Outside storage/Bin/Silo.....

[Love the Heat]

I'm curious to know if anyone is storing pellets outside in vrac in either
a DIY or commercial Bin.
I'm looking at this option for next year....

Regards.

 

[e-zlight]

I saw a small 3 ton grain silo for sale that I thought would be perfect for bulk pellet storage. Just a thought.

 

[iceguy4]

I'm looking at this option for next year....

Me too. My plan is to purpose build a building 8'x16'x 8' high. In the center of the roof I will put a 16" cupola (1 inch for every foot of ridge) This will be removed to fill building.
To feed pellets into my basement 1500 lb bulk hopper I plan to use a 12'X 4" corn auger (under $350.00 ) and gravity wired to a manual electric switch.

 

[Love the Heat]

8x16 will give you plenty of room for sure....

 

[iceguy4]

8x16 will give you plenty of room for sure....

The way I figure it 8x8x11 will be my "hopper" 13 ton cap. These dimensions are material friendly The remaining 4+ feet will be for working around the pellets. Since I plan to have a flat bottom...there will be plenty of "working " pellets. (pulling pellets toward auger) Also that space will prove useful if I just have a few bags to store/feed into the hopper

 

[alternativeheat]

I'm curious to know if anyone is storing pellets outside in vrac in either
a DIY or commercial Bin.
I'm looking at this option for next year....

Regards.

I think it's a great idea, would love to buy pellets in bulk. I can come up with the bin/silo/hopper/building or what ever one wants to call it. However, me thinks in Southern Ma. bulk delivery is an issue.

I saw an add online someplace for three ton ( and larger too as I recall) hoppers, much like coal bins. What bothered me was the tops open up and all I can think of is rain getting in there and killing a whole years supply of pellets and then trying to dispose of them..

So for me, one thing at a time. Do they even deliver into this area pellets in bulk ?

 

[hyfire]

What about moisture and condensation issues?

 

[iceguy4]

What about moisture and condensation issues?

build very tight and keep it closed when pellets are colder then moist air

 

[Love the Heat]

In my case Bulk is still not available but my plan was that once a year I would fill my bin
with a vacuum system..........

All of this to say that the underlined question when I posted this one was to ear
about people doing it and if there is moisture/condensation problem???

Some people said no in the past and some that 'guessed' it would.

Rain would not get in there for sure....

 

[alternativeheat]

In my case Bulk is still not available but my plan was that once a year I would fill my bin
with a vacuum system..........

All of this to say that the underlined question when I posted this one was to ear
about people doing it and if there is moisture/condensation problem???

Some people said no in the past and some that 'guessed' it would.

Rain would not get in there for sure....

New England Wood is supposed to have some sort of bulk delivery system in place but I don't know how far out. It seems they work with sub contractors for more remote area, not that Jaffrey NH isn't remote to begin with. At their site it says up to 10 ton deliveries but no indication as to where to. It says to call for info. Larger loads to 14 tons are done by way of contractor distribution anyway.

That's great, I never even have burned their pellets !!

 

[RKS130]

I'm curious to know if anyone is storing pellets outside in vrac in either
a DIY or commercial Bin.
I'm looking at this option for next year....

Regards.

Mr dream . . . but Madame Defarge would never allow it. "Too unsightly".

 

[DZL_Damon]

The way I figure it 8x8x11 will be my "hopper" 13 ton cap. These dimensions are material friendly The remaining 4+ feet will be for working around the pellets. Since I plan to have a flat bottom...there will be plenty of "working " pellets. (pulling pellets toward auger) Also that space will prove useful if I just have a few bags to store/feed into the hopper

DO NOT build a silo half inside and half outside unless the outside section is VERY insulated to keep the inside temperatures consistant. Condensation WILL happen and make a massive clog. This is not a guess or assumption.

 

[Love the Heat]

DO NOT build a silo half inside and half outside unless the outside section is VERY insulated to keep the inside temperatures consistant. Condensation WILL happen and make a massive clog. This is not a guess or assumption.

I must ask.....If it is an only outside silo, than possibility of condensation is reduced????

I suspect that your recommendation has to do with the warm part meeting the cold one
in the case of a mix environment silo???
Cheers

 

[hoverwheel]

If the bottom of the silo is flat then what encourages pellets near the wall to eventually go down into the stove? I can imagine areas where the pellets just hang out and never get used.

Shouldn't the bottom be funneled down to the auger? Like a stove hopper?

 

[iceguy4]

If the bottom of the silo is flat then what encourages pellets near the wall to eventually go down into the stove

Me... I plan to have a small hopper shaped funnel that I'll have to shovel the last 1/3 of the pellets into.. I figure 1/3 will just flow...1/3 I will have to pull with a concrete come-a-long and the final 1/3 ..with a grain shovel
To build it to work un assisted... close to 1/2 of the volume of the bin will be lost to the angles..
Besides I'll be feeding my basement hopper...not the stove

 

[Markus38]

Me... I plan to have a small hopper shaped funnel that I'll have to shovel the last 1/3 of the pellets into.. I figure 1/3 will just flow...1/3 I will have to pull with a concrete come-a-long and the final 1/3 ..with a grain shovel
To build it to work un assisted... close to 1/2 of the volume of the bin will be lost to the angles..
Besides I'll be feeding my basement hopper...not the stove

If you plan on making this room air/moisture tight, then you will be working in a confined space and remember CO2 is heavier then air. I hope you have a plan of pushing in fresh air to breath.

 

[titleist1]

Instead of an auger, a simple 6 hp shop vac could be used to move the pellets through 2" pvc pipe to a solids separator above the inside hopper. If my description is lacking, just picture a cyclone separator on a wood shop dust collection system. When the pellet level gets too low in the shed then connect a flex hose to the PVC pipe in there and vacuum them into the inside.

 

[iceguy4]

Instead of an auger, a simple 6 hp shop vac could be used to move the pellets through 2" pvc pipe to a solids separator above the inside hopper. If my description is lacking, just picture a cyclone separator on a wood shop dust collection system. When the pellet level gets too low in the shed then connect a flex hose to the PVC pipe in there and vacuum them into the inside.

are you saying my inside hopper will have vacuum in it when it is filling?

 

[titleist1]

no, your inside hopper would not have vacuum. There would be a separator (maybe a barrel) that is part of the vacuum system above the hopper. Two pipes into the top of the barrel, one pipe from your shed the other pipe goes to the vac. The bottom of the barrel has an opening with a gate. Close the gate when the vac is on to fill the barrel. The pellets are sucked through the pvc pipe from the shed into the top of the barrel where their weight causes them to drop into the barrel rather than being sucked all the way into the vac. use a drywall dust bag in the vac and it takes care of any dust issues as well. turn off the vac and open the gate to fill the hopper.

 

[jillybeansisme]

What about some sort of dehumidifier in some of the air space?

 

[alternativeheat]

Mr dream . . . but Madame Defarge would never allow it. "Too unsightly".

Your Madame Defarge must equal my "She Who Must Be Obeyed".

 

[Love the Heat]

no, your inside hopper would not have vacuum. There would be a separator (maybe a barrel) that is part of the vacuum system above the hopper. Two pipes into the top of the barrel, one pipe from your shed the other pipe goes to the vac. The bottom of the barrel has an opening with a gate. Close the gate when the vac is on to fill the barrel. The pellets are sucked through the pvc pipe from the shed into the top of the barrel where their weight causes them to drop into the barrel rather than being sucked all the way into the vac. use a drywall dust bag in the vac and it takes care of any dust issues as well. turn off the vac and open the gate to fill the hopper.

Something like this.....

 

[RKS130]

Your Madame Defarge must equal my "She Who Must Be Obeyed".

Indeed! But you gotta love her.

 

[peirhead]

You are planning for ventilation from the cupola but that is only an outlet....don't forget some other vents around the base to allow air into the building for circulation.

 

[iceguy4]

You are planning for ventilation from the cupola but that is only an outlet....don't forget some other vents around the base to allow air into the building for circulation.

I was thinking of just that...but how often is relative humidity lower then moisture content in the pellets??? I'm thinking...not often