Preface: the system I've built will be properly grounded before use, although the photos don't currently show it. I don't intend on blowing my house up.
Anywho...
Around this time last year I posted my first attempt at moving pellets by vacuum from their storage pallets in my basement up to my P43. After a season of use, I'd say the system was fairly effective, but could use some key improvements.
Thread and album of vacuum system V1.0:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/vac-system-build-cheap-and-effective.146172/
The main issues I hoped to address were:
Album:
It's still pretty loud; the cyclonic filter and vacuum sound like a freakin' jet engine sucking up pennies, but I don't mind. It fills at a rate of 5 gallons per minute or so.
As an added bonus, I installed a backup pvc feed pipe underneath the hopper in case I can figure out a way to hook up a leaf blower to it and have all the noisy machinery in the basement activated by a wall outlet remote, and only a hose upstairs by the stove. This may prove to be too dusty and chaotic, but I'll find out if it works. My main challenge here is to figure out the right MPH/CFM combo to push pellets up 15 feet.
Hope you guys enjoy, and I'm happy to answer any questions. I'm not an engineer, so I won't claim to really understand any of the forces involved in this contraption.
Anywho...
Around this time last year I posted my first attempt at moving pellets by vacuum from their storage pallets in my basement up to my P43. After a season of use, I'd say the system was fairly effective, but could use some key improvements.
Thread and album of vacuum system V1.0:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/vac-system-build-cheap-and-effective.146172/
The main issues I hoped to address were:
- Frequent clogging of line due to restricted airflow.
- Lots of maintenance of the basement hopper to keep the hose "covered" by pellets, since it ran right down through the top of them.
- Unsurprisingly, a lot of dust was created by the vacuum up top by the stove, mainly when unhooking the cyclonic vac from the tub and dumping the pellets into the stove.
- Basement FIBC bag hopper often partially collapsed when not totally full, snaring the hose.
- Static was surprisingly low, overall. I will be re-grounding the new system with copper wire and screws inside the line.
Album:
- My pellets now live in a 4x4x4 wooden hopper in the basement, which holds about 35-40 bags.
- They feed from the bottom of the hopper, which has an angled floor to keep the feed pressure towards the hole.
- I've replaced the original orange hose with a slightly smaller diameter pool hose for flexibility and weight. The original hose was pretty heavy, and I need to go about 5 more vertical feet with this new system.
- And finally, the coup de gras, the "spaceship": a Dust Deputy attached to a wooden base with a rubber gasket sealed trap door built in. All covered in aluminum tape so I don't melt/burn anything while I'm filling the stove.
It's still pretty loud; the cyclonic filter and vacuum sound like a freakin' jet engine sucking up pennies, but I don't mind. It fills at a rate of 5 gallons per minute or so.
As an added bonus, I installed a backup pvc feed pipe underneath the hopper in case I can figure out a way to hook up a leaf blower to it and have all the noisy machinery in the basement activated by a wall outlet remote, and only a hose upstairs by the stove. This may prove to be too dusty and chaotic, but I'll find out if it works. My main challenge here is to figure out the right MPH/CFM combo to push pellets up 15 feet.
Hope you guys enjoy, and I'm happy to answer any questions. I'm not an engineer, so I won't claim to really understand any of the forces involved in this contraption.
