the checkout clerk says "I won't use those, too much ash and not enough heat"

 

[Pellet-King]

Stopped by TSC in Enfield after bringing my daughter to work and in my PJ's i saw the sell Maine woods Premium Hardwood Pellets, there in a white bag...anygood?, next door was a Big Y now there Inferno's are $197

 

[Gabe]

not the best pellet kind of a middle of the road pellet for me. all depends on the price!!I picked some up for 4.90 a bag ;-)

 

[jtakeman]

Stopped by TSC in Enfield after bringing my daughter to work and in my PJ's i saw the sell Maine woods Premium Hardwood Pellets, there in a white bag...anygood?, next door was a Big Y now there Inferno's are $197

Pellet hunting in the PJ's now thats style right there!

Decent pellet. I get super premium results from them and the price is far lower than the other super premiums in the area. Heat isn't outstanding, But they ain't half bad in my stove.

But try some and see for yourself JIC. Don't take our word for it. I have heard some complaints so there could be some batch variance.Don't need to get stuck with a ton of something you stove isn't happy with.

 

[slangtruth]

I stuck my head in at the local TSC and they had MWP with the cabin on the bag - never tried them so I grabbed a half dozen to check out. I was very happy with the results heatwise. Not sure about ash inside until I shut down tomorrow to clean, but the ash in the drawer looks more or less a normal amount. I grabbed another dozen the next time I drove by and will probably get some more if they're still there. I liked them much better than the Hardwood Heat (owned by Hamer) stuff they had last month. Doesn't say on the bag if these are hard, soft or a blend, how can I tell the difference? This TSC is getting towards the end of their stash - if it's Last In First Out they might be from early in the season, or even last year's.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I stuck my head in at the local TSC and they had MWP with the cabin on the bag - never tried them so I grabbed a half dozen to check out. I was very happy with the results heatwise. Not sure about ash inside until I shut down tomorrow to clean, but the ash in the drawer looks more or less a normal amount. I grabbed another dozen the next time I drove by and will probably get some more if they're still there. I liked them much better than the Hardwood Heat (owned by Hamer) stuff they had last month. Doesn't say on the bag if these are hard, soft or a blend, how can I tell the difference? This TSC is getting towards the end of their stash - if it's Last In First Out they might be from early in the season, or even last year's.

The last I knew they have only produced two pellets for stoves, the first is a blend containing hardwood and SPF, the second was a 100% softwood pellet. The blend has been produced using different ratios of hard and softwoods.

 

[Pellet-King]

Didnt see any cabin on the bags, the store was closed and a lady was trying to get in, so i asked her if you could read the bag thru the double doors, all we could read was premium hardwood , then a employee came out to the door and i yelled, who makes them pellet's, she said Maine Wood's, I need to go back and get a better look and prices.
And get some pant's on!!

 

[jtakeman]

TSC doesn't usually get the cabin bags, They will normally get the bag with a stove on it. Either bag is still MWP.