Weed Seed pellets?

[mithesaint]

My sister just started a new job, and was talking to one of the other employees there. Apparently that employee has a side business cleaning seed wheat for farmers, and he saves the weed seeds and runs them through a pelletizer and sells them for pellet stove fuel. Not sure of the details of the size of the bag and the price. She can get me a free bag to try out.

Anyone ever heard of this? Pretty ashy I assume. Any idea what settings it would take to burn pelletized weed seeds in my 10-cpm? I have the multi fuel venting, FWIW.

 

[jtakeman]

I think you'll need to play some as most of us probably haven't burned any. I would assume corn mode to keep the stirrer active. You need to tinker with air and feed to get them to burn lean. They most likely burn slower and might back up. A bag sample is a test, and probably won't give you the full picture. So I would get several bags for a long run to be sure things go as planned before a major purchase. Imacman has one and may be able to help with what needs to be adjusted.

Interesting topic and hopefully you pass along your findings.

 

[DexterDay]

As close as you are, I would love to try a bag or 3 myself. The price point would be my ultimate deciding factor, but even if they were expensive, it would still be interesting to try.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[mithesaint]

I'll see what else I can find out. I don't see myself buying many bags because I'm already pigged out to almost 6 tons in the shed already, not to mention that the source is about 90 minutes southwest of me. I'll update if/when I get to burn a bag or three.

 

[mithesaint]

Ok, got the bags this weekend. Three 40 lb bags total, and they look like regular pellets, just a bit darker and a bit crumbly. I'll post a picture in the near future after the camera battery is charged. Not sure on final price, but my sister thought they would be $2-3/bag if I wanted more. I'm intrigued. I love the idea of burning weed seeds.

I'll probably do a test burn this weekend. Lows in the 30's and highs in the 50's should make for a good test.

Mike from Englander - lurking anywhere out there? Any thoughts on settings? Thanks.

 

[Millsk]

Wow I like the idea of this myself. I'm wondering how large the seeds are. Wheat berries don't need to be pelletize, I have burned small amount of various plant products with success, although with an increased amount of clinkers. This includes Barley, Wheat, oats, dried peas, corn, and sunflower seeds.

I haven't tried rice yet, although I'm sure it'll burn just fine. I have also tried to get a hold of walnut shells that are used for sand blasting but they are too expensive. I'm also interested in burning grass.

Please let us know how these work out! This could have potential.

Now that Pot is legal in several states for medical use, how long before we can burn those seeds? Full of oils I bet they would burn hot.

 

[DexterDay]

Ok, got the bags this weekend. Three 40 lb bags total, and they look like regular pellets, just a bit darker and a bit crumbly. I'll post a picture in the near future after the camera battery is charged. Not sure on final price, but my sister thought they would be $2-3/bag if I wanted more. I'm intrigued. I love the idea of burning weed seeds.

I'll probably do a test burn this weekend. Lows in the 30's and highs in the 50's should make for a good test.

Mike from Englander - lurking anywhere out there? Any thoughts on settings? Thanks.

Not sure of the quantity. But at that price, I would be willing to buy some (if your tests prove burnable, and the availability and quantity is there).

Looking forward to your results. I would increase the air by at least 1 or 2. Gonna be ashy and that will help to get it out of the pot when the agitator is spinning.

Then again, they may not ne real dense. They may need less air and the agitator turned off and/or removed?

 

[mithesaint]

I'll let you know how it goes Dex. How's the CPM treating you? Get to burn it much yet? Nice shop stove, btw. I saw a Quad 1200 CB on Craigslist the other day, and thought about it for a few minutes. Probably still thinking a bit I guess. Basement needs some warmth.

 

[ScotO]

Now that Pot is legal in several states for medical use, how long before we can burn those seeds? Full of oils I bet they would burn hot.

I think alot of people already burn them in their "pipe" stoves......i'd bet a ton of those would be a tad bit pricey.....

 

[DexterDay]

I'll let you know how it goes Dex. How's the CPM treating you? Get to burn it much yet? Nice shop stove, btw. I saw a Quad 1200 CB on Craigslist the other day, and thought about it for a few minutes. Probably still thinking a bit I guess. Basement needs some warmth.

Is it the Classic Bay in Lorain for $950? That stove comes with everything for $950. Vent, remote t-stat, 25 bags of pellets. I was pretty close to buying it. I offered the guy $3 a bag for the pellets. But he wanted to sell them with the stove.

He is moving soon, so he may be a motivated seller pretty soon? The Heat from the Quad is unbelievable. I like the CPM. Great stove and will burn anything. Burns for forwver without incident. The Quad has yet to choke on any pellet either.. So the Quad will be staying in the corner. It ain't got High/Low (why I REALLY wanted the CPM) but the heat cant he beat. On low it heats as Hot as the CPM on a very high setting and the Quad is much quieter. I like them both for different reasons.

And as much as I wanted High/Low, I only experienced a few mis-fires with the Quad 2 seasons ago (last year had zero mis-fires) That was its 3rd season of use. So I changed the ignitor. The 1st two seasons, no mis-fires. Just those couple made me lose faith in the stove. Then I went last year only cleaning it twice (glass and everything). I never let it get so dirty and it fired every time. The pot is self cleaning through copious amounts of air coming through the holes and burning in a vortex.

The Quad can burn a multitude of things. Although it has no agitator, it has more air than most coming through the holes in the pot. Forum member Czech has burned everything in his Quad. The pot stays clean for a long time with regular use. And the bottom of the pot has a slide (clean out) that can he pulled and all ash/clinkers drop into the ash pan.

As for the seeds/pellets let me know, I am very interested.

 

[subsailor]

Now that Pot is legal in several states for medical use, how long before we can burn those seeds? Full of oils I bet they would burn hot.

I bet Smoke has been doing this for years!

 

[mithesaint]

Ok, burned for a little while this morning. Started up the stove with a few Presto Logs in the bottom of the hopper, so I can't comment on how well the weed seed pellets ignite. They burned fine at 5-5. I started with the lower buttons set on 3-5-1, since those were the pellet settings I normally use. Let it go for awhile like that, all was well. Turned it up to 8-9 so I could get some temp readings and got a very nice fire. Took multiple readings in the 160-170 level, so the heat was better than I expected. Unfortunately, they also burned very slow and were very ashy. I turned the lower buttons back to 1-5-1 and they still filled up the burn pot, so I shut it down after a little over an hour. The stove was freshly cleaned prior to burning these. It raised the house 5 degrees in that hour, so I was pretty happy with that.

Should I try corn mode? Does that make the burn pot agitator turn faster?

I'm going to try again at some point today, and see how long it runs on a lower setting. I think these are difficult enough to burn that they won't work for the extreme cold, but I might be able to get them to burn well enough to use as a shoulder pellet.

Thoughts?

 

[thedude110]

I'm also interested in burning grass ..

Your ideas interest me an I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter.

 

[jrsdws]

As I recall, corn mode puts the agitator into a continuous slow turn.

 

[imacman]

......I started with the lower buttons set on 3-5-1......Should I try corn mode? Does that make the burn pot agitator turn faster?.....

Yes, put the stove in corn mode if you want the stirrer to move faster. But note that corn mode also changes the air/fuel ratio. When Jay, Schoondog and myself were burning grass, grass-wood, and coffee pellets, I left the stove in pellet mode. You might even want to try cherry pit setting.

The settings that seemed to work well for me were either 3-6-1, or 4-6-1.... you need more air to get them burned.

And yes, they are going to be very ashy compared to wood pellets....plan on cleaning the stove every 2-3 days, compared to a week with wood pellets.

 

[DexterDay]

Corn mode may add more fuel to the fire. So like imacman stated, you probably just want more air.

I would start high and work my way down. If it was pluggin up after a 1 hr burn, then maybe even drop the fuel and raise the air a lot. I would be somewhere around 5-5-1 or even 5-4-1. Then slowly decrease the air every 20 minutes or so. Letting the stove settle into that setting.

They are gonna need a lot more air. To help achieve efficient combustion and to help with ejecting the ashes so it doesn't choke on them.

Start high. You can always drop it. Because if you start low and it starts to choke again, its gonna take a lot longer to get rid of the pile up when you raise the air. My 2 pennies.

 

[imacman]

......I would be somewhere around 5-5-1 or even 5-4-1. Then slowly decrease the air every 20 minutes or so...........

Dex, those settings will add more fuel than the ones I mentioned above. To start with the "high" air setting, he'd need to start at something like 1-7-1, then move down to 1-6-1, or 2-7-1, 2-6-1, etc.

Increasing the LFF to 5 will make his problem worse, and 5-4-1 will be worse yet.

 

[DexterDay]

Dex, those settings will add more fuel than the ones I mentioned above. To start with the "high" air setting, he'd need to start at something like 1-7-1, then move down to 1-6-1, or 2-7-1, 2-6-1, etc.

Increasing the LFF to 5 will make his problem worse, and 5-4-1 will be worse yet.

Yeah, thats what I meant. Brainfart...... 1-6-1 or 1-7-1. Aint had the stove that long..... Still remembering whats where....

Start witg LOTS of air. And back off. Help the stove keep the pot clean with air. Thats all my Quad has and it can stay clean for weeks with a good pellet

 

[mithesaint]

I turned to stove to Corn mode, and turned the lower buttons to 1-9-1. So far I've been burning for 2 hours, and no evidence of burn pot issues. The agitator turns slowly the entire time, and I think that helps process and break up the burnt pellets. The air coming out of the front is around 150-155, so these are a shoulder pellet at best. Sadly, I've burned wood pellets that didn't put out that much heat. I'm looking at you Eco Flame and Freedom Fuel.

Anyway, is there any harm in having such high levels of air? Am I basically blowing a lot of heat right out the vent into the backyard? Now that I know it's possible to burn these, I'll play a little more with the settings, but I'm wary of using these while I'm gone because of the potential issues with the burn pot filling. Thoughts?

 

[DexterDay]

The faster the air through the burn pot the faster out the vent.

Drop the air one notch every 30 minutes. Until it starts to build up. Then go back up one or two. The slower the air, the longer the hot air has to dwell in the stove. Which translates into higher air temps..

 

[imacman]

The faster the air through the burn pot the faster out the vent.

Drop the air one notch every 30 minutes. Until it starts to build up. Then go back up one or two. The slower the air, the longer the hot air has to dwell in the stove. Which translates into higher air temps..

I agree 100%....air setting of 9 is too high....all your heat is going out the exhaust. Try with air on 7, and lower as Dex mentions above.

 

[Bioburner]

Local elevator made wheat screening pellets mostly for feeding pheasants. I tried them heat ok but very high ash .Was not very economical at 3 bucks a bag for me.

 

[mithesaint]

Just to follow up on the original post, I finally burned the last 2.5 bags this past weekend. Yikes. There was waaaaay too much as to make weed seed pellets workable in the long term. Those 2.5 bags of pellets filled my stove with ash. The ash pan was full. The cavities on the side of the burnpot were full. Ash was everywhere. I'd say that 125 lbs of weed seed pellets produced roughly as much ash as about a ton of wood pellets. I've never even had half that much ash in my stove. Decent shoulder pellet heat wise, but the ash was just out of control. It didn't smell very good outside. Oddly enough, it smelled like....well...yeah, that other grass that some people like to burn...

 

[Snowy Rivers]

I have had to mess with air settings and feed rates with the nut shells.
They leave more residue and require a swish of the pot with a putty knife a couple times a day to keep the buildup clear.
More so on the small Whit than the big one.

Also the shells burn faster as they are small chips, sort of like burning kindling in a wood stove. This forces me to use the low setting to keep the fire reasonable.

Running on 2 is workable, but the stack temps get a tad warmer than I like to see.

The big Whit will run an outer jacket temp of about 140-150 F on low and 200F on 2-3 setting.

I prefer that the pipe not be that hot heading out the thimble.

The Quad will run 160-170 out the wall on fir pellets, so, ????????????

Any biomass thats cheap is a plus in my book.

Just learn the idiosyncrasies and roll with it me thinks.

Took us a week or so with each stove to get up to speed and learn what works and what don't.

Have fun

Snowy

 

[billb3]

I think alot of people already burn them in their "pipe" stoves......i'd bet a ton of those would be a tad bit pricey.....

pretty sure stems and seeds don't go in pipes

could you sell them as the popping brand of pellets ?