LaCretes never again..

[roadking88]

not impressed at all with the LaCretes ...way too much ash...my cheap mwp mix are just as good ash wise..Lacretes a little more heat but no way are they worth $65.00 more a ton...I should have paid 10 bucks more and got the oakies..

 

[LordmetalZ28]

Alota ass is a good thing in my mind

 

[roadking88]

Alot ass is a good thing in my mind

lol i better fix that

 

[Pass the Pellets]

Pellet choices for the season came down to LaCretes and Spruce Point. Went with the Spruce Points. Looks like I made the right guess for once in my life, based upon feedback on the LaCretes. A friend of mine chose the LaCretes and he is not happy with the ash as well.

 

[mepellet]

Another case where spending the extra for "super premiums" was not worth it. I was in a similar situation last year.

 

[alternativeheat]

Pellet choices for the season came down to LaCretes and Spruce Point. Went with the Spruce Points. Looks like I made the right guess for once in my life, based upon feedback on the LaCretes. A friend of mine chose the LaCretes and he is not happy with the ash as well.

I think the Spruce Points are little hotter too. I don't know, last years LaCretes to me were not bad on ash but haven't burned either brand this season..

 

[johnnh]

You have validated what I have seen this year. Last year, LaCretes were unbelievable. I bought 2 1/2 tons this year, but to my chagrin, they're just terrible as far as ash. The heat is still good, but not worth the extra price.

 

[roadking88]

You have validated what I have seen this year. Last year, LaCretes were unbelievable. I bought 2 1/2 tons this year, but to my chagrin, they're just terrible as far as ash. The heat is still good, but not worth the extra price.

yes i had a buddy burn them last year and he said they were great, so i figured i'd try them....what a mistake...i have a some buddies that also bought this year and they said the same thing...no way worth 289./ton..

 

[johnnh]

Here is the thread I started on Dec 8th:

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/dissapointed-with-lacrete.136773/

I noticed it right away when the real heating season started.

 

[MadMax31]

Bummer, semi-local place still has them and Barefoots, I was gonna grab a few bags of each to see how they act.

 

[Old Spartan]

Bummer, semi-local place still has them and Barefoots, I was gonna grab a few bags of each to see how they act.

If you are talking about the spot in Greenfield Center .... They also have Platinum which is far better than LaCretes (in my stove). Also had some Hammers left

 

[MadMax31]

Yup, I havent been in person, 40 minute drive. I did start-ups at Cairo Hannaford after remodel and Slaters is right next door, they have Hamers too. But, 45 min from my house. Cant hold much in work van...

 

[Old Spartan]

If you are driving that far you might want to go to Greenwich TSC instead. They have Somersets (or had as of yesterday).

 

[Lake Girl]

The LaCretes are so much better than the Indecks I had to burn last year I'm not finding the ash too bad...

 

[xSpecBx]

A friend of mine bought lacretes after having spruce point last year and loved them hewas unable to get them again and was told the lacretes were similar. I traded him 2 bags of okanagan gold for 2 bags of lacretes and i liked them more than the okies. He apparently was not impressed with them after burning a dozen or so bags.

Mine could just be from a small sample size, but they seemed to burn pretty clean for me and gave off good heat.

 

[Polar Bear]

They are good but seem to produce a fair amount of ash

 

[HarmanManP43]

I will agree they are producing a decent amount of ash but the heat is good and my glass has never stayed so clean! One week at 1.5-2 bags a day and I have only only a half inch of white on the left hand side of the glass. I picked the up at 285 a ton.

 

[bugize]

In years past I tried Spruce Pointe's and I thought they were over rated,a lot of fines and not a noticeable heat out put. I had also picked up some Lecretes and really really liked them. Last year it was Crabbes...When I run low I picked up some LG's....This year...all LG....very happy

 

[stellep]

I thought that the LaCretes have average ash. Similar to FSU or Chow.
They did have great heat and kept the door glass fairly clean though.

I just burned two bags of another brand back to back. The first bag had nasty amounts of ash. On the second bag, the ash was only about 25% of the first bag. Great.
These bags were taken from the same new pallet one after the other.

You never know what you'll get till you burn em.

 

[DMKNLD]

I've been paint brush sweeping my firebox every day and vacuuming every 3rd day - I agree with everyone else that they burn hot but are certainly ashier than they should be given the 'platinum' pricing.

If spruce has been their product source in past seasons as well as this year, I don't see how the ash amount should vary as much as it has from this season to past seasons, unless they're mixing in other softwood species? Or perhaps they're using spruce budworm infected trees as their source product?

I went to their website and found their contact page, http://lacretesawmills.com/contact/ , and sent a polite but pointed e-mail to express what has been pretty much the universal opinion on here about their product quality this year. What was once "the power of the pen" has now become "the power of social media" in giving product feedback from the point of purchase user.

If LaCrete hears feedback from enough pellet consumers that they likely will choose an alternate pellet product next season, then perhaps they will change their product sourcing quality control measures in the future.

I'll post back if I hear anything in response from them.

 

[skibumm100]

I'm on my second ton of LaCrete's this year. I have found a lot of fines this year. The ash hasn't been noticably worse for me but they don't seem as hot as last year's. I tested them back-to-back-to-back against Heatr's and FSU's and both were hotter. The FSU's could be that way because the pellet is shorter so the feed rate at the same setting is probably a little higher so that may explain some of it. I had higher flue gas temps and room outlet temps with HD pellets over the LaCrete's. The stove is a little easier to clean with the LaCrete's. I burned some Spruce Pointe's early in the season and they compared favorably against the LaCrete's, too. Not sure I'd buy another ton due to cost.