Math Check

[AndrewChurchill]

I've decided to by my pellets in bulk since there is a significant savings over bagged pellets.

I'm going to use about 10 ton a year to heat my house and DHW so I'm going to build a storage bin in my basement capable of storing 15 tons of pellets.

I've calculated that one ton of pellets take up 49 cu. ft. of space so my storage bin needs to be at least 735 cu. ft.

If I build a 8' x 16' x 6' bin that should hold 15 tons of pellets.

Does this sound about right?

 

[smoke show]

sounds right, how much cheaper are the pellets?

 

[sinnian]

If you are buying bulk why not build, say a 5 ton storage bin and have it refilled?

You math is correct though. Btw how much are your bulk pellets and where are they from? I have been thinking of doing the same.

 

[AndrewChurchill]

Most bulk deliveries are a minimum of 10 ton.

Last summer bulk pellets were going for $170 P/Ton and they were coming from Canada. I picked up 8 tons of Energex in May for $250 P/Ton so I could have saved $560 if I had a bin ready this summer, but I didn't have time since I was building a garage.

I live about 30 miles from the border and the local HS uses wood pellets for heat and another guy I know heats his apartment complex with bulk pellets.

 

[PunKid8888]

So these will be loose pellets? Are you afraid of them absorbing moisture?

 

[AndrewChurchill]

No, the basement stays at a consistent temp and it doesn't get humid down there. It's a walkout basement so there's good ventilation.

 

[GVA]

How will they get to the hopper?
Sawdust or any dust for that matter is highly combustible.
will it be blown into the hoppper from a truck?

 

[webbie]

They have trucks with feed augers....
https://www.hearth.com/visit/nepellet/source/210_bulk-truck.html

Also, you can get outdoor hoppers like this:
https://www.hearth.com/visit/nepellet/source/215_siloboiler.html

 

[peirhead]

I don't see how a ton could possibly take up 49 cuft of space..wouldn't it be more?...bagged pellets are pretty well compressed, very little air..I doubt that bagged pellets take any more space than bulk..I suspect they would take less.....50 bags on a pallet is at least 4 x 4 x 4 which would be 72 cuft...I bet in the real world a ton of bulk pellets would really be more like 80 cuft.

 

[AndrewChurchill]

Bagged pellets are not compressed. If they were compressed you would expect them to expand when the bag was opened.

Bulk pellets will take up less space than bagged. If you look at a ton of bagged pellets you will see air gaps between the bags. This will not be the case with bulk pellets. I came up with the 49 cu. ft. by taking the measurements from a ton of pellets stacked on a pallet. The dimensions are 48" x 40" x 44" convert those to measurements to feet and then multiply them and you will come up 48.88 ' cu. ft.