Pellet storage and shelf life

[Greg M]

This is my first year using a pellet stove. I picked one up last spring that had been sitting in a hardware store for almost 4 years. It had never been used and I got it for $800. I had to go up to NY to get it but since we have friends near Cleveland I combined it with a visit.

This past spring I added a 10' x 20' section to the shed in my backyard. I really beefed up the flooring system so that it can handle a lot of weight. If I remember correctly it was something like 2x8's with a little less than 5 foot spans spaced at 16" on center.

I have a chance to buy some softwood pellets this summer from a place that's over 120 miles from me. Last summer their price was $145 per ton (current price is $172 per ton for 10 tons). They will deliver for a pretty good price considering the distance. Going by last year's price and their current delivery charge I could get them for a total of $175 per ton if I buy 10 tons. I have someone that will buy 2 tons from me so I'll be left with 8. I can find room to store them but 8 tons should last me about 5 years.

Is there any problem storing them that long? They would be placed on pallets and kept dry but they would be exposed to several hot, often humid summers. I could store maybe as much as 3 tons in conditioned space and use them last if I had to but the other 5 would have to be in the shed for up to 3+ years before they were all burned.

I could buy hardwood pellets locally but they want $229 plus tax and I pick them up. The thing is the local place stores them outside and the softwood pellets would come straight from the plant.

 

[littlesmokey]

I've been burning pellets for several years and have never bought more than one advance year at a time. The price of pellets have always been fluid and if you keep your eye out you can get good deals every year. My pre-season purchase, planned to last through the end of the year (2 tons) cost $170.00 per ton, but came up short with a colder than normal winter. Bought last week ago 2 more tons for $137.00 each on sale and a coupon. My step-son-in-law uses his contractors HD discount and still gets them for about $150. If you follow this forum you will get a sense of the trends movement up and down and be able to buy accordingly.

I always think of the space they take up and the money they cost and how I could use them in different ways. If I knew that I would have to spend an extra $1,000 to heat in a future year my thinking might be different.

Twice in the last three years I have made major scores in buyng pellets from owners who are selling their homes and the stove comes out, or they have bought a house and the pellets are in the way and they want them gone. Best was $.75 per bag for seventy bags and the owner and his two teen age kids helped me load......

Treat it like firewood. If it is dirt cheap, grab it, but if you are saving a few dollars, wait for the good deal.

 

[Nicholas440]

I have some that are 3 years old, and have been stored in my garage on wood pallets and covered with heavy tarps, and they are as good as they were 3 years ago. If they are kept dry I dont see any reason why they wouldnt last providing you dont have holes in the bags where moisture could get in. Prices have been decent this past year, but now Oil prices are going up and expected to go very high soon, and I think pellets are going to go up also as they did a few years ago.

Summer humidity wont hurt them if the bags have no holes in them, many places leave them stacked outside uncovered all summer.

 

[chris288]

I rotated my stock and am currently burning pelelts I had sitting in a damp moist basement for about 4 years and they don't burn any different than the ones I picked up this year. They are not sponges, just keep them high and dry.

 

[Greg M]

Treat it like firewood. If it is dirt cheap, grab it, but if you are saving a few dollars, wait for the good deal.

Lots of firewood around here and I could get it for free much of the time but almost no one sells pellets. HD and Lowes don't carry them. Northern in Hickory sells them but that's a good little drive when I can get only a ton at a time.

I guess I should have added that I'm located near Charlotte.

 

[Greg M]

Summer humidity wont hurt them if the bags have no holes in them, many places leave them stacked outside uncovered all summer.

I rotated my stock and am currently burning pelelts I had sitting in a damp moist basement for about 4 years and they don't burn any different than the ones I picked up this year. They are not sponges, just keep them high and dry.

Thank you for the responses. I've been searching online and found answers from 1 year to indefinite and from outside is OK to must be in humidity controlled space. Answers from personal experience are a lot more helpful.

 

[chris288]

I really think people dont have a clue as to what they are talking about, humidity this, 1 year that, its all just speculation. Only damaged pellets I ever had in 14 years were the ones that actually got wet, or ones that were damaged by a forklift or a bag had gotten torn, and even then less than 1/4 of 1 or 2 bags was ruined. Some manufacturers used to use perforaded bags, I assume to keep air flowing through the bags so no moisture built up in them from temperature changes, although I haven't seen them being used in several years.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Summer humidity wont hurt them if the bags have no holes in them, many places leave them stacked outside uncovered all summer.

I rotated my stock and am currently burning pelelts I had sitting in a damp moist basement for about 4 years and they don't burn any different than the ones I picked up this year. They are not sponges, just keep them high and dry.

Thank you for the responses. I've been searching online and found answers from 1 year to indefinite and from outside is OK to must be in humidity controlled space. Answers from personal experience are a lot more helpful.

As long as no water gets to them they'll last a long while, but hey if you are concerned that any of yours are past their expiration date, you can ship them fully wrapped shipping prepaid to Pellet Pigs Anonymous c/o Kinsman Stoves. Eric will see that they are properly disposed of by a needy Oinker.

 

[chris288]

Summer humidity wont hurt them if the bags have no holes in them, many places leave them stacked outside uncovered all summer.

I rotated my stock and am currently burning pelelts I had sitting in a damp moist basement for about 4 years and they don't burn any different than the ones I picked up this year. They are not sponges, just keep them high and dry.

Thank you for the responses. I've been searching online and found answers from 1 year to indefinite and from outside is OK to must be in humidity controlled space. Answers from personal experience are a lot more helpful.

As long as no water gets to them they'll last a long while, but hey if you are concerned that any of yours are past their expiration date, you can ship them fully wrapped shipping prepaid to Pellet Pigs Anonymous c/o Kinsman Stoves. Eric will see that they are properly disposed of by a needy Oinker.

I 2nd that, anybody that has expired pellets and doesn't want to take a chance burning them, please let me know, I'll even come pick them up for a small fee