Pellet Pail

[bill-e]

Hi Folks. I'm looking into this option for my wife and daughter who have much difficulty getting the bag up and into my XXV.

I found a shop which carries them for $70 plus tax and I will have to drive an hour each way to pick two up.

Is this something that is worth the time and money...actually cost isnt really a concern, I just need something that makes my wife's life easier. My Daughter has a P45 and definitely cannot get a full bag up and into the hopper.

Bill

 

[hossthehermit]

I have a better one for only $199.95 plus shipping..........

Or ya could use a plastic bucket from Lowes

 

[Woody1911a1]

i use a coal hod . they're @ $15 at HD and hold about 1/3 of a bag . definitely helps since my stove is an insert with a small narrow hopper opening .

 

[MikeNH]

When my wife will be filling the stove, I split the bags up using 5 gallon buckets and it works well for her. You can find those at most hardware stores.

 

[notch]

who have much difficulty getting the bag up and into my XXV

Re-marry.

JK.

Are you looking for a hearth decoration, or just a functional tool to move 20 lbs of pellets at a time? If the former, go with the black coal hod from HD that Woody mentioned and have it shipped to your door. If the latter, the 5 gallon bucket like Mike said or something like this pet food dispenser would do the job.
http://www.amazon.com/Buddeez-32-Quart-Dispenser-Food-X-Large/dp/B004LAYPK6/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hg_2

 

[Pellet-King]

Coal bucket is my preferred way, nice spout to direct pellets into hopper, freestanding models which the whole top lift's up i would just pour right from the bag

 

[bill-e]

So my wife has to tend the stove Monday through Friday most weeks as I work out of town. So that's about 14 bags. She has physical issues which makes handling the bag difficult. What I liked about the Pellet Pail is that she can grab a bag from the porch and just drop it into the bucket...no pouring. I cant tell from the video how difficult it is to pull the bag up to empty it.

I could easily make one from a metal pail and rivet a knife to the bottom, but then I'd have to paint it black and that paint would constantly need to be touched up. The Plastic Pellet pail is more attractive from that perspective.

I've even considered making a bottom dispensing storage hopper where I could dump 14 bags into before I leave....but that's a lot of pellets and I think would require a really large hopper.

 

[Defiant]

How about a large scoop they can scoop right out of bag? Just my .02

 

[Harvey Schneider]

My tools of choice

 

[Hoot23]

You can get a free 5g bucket from Sherwin Williams. We went to VA for Thanksgiving and my daughter stayed home because she couldn't take the time off of work. She has a hard time also with full bags. Left her a 5g bucket and 10 bags of pellets.

 

[ChandlerR]

My tools of choice

The scoop on the right is what I use. Bought it at Dodge's Agway for $20. I have an old trunk that holds three bags right next to the stove. Use the scoop to fill the stove.

 

[newf lover]

I received a Pellet Pail as a gift years ago. It's good because you can lift the bag, drop it in, and pull it up as the pellets pour in. You still have to be able to pick the bag up and drop it just right. However, the pail is very heavy full. Being an old arthritic lady, I usually scoop some pellets out, put them in the hopper, then when it's a more manageable weight, I lift it up and pour the rest in the hopper. It's easy after you take some out, and you don't have to keep on scooping. I picture those plastic pails from Home Depot falling over if your wife has trouble managing the bag. If money wasn't much of an issue, I was going to tell you to order it online, but it looks like the business is for sale. I get the other alternatives, but you can't pour a whole bag into a coal bucket, so it's still a lot of handling. I've had mine for 5 years. Due to the fact you are not there a bulk of the time, I would go for it.

 

[Madcodger]

Just an alternative idea: If your wife has some physical issues, it might be difficult to move the 40 lb bags from the porch into the house, and then to lift the bag and dump it into the pail. We had the same issue with a young lady who was house sitting for us a couple of years ago during a winter trip, as she weighed about 95 lbs soaking wet. My wife doesn't find it much fun to lift them, either. So she found this really interesting, gigantic old steamer trunk at a local consignment shop. They always have one or two in there, and I'll bet that's true for most of those shops, everywhere. We set it right beside the stove, about three feet away. It frankly looks great (I'm not much of a photographer, so it's tough to get a good idea from my pics), and will hold a whopping 10 bags of pellets, without anyone seeing the bags. When it's time to refill the stove you can just open the trunk lid and then open a bag, and scoop pellets from the bag to the stove. At about the half-filled point it's easier for a smaller person to pick up the bag and pour it in. This solution looks great, and solves a problem. I joke with my wife that I try to keep it filled with "one good case of the flu" 's worth of pellets, so she can just dump them in if I get sick or am away for a week. It also comes in handy when the weather's too nasty to go grab a bag from the outdoor storage shed, too.

 

[Harvey Schneider]

My tools of choice

The grain scoop is four quart and cost me about $20. The coal scuttle holds about one third of a bag ( I got that for free at the town dump).
When my back won't allow me to lift the bag to the top of the stove, I can tip the bag enough to fill the scuttle which is much easier to lift.Even after removing one third the weight I still prefer to load the scuttle and then pour from the scuttle into the stove. The reason for this is that the insert has a small hatch and the pour spout of the scuttle makes the transfer easier and faster.
Another method is to use the scoop to transfer pellets from the bag (standing on the floor) to either the scuttle or the stove.

 

[heat seeker]

I do the same - put the bag on a footstool near the stove (avoids repeated bending over), and use a feed scoop to load the hopper. When the bag is mostly empty, I pick it up and dump it into the stove. Saves the back, and avoids twisting my back while holding a heavy bag.

 

[Lake Girl]

Noticed the pellet pail comes with a scoop. Why not just scoop out of the bag? Depending on her physical limitations, the pellet pail may not solve the problem as the bag still has to be lifted into the pail to be cut and emptied then scoop enough out to be able to lift the pail. Would have to be a pretty substantial pail to hold 40 lbs...
Buy the grain scoop and hodder

I screen my pellets to keep the dust down. The buckets I use probably hold about 25 -30 lbs. The buckets are far easier to fill the hopper than with a bag.

 

[Enigma869]

I bought a larger coal hod on Amazon. It holds an entire bag of pellets with room to spare and looks great. I believe I paid about $80 for the coal hod. I made the mistake of buying the matching scoop, and it was the biggest waste of $20. I'm now using that to scoop rock salt onto my driveway, as it's quite flimsy. I bought the grain scoop that others have posted here from Amazon for $15, and it's superb! Exactly what I was looking for. Pouring from the bag into my P68 that is kitty cornered against the wall is a ridiculous task (and I'm a reasonably strong dude), so purchasing the coal hod with the scoop was a great decision. Good luck.