# Robo-Melt from JDL (Lesco)



## Jays Green Daze (Aug 23, 2009)

Anybody ever use Robo-Melt? It is carried by local John Deere Landscapes and I personally have never heard of it before. The sales guy was "pushing" it but I am weary of it especially at less than $300 for a pallet of 49 (50#'s).


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## AGMI (Nov 26, 2009)

Ice melt *****s...I am sick of them. I must've been approached by 15 ice melt salesman this year. Use what you know works!


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## Lightningllc (Nov 23, 2009)

Robo-melt is the old extreme melt made by flat rock bagging, now owned by kissner out of canada. Made up of sodium and mag. It works good til about 5 degrees then you gotta pour it on.


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## Westhardt Corp. (Dec 13, 2009)

Kissner bought Flat Rock/East Ohio?? No kiddin? Ya learn something new every day!

I liked Extreme Melt--good bang for the buck, but we have really gotten into NaturaLawn's product since then.


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## 4evergreenlawns (Oct 22, 2002)

So how about more answers to the question. Beside one persont hat asys he knows what is is has anyone used it?? 

I really miss the Lesco Melt II. I would use about a truck load of bagged LSII per season. It always worked great. Never have any damage. Great idea JD had to drop that line. I just recently ran out of waht I had in back storage. Started using a new product called Triple Melt. So far seems to be a good job but it is early in the season. 

Ron G


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## Westhardt Corp. (Dec 13, 2009)

Interestingly, I have maybe half a bag of Lesco II left that I got as a sample, so I took it home to try it "on the front lines" (aka: my driveway, lol). It didn't seem to brine up well at all for me. I really had to watch the application rate, but overall wasn't really happy with it. Probably because it's mag/pot with no sodium. I have had much better results with our main seller "Natural Alternative" by NaturaLawn.

The Triple Melt by Ossian should work nicely. Chemically, it's around 15% Calcium, which is similar to Morton's Pro Grade (which is 90/10 Rock/Cal--simple and effective) with a few enhancements, namely their "Activar" product.


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## 4evergreenlawns (Oct 22, 2002)

Westhardt Corp.;907595 said:


> Interestingly, I have maybe half a bag of Lesco II left that I got as a sample, so I took it home to try it "on the front lines" (aka: my driveway, lol). It didn't seem to brine up well at all for me. I really had to watch the application rate, but overall wasn't really happy with it. Probably because it's mag/pot with no sodium. I have had much better results with our main seller "Natural Alternative" by NaturaLawn.
> 
> The Triple Melt by Ossian should work nicely. Chemically, it's around 15% Calcium, which is similar to Morton's Pro Grade (which is 90/10 Rock/Cal--simple and effective) with a few enhancements, namely their "Activar" product.


Is your drive asphalt or cement?

I use it on cement walks and I would have to say it did take some time to get the application rates dialed in. Also to be totaly honest if the wind was really blowing we could not keep it on target for anything. However, I would say the biggest thing was a decent burn, little to no tracking, and NO TURF damage along walks. I did not mind using alittle more and not having to do repairs on the back end and it was not CHEAP.

Also the clients seemed to like the looks of it as it clearly was different that any other type of rock salt treated product they had seen in the past. Obviously, this comes from all the dirt bag contractors that charge their clients for a concrete safe product and then apply rock salt. My clients expect more and want to know exactly what I am appling. The Triple Melt is close to the flakes of LSII with a nice mix of small gains. So far to date I am happy with it.

Moreover, as to the sales pitch and sales force overall. I have been doing business with Jeff Miller from ConservFS for about 5-6 seasons now. One thing I will say is that when I was only buying bulk from them he offered bagged but NEVER PUSHED it on me when I told him I was happy with LSII. Once that product went away it he matched me up with what he said was a close match and never pushed price. I wanted a product close to what I was using, NOT just something CHEAP.

Maybe, many sales guys talk price 1st because MOST contactor have NO IDEA what is in the bag. They jsut want the cheapest product so they can bill the most. How many guys have we hard say. "If it does not melt we just put more down and charge for it. It is by the bag billing not how fast you can melt". Just was with any business we sell to what the client ask for. No different.

Ron G.


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## Westhardt Corp. (Dec 13, 2009)

My drive is asphalt and faces north, so shadowing is a major issue (I knew better, but liked the house, lol). I completely understand and agree with the "pay less, apply/sell more" BS that a lot of "contractors" like to do. It really baffles me when I hear those stories over and over and is so disappointing to know there are so many "knowledgeable professionals" giving this industry such a good name. When I've been in the field running a truck, my goal was always to _not_ have much visible product on the ground more than a few hours after pushing--it was hopefully a brine at that point. Salt crystals sitting on the ground don't do much, lol. Re-application for re-freeze abatement was different, of course, but you get the idea.

I would also agree that Conserv is nice & laid back. I buy some products from them, and they are super mellow about it--it's why I like dealing with them, even though we're competitors to an extent. If I'm out of product, it helps that I can generally get it through them so my customer's needs are met. Of course, my margin is super-slim that way, but I'll take that over not fulfilling my customer's needs--any day of the week. The pricing on Triple is pretty good, although a bit higher than Pro-Grade. I'd interested to see how they stack up against each other in a test, given their similarities.

I will say LMII is very nice from a "spring cleanup" POV, as I intentionally over applied it in one area to see, and there was very little turf damage--nothing the first lawn treatment didn't clear up immediately. On that note, I did see something last season that amazed me. An outfit was using this NaturaLawn product that we deal with, and actually had a bin at the building entrance with the product and a scoop, to the _employees_ could apply it as they saw fit. It was almost comical, the "crunch crunch crunch" as you walked along the entrance walk. Oh, and it had a covered walk, so it was mostly blown in/drifting. Come spring, there was still product on the ground that had to be swept up and disposed of--no joke. But, to my utter disbelief the lawn showed amost zero burning from it. I was impressed, and that's what led to me cementing a distributorship for the stuff.

Lastly, I will say that first impressions are critical as ever, and I know from trucking that your equipment (and its condition/appearance) IS your first (working) impression to your clients in most cases. It speaks volumes about a company, their level of expertise, dedication and professionalism. Kudos on that, Ron!


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