My 2 cent's as a consumer. I just had a situation where I bought 2 test bags from a brand with great reviews but when I got my 2 tons delivered the color and size were completely different. The pellets did burn fine and the longer ones were no problem for my stove so I guess I was lucky , but when we buy super premium we assume each bag will be similar unless the company makes us aware of changes in their product. It seems the bottom line is we're not going to really know where the pellets come from but just have to trust in the reputation of the brand .
This is where a group like this one really shines. we can't always trust what goes to market. With the group chatter, We will get clues on what is actually hitting the streets. I have heard and seen many pellet reps state their ware is the best product available!! Yet, Once we get our mitts on them we find flaws or issues..... Same goes for PFI testing... PFI labeled product which should not be out of spec, Yet(like what you saw) bags loaded with long pellets ect. Something I though random testing would improve on, Yet the problems still exist.
Absolutely , and may I add a little disappointed in Mr Gordon / EasyBlaze for not replying with a simple explanation .
Pretty common problem when self regulation has no real provision for enforcement. and there rarely is. All to often the standards are merely marketing tools at best or an effort to circumvent more stringent regulation with third party oversight. While I dislike the ever growing body of outside regulation we have this is another example of how it creeps into our systems. The problem with "random" testing is that it all to often resembles the "surprise" inspection that is posted on the bulletin board three days prior. It is a shame BUT as is the norm our businesses are their own worst enemy.
Speaking of LA Crete I'd love to hear from one of their reps. It seems almost everyone here likes them .
I'd like to know what they're made of, but I suspect there is some Kryptonite in these monsters, they burn HOT. -- First batch of La Crete is in the stove, same stove settings as LG Granules / CleanFire Pacific to start. (LG / CFP) Observations: Pellets have a fresh smell, light scent - passed the "Boss Review". (We have test-burned other brands, but due to the Boss being sensitive to Southern Yellow Pine, those pellets cannot / are not burned here.) -- Pellets are -clean-, meaning no dust, no fines distributed throughout the bag. No fines or dust detected when loading the burn pot on start: if there were any, I would have seen them. Excellent. (Will know more when we get to the bottom of the bag, will update.) -- Pellets are consistently shorter in length vs. the LGs or the CFP pellets. That's not a bad thing - feed rate into the burn pot was not noticeably different vs. the other brands burned here, distribution/coverage in the burn pot was excellent. Shorter pellets = more complete burn / less potential for clinkers, in the deep burn pot here. -- La Cretes burn HOT - had to dial combustion air down 10% *Edit: 5% vs. the LG and CFP pellets. *Bumped up air a little for better burn / ash carry-out of the burn pot. That's excellent - lower combustion air rate = more complete heat transfer in the heat exchanger on the stove here: getting excellent heat output from the La Crete pellets at 1.2 lb/hr feed rate. Hotter than LG, on-par, or slightly hotter than the CFP pellets here. -- Fly ash carry-out is excellent so far, will know more about ash consistency, etc. tomorrow AM when the stove is cool. -- So far, first impressions are excellent, I'm a happy guy to find another pellet that's working excellently in the stove here, that the Boss approves of, and cost less $$$ to boot. Cheers!
They sure do, were nice enough to break a pallet to give me some test bags, and did not charge me any extra $$$ for the bag sale, vs. pallet rate. That's very cool - these are the things you remember as a customer. -- Taking the utility trailer for a test ride tomorrow - making sure it's up for the 1.5 hr. ride out to McManus later this month, gonna be stocking up on some pellets!
You got that right. Let me tell you something. When I was at McManus to pick up some Olympus DF testers, I observed something great. A customer drove in with a long bed truck with a cap on it. Because of the cap, there was no way to load a ton in all at once. Henry brought out a pallet of LaCretes on the forklift, unwrapped them, and proceeded to assist the customer manually loading and stacking the first 4 rows off the top of the pallet, all the way up into the front of the bed. Then, when the pallet was short enough to clear the cap door, he pushed it into the bed. It was quite the operation. Next to impossible to find customer service like that these days.
So glad you liked them!! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. You know, everyone has favorites, and everyone's stove can be different. But really... selling hundreds of tons of a particular brand, when you get a handful or less of customers that don't care for a product, and hundreds that love them, you feel somewhat comfortable in recommending them.. When people ask, 'what do you recommend' we always say, you should try a few brands and then decide what you like the best. We don't really push any particular flavor. And honestly, I think all of our stuff is pretty good. If they ask me 'well, what do you like', I don't mind telling them! Dan
Thanks for sharing that ttdberg. For that level of customer service, and my experience so far, I'm happy to drive the extra distance to give McManus my business. My pleasure, Thanks for posting the info. and your recommendations, you've obviously done your homework. I'm a believer. So if the La Cretes are burning this hot, will the Olympus DFs melt the paint off the stove here.. We're gonna find out soon! .. Cheers!
I really don't know... I have not tried the Olympus myself. They are new to us too. In fact, my pellet burning experience this year, is going to be new, in a way, as I just installed a Harman in the house. I have been using an Englander in my shop for the last few years, and all of my "testing" was done with that. And I tried a bunch.. As you know, that is a very reliable unit, but it does have it's limitations. So I'll be using that, yes, but more anxious to get cooking with the Harman.. I did run a bag through it a few weeks ago, so I could have all the windows open while burning off the newness... glad I did.... Been too warm to use it since. My guess is, the DF's are hotter, yes, for sure, and certainly should be cleaner. But we have to be realistic, and realize that not just with pellets, but nearly everything, there comes a point where differences on the high end of the spectrum, are going to be smaller than what may be experienced between some bargain stuff, and say North Country... I liken it more to treating yourself to a lobster roll vs. a steak sub.. Both excellent... but the lobster roll is better... and more money.. But the steak sub is MUCH better than a McDonald's single... If that makes any sense.. << (me) Dan
