Barefoots vs LaCretes

[TJC]

Used Barefoots all last yr. Very pleased with them. Preordered through my dealer but for some reason they could not get them this yr. ???
The replaced the order with LaCretes. Not a bad deal since I got my 6 pallets which would have been 6 tons of Barefoots that turned out to be 7.2 tons of LaCretes.

Now the problem. The LaCretes got high ratings etc and I felt good about them coming.
Well they are dirtier (more ash quicker) than the Barefoots and DO NOT produce nearly the same heat. It hasn' even got cold yet although it has been cold enough that the stoves are running at night and I can tell the difference already.
Last yr with the Barefoots if I stood in front of my Enviro M55 FI I actually had to move because the heat would burn.
This yr with the LaCretes, I can stand in front of the stove and feel the difference

As for the ash, again hasn't really got cold yet but the ash pans are filling a LOT faster than they did with the Barefoots.

SO what's the scoop fellow pellet burners. Anyone else have the same findings?

 

[Irish916]

Well they are dirtier (more ash quicker) than the Barefoots and DO NOT produce nearly the same heat. It hasn' even got cold yet although it has been cold enough that the stoves are running at night and I can tell the difference already.
Last yr with the Barefoots if I stood in front of my Enviro M55 FI I actually had to move because the heat would burn.
This yr with the LaCretes, I can stand in front of the stove and feel the difference

As for the ash, again hasn't really got cold yet but the ash pans are filling a LOT faster than they did with the Barefoots.

SO what's the scoop fellow pellet burners. Anyone else have the same findings?

Sounds like you already have your answer.

 

[fmsm]

I have burned both. Barefoots had some long pellets that crunched in the Harman but other than that were hot and ok on ash. The LaCretes were hotter with less ash but I hated the flimsy bag!

 

[TJC]

Irish, I know my experience so far, was looking for others and their experiences with them.

Thanks

 

[TJC]

fmsm,
Thanks for your reply. Interesting. My experience so far has been just the opposite.
The LaCretes are doing ok but they just don't seem to be as hot as the Barefoots. Unfortunately I don't have a choice as I can't get the BFs here this season.

 

[Phoenix Hatchling]

I found that last year the Barefoots did produce less ash (don't know about them this year) but the heat output I attributed to the pellets being very short and fed more pellets per dump. The Lacretes this year do produce more ash than the barefoots last year, but they are HOT and I had the reverse of your experience. These were the pellets which produced heat which made me move from in front of the stove! I burned Cubex this year as well and not nearly the heat. Also, the Barefoots burned much faster, and I found they ran out much quicker than a bag of Lacretes at comparable outdoor temps.

 

[ttdberg]

Have to say I'm surprised at the results you are reporting. I would expect the heat from the LaCretes to blow you away. I certainly was impressed with the LaCretes when I burned them! Haven't burned Barefoots, so I can't give a direct comparison though. Maybe try burning some bags from a different pallet and see if you get better results with them?