How do you get your pellets into your basement?

bostonfan49 said:

Hey Waz! I am in Nortern VT and hope to do bulk as well! Only one dealer that does that, so it's of a sure thing. I want to get/build a bin (2 ton) against a wall so that it doesn't waste space. I don't know if anyone makes rectangular bags? Bill

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I believe there are a few companies / resources where you can get these type of bags, I'm sure some other members use them here - you may want to check out this link:

http://www.pellergy.com/wood-pellet-bulk-storage/

My house is built on a hillside. It has a utility basement that is accessed from ground level at the back of the house, so no stairs. I don't keep my pellet stash in the basement anyway, it would be too far from the stove.

I keep my pellet stash outside, under a covered porch. My neighbor has a tractor with forks on it, he just picks up the pallet of pellets from the back of my pick up truck and sets it down under the porch.

Then we have a beer.

Dave

CygnusX1 said:

3 buddies, 3 pizzas, and 2 cases of beer. 6 tons stacked neatly in my cellar in a little over an hour. Good thing my friends work cheap!

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6 tons YIKES, we did 3 tons in to the cellar in just about a hour.

Walk them down one at a time. Get the wife down there. Doesn't take to long, plus it's good exercise.

not to hijack this thread, but does anyone have an experience with sliding pellet bags on a gravity roller conveyor? just wondering if this would work, or if the bags would sag & get hung up on the rollers???

my basement has interior access only, so it's up the stairs to the deck, through a portion of my house, down a flight of stairs to the basement & re-stack. this gets old quick after the first couple tons - last year i did a little over 5 this way.

if the conveyor would work, I'd might be able to roll/slide pellet bags through a basement window. the only thing is it'd be going under my porch, which limits the vertical drop from end to end on the conveyor to be about 2' over 8'.

other than those options, I'm considering building some type of pellet shelter on the side of my driveway.

any feedback is appreciated.
thanks-

DexterDay said:

Yep... One bag at a time. Keep them straight and neat as Defiant said

One stack started to lean a bit. Bugs me every time I go downstairs. Then the pellets in the garage are not quite as neat. But they will make there way downstairs soon. And will be meticulously stacked also.View attachment 66232 View attachment 66233 View attachment 66234

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very nice Dexter

I have a walk out basement so I just carry the bags in thru the garage and into the basement.

My trick is 3 tons on 2 pallets stacked to the ceiling!

I also trimmed out the pallets with some nice trim board and gave them a coat of nice glossy paint so the bags will not tear on a rough board!

CygnusX1 said:

3 buddies, 3 pizzas, and 2 cases of beer. 6 tons stacked neatly in my cellar in a little over an hour. Good thing my friends work cheap!

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Damn wish we lived closer! What a pellet party it would be!

I carried a ton down just once and soon decided that wasn`t for me. I might have posted this before .
I store about 4 tons in the rear garage and from there I put what I need in a wagon and wheel them across the driveway to a rear deck on the side of the house. I then pour them down a tube into a barrel (in basement) that holds 400 lbs .
I simply open a spigot on the bottom to fill a pail .
I refill the barrel as needed usually weekly in the coldest weather.
Pictures of my hidden setup are here.http://www.pbase.com/johnd1/pellet_shute

Mongo said:

6 tons YIKES, we did 3 tons in to the cellar in just about a hour.

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No beer until the job is finished. Beer is a great motivator!

No Stairs. Doorway goes into the cellar at ground level. Wife and I wheel them in five bags at a time on hand truck. Then she helps me stavk them.

Doorway into the basement off the street. Two bags in at a time! Sometimes I have help and sometimes all alone.

My set up makes it easy to load into the basement. Very little carrying. If no help I load 12 bags on the slide and go down to the basement; pull them off and stack. Had to get the angle of the side correct so the bags would gently start sliding on their own but not jump off the end. Both ends of the slide are at waist level. All my basement pellet stacks are within 2 to 5 steps away from the end of the slide.

Everything is bolted together and comes apart for storage on top of the pellet stacks. I usually bring in 7 tons at a time so it is well worth the assembly and disassembly. I also have a piece of plywood that bolts in the open window so I can leave the slide in place when I am away from the house.

exoilburner said:

My set up makes it easy to load into the basement. Very little carrying. If no help I load 12 bags on the slide and go down to the basement; pull them off and stack. Had to get the angle of the side correct so the bags would gently start sliding on their own but not jump off the end. Both ends of the slide are at waist level. All my basement pellet stacks are within 2 to 5 steps away from the end of the slide.

Everything is bolted together and comes apart for storage on top of the pellet stacks. I usually bring in 7 tons at a time so it is well worth the assembly and disassembly. I also have a piece of plywood that bolts in the open window so I can leave the slide in place when I am away from the house.

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Thats a nice set up.

Is your basement full height?

Just open the garage door and pellet jacking the pellets off of Steve's (SIB) lift trailer (this can be interesting). Which is how the last 16 ton entered my house. Place two pallets on the floor and stack one on top of two.

One bag at a time for now down the bulkhead stairs.
Long term may be looking at bulk delivery from Maine Energy Systems out of Bethel.
Storage container goes in basement. Holds about 3 tons. My knees are not getting better.
Trek Across Maine did a number on them a few years back. My stupidity helped too!
Here is the container:
http://www.maineenergysystems.com/Pellestore_3TX.htm

Fill pipe has to be within 90 ft of truck.
I think the their current price per ton is around $235.

lessoil said:

One bag at a time for now down the bulkhead stairs.
Long term may be looking at bulk delivery from Maine Energy Systems out of Bethel.
Storage container goes in basement. Holds about 3 tons. My knees are not getting better.
Trek Across Maine did a number on them a few years back. My stupidity helped too!
Here is the container:
http://www.maineenergysystems.com/Pellestore_3TX.htm

Fill pipe has to be within 90 ft of truck.
I think the their current price per ton is around $235.

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Seems like you'll be making two to three times as many trips up and down the stairs, depending on the size of the bucket you use! So it may not help the knees as much as you think!

lessoil said:

One bag at a time for now down the bulkhead stairs.
Long term may be looking at bulk delivery from Maine Energy Systems out of Bethel.
Storage container goes in basement. Holds about 3 tons. My knees are not getting better.
Trek Across Maine did a number on them a few years back. My stupidity helped too!
Here is the container:
http://www.maineenergysystems.com/Pellestore_3TX.htm

Fill pipe has to be within 90 ft of truck.
I think the their current price per ton is around $235.

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Interesting concept, especially for a basement stove, but it looks difficult to get the bottom portion empty easily?

I was told in March that bulk delivery per ton of Energex would be $213 for the remainder of this year. I'm happy about that because my stove seems to burn Energex the best out of anything I've burned as far as heat and ash amount. Stove Chow is always right up there, especially for the price.

smoke show said:

Thats a nice set up.

Is your basement full height?

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Thanks. My basement height from floor to unfinished ceiling (the bottom of main level floor joists) is 6.5 feet.

Eatonpcat said:

Seems like you'll be making two to three times as many trips up and down the stairs, depending on the size of the bucket you use! So it may not help the knees as much as you think!

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Difference is that it would eliminate 200 rounds trips on the bulkhead stairs 100 with 40 lbs under my arm.
I am dumping 1/2 bag into pail. So have to make 2 trips to the 1st floor from basement. I could do the whole bag at once but 1/2 bag
is easier for the Women in the house if I am gone.

St_Earl said:

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Any bags break open? Any increase in fines? Like the insulation! Any condensation between concrete and rigid insulation?

exoilburner said:

My set up makes it easy to load into the basement. Very little carrying. If no help I load 12 bags on the slide and go down to the basement; pull them off and stack. Had to get the angle of the side correct so the bags would gently start sliding on their own but not jump off the end. Both ends of the slide are at waist level. All my basement pellet stacks are within 2 to 5 steps away from the end of the slide.

Everything is bolted together and comes apart for storage on top of the pellet stacks. I usually bring in 7 tons at a time so it is well worth the assembly and disassembly. I also have a piece of plywood that bolts in the open window so I can leave the slide in place when I am away from the house.

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Very nice!

had 1 bag tear just a little. took it upstairs to burn.
pellets you can see on the floor were from last november when i used the stairs to load in.
that was a lot longer drop.

as for fines, i have given up even vacuuming out the auger channel.
my stove has the flexible screw auger and has proven impervious to jams from either fines or pellets.
4 1/2 tons so far and i stopped vacuuming it out over 4 months ago.
love this stove. so easy to clean too.
i will definitely continue to load in this way.

I've used two 2 x10's wrapped with a plastic tarp, slide them down into a basement in no time. Garden cart in the cellar to move them, two of us have got it down to 15 mins a ton. Of course there happens to be a beer break to replenish the fluids!