La Cretes first impressions

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movemaine

Minister of Fire
Nov 28, 2011
514
Central Maine
movemaine.com
I'm new to the pellet comparison, as I've only had my stove since Thanksgiving.

I've only burnt Cubex so far, so my La Cretes opinions are based on the contrast between them and the Cubex. Additionally, this is all anecdotal, as I haven't measured the actual ash content, or fines, the temp, etc.

The rundown:


* The La Cretes burn cleaner and the ash is less dense than the Cubex (the Cubex ash would sometimes form a conglomeration blocking the pellets slightly in the burn pot). The La Cretes ash is much finer, and gives the impression of a more complete combustion. The amount of ash is less, and the glass remains cleaner for longer.

* The La Cretes seem to have a lower consumption rate, meaning that they seem to last longer/are more efficient.

* The La Cretes seem to burn hotter than the Cubex, as they were able to get the room to a higher temp than the Cubex for the same weather conditions. I'm finding I can run the stove at a lower stove temp/manual setting than I did with the Cubex.

* The La Cretes bag had more sawdust/fines than the Cubex. The Cubex had barely any dust, but the La Cretes have noticeable sawdust/etc.


In my area, I can get the Cubex and La Cretes for the same price - $289.

So, for me, the La Cretes are the clear winner.
I'll see what other Canadian softwood pellets are in my area, as I'm interested in comparing these against them, but I think the La Cretes are a great pellet.
 
Can't go wrong with canadian softwoods.

Its all I burn in my main stove.
 
Movemaine-what stove do u have? I am interested in the ash buildup in the burnpot because I have seen this in my p61a but I only have burned Greene team. I feel that if I let it build jp too much it seems to choke the flames. Maybe ill try a different pellet and the ash wont build up much?
 
I have a Harman Accentra insert, and find that the Cubex would occasionally build up on the lip/front of the pot (in a sort of conglomeration of solid ash) and seem to choke the flames. I haven't had that happen with the La Cretes - they seem to burn more thoroughly.
 
I just picked up some Le Cretes myself. I will post with what I find. The dealer I got them from says they're from the same forest as the Oakies.
 
sibs in jay has le crates for 289 and 298 for the oakies delivered....i wonder for 9 bucks more if it's worth getting the oakies???
 
roadking88 said:
sibs in jay has le crates for 289 and 298 for the oakies delivered....i wonder for 9 bucks more if it's worth getting the oakies???

I've ordered my La Cretes from SIBS - being delivered next week.
I haven't burnt Oakies, but had bought 10 bags of La Cretes from Rocky's to give them a shot. I saw how well they burned, and wanted to try them out. I should buy some Oakies for comparison, but I don't have a lot of pellet storage space, so I can only keep 2 tons at a time.
 
Md2002 said:
I just picked up some Le Cretes myself. I will post with what I find. The dealer I got them from says they're from the same forest as the Oakies.

Seems Mr Warm has to correct this. So we call them Canadian softwoods.

I know I am getting picky here….as they both use the same species to make their pellets….but the two mills are 850 miles apart from each other ….LaCrete is way north and in the next province of Alberta….Okies are from BC

They are both very similar pellets……

But even being 850 miles away. I'm sure they up hold the Canadian softwood quality. I haven't burned one yet that didn't kick tail on many of our local hardwood brands!
 
j-takeman said:
But even being 850 miles away. I'm sure they up hold the Canadian softwood quality. I haven't burned one yet that didn't kick tail on many of our local hardwood brands!


I am liking the MWP Softwood more than Oakies and CleanFire Pacific.


Too bad they are not going to offer them anymore :mad:
 
I must have got my test bags from the same dealer as md, I too was told they came from the same forest as Okies. I was able to burn both bags earlier in the week with good results. I have been burning Barefoots only and found these to be very hot! My room fan was blowing decent heat while on the maintenance burn! Not much ash either.
 
j-takeman said:
But even being 850 miles away. I'm sure they up hold the Canadian softwood quality. I haven't burned one yet that didn't kick tail on many of our local hardwood brands!

And 850 miles in comparison to the great Canadian expanse is nothing.
They call it a backyard up there...
 
I have gone through about a bag and a half of these Lecrete's and I'm impressed! They put out some serious heat! My couch is about 4 feet away from the stove and these have been the ONLY pellets where it was actually so hot I needed to take off some cloth, and turn the stove down a bit. It was uncomfortably hot to sit next to the stove. The heat output is amazing. That being said, the thermostat in the room never went above 73 which is what the Oakies seem to put out as far as thermostat reading. In case you need to know my living room is a front to back living room 24x16 and that is the room the thermostat and stove is in.

The glass stayed very clean for the 1st 4 hours then I went to bed, this morning the glass was dirty but less than most pellets I have thrown in there. There isn't much ash... the only difference is this is a light colored ash, I would say it's like a gray - white color where most of the time my ash is dark color, almost black. The bags were fairly clean, not much saw dust and the fines were minimal. These are the same price as the Oakies so I'm thinking these are the ones. I think they do put out more heat than the oakies but everything else is comparable with Oakies. If you can find them I will highly recommend you try them. These are going to be $310 delivered.. I know it's allot but that's what happens when you live in Mass.

The only negative thing I have to say about the Lecretes are the bags are kind of cheap, they rip easily.
 
Md2002 said:
I have gone through about a bag and a half of these Lecrete's and I'm impressed! They put out some serious heat! My couch is about 4 feet away from the stove and these have been the ONLY pellets where it was actually so hot I needed to take off some cloth, and turn the stove down a bit. It was uncomfortably hot to sit next to the stove. The heat output is amazing. That being said, the thermostat in the room never went above 73 which is what the Oakies seem to put out as far as thermostat reading. In case you need to know my living room is a front to back living room 24x16 and that is the room the thermostat and stove is in.

The glass stayed very clean for the 1st 4 hours then I went to bed, this morning the glass was dirty but less than most pellets I have thrown in there. There isn't much ash... the only difference is this is a light colored ash, I would say it's like a gray - white color where most of the time my ash is dark color, almost black. The bags were fairly clean, not much saw dust and the fines were minimal. These are the same price as the Oakies so I'm thinking these are the ones. I think they do put out more heat than the oakies but everything else is comparable with Oakies. If you can find them I will highly recommend you try them. These are going to be $310 delivered.. I know it's allot but that's what happens when you live in Mass.

The only negative thing I have to say about the Lecretes are the bags are kind of cheap, they rip easily.

Agreed. After my initial test bags I bought a ton from SIBs, and I'm finding these things are fantastic. They burn HOT, and I find they last longer in my stove than the Cubex did. And you're right, the ash is lighter (fluffier?) and there's less of it.
 
I thought I would give another update on these La Cretes. All I can say is WOW!! This was the 1st ton of pellets I bought and I am very happy with them. I was starting to get discouraged with my stove because although it kept the room I was in hot the heat did not seem to move through the rest of the 1st floor. Since using these La Cretes "exclusively" since Sunday night I have seen a HUGE difference. The living room where the stove sits was 75 degrees this morning ( it has never gotten over 73) the dining room was on the far end of the 1st floor was 65 degrees this morning (it has never been above 63) the upstairs bedroom which is above the room the stove is in was at a whopping 66 degrees ( never gotten about 63) the real joy was I always hear the furnace running in the morning and the base board is hot as if the heat turned on.... I did not hear the furnace this morning and the baseboards were cold, which tells me the heat wasn't used and this was all the stove heating the house. I'm pretty happy about this!!! When I was filling up the hopper I couldn't stand in front of the stove because it was too hot!!!

If I had any complaints it would be that some of the pellets are pretty big.. but no issues with the augur yet. The bags are clean, the glass is clean and there is not much ash. I have a very small ash pan so I pretty much need to clean the stove everyday anyway, but the ash is fine, light and not much of it. The bags seem to go quick too..... I have it on setting 3/4 (one setting below the highest) and I'm putting a bag in before work and a bag in before bed. There are still pellets in the hopper and there is always extra in the 2nd bag that I put aside but I am "opening" 2 bags a day. I'm probably only burning a bag to a bag and a half. Anyway. I hope these are around in the spring because I'm loading up on the La Cretes.

I have attached a floor plan for reference. The stairs to the upstairs are right outside the living room door where the stove is.
 

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I've been mixing the La Crete's with the little bit of Cubex I have left, and the combination of softwood/hardwood has been burning really well.

I believe there are a few pellet manufacturer's that combine soft/hard woods, but I don't know the name's off the top of my head.
 
movemaine said:
I've been mixing the La Crete's with the little bit of Cubex I have left, and the combination of softwood/hardwood has been burning really well.

I believe there are a few pellet manufacturer's that combine soft/hard woods, but I don't know the name's off the top of my head.
Isn't the mwp a blend?
 
yes, maine wood pellets 65% harwood 35% softwood..
 
not bad.... i think i would not get all mwp next year..
i'm thinking some La Cretes some oakies and some mwp....
i got them delivered for 214/ton in July....cant beat the price......
 
Md2002 said:
I thought I would give another update on these La Cretes. All I can say is WOW!! This was the 1st ton of pellets I bought and I am very happy with them. I was starting to get discouraged with my stove because although it kept the room I was in hot the heat did not seem to move through the rest of the 1st floor. Since using these La Cretes "exclusively" since Sunday night I have seen a HUGE difference. The living room where the stove sits was 75 degrees this morning ( it has never gotten over 73) the dining room was on the far end of the 1st floor was 65 degrees this morning (it has never been above 63) the upstairs bedroom which is above the room the stove is in was at a whopping 66 degrees ( never gotten about 63) the real joy was I always hear the furnace running in the morning and the base board is hot as if the heat turned on.... I did not hear the furnace this morning and the baseboards were cold, which tells me the heat wasn't used and this was all the stove heating the house. I'm pretty happy about this!!! When I was filling up the hopper I couldn't stand in front of the stove because it was too hot!!!

If I had any complaints it would be that some of the pellets are pretty big.. but no issues with the augur yet. The bags are clean, the glass is clean and there is not much ash. I have a very small ash pan so I pretty much need to clean the stove everyday anyway, but the ash is fine, light and not much of it. The bags seem to go quick too..... I have it on setting 3/4 (one setting below the highest) and I'm putting a bag in before work and a bag in before bed. There are still pellets in the hopper and there is always extra in the 2nd bag that I put aside but I am "opening" 2 bags a day. I'm probably only burning a bag to a bag and a half. Anyway. I hope these are around in the spring because I'm loading up on the La Cretes.

I have attached a floor plan for reference. The stairs to the upstairs are right outside the living room door where the stove is.

I agree, they are very impressive, love the fact that tey are "Double Vacuum Screened" no fines at all, some longer pellets they are previous poster pointed out. Pricey but worth it.
 
I agree, they are very impressive, love the fact that tey are "Double Vacuum Screened" no fines at all, some longer pellets they are previous poster pointed out. Pricey but worth it.

I am finding my ton has a lot of sawdust (much more than the cubex I was burning). Due to that, I am going to have to start screening my pellets before burning.
 
The 12-13 bags that I have burned have had 2-3 cups of fines total, while the Spruce Pointes have had that much per bag. I like the La Crete's so far!!!
 
I'm hoping to buy more but I'm trying to make what I have last till the spring. If I can get them at a fair price (this ton was $310 delivered) I plan on loading up for next year. I'm hoping they will drop to the $250 range come the spring.
 
Currans has a blend but I dont like them nearly as much as the 100% softwood.

I sold Lacrete about 5 years ago and did not have any complaints. It showed a lot of locals that a softwood pellet could be a great pellet. My landed price from them was my only complaint.
 
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