idle thought

[stoveguy2esw]

im thinking about designing a pellet bin with a built in sifting mechanism, maybe make it to hold about 5 bags or so. metal body with passive screen setup to remove fines by diverting them into a separate container. gate at the bottom to fill a bucket to load stove with.

anyone think this is worth messing with?

 

[heat seeker]

Yes! It would be nice for the little lady to be able to get, say, 5 pounds at a time when I'm not around to feed the stove, and the passive screen is a bonus.

 

[slvrblkk]

I'd be possibly interested.....

 

[Brokenwing]

I would be interested Mike, I would love to see what you design!

 

[Eatonpcat]

Get to work on a prototype...Seems like a good concept!

 

[smoke show]

maybe a lil larger capacity.

 

[kinsmanstoves]

Devil's Advocate.

Do you think the sifting process will do more damage to the pellets than good? If the pellets are making fines in the bag the density is damaged. As everyone knows I sell only Propellet and yes some bags have some fines but it is not really a problem. I have done a lot of service calls for jammed augers but people are buying cheap/garbage pellets to save a few bucks. Do you think they will spend those saved bucks and purchase equipment so they can buy cheap/garbage pellets? Would it be easier to just buy good pellets and demand indoor storage?

Eric

 

[Jags]

To Erics point, I wonder what the most "gentle" method would be. Avoiding anything that would have a mild "grinding" effect could be a tough nut to crack.

Hmmm...powder coated screen for nice smooth edges?? (just thinking out loud).

 

[Don2222]

Hello

Will it have a sliding plate like the Harmans with a holding area like the Avalon AGP?

When the sliding plate is open towards he bottom of the bind, the pellets drop into the holding area that has a shop vac connected to a tube and pulls out the fines. Then the bottom of the holding area is opened and the fine free pellets drop into a bucket ready for loading!

Now if that holding area held 40 lbs and the bottom had a nice slide, they could slide into the 25-PDVC and fill up the hopper!

Then all you need is an optical sensor at the bottom of the hopper like the Mt Vernon AE and have it all done automatically when the hopper gets low. LOL

 

[hossthehermit]

I bet some people would be interested, 'specially if you stopped by once a week and put the pellets in the hopper for 'em .......... oh, and by the way, while yer here, would you clean the stove for me ????????? and the terlit ........ and wash the dishes ..................??????????????

 

[stoveguy2esw]

some folks actually stop by and load their mom's or dad's stove because the bags are too much for them to handle, the thought in my mind is to make a dispenser which could drop a measured amount into a smaller bucket which would be lighter and easier to handle than a cumbersome 40 lb bag. i figure , while im making a bin for this purpose, why not add a feature that would remove fines, if not the fines will collect at the bottom of the bin and either clog it up or dispense a big wad of fines instead of pellets after several reloads, was thinking about a screen system with a blower pulling against it to draw the fines through the screen, tie the blower into the loading door at the top so it comes on when opened and shuts off when closed, rather than using a traditional mesh type screen, i want t look at a "step" screen, picture a staircase with the risers missing, now, pull air through the risers, as the pellets tumble down the stairs the fines are sucked through the slits between the steps, spaces will be close enough together and the stairs angled slightly down so you don't have the bouncing down effect as much divert the pulled fines into a "trap' of sorts where they would leave the air pathway and fall into a container.isnt going to take a huge amount of air, just enough to get the fines moving through the screen, gravity will do most of the work

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Make it cook dinner and keep a pot of coffee hot and to keep Eric happy brew some beer .

 

[ChandlerR]

Good idea Mike. If something like that was available at HD, it would sell. I have an old trunk that holds two bags of pellets. I bent an expanded metal screen and set in in the bottom of the trunk. The dust falls through the grate and I clean it out at the end of the season. I use a grain scoop to load the stove. You can see the trunk in my avatar behind Luke. My wife likes the convenience of having the pellets right there so I would think a commercially available unit would be quite popular.

 

[bill3rail]

At the first post, I was thinking it needed a vacuum hookup. Then I read your second post and voila you thought of it.

+ Having a vacuum hook up versus a blower motor built in, will lower production cost and retail cost.

+ Having a built in blower that will be a backup blower motor for my stove will be beneficial also.

? Hopper capacity is relevant to individual space available. Offer different sizes or hopper extensions for the basic model.

I was thinking about making a large wooden hopper in my basement that I can fill using my pellet vacuum through the basement window so the wife can fill the stove easier. My thought was that the pellet vac will be a slow process. The easier I make it for her, the more work she does which is less work for me.

Bill

 

[smwilliamson]

im thinking about designing a pellet bin with a built in sifting mechanism, maybe make it to hold about 5 bags or so. metal body with passive screen setup to remove fines by diverting them into a separate container. gate at the bottom to fill a bucket to load stove with.

anyone think this is worth messing with?

This already exists on many steel pellet bins sold in Europe, go for it!

 

[smwilliamson]

Not to be a smart ass...but how about solving the lower auger motor failure on the double feeders? How about just putting a thermally cooled auger motor down below with the coil and shaft on the same side so the cooling fan would fit?