Wet pellets REALLY stink....at least the Sumersets...!!!

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geek

Minister of Fire
Feb 28, 2008
1,470
Central CT
With the recent Irene storm i've got a couple inches of water in my finished basement (yikes..!!) and a couple of my stacks didn't have a pallet underneath.
The day we noticed it got water (Sunday) my basement smelled like chicken chit, yes. Very strong odor and it did stink really bad.

Anyway, I lost around 12 bags.

BTW - a very wet pellet bag weights maybe 3 times its original weight, very heavy..!!
 
I have heard of cat pee and puke before, But chicken sh!+ is a new one on me! :) Loosing a few bags of fuel is far better than what some of our neighbors lost! You might be able to claim them if you have flood insurance? Have you called your agent?

Uses so to not waste them are ice melt-compost-mulch-yadda yadda! I'm sure more uses will follow mine.
 
unfortunately my policy does not have flood insurance. I am playing the waiting game now as it appears everything is very dry after putting a de-humidifier but i am still a bit concerned that my laminate flooring is or may be a bit wet underneath and the sheet rock or fiber glass insulation form mold.
I tossed the contents of the bags in the woods way back in my yard.

Anyhow, let's see what happens.
 
Hey Little buddy,

Sorry to hear about the damage down there. I was thinking it was just the garage getting wet. Sure hope all turns out well with the finished basement. You worked your tail off down there and did such a nice job! Its all material as long as you and the family are safe/well! Keep your chin up.

How much water did you get down there?
 
That is the big question, how it got in.
Not through the windows so I think it came from underneath the concrete foundation somehow.
 
I had 2 feet of water in my basement after the hurricane, I have the pellets on pallets but I lost the 2 bottom rows, probably 20-25 bags, a week later my basement had a strong ammonia smell... wet pellets do STINK !
 
amonia smell!, From time to time, we see have seen postings on here about pellets smelling like cat pee. Both high and lower grade pellets. Pellets that usually don't smell of anything besides cut wood. I can't help but feel that cat pee smell is from an exposure to moisture. Perhaps having been kept outside.
I am burning two year old pellets for now and into the early winter. They have no cat odor, they are very hard and the surface has a hard shine to it just like they were marble. These pellets have been stored in the garage, up on pallets and covered in large plastic bags.
 
Softwood or blend pellets, around here, a lot of the softwood is skunk spruce, also known as cat spruce, cut one for a Christmas tree you get the same effect
 
hossthehermit said:
Softwood or blend pellets, around here, a lot of the softwood is skunk spruce, also known as cat spruce, cut one for a Christmas tree you get the same effect
Planted one of those trees fairly near the front door. It got big. Then we had a warm spell. The smell came into the house when we had the windows open. Wasn't too long before the chain saw was running.
 
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