Who makes their own pellets?

pretty much nobody...

This is the first thread on this subject. I asked the same question. But sounds like: This don't ask don't tell?

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/84650/

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/83850/

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/75349/

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/67460/

Too much work, Too many toys to buy, Need a mess of saw dust/wood chips and time, energy, room to play! Not feasable for the average burner.

valley ranch said:

This is the first thread on this subject.

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It certainly is NOT the first thread. This subject has been beaten into the ground on here.

I remember one thread where a guy is making all he needs. Didnt save so might try searching for it if youre interested. Theres also a video on youtube of a guy with a Harman that is burning pellets he made from his lawn grass and leaves. He claims it works for him.

I watched a video, a while back, of a woman making pellets from her leaves and grass. Unless the cost of the machines are sky high, seems like a good idea.

Some, I'm sure, would not want to cut wood or make pellets.

pressing the pellets seems like issue#1. Drying them is a whole other can of worms

NoPaint said:

I have been thinking about making a homemade pellet mill as a fun project. Who's making pellets themselves? Its probably not worth it for a home operation but I still thought I would ask.

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If I had the wood to make pellets I'd just buy a wood stove.

Iyo, I'm familiar with that can of worms, I dry the wood I split. The smallar the piece of wood or pellet the faster it dries. Drying should be the least of our worries.
I am supprised, I expected there to be a few, if not several, who have gotten this down to a science.

Not everyone would load his own amo, but thoes who do would be the very ones making their own pellets.

But instead It was: Don't bring that up, we talked about that, go somewhere else and look it up, not here, we just burn pellets.

I don't have a pellet stove, I burn firewood. If however I get one, I will make pellets or know the reason why.

Some people are making pellets! This site, this forum, should be the keeper of the knowledge.

How much are you willing to spend to obtain the proper equipment?

How much is it to be had for?

I just saw a small pellet mill for $400 w/o motor and $750 with diesel engine. I once saw a video of a American woman making pellet out of leaves in her front yard. She was saying she found " getting the leaves damp made a better pellet". The little machine she was using I think had an electric motor. It looked as if she would produce pellets for her home use.

valley ranch said:

Iyo, I'm familiar with that can of worms, I dry the wood I split. The smallar the piece of wood or pellet the faster it dries. Drying should be the least of our worries.
I am supprised, I expected there to be a few, if not several, who have gotten this down to a science.

Not everyone would load his own amo, but thoes who do would be the very ones making their own pellets.

But instead It was: Don't bring that up, we talked about that, go somewhere else and look it up, not here, we just burn pellets.

I don't have a pellet stove, I burn firewood. If however I get one, I will make pellets or know the reason why.

Some people are making pellets! This site, this forum, should be the keeper of the knowledge.

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Those who have tried it have found that it's incredibly uneconomical to do on a "DIY" scale. Both time and money wise. The "home owner" grade pellet mills take forever to produce a usable amount of pellets, and the commercial scale mills are too costly unless you have access to huge amounts of material and plan on selling fuel. Have you ever seen a commercial pellet mill? They're huge to boot!

But mostly, your interpretation of the replies you received is incorrect. It's not that it's a big secret, or a taboo subject, it's that the topic has been beaten to death, discussed ad nauseum, and yet another thread on the subject is useless. Feel free to use the search function to find the discussions.

valley ranch said:

How much is it to be had for?

I just saw a small pellet mill for $400 w/o motor and $750 with diesel engine. I once saw a video of a American woman making pellet out of leaves in her front yard. She was saying she found " getting the leaves damp made a better pellet". The little machine she was using I think had an electric motor. It looked as if she would produce pellets for her home use.

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I have not been able to find these threads you refer to.

Some, on video, make pellets from news paper.

I'ed like to hear from someone who had been there, or is doing in now.

valley ranch said:

I'ed like to hear from someone who had been there, or is doing in now.

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Here ya go, read away-

http://forum.iburncorn.com/viewtopic.php?t=10726&highlight=mill

Note: thats the old forum, which is now locked.
If you care to contact these people you will have to thru the new forum.

valley ranch said:

valley ranch said:

How much is it to be had for?

I just saw a small pellet mill for $400 w/o motor and $750 with diesel engine. I once saw a video of a American woman making pellet out of leaves in her front yard. She was saying she found " getting the leaves damp made a better pellet". The little machine she was using I think had an electric motor. It looked as if she would produce pellets for her home use.

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I have not been able to find these threads you refer to.

Some, on video, make pellets from news paper.

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Wow you must be in "management".

Response #3 above if you would like to read.

This is a place that has huge reserves of knowlege and here you are acting as though it is everyones responsibility to give you the answer you WANT not necessarily the answer you need.

You want to try it go for it.

It doesnt seem practical for the average person, where do you find 3 to 6 tons of dry material to turn into pellets.

OK, don't get mad. I'm sure the information is out there. Have a very good day.

You're right. It might not be for the average. But a mill that will make 600lbs an hour could do the job. If a person has a few acres he might have hundreds of lbs that he is throwing away. On just our two small ranches we have tons, people with larger must have much more.
What if you just made 800lbs a year?
I have seen, on google, a press that makes logs that would be worth looking at for me. We just bought a place with acres of bush that must be gotten rid of. I was thinking running it through a chipper and making it into pellets would be a good thing.

Please forgive my bringing this up.

valley ranch said:

You're right. It might not be for the average. But a mill that will make 600lbs an hour could do the job. If a person has a few acres he might have hundreds of lbs that he is throwing away. On just our two small ranches we have tons, people with larger must have much more.

I have seen, on google, a press that makes logs that would be worth looking at for me. We just bought a place with acred of bush that must be gotten rid of. I was thinking running it through a chipper and making it into pellets would be a good thing.

Please forgive my bringing this up.

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Valley, I didnt mean anything bad, sorry if it came across that way. I looked it into it myself, buying a three point hitch pellet machine. But for me, it doesnt seem practical. If you pursue and it works, I'd love to hear about it. good luck.

valley ranch said:

You're right. It might not be for the average. But a mill that will make 600lbs an hour could do the job. If a person has a few acres he might have hundreds of lbs that he is throwing away. On just our two small ranches we have tons, people with larger must have much more.
What if you just made 800lbs a year?
I have seen, on google, a press that makes logs that would be worth looking at for me. We just bought a place with acres of bush that must be gotten rid of. I was thinking running it through a chipper and making it into pellets would be a good thing.

Please forgive my bringing this up.

Click to expand...

Its OK, Some of us don't mind rehashing things. The 600 LBS is not net output its what the fiber weighs at the start. The net output is much less becuase of compression and moisture loss. And you can only make what you have room for on your drying racks. Takes a lot of room to dry a lot of fuel!

I have excess to a friends mill and we have tinkered with a bunch of fibers. Wood is the best and unless you have a multifuel stove. Its about the only option. Grass, leaves and paper products have much more ash content in them. Also the heat output of these isn't as great as what you buy in the stores. The little mills don't have the power to make a dense pellet. On a good day the density is only near 40 lbs. per cubic foot. So even a nice clean wood fiber pellet made in them is barely a shoulder pellet IMHO. But its sure fun to play with. We are still hunting for a source for bamboo fiber. Just to see the ash content.

Have any of the links I provided helped at all?

just askin.

Thanks, that's what I was looking for. You've done some. I can use a mill, the pellets are too large for a pellet stove I would think, it's used for cattle feed. I was given some, I set a can full between two logs and it burned like crazy. Nice for starting a stove.

If I know I can make pellets I'ed buy a stove. I like you, don't like having someone in control of our fuel needs, it's bad enough with the tractors, trucks and cars.