No, I'd say this is not normal for La Cretes. They are typically considered one of the better products out there. This may be a one off fluke. You might have gotten a batch that was beaten up in transit or something. Your experience with the genevas is a head scratcher too. They are not known to be a high quality product, but your stove sure seems to have quite the appetite for them.
Thought that might be the case as far as the Crete's , the Geneva's were the best looking , burning , ash level pellets I have burned to date with FSU right behind them . I had nearly no fines what so ever in the FSU I have purchased just a tad more than the Geneva's. The Geneva's were as consistent as I have seen yet as far as pellet lengths, all around 1/2" to and inch in length just expensive ....
I've had a few bags like that TT - always figured it was either bagged like that (it happens), or it was a top bag on a pallet, that had another stacked on top of it.. Remember that from when we started burning / the 'Cleanfire Pacific' days here, turning bags over to see the breakage inside.. I used to trash the pallet looking, just like buying Bacon in the supermarket. Luney - we just vacuumed / screened off the dust & really small fines off & roasted them here, same as you did - no worries. re: Heat - I think it's going to be difficult to tell with the stove running at 'full blast' all the time.. Where the better softies really shine, is when you're running at a lower feed rate - you'll get more BTU w/ a good softie at low or middle setting vs. others.. May be worth some experimenting there.
Exactly what I am finding out as we have had 2 unusually warm days and had the stove idling enough to keep the house warm. Seems kind of strange keeping the best most expensive pellets for the warmer days :\ but makes sense if you think about it. As far as the difference while running the stove wide open I can tell the difference in ash content still and the heat output for sure . Thanks for the reply appreciate it .
Like TT said above, Geneva and FSU's better than Lacrete doesn't make sense. I'd take Lacrete over them any day.
Each stove / set up has its own preferences. for example, I got a couple of bags highly regarded DF's last winter, put them in the P61a, and said, meh. Yeah, they burned fine but no hotter than other, cheaper stuff I use, and the ash was not what I expected. Many people have issues with hardwood pellets, while my P61a loves them and produces barely any ash and has great heat (even compared to DF's). Plenty of other P61a owners will tell you the exact opposite. My P61a is not overly thrilled over FSU's - they burn with decent heat and ash about as expected, but the stove gets a black coating inside of soot and the window is black within a couple of days after cleaning (although for the price point, they work fine if I need to use them in that stove). The P43 loves FSU's with no black soot and a totally clean glass for at least a week. Bottom line, It is nice to have guidance from others, but only you and your stove knows what works best for your set up.
I think you'll find the brand(s) your stove likes, sounds like you're off to a great start there w/ the Geneva pellets.. Buy all of them. Dunno if the LaCrete pellets gave you a fair test: unfortunately, when the pellet size is that small, they 'evaporate' in the burn pot quickly: keeping the total amount of material in burn pot lower -> which translates to lower BTU @ the Heat Exchange exit.. Which is disconcerting, when starting out. Brands w/ a consistent pellet length / mix in the bag give the best results in testing, from what I've found here. -- * Burning up the last of the pellet stack in the wood shed before new product comes in, a mix of (old stock) CF Pacifics & LG Granules in the Hopper now.
I am on my second ton this season. First ton was better than the one I am burning now, but they are getting the job done.
Ok so went out to Skeeters today and grabbed softies , first issue was similar as Skeet had while my stove loaded them because of the length of the pellets seems it was just not feeding enough to the pot to get a hot fire going. I was Stoked when i opened and screened the first bag,smelled and looked great even to the point that I emptied 100 lbs out of the hopper to give these a go . Pulled a few tricks to reduce the size of the pellets but still not getting the heat which makes no sense at all they look like the Lacretes but full size pellets , blonde as blonde and hard and tight was really hoping for the best. Tomorrow I will fill the hopper with some FSU and see whether or not it something with the stove. One thing for sure and I really like is they burn really clean like the Lacrete's but in my case I need the heat first and foremost . All in all if it is the pellets Ill either sell them or mix them with some hardwood and no big deal as I met Skeeter today and he is one righteous dude, was really great meeting him and seeing his setup . Took a nice ride across the state into the mountains very good for the mental state of mind . Could very well be the Ghetto stove favors the hardwood over softwoods.
