The season is here and its time to get ready

[Snowy Rivers]

Got out about 7:30 or so this morning and headed down into the basement and got after some much needed fall cleaning.

Needed to get the "Shell" barrels organized and ready to go when the crop come in and the shelling companies get to running again.

I posted an ad on craigs list looking to buy 10 more 55 gallon barrels with clamp on lids to store nut shells in.

The fact that the shelling season is short and the days that I can get out and get shells and not have it raining are few also.

I want to get a much larger storage capacity set up since we are now running 100% shells for heat.

Looked for a 5 yard dumpster but have not found any that are affordable.

Currently my storage is between about 10 55 gallon drums with lids and many smaller fiber barrels of various sizes.

The smallest is about a 15 gallon size, and are good for enough shells to last about 2 days.
The 55 gallon drums will run the large Whitfield for 5 days running 24 hrs/day.

Well back to work

Snowy

 

[Millsk]

You should look into building a bulk storage room. Frame it out and cover with plywood, you'll need some sort of vapor barrier. Place a couple of pieces of ply wood in the storage unit to funnel the shells toward one extraction point. This would tek much less space then barrels...

 

[philbrick]

how about a old trailer truck body

 

[Snowy Rivers]

I have looked at several options, none of which will come cheaply.

The barrels can generally be had for $5 each. The storage room is problematic in as much as finding a place for it.

I have priced out plastic grain and buld AG type storage containers that could be kept outdoors, and these are extremely $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

The barrlels, though they take up extra space, are cheap and easy to handle.

I have one corner in the basement that has a large upright freezer at present and we are giving that to the Daughter and Son inlaw.

I have thought about building a "Bunker" about 6 foot X 8 foot X 4 foot high with a removable top

This would give the the extra storage I desire.
The barrels can be stacked clean to the steel beams that hold the house up during the summer
( 8 feet high)

The house is a triple wide manufactured home on a full daylight basement. 12" wideflange steel beams on 10 foot centers that are on 6" square steel posts that are set onto 1/2 cubic yard piers under the concrete floor.


Its Hell for stout for sure.

The basement has a 1000 Sq ft Living quarters and the rest is storage, shop space and Pellet and shell space 2400 total feet down there.

Just not sure exactly whats gonna happen. The cubic $$$$ is gonna make the choice.


As I burn the supply down in the late spring I place many of the small storage drums into the larger ones and stack them up.


I have one area that was built specifically to stack sacks of pellets. Its slightly wider than a pellet sack is long (high) ?? and 8 feet high and 10 feet deep.

This spot will hold about 3 tons or more stacked up pretty well to the steel beams in the back and slopping down closer to the entance.

I have one storage room thats for shell barrels and we can stack the smaller ones on top of the larger ones.


Ahhh yesss, decisions, decisions.

Thanks for the input

Snowy

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Sometimes you can get box cars from railroads.

 

[save$]

What about something like those big bags that bulk pellets come in? Each one holds a ton of pellets.