Last years left over pellets, do you have good results and how to store them

Doug Doty said:

How do you store them for best results and do they typically burn just like fresh pellets if well stored. What kinds of problems have you encountered when working through some older pellets that might have drawn some moisture from humidity.

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I just went thru 1/2 ton of Stove chows left over from last winter...
they we're kept in my basement and burned fine.. no moisture...
I have 5 tons of pellets that I bought on early buy last spring...
I keep them on skids and cover them with the original weather proof covers that all pellet skids come with...
last year a couple bags from HD had gotten moisture in them.. the pellets we're swollen to double the size...
I scooped them out and tossed them till I got down to dry pellets..

stacked on pallets with plastic pallet covers in a dry room in my basement.
clearance left to walls.
i just rotate the old stock for first use.
they burn just like new.

Doug Doty said:

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Good info, do moist pellets always swell ? Is this the sign they have got wet to the point they will be trouble makers. Just no experience to draw on here but working through some funny acting suspect pellets....not swollen

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Not always swell... if they do swell they will make a mess in your stove and exhaust pipe..
lot of icky fly ash all over... just get rid of them.. not worth it to burn them..
what brand are u burning?
many low grade[ and the bag will NOT specify Low grade] will act up due to moisture, bark, too much fibers in the pellets etc..
easiest way to tell is to buy a couple different bags somewhere.....even big box stores, which are know to carry low to medium grade pellets but other than a lot of ash, burn hot enough to keep most homes warm.

Left a full bag in the hopper... oops. Burnt just fine regardless

Polar Bear said:

Left a full bag in the hopper... oops. Burnt just fine regardless

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lucky.. probably good pellets.

Easy Heats were $180/ton by me and I wont touch them even at that price after all the bad reviews here. ($170 last year)

I did try another cheap brand (but not that cheap) Cheat River. I was going to try leaving them out since I heard many do that and I was running out of garage space. Well when they brought out the pallet on the forklift it was empty. Then 3 of them start chucking bags on it. Then they wrap it a few times with some shrink wrap. Great, I specified I wanted a whole still sealed pallet to the lady at the front. Already paid for, and I had already waited about 20 minutes (probably while they gathered the bags off the floor inside). When they tried to slide it on the trailer the young college age girl attempting to drive the forklift couldn't get the pallet even to the half way point on the trailer. I don't think she knew how to tip the forks. She ended up breaking the end board of the pallet and breaking open a bag. I was getting pretty frustrated at this point and if it wasn't already on the trailer I would have told em forget it and tried to get a refund. So the fellow there suggest we unload the pallet into the front of the trailer, would be easier than using the forklift. I specifically drove the 1-ton and trailer so I wouldn't have to mess with crap like this. But I was to scared of their weak Saran Wrap job holding up on the highway anyhow that I said sure.

So I ended up trying to leave em outside anyhow, hoping the bags would be enough protection and whatever Saran Wrap. I however started using them immediately because I didn't think they'd last. Still not through that pallet yet and a couple of the bags did get some moisture. Just a tiny bit. Some (maybe 10%) of the pellets in 1 or 2 bags showed signs of slightly puffing at the ends. It didn't look to bad and seemed dry enough so I tried burning them just the same. Seemed ok but a few days later is when my stove started acting up (getting clogged up) so the damp pellets might have something to do with it idk.

So not a year old but still slight moisture problems none the less. And quite possibly messed my stove up but hard to really say. I've got another dozen bags to go out of that pallet, no signs of moisture with the last several thankfully.

And I'll never again deal with Lowe's to get pellets unless I have to, and I'll make sure to convey I'll only take a whole still sealed pallet.

store them in a yard shed (has a floor), stacked on pallets. Finally got to the rear corner and just burnt the last bags of Rocky Mountains. Those had to be at least 5 yrs old. Most are 1-2 yrs stored; no problems at all.

Keep them dry and they're fine. I store them under an elevated deck with a system that catches the rain water and puts it in a gutter, and those pellets burn perfectly after well over a year.

As long as they are kept dry, pellets will keep forever.

I'm burning pellets now from 2010/2011 burning season. They are burning just fine with no difference from back than. I kept mine stored in garage, stacked on wooden pellets to keep off floor & covered with there original plastic bag covering. Store them right and you can keep them for a long time.

Mine are stored in the basement on pallets, with a little clearance from the walls (which I insulated with rigid foam and covered with reflective "insulation" this summer so now there is no moisture coming in from the block walls). I only had about 20 bags left from last season, but they burned just fine. I would have taken extra steps of covering them if they had been in my garage as there is more moisture in there.