Pellet Screening Revisited - W/Pictures

[defield]

This last heating season there were some lively discussions regarding screening pellets before putting them into the stoves . . . .

Diverse feelings about screening were expressed, ranging from, I would rather clean out a cow barn with a broken shovel to I like to screen my pellets at least twice because it brings me an inner feeling of well being and is good for my stove. ( Yes, I made both of those up )

Many innovative ideas for screening devices were presented ranging from using kitchen collanders to elaborate devices constructed from PVC fittings and connected to a shop vac.

At the time, I read the threads with great interest, but did not have a digital camera to post snaps of my screening device built during a Thanksgiving weekend before the pellet stove arrived.

That has finally changed.

My screener is faily sturdy, built in two sections (that come apart for easy moving or storage), using 2"x4"s for the frame, and assembled with exterior wood screws, so I could disassemble and tweak it easily if necessary.

The platform that the pellet bags sit on is at a 15 degree angle and will hold one, two, or three bags. Great if I want to mix brands like Maine Woods with LG Granules.

The bags are slit with a utility knife and the pellets travel down over a 1/4" hardware cloth screen which is at a 30 degree angle.

The sawdust and fines go down through the mesh, slide down a Masonite chute, and through an opening into a plastic storage bin.

The cleaned pellets go into a second storage bin. I use a 4 quart feed scoop to transfer the cleaned pellets into a pellet hod.

I do, at times, have to assist the pellets in their travel over the hardware cloth using a 6" wide putty knife.

My friend built a similar screener, but used a 45 degree angle for the screen. The good was that the pellets would travel with no assistance. The bad was that the bags had to be lifter higher (because of the angle of the screen) and because the pellets traveled so fast, any sawdust was likely to be dispersed into the air. I wondered if I would need to incorporate a shop vac because of the dust, but that has been totally unnecessary.

Bottom line: When I clean the stove, the auger area is very clean . . . and . . . . I am one of those who still burns wood in an add-on boiler ( in parallel with the oil furnace), and after many years of burning wood, screening pellets is, by comparison clean, easy, and enjoyable.

Ranger

 

[jtakeman]

Ranger,

You do know we are going to need a print for this don't you? :coolsmile:

I built a multi-purpuse corn screener/pellet shifter. No where near as nice as yours.

Guess I need to start over! I want one too! I never though to set the bag on top. I have been scooping them in. To much like work!

jay

 

[Iluvwinter]

I've seen it all now To each its own I rekon

 

[defield]

ILUVWINTER,

Now you are sounding too much like my wife!

She thought the screener may have been a little "over the top"!

Ranger

 

[Stevekng]

What do you do with the saw dust you capture from the sifting? It's a shame to to toss it because we do pay for it, after all! What I do, is to use it for throwing on the icy walkways around my house in the winter. It's alot more friendly to the grass than salt, come spring
What are you other folks doing with it, if anything?

 

[pellet burner]

Very nice set up. Not to knock your contraption, but if I have to sift my pellets I am looking for a different brand or a different stove. What small amount of fines come in a bag of good quality pellets should be able to be digested by a decent stove.

 

[mralias]

What are you other folks doing with it, if anything?

4 cars that need a regular oil change......I'm a slob when it comes to this....you do the math

 

[MCPO]

My little Harman P-38 has a fines box that I clean periodically. It eliminates the worries about having to sift.

 

[mjbrown]

what a nice looking rig,although jay is right...people are going to want alot more info
(if you dont mind sharing)

 

[CanadaClinker]

Hey Ranger....really nice job on the cleaner.... that's another thing I like about burning pellets, it has it's own spin off of little neat projects and ideas that add to an already 'wonderful addition' to the home (the pellet stove itself).

I included a couple of pics of the cleaner I put together last winter out of my head. It uses a 45 degree angle and 1/4 inch mesh. I have a vacuum port in the rear corner to suck away any dust and for easy cleanup. The rope handle also doubles to hold the bag from wanting to fall down the shelf. The 2 baffels on the ramp serve as (flow control) in case too many pellets take off down the ramp. They also keep the pellets from bouncing off the ramp and missing the pellet chest (which I also put together last winter (holds 10 cleaned 40 lb bags). This is the second one built in the space of a month after seeing some shortcomings in the first one. This one was made wider (8 inches) to hold the width of a bag and I put the vacuum port on the other side to connect easier to my centra shop vacuum outlet. I don't have the luxury however like yours of blending different pellets simultaneously, I have to alternate the brands into my pellet chest. Great Job ranger.... !!

 

[defield]

Stevekng,

The fines and sawdust get sprinkled onto the fire in my wood boiler, a fireplace shovelfull at a time, once the cold weather hits and I have it fired up.

A friend places some of his sifted fines in nthe burn pot when he starts his stove. The sawdust he uses on walks and driveway when slippery.

Ranger

 

[defield]

CanadaClinker,

When I wrote, ". . . Many innovative ideas for screening devices were presented. . . . " I was exactly thinking of people like you.

Nice job! Love the pellet chest. Great that you can connect to your central vacuum for dust control.

Ranger