do any of you do this? i didnt do it with my old pellet stove,but when i purchased my new one dealer recommened that i do it, he couldnt believe i didnt have any issues with clinkers from not screening them.
screening pellets before loading
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I always thought the big risk with not screening pellets was the potential for sawdust building up in the auger (and ultimately a burned out auger). I thought clinkers we more a product of either poor quality pellets or the wrong air/fuel ratio.
Once the sawdust clears the auger it seems to burn up pretty well (instantly) in my stove.
Having said all that, I do not screen my pellets. I simply let it run down and out of pellets every few weeks, at which time I vacuum the sawdust out of the auger and chute. It is typically a fairly minimal amount of buildup.
Once the sawdust clears the auger it seems to burn up pretty well (instantly) in my stove.
Having said all that, I do not screen my pellets. I simply let it run down and out of pellets every few weeks, at which time I vacuum the sawdust out of the auger and chute. It is typically a fairly minimal amount of buildup.
check out my thread "storing and moving pellets" i have collected a bunch of tools and ideas from all over the internet, spent several days doing it as i am looking for a cleaning/moving solution
also see the site www.iburncorn.com they have a whole forum dedicated to the topic.....most ways of sifting or cleaning corn can be used for pellets as well
also see the site www.iburncorn.com they have a whole forum dedicated to the topic.....most ways of sifting or cleaning corn can be used for pellets as well
here is the thread i was referring to
i created it 1/2 for my own usage but also for anyone who came behind me looking for the same info
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/21171/
please feel free to add any new info you find that may help others
i created it 1/2 for my own usage but also for anyone who came behind me looking for the same info
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/21171/
please feel free to add any new info you find that may help others
my stove dealer warned of the same thing but also my girl is terribly alergic to dust and i want to keep as much as possible out of the house and the stove...she is going to end up doin the loading throughout the winter as well
Go to Home Depot and buy two of their 5 gal orange buckets, a thru the wall plastic pipe fitting the size of your shop vac, screening and a 2" hole saw. Cut a series of 2" holes in the bottom of one bucket. Cut a similar hole in the bottom side of the other and put your pipe fitting in it. Take a couple of pieces (3 actually) of scrap wood (about 1x2x3") and glue them vertically in the bottom of the bucket with the pipe fitting. The 2" dimension should point toward the center of the bucket and the 3 pieces should be spaced equidistant around the bucket. Your other bucket will rest on these. The shop vac hose will attach to the plastic pipe fitting. The screen goes in the bottom of the first bucket on the bottom - it will cover the 2" holes you cut. The first bucket goes into the 2nd bucket and sits on the wooden spacers.
Attach the vac and slowly dump a bag into the bucket. The vac will pull the dust thru the screen and when you lift out the top bucket you can bring it to the stove to fill the hopper. You could do that in the garage and leave the bucket filled for your g/f to use when you're out.
Attach the vac and slowly dump a bag into the bucket. The vac will pull the dust thru the screen and when you lift out the top bucket you can bring it to the stove to fill the hopper. You could do that in the garage and leave the bucket filled for your g/f to use when you're out.
that is a simple cheap and effective method for cleaning....but
i think a 5 gallon bucket is equal to about 30lbs
i have almost 8000 lbs of pellets i want to sift thats over 250 buckets full....not exactly the most efficient way to do it
i also need to move the pellets from the basement upstairs to the room w/the stove and i dont expect my girl to be carrying the buckets up
i am going to have a 45 gallon tote downstairs to dump pellets into, a 1 1/2" hose going straight upstairs through an ac register...then a cornvac, 5 gallon bucket, and shopvac.....use the shopvac to pull the pellets up and have clean fuel right there next to the stove
hope this works
i think a 5 gallon bucket is equal to about 30lbs
i have almost 8000 lbs of pellets i want to sift thats over 250 buckets full....not exactly the most efficient way to do it
i also need to move the pellets from the basement upstairs to the room w/the stove and i dont expect my girl to be carrying the buckets up
i am going to have a 45 gallon tote downstairs to dump pellets into, a 1 1/2" hose going straight upstairs through an ac register...then a cornvac, 5 gallon bucket, and shopvac.....use the shopvac to pull the pellets up and have clean fuel right there next to the stove
hope this works
Be interesting if that works. The Home Depot bucket scenario's no big deal (use 2 filter buckets so you've got 60lbs filtered at a time) as it's once a day or less...so yeah, it's 250 times, but in small doses.offingmoot said:that is a simple cheap and effective method for cleaning....but
i think a 5 gallon bucket is equal to about 30lbs
i have almost 8000 lbs of pellets i want to sift thats over 250 buckets full....not exactly the most efficient way to do it
i also need to move the pellets from the basement upstairs to the room w/the stove and i dont expect my girl to be carrying the buckets up
i am going to have a 45 gallon tote downstairs to dump pellets into, a 1 1/2" hose going straight upstairs through an ac register...then a cornvac, 5 gallon bucket, and shopvac.....use the shopvac to pull the pellets up and have clean fuel right there next to the stove
hope this works
Your solution is going to require a pretty hefty vac - you'll need a lot of suction head to get upstairs (not so much for the first pellets, but definitely as the receptable fills up and the vacuum has to pull thru all of the ones that have already made it up the hose...thinking you might need something bigger than your average shop vac --- like a 10 or 12 hp whole house vac.
plan on using my 5.5hp shopvac
people on www.iburncorn.com have moved corn the same way with 1 1/4" straight up 8 feet with similar vacs
it is mostly the cost of the cornvac at about $68 invested in that plan....if it doesnt work out i can use the conrvac to do kinda what you are suggesting from one bin to another
would be sweet if all i had to do was empty 30 or so bags in a tote every couple of weeks and then just turn on the vacuum when i need clean pellets available.
i am trying to think of a time when maybe i wont be physically able to do the job or the potential of selling the house
maybe some folks arn't going to want to bring buckets up very day or so, doesnt make the stove so attractive...it could be a good selling point if it works
people on www.iburncorn.com have moved corn the same way with 1 1/4" straight up 8 feet with similar vacs
it is mostly the cost of the cornvac at about $68 invested in that plan....if it doesnt work out i can use the conrvac to do kinda what you are suggesting from one bin to another
would be sweet if all i had to do was empty 30 or so bags in a tote every couple of weeks and then just turn on the vacuum when i need clean pellets available.
i am trying to think of a time when maybe i wont be physically able to do the job or the potential of selling the house
maybe some folks arn't going to want to bring buckets up very day or so, doesnt make the stove so attractive...it could be a good selling point if it works
I think BeGreen is right. Quality pellets should not have more than a small amount of dust unless you are playing Rocky with a pellet bag and punching it like a side of beef.
Eric
Eric
you are probably right about that
but my sifting idea will also be a moving solution at the same time
it cant hurt to clean the pellets, for my girl's allergies or the stove
it will give me piece of mind of some preventative maintenance
plus it will add enjoyment to the whole process of moving the pellets!!
but my sifting idea will also be a moving solution at the same time
it cant hurt to clean the pellets, for my girl's allergies or the stove
it will give me piece of mind of some preventative maintenance
plus it will add enjoyment to the whole process of moving the pellets!!
5 gallon buckets are typically free and plentiful at your local grocery store deli
(its what deli pickles come in, among other things) Ask them if they wouldn't
mind giving away a few.
(its what deli pickles come in, among other things) Ask them if they wouldn't
mind giving away a few.
I never worried about the dust, it was very minimal and burned just as well as the pellets. I do, however, remember not shaking the pellet bags to minimize the amount of dust I was dumping into the hopper.
As I'm thinking about this more...I wonder if handling the pellets too much would just end up creating more dust.
As I'm thinking about this more...I wonder if handling the pellets too much would just end up creating more dust.
homebrewz said:
I asked at my local Price Chopper, and they lady said no problem, but for me to go see the people in the bakery...it seems they get dough, or flour more often in the 5 gal buckets than the deli. So I asked, and the lady said she was going to keep a couple for me....I'm on my way over there now to pick some up. Clean pellets, here we come!
Oh, BTW, I've done some reading, and a good premium pellet (per 40lb bag), shouldn't have any more than about 1/2 cup of fines....if it does, contact the manufacturer.
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