Pellet Storage

[04habitant]

Hello,

I am thinking of buying a pellet stove. I am currently polluting the air with a 30 yr old woodstove, that is very labour (I'm Canadian, there's a "u" in labour) intensive. I am weighing the downsides, such as power losses, "commodity" pricing for the fuel, etc. One retailer warned about storage of a winter's worth of pellets, and their absorption of moisture. He has suggested that storing them in a garage is not good enough. I'm hoping to get the lowdown from people who have actually been running a stove for at least a couple of years. I live in central Ontario, about 1 hour's drive from Georgian Bay (Great Lake climate). We still get a little lake effect at this proximity. Any experiences to share?

Thanks,

Rob

 

[Xena]

I am thinking of buying a pellet stove. .................. One retailer
warned about storage of a winter's worth of pellets, and their absorption
of moisture. He has suggested that storing them in a garage is not good enough.

Going into my 4th year burning w/pellets. Each season I store them
in my un-heated garage on the skids they are delivered on. Never had
a problem with moisture or even humidity and I've sometimes stored
them from Spring right through Summer.

You will hear the same from many people on this forum. Some people
store them in sheds, under porches, and outside in the open as long as
they are well wrapped and kept dry.

 

[drizler]

I am thinking of buying a pellet stove. .................. One retailer
warned about storage of a winter's worth of pellets, and their absorption
of moisture. He has suggested that storing them in a garage is not good enough.

Going into my 4th year burning w/pellets. Each season I store them
in my un-heated garage on the skids they are delivered on. Never had
a problem with moisture or even humidity and I've sometimes stored
them from Spring right through Summer.

You will hear the same from many people on this forum. Some people
store them in sheds, under porches, and outside in the open as long as
they are well wrapped and kept dry.

Ditto, Almost any place that is not excessively long term damp. Just keep them under some sort of cover and up on their pallet so there is no direct contact with the ground. You might consider putting some mouse baits out so they don't drill a hole or 2 in your bags. Truth is I have had more mouse invasion into my pellet stash than my corn but all that got lost was a couple pounds so it's no big deal. Lately I just restack all of mine in the basement back on their pallet. Never had a problem doing it that way and I stack them about half again as high as they come from the store originally. They used to sell them that way around here a couple years ago anyways, 1.5 ton to a pallet, but lately have gone back to the standard 1 ton way. You can't much put the big ones in your pickup like the standard ton pallets will and drive home. If you decide to do the basement stack thing make sure to save one of last years m/t pallets so you have one to start loading on. Personally I had more mouse problems storing them in the garage than in the basement though none of it was worth fretting about.