Aged Pellet

[Dr.Faustus]

So, I was doing a little fall cleaning in the garage and i came across about 1.5 tons of green supremes. I havent bought GS in ages. Its at least 5 if not 6 years. From what i remember, the heat was ok but very ashy. Im starting off the season burning these things and they are doing phenominal.
I never had a pellet that left no ash on the glass.

the question here is what changed them? are they just so dry after sitting there all those years they morphed into a great pellet?

And yes my garage was such that i would not notice over a ton of pellets sitting there for years. its better now that i cleaned it up. actually quite nice.

 

[Lake Girl]

How hot does your garage get during the summer? Like cord wood, did it lose more moisture sitting protected in the garage? Likely...

 

[Deezl Smoke]

I'm thinking it is either your stove or the weather outside, or a combination of the two.
Since they were found in your garage, I assume them to be in plastic bags? Even though the bags have a fill vent, it is unlikely that a processed pellet in a plastic bag in your NY climate will loose much moisture in a garage. Maybe the outside few bags have lost a small bit, but the inner bags wont be likely to have any way for moisture to escape.
So what small change have you made to your setup over the past 5-6 years? Even the smallest thing like a settings change?

 

[johneh]

pellets like a fine wine improve with age ??????

 

[peakbagger]

The pellet making process dries the ground feedstock down to a very low moisture content and then reheats the feedstock wood as it goes through the extruder. The pellets have to be cooled and then they are quickly bagged and wrapped in plastic. I don't think they will get any drier as the age especially in a garage that is subject to seasonal temperature swings. Odds are the packaging will eventually allow moisture into the pellets.

 

[Deromax]

Stumbling upon 1.5 ton of pellets! How such a thing is even possible is a mystery to me!

 

[womaus]

Stumbling upon 1.5 ton of pellets! How such a thing is even possible is a mystery to me!

I've got first dibs on the '61 Jaguar XKE after he stubs his toe on it....

 

[Phoenix Hatchling]

If the pellets sit for five or six years, any binding agents mixed with them will off gas over that time. Just had this conversation the other day as a matter of fact. Resulting pellet should be more fragile yet less moisture.

 

[Dr.Faustus]

The only change to the stove I made in the past 6 years is i blocked 2 holes in the burnpot underneath the burn plate. It was a long thread here last year. couple people did it. Even with that, i was getting more heat but no help with the ashy glass.

I cant believe the things i stumble upon in the garage. While i was cleaning i found an 8 foot tall GE freezer i bought 10 years ago but never got around to using.

2 years ago i found a *terrified* cat. scared the daylights out of me. He must have ran in while i had the door open and then i unknowingly closed it with him in there. I was going to feed him and bring him back up to health but the second i opened the door he bolted and never looked back. He got real skinny in there. maybe i should lock myself in there for a while!

No jaguar found yet. I think i would have remembered that!

 

[Dr.Faustus]

Note: im not forgetful or anything but the pellet stash hides an awful lot of stuff. Then i have no access to it and cant see it until the stash gets low. sometimes if there are enough sales i keep topping it off so this can take years.

I do leave a small spot to park for when it snows.

 

[womaus]

Now we know where Jimmy Hoffa is....

 

[Phoenix Hatchling]

His foyer....

https://www.bing.com/images/search?...&thid=OIP.Mc394aa6864c3fae0d9b6fb0e26919ceeo0

 

[Dr.Faustus]

LOL! that looks like a turkey in a turkey shaped body bad hanging from that guys ceiling. bizarre!

And, its late but is he holding a stack of black pancakes on a plate?

 

[Edward Hughes]

Well Dr.
This is another find mess, you got yourself into.
Somebody on this site said, pictures, are it didn't happen.
Good luck Have fun
Ed

 

[DrewBoogie]

how big is your garage? you have 15+ tons in there now?

I'd put money on the three things others have mentioned. they probably have less moisture in there now. The holes you blocked significantly changed the performance as i did that same mod last year with great success. The last is that isn't not cold enough to burn enough pellets to fill up your stove. Burning pellets on the low numbers in D mode is way different than burning high numbers in C mode, as you're aware. I'd say that's why they seem to be so less ashy.

 

[Dr.Faustus]

the garage is fairly large. 2 oversized car ports. I have 1 bay completely full of pellets. back to front, and stacked up to the rafters. i leave the bottom stack of pellets on the pallets and wrapped so when i stack on top of them the whole mess has some stability. You can fit an awful lot of pellets in a decent sized space if you are willing to do the work and go high. I can fit 15 tons on the floor in 1 bay. 5 pallets long, 3 pallets wide. on top of that i can at least theoretically double that number but i've never had 30 tons in there. most i've ever had was 20 i think.

I learned this the hard way, one winter many years ago when the pile toppled over. It was august before i could get the mower out. Since then my pellet stacking skills have improved drastically. Now that i have a pallet jack i can arrange the base a lot better too.

I agree Drew, its not running very hard like it does in the winter. I only burn at night now. I set it on 4. It quickly satisfies the thermostat and then it gets auto bumped back to 1. so i figure at least half the night its really on its lowest setting for now.

 

[Jonkman]

Now we know where Jimmy Hoffa is....

Dude, you crack me up.