My initial thoughts on LG Granules pellets...

[Shortstuff]

Last year we used 3 tons of Barefoot Premium hardwood pellets and could not have been more satisfied. They had minimum fines in the bags, minimum ash in burn and provided a consistently high heat.

This year we purchased 4 tons of LG Granules softwood pellets and so far they have worked well providing good heat but I've found that it does leave more ash and forms clinkers quickly requiring more frequent cleaning. Our Castile stove does have a feed rate adjustment inside the hopper, but interestingly enough I didn't have to make any changes from the hardwood to softwood as it remains in the lowest possible position again this year. Generally, the soot appears "thicker" and tends to adhere to the inside surfaces more than the Barefoots did, but overall we are pleased. Just have to clean more frequently, perhaps every two days instead of three.

Steve

 

[mnkywrnch]

I havent burnt barefoots so cant compare,but the Lg's Im burning are much better than any hardwood pellet Ive burnt.

 

[jtakeman]

The Barefoots are one of the best hardwoods. There smaller die makes them really throw the heat and they burn clean.

The LG's are a good pellet, But there are some better softwoods available. From what I hear(I haven't actually tried them YET!) Okanagans and Dragon Mountains are the cream of the softwoods. I also have to throw in the Spruce Pointes another hot clean softwood pellet. Try some you will like them.

If you want to match the Barefoots with another hardwood. I would say Cubex and Turmans will come real close to the Barefoots. Cubex may actually beat the Barefoots, But I haven't burned them in my new stove to match them to the Barefoots.

With price being the deciding factor, I would say LG's are a good bang for the buck pellet. They do burn hot enough and should get you through the cold spells with heat to spare.

stay warm
jay

 

[gutterboy2ca]

LG's still # 1 in my books for whats available here.I prefere softwood over Hardwood Hands down.As for dirty? they're the cleanest burning pellet i can get, maybe theres 2 LG Plants or types but these are excellent.Below is my stove running LG's on day 4 non stop, Med Heat.I will prob clean it on Day 6.Ash is starting to gather in corners of the Glass.Best thing i did was buy a new Burn Pot.My stove is 1999 and i noticed last year the Pot was cracked.The new one is twice as thick so must have been a prob there somewheres in Manufacturing.Also on another note, found about 5 bags this year that look like this, can,t tell if its Moisture got in? or something screwy with there Hopper in Bagging.

 

[jtakeman]

LG's still # 1 in my books for whats available here.I prefere softwood over Hardwood Hands down.As for dirty? they're the cleanest burning pellet i can get, maybe theres 2 LG Plants or types but these are excellent.Below is my stove running LG's on day 4 non stop, Med Heat.I will prob clean it on Day 6.Ash is starting to gather in corners of the Glass.Best thing i did was buy a new Burn Pot.My stove is 1999 and i noticed last year the Pot was cracked.The new one is twice as thick so must have been a prob there somewheres in Manufacturing.Also on another note, found about 5 bags this year that look like this, can,t tell if its Moisture got in? or something screwy with there Hopper in Bagging.

Have you tried the Cubex?

 

[gutterboy2ca]

jtakeman, not heard of them here in Eastern Canada, wheres there Plant? Might check in Houlton Maine when i cross over today.

 

[jtakeman]

jtakeman, not heard of them here in Eastern Canada, wheres there Plant? Might check in Houlton Maine when i cross over today.

There made in Canada, I think its in Quebec. You could also try the Okanagans, Dragon Mountains and Spruce Pointes. All are Canadian pellets.

 

[rottiman]

Have been burning Premium softwoods (British Columbia) which I got from Home Depot. Burn well, heat output is good but has alittle more ash then I would like. The local Home Hardware just got a shipment of LG's so I picked up 6 bags to try. Feed store approx. 30 mile away is supposed to be getting Cubex in early november so I am waiting to try them. They are made in Papiunville, Que by a harwood flooring company. We have a limited selection in this area. Okies are avialable about an hours drive from here, gonna try to get some of those this week if I get the time. Magic $$$ # in this area for all of these is $5.99/bag. LG's drop to $5.69/bag if you buy 2 skids. #2heating oil is running @ $2.81/per U.S. gallon.

 

[jtakeman]

How much for the Premium Softies?

 

[rottiman]

How much for the Premium Softies?

I paid 5.99 bag for 4 ton. At that time they were retailing @ 6.99/bag

 

[jtakeman]

as macman would say YIKES! But as long as they keep you warm.

Do try some of those Cubex and Okie's pellets if you get a chance. Like to hear what you think of them and how they compare to your Premiems. I haven't seen the Premiems near me yet. macman said his TSC has them. Mine only has Mainewoods and some other brands. I like to try all the Canadian pellets, They just seem to know how to make a good pellet!

jay

 

[rottiman]

as macman would say YIKES! But as long as they keep you warm.

Do try some of those Cubex and Okie's pellets if you get a chance. Like to hear what you think of them and how they compare to your Premiems. I haven't seen the Premiems near me yet. macman said his TSC has them. Mine only has Mainewoods and some other brands. I like to try all the Canadian pellets, They just seem to know how to make a good pellet!

jay

I live in a area where logging is a pretty big business. Unfortunately the depressed economy has hit it hard here. One of the victims of that fall-out is that we have a very large, relatively new medium density fibre board plant located about 4 miles from my house which has been shut-down for over a year now. It was announced in the local newspaper this week that they owe the municipality about 750,000. in back taxes and penalties. Heard yesterday that one of the local lumber barons (worth millions) is looking to put together a consortium of his cronies and putting in a pellet operation @ the plant. Heres hoping..........................

 

[gutterboy2ca]

rottiman, you won,t be dissapointed in the LG's but i too would like to try some Cubex, just looks as though after doing a search they don,t get this far East i guess.As for Pricing, your right on the button with NB.
LG's -$5.79/Bag$Can
Eastern Embers-$6.99/Bag$Can
EnergeX-$6.49/Bag$Can
Maine Woods-$6.99/Bag $Can
Maine Woods(USA)$5.99/Bag-$U.S
Corrinth Pellets $5.59/Bag-$U.S
Ambience-$5.99/Bag-$Can

 

[jtakeman]

rottiman, you won,t be dissapointed in the LG's but i too would like to try some Cubex, just looks as though after doing a search they don,t get this far East i guess.As for Pricing, your right on the button with NB.
LG's -$5.79/Bag$Can
Eastern Embers-$6.99/Bag$Can
EnergeX-$6.49/Bag$Can
Maine Woods-$6.99/Bag $Can
Maine Woods(USA)$5.99/Bag-$U.S
Corrinth Pellets $5.59/Bag-$U.S
Ambience-$5.99/Bag-$Can

YIKES :bug:

Very pricey where your at.

 

[cncpro]

@shortstuff,

I am surprised you find them more likely to clinker...
I previously burned Hamer's Hot Ones and the LG Granules are producing a lighter ash that doesn't stick. With the Hamers if I forgot to pull the pot cleaning lever for 1 day the burn pot would have to be scraped out to get the trap door working again... These LG pellets are not doing that at all. I will definitely buy more LG Granules if the price is right. I clean once per week. Same routine as with the Hamers last year. Sure the ash piles up pretty high by the end of the week but doesn't cause any problems.


@gutterboy,

LG Granules have issues with the bagging operation. The pellet bags themselves have tiny openings along the side seams and even worse the over-wrap they use is too thin. The bottom line is that if your LG Granules pellet pallets have gotten wet at any time you're pretty likely to have a few bags of dust as shown in your pic. In the 6 tons I bought there were 17 damaged bags IIRC.

 

[Souzafone]

We've got 2 tons of Barefoots leftover from last year. When it finally gets cold I'll do a back to back comparison with the LG's, but so far I prefer the LG's. Less ash and less clinkers, even running at lower settings. I had one bag damaged on each skid, the pallets were stacked slightly crooked so one bag on the bottom was left hanging off slightly. Each one of these bags were punctured and wicked moisture up into the bag. We were credited for those 6 bags. The bag itself is actually better than the Barefoots we got last year. Those bags were very thin, and they were perforated, making them more difficult to handle.

 

[mnkywrnch]

I agree the Lg's for me perform very good,little ash, good heat, no clinkers,and the bags are heavy duty they just need to upgrade to a better outter wrap.

 

[gutterboy2ca]

After picking up a pallet Wednesday fresh in that day, i don,t recall the wrapping being this heavy last year.It had a white Cap over the top of heavy heavy plastic, then 2 sleeves of Poly over the entire thing,looked like a good wrap job to me.

 

[defield]

Sounds like they listened to the one fault ( insufficient pallet wrapping) to an otherwise excellent product.

 

[rottiman]

Gave the LG's a try. Nice burn, good heat with a tad more ash than the Premiums. I place them as equal to the Premiums with the exception that the bag the LG's come in is much heavier. As well there are less fines in the LG's. All considered, I am glad to see their availability in my area.

 

[mnkywrnch]

Sounds like they listened to the one fault ( insufficient pallet wrapping) to an otherwise excellent product.

Sounds like they solved that one issue,I know if there available next year at a reasonable price I won't hesitate to buy again.

 

[cncpro]

Glad to hear their packaging is better now. They really do make a nice pellet.