Pellet fines sucker thingy all done

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.

GrahamInVa

Minister of Fire
Jun 14, 2011
513
Eastern, Virginia
Thanks guys for the ideas. Seems to work well! :)

27bf2856.jpg

3548e1d8.gif
 
Great job! It should serve you well for a very long time.
 
Thats sweet. Cool setup.

The fines get sucked up by the shopvac and the pellets drop to the bucket.
 
Very nice!.......I made one this weekend myself but mounted it to my floor jack handle to sorta save on space.....I'm a bit limited on space in my garage.......
 
Nice job! You'll find that you'll have much less dust flying around the house after dumping the pellets into the stove.

BTW, great looking garage floor....is that U-Coat-it? Wanted to do mine, but $$ was too high (3 bay, 27' x 35'). :shut:
 
looks awesome... I love mine. Took some time to drill the right amount of holes, to make sure the screen was not getting plugged with pellets. But its great.. Love it.
 

Attachments

  • Beautiful.jpg
    Beautiful.jpg
    47.6 KB · Views: 773
Oh and I put Dowel Rods in the very bottom section (1/4") per imacmans build sheet,,, Helps the pellets bouce off of something to knock even more dust (Fines) off. Just noticed you didnt have any in your pics...
 
Good idea!

DexterDay: Would you mind providing a link to imacman's build sheet please?

Thanks!
 
imacman said:
Nice job! You'll find that you'll have much less dust flying around the house after dumping the pellets into the stove.

BTW, great looking garage floor....is that U-Coat-it? Wanted to do mine, but $$ was too high (3 bay, 27' x 35'). :shut:

I am quite happy with the floor. It turned out real nice. I was able to do the floor before I moved in and filled it up with junk. The biggest and hardest part is the preparation. Acid wash and scrubbing....

I got mine from The Original Color Chips. http://www.originalcolorchips.com/ I did 1200sq feet for $800. All came off eBay.
 
DexterDay said:
Oh and I put Dowel Rods in the very bottom section (1/4") per imacmans build sheet,,, Helps the pellets bouce off of something to knock even more dust (Fines) off. Just noticed you didnt have any in your pics...

Yea, I forgot to pickup some dowel rods. I plan on adding those. I did have to drill several holes to keep the pellets from getting sucked up to the screen.

These are the plans I used..

index.php
 
That's really nicely done. It makes my inclined screen bed look 'caveman'.
 
Yeah. The Dowel rods and the screen (gutter gaurd per imacman's suggestion) play a Vital part. The screen so yoi dont suck any pellets up and the dowels to provide something for the pellets to hit, so the fines get knocked off that stick to the pellets.

I kept drilling holes up top until I had only a few little crumbs of pellets that would drop when I shut the vacuum off. I use a little bowl to catch them. After I get done dumping a bag, I move the 5 gallon bucket out of the way and put the bowl under it. Then I shut off the power and let the little crumbs drop. I could drill 1 more hole. But I would rather have a little extra suction. I am using a 6.5 HP 18 Gal Shop Vac. That and I use these crumbs to start up my manual light Englander. The little crumbs light off rather quick.
 
DexterDay said:
I kept drilling holes up top until I had only a few little crumbs of pellets that would drop when I shut the vacuum off. I use a little bowl to catch them. After I get done dumping a bag, I move the 5 gallon bucket out of the way and put the bowl under it. Then I shut off the power and let the little crumbs drop. I could drill 1 more hole. But I would rather have a little extra suction. I am using a 6.5 HP 18 Gal Shop Vac. That and I use these crumbs to start up my manual light Englander. The little crumbs light off rather quick.

Good idea... I have just a few "crumbs" that fell after I shut it off as well, took about 5-6 holes. Never though to move the bucket before shutting it off.

I also put my screen higher than in the plans. This way the vac really has to LIFT them up a good 6-8" before they hit the screen. Should make it not get clogged up as easy.
 
GrahamInVa said:
DexterDay said:
I kept drilling holes up top until I had only a few little crumbs of pellets that would drop when I shut the vacuum off. I use a little bowl to catch them. After I get done dumping a bag, I move the 5 gallon bucket out of the way and put the bowl under it. Then I shut off the power and let the little crumbs drop. I could drill 1 more hole. But I would rather have a little extra suction. I am using a 6.5 HP 18 Gal Shop Vac. That and I use these crumbs to start up my manual light Englander. The little crumbs light off rather quick.

Good idea... I have just a few "crumbs" that fell after I shut it off as well, took about 5-6 holes. Never though to move the bucket before shutting it off.

I also put my screen higher than in the plans. This way the vac really has to LIFT them up a good 6-8" before they hit the screen. Should make it not get clogged up as easy.

Yeah. I added my 2 layers of guttee gaurd where the 3"-2" reducer is at the very top.

As for the crumbs, I figure I am sucking out all the fines, but I still dont want little crumbs dropping in my bucket. The Quadrafires auger is a spring. It has Zero capability to lift fines or small pellets. If I did not use my sifter, I have to vacuum out the bottom of my hopper at least once a month. They just build up in the bottom and reduce my fuel feed.

A lot of people knocked these last yr and thought "we" were crazy. Some pellet stoves have a much better auger design than mine. A true "Screw and Cylinder" type auger will pull anything up it. My Fahrenheit Furnace and my 25-PDV can eat it all. But the Quad needs a little help. And this also reduces the dust upstairs to almost nothing. I do this in this basement, right outside my Pellet Crib. My Shop Vac has a HEPA filter and a Fine collection bag on the inside.

Just wait till you run about 15-20 bags through it. You are gonna be shocked at how much you get. People say they "pinch" off the last part of the bag and stop the fines. Yeah right. These things get it all and there cheap (not counting the cost of Shop Vac) Only takes a minute, literally!! Just another useful tool to feed my addiction!
 
One addition to the construction of the cleaner. I eventually DID PVC cement all the pieces together EXCEPT the 2 pieces that sandwich the gutter screen together....I wanted to be able to open that part up & clean the screens occasionally.

The bowl on top was made from a plastic mixing bowl I got at WallyMart, and a large plastic funnel. I cut the center of the bowl out just sligthly smaller than the O.D. of the funnel.

I also cut a spare piece of the 2" pipe so it looked like a "C", and then snapped that around where the holes are so I could adjust the amount of suction.....see pics:
 

Attachments

  • Pellet cleaner 2.jpg
    Pellet cleaner 2.jpg
    15.2 KB · Views: 476
  • Pellet cleaner 5.jpg
    Pellet cleaner 5.jpg
    26.2 KB · Views: 463
  • Pellet cleaner 3.jpg
    Pellet cleaner 3.jpg
    15.6 KB · Views: 489
Status
Not open for further replies.