What NOT to do with Pellets!!!

[DexterDay]

Stopped by my Local Farm and Home Hardware store today to pick up some supplies to install my Woodstove and when I was leaving I noticed some Pallets. Upon a closer look, they were Wood Pellets. This place is a Mom and Pops joint. They have onlt sold Somersets. I have Never bought any because they are alot more exspensive than Menards ($230 compared to $200 to $175 when on sale). Now I am REALLY GLAD I never did. They store them outside.

I asked the guy outside about why they are outside this year. He said "They are outside every year. Just normally behind the building where you cant see". I never knew... But still glad I dont buy them. Somersets are a Great Pellet... When they are Dry!

Never Buy pellets stored outside.

 

[Meneillys]

We stored outside for 2 years while making money to build the warehouse and only had about 12-15 bags per year returned due to water damage. Now that we have them inside we get 2-5 bags a year that has water damage. I think it comes from shipping mostly if it is a rainy day the road spray and rain gets all over them. Then again we also gave every skid a good inspection looking for any holes and made sure we double bagged them if needed. Inside is best but outside is where some mills store them.

 

[IHATEPROPANE]

I buy pellets that are stored outside. My local shop stores them all outside. They have two layers of plastic and a cover on the pallet. I have not noticed any problems.

 

[kinsmanstoves]

You are so right DexterDay. Never store outside. that is call pellet abuse. Just bad, down right wrong. No my mill does not store or transport outside so why should I?

Eric

 

[DexterDay]

You are so right DexterDay. Never store outside. that is call pellet abuse. Just bad, down right wrong. No my mill does not store or transport outside so why should I?

Eric

When I seen them, You were the 1st person I thought about. I Cringed at the sight. So many good pellets.... So many problems.

Pellets have a Bag and they are wrapped. Now add the teenage kid that cant run a tow-motor, multiply that by how many times they were handled (Again w/ teenagers) at the Mill, on to Semi, unload at dealer/store, move around for inventory and then add the fact they are double stacked and sharp shards of wood cut through the plastic wrap and bag like butter. Now Water has found its way in... Uh-Oh.................

Not all Mills store outside. Some strive on the fact.... Eric is one who knows all to well. Fiber-by-Products is 100% indoor storage/facility.

I am big fan of Somersets and my local Menards keeps them stored indoors. At $175/ton (Couple times a yr) its got to be the best Bang for the Buck. Good Short Pellet and Lots of Heat.

 

[woodsman23]

as long as they are wrapped they are fine get over it... my neighbor left out a pallet for 1.5 years and we opened them and they were fine

 

[MSmith66]

Stopped by my Local Farm and Home Hardware store today to pick up some supplies to install my Woodstove and when I was leaving I noticed some Pallets. Upon a closer look, they were Wood Pellets. This place is a Mom and Pops joint. They have onlt sold Somersets. I have Never bought any because they are alot more exspensive than Menards ($230 compared to $200 to $175 when on sale). Now I am REALLY GLAD I never did. They store them outside.

I asked the guy outside about why they are outside this year. He said "They are outside every year. Just normally behind the building where you cant see". I never knew... But still glad I dont buy them. Somersets are a Great Pellet... When they are Dry!

Never Buy pellets stored outside.

I have bought many ton of pellets outside in the elements and have no problems, If they are wrapped good, they will be fine.

 

[smilejamaica]

i try to buy pellets where i never had a problem with the pellets . the only place i ever had to return pellets was from places that sell other things besides pellets (not to name names and put them out there )they dont care......and if people care and cover the pellets really good then they should be good . thats why i stick with a pellet dealer, they care because thats how they make money .other places dont care because they make almost all there money on every thing else. but every once and a while i go to lowes to get some somersets or green teams

 

[Don2222]

Hello

Sometimes I buy pellets from Dodge Grain in Salem NH. They do charge a little more but they claim their pellets are delivered in Covered Trucks and they do store them inside with the Horse Bedding. So when I pay a little more especially for their new Super Premium Geneva wood pellets that contain 4% moisture instead of premium pellets that contain 6% moisture I absolutely would not buy them if they were stored outside!!

Now if they were stored in a room where the humidity was electronically controlled, maybe a higher price? Oops better not give them any ideas LOL

Home Depot Pellets seem to be stored outside more in our area! See 2nd pic. You do take your chances there!
They also had a cart with ripped and wet bags for HALF PRICE and did not understand when I said they were NO GOOD!

 

[save$]

wood pellets kept outside have a higher potential of having an odor and not giving off the heat they would have had they been kept undercover. If I had to buy pellet that had been outside, I would hope to get ones just delivered, not those set out in the baking sun, or downpours. I want to get the best out of my investment. Why pay for stale pellets when you can have fresh ones.

 

[DexterDay]

wood pellets kept outside have a higher potential of having an odor and not giving off the heat they would have had they been kept undercover. If I had to buy pellet that had been outside, I would hope to get ones just delivered, not those set out in the baking sun, or downpours. I want to get the best out of my investment. Why pay for stale pellets when you can have fresh ones.

Seems like a few people are on my Side... Why buy Pellets that could be Wet?? There is a Huge Risk involved. Those that do, may not know what they are missing. I have seen some Sheds, like imacmans, that keep them out of the weather, but there still outside. This is 1,000% better than letting them sit out there with NO Protection. Plastic bags will do very little.

Anyways, just posting what I thought was not smart. They have stored outside every year, around the back of the building. Wasn't until this year, that I found this out. I thought they were kept inside. I have never bought any from them because they are more expensive than other places. But this makes it a definite deal breaker for the future. IMO.

 

[Meneillys]

You are so right DexterDay. Never store outside. that is call pellet abuse. Just bad, down right wrong. No my mill does not store or transport outside so why should I?

Eric

I didn't say you had to store them outside. I no longer do but I know that the mills I buy from store outside and ship on flat bed. I would love to have pellets that are stored inside at all times it would greatly reduce the risk of water damage. I don't have that option so I guarantee that any product damaged will be replaced with new product and I take it to them so no gas wasted. And I ate my crow and fixed my statement about mills storing out side.

 

[Harman Lover 007]

I think that many of you would be surprised at how many brands of pellets are stored outside at some point in the shipping process. I have been buying multiple tons of pellets per year for over 15 years. I never once had a problem with any of them unless there was a punctured bag from the forklift or something like that. The big box stores have them outside at some point. Just because they lift them off a rack in the store for you doesn't mean they were there the whole time. Most of the pellet manufacturers wrap them up well these days. If you want to make a big deal about inside vs outside, go ahead. I've got much worse things to lose sleep over

 

[jtakeman]

Moisture content is the BTU killer of pellets. Outside storage may effect the BTU content as will a humid basement. I have stored pellets in my driveway(under a tarp) until I was able to haul them in the basement. Only thing I noticed was a drop in the temp the pellets produce from the outside pallet compaired to what was hauled in ASAP.

So even though they are wrapped they still can be effected. As long as the pellets are not soaked to the point of bag swelling they will still burn OK. But some quality could be lost due to moisture absorbtion as the pallets and bags are not anywhere near airtight.

 

[GrahamInVa]

I stopped by a local heath store yesterday to pickup a few bags to try out and saw this! And they want $325/ton!! Crazy people.. They are Hamer's Hot Ones. They had put some inside so I got those.

They also store the Nature's Choice outside and they want $275/ton. :bug:

 

[Clarksfan1]

Whoa...... I was thinking more along the lines of using them to help keep your "Regular" I was way off on this thread.

 

[Harman Lover 007]

I stopped by a local heath store yesterday to pickup a few bags to try out and saw this! And they want $325/ton!! Crazy people.. They are Hamer's Hot Ones. They had put some inside so I got those.

They also store the Nature's Choice outside and they want $275/ton. :bug:

Outside pellet storage is the norm, not the exception. They are transported on open flatbed tractor trailers. Does anyone really think they don't ship pellets in the rain???

 

[GrahamInVa]

Outside pellet storage is the norm, not the exception. They are transported on open flatbed tractor trailers. Does anyone really think they don't ship pellets in the rain???

A little bit of rain isn't going to hurt them if they are kept covered. Over the last three months we have received 22 inches of rain. Maybe they will still burn fine.. dunno.. I would rather go a mile up the street and by a different brand that is kept inside. Or better drive straight to the mill (where they are kept under roof!) and get a load. Which is my plan since there are three mills very close. I just need to figure out which ones burn the best.

 

[DMZX]

The problem I have seen with retailers that store outside is when the pallet covering is cut into in order to sell a few bags or so. They rarely get recovered well enough to keep rain/snow from getting into the bagged pellets. That, and like j-takeman posted, fuel moisture content is going to be higher in pellets stored outside vs pellets stored inside.

 

[smoke show]

Do pellets absorb moisture from humidity?

Cause mine come in perforated bags.

And I know the air surrounding the bags has more moisture then the pellets do.

Just sayin.

 

[jtakeman]

Do pellets absorb moisture from humidity?

That would be yes! Only way to assure the moisture content would be to vacuum pack them. AFAIK anyway.

To bad checking moisture content is such a PITA! If storing in a humid basement/dwelling. I'd say checking a delivered tons 1st bag, Burn the ton as normal, then check the last bag and compare~should give use the answer!

 

[smoke show]

I find it hard to believe its enough to make a difference.

But wth do I know?

 

[jtakeman]

I find it hard to believe its enough to make a difference.

But wth do I know?

More than you let on I suppose! :cheese: hehe!

I'm sure its hard to prove, But I am told that 2% moisture content increase is about 300 BTU's per pound. I would love to see someone(not me this time! %-P ) do the moisture test I discribed above! Probably shead some light or shut me up! Until then I am saying to keep them as dry as you can to get max heat!

 

[IHATEPROPANE]

I cannot imagine the humidity level of pellets stored inside versus outside is much different. Are they stored indoors in climate controled buildings? If they are outside and properly wrapped I think they will be fine. Unlike these I saw at lowes today(it was raining)

 

[burrman]

i store mine in a shed, but i ushally bring 6 bags inside at a time to let them "warm up" and they seem to burn better