Pellet stove question

[Thomas Maxwell]

Does anyone know of a pellet stove that will burn larger than wood pellet size fuel? Specifically, hickory nuts. Is there a pellet model most suitable for conversion somehow to burn the larger size nuts. I burn hickory nuts and they can make a nice fire. Trouble is it's only practical to put in a limited amount as the fire will get too vigorous if too much is added to the conventional stove. A hot fire is required too start and the nuts burn nicely. Because only a small amount can be added to the regular stove at one time, the fire requires too much maintenance. Filling a large external hopper with nuts and regular feed as in the pellet stove could provide overnight heat. Any links to pellet stove diagrams would be appreciated.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

I’d be careful with burning things other that manufactures recommendations for fuel. If you had an issue, your insurance company might be not be forgiving if you modified stove like that. That and the stove was tested using pellets. It’s a crap shoot if you’ll mess up your stove.

 

[johneh]

If the nuts a broken up so just the shells are burnt
then a multi-fuel stove would burn them just like pellets

 

[Ctwoodtick]

Oh ok. I hadn’t heard of that before. Thanks

 

[Dataman]

They do make stove that burns Presto Logs. Wonder if that would do it?

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Be a guess how hickory nuts would work between logs? Expensive Test. Ask them.

 

[Highbeam]

Multi fuel stoves burn multiple fuels. Some of the obvious fuels are cherry pits, corn, grains, and there is one oregon guy that loves to burn filbert shells. I think filberts are now called hazelnuts but whatever.

The first google search found a USstove model on amzon that lists "Burns wood pellets, corn, soy beans, cherry pits, olive pits and other compressed biomass fuels " as possible.

 

[johneh]

Enviro M55 and Maxx are both multi-fuel stoves

 

[Don2222]

There is a member on the forum that burns Hazelnut shells. After the processing plant breaks them up she buys the shells. With a large house and 3 pellet stoves it costs 50 cents per day to heat the house during the winter.
For the best heat the fuel must be bone dry.

 

[SidecarFlip]

On any pellet stove, fuel size is limited by the pitch of the feed auger flighting. To buen larger sized fuel, you'd have to fabricate a feed auger with 'coarser' flighting and then modify the feed rate accordingly.. Interesting concept, not a cheap date however.

I tried mixing on soybeans one time. Don't do that. Soybeans are an oilseed and combust exceptionally hot so just a tiny amount will do ya just fine. I'm a field corn burner and have been for years. My off grade field corn is free for me so I burn it however, field corn when extremely dry (below) 12% really burns hot so I mix the corn with wood pellets 2-1 to reduce combustion chamber temps and eliminate clinkering.

 

[Thomas Maxwell]

Thanks for the inputs- the multi fuel models look like maybe the answer and the Tiny presto log burner is interesting.

 

[Thomas Maxwell]

Burning hickory nuts this winter again to supplement oak and whatever wood. My yard has 5 mature hickory trees that provide maybe 3 times the amount of nuts I actually need for the winter months. Late fall-some nuts I pick up by hand- the nuisance nuts around sidewalks and such. Mostly I rake up leaves and nuts under the tree and after burning off the leaves I scoop up the nuts and screen out the sand and dirt before storing in cardboard boxes. When used in my Napolean burner, the hot fire quickly burns off the soft outer hull first then boils off the oil of the nut -sometimes with a small blue flame jet. The hard nut shell burns to a glowing red ball.

The nuts are readily stored and easily packaged- great for bulk handling and transport. Monoculture of large acreage and mechanized harvests is a potential for farmers with marginal crop land. The hickory grows almost any where in the southeast sandy soils and needs no care between harvests. Impervious to insects and rot. Between harvest the acreage could be used as leased hunting.

 

[Thomas Maxwell]

Burning hickory nuts again this winter. A large crop of nuts and most are large size==1 1/2 inches diameter including soft external shell. A fuel source for most open hearth or free standing stoves. I've decided that maybe a hickory nut log would be bettor than a special purpose pellet type stove modification. Packaging the logs using recycled cardboard is a commercial possibility. I think the average of about 30 large nuts in each log would be appropriate for most smaller stoves. A hot fire is required to start the log. A warning label on each log-use no more than 3 logs in small stove, no more than 4 in the large stove, and no more than 5 logs in the open hearth. Hickory nuts burn hot and make a lot of heat from the oil of the seed and the anthracite- like hard inner shell. Experimenting with packaging the log.

 

[Don2222]

Burning hickory nuts again this winter. A large crop of nuts and most are large size==1 1/2 inches diameter including soft external shell. A fuel source for most open hearth or free standing stoves. I've decided that maybe a hickory nut log would be bettor than a special purpose pellet type stove modification. Packaging the logs using recycled cardboard is a commercial possibility. I think the average of about 30 large nuts in each log would be appropriate for most smaller stoves. A hot fire is required to start the log. A warning label on each log-use no more than 3 logs in small stove, no more than 4 in the large stove, and no more than 5 logs in the open hearth. Hickory nuts burn hot and make a lot of heat from the oil of the seed and the anthracite- like hard inner shell. Experimenting with packaging the log.

One of our members burns Hazel Nut shells and fabricated a crunchy machine to bash them up to fit her Whitfield Advantage pellet stoves and heats her home all winter for approx 50 cents per day.