Will year old pellets burn as good as fresh pellets?

[Bender1320]

This winter is going to be my first time heating with a pellet stove. I already have 4 ton stacked on my 3 season porch for this winter. I worry about burning all of them up before heating season ends and picking up a 5th ton while still on sale. On the other hand I may only use 4 ton if its going to be a mild winter and have alot of extra..

The storage area would be my pole barn with a concrete floor and no heat. I am thinking I would put down a sheet of thick mil plastic, pallet on top with bags stacked and covered with the big plastic bag they came in then pull up the plastic off the floor and tape it to the bag all around.

Sound like a good method and place to store extra? As long as they keep dry will they burn the same next winter? If that works maybe I can get like 5 ton extra..

Thanks

 

[Jack Morrissey]

Yes!!

 

[rayttt]

Im burning pellets that are 2 years old...and they are burning just as well as they did the year I got them.

 

[Bioburner]

I store mine in the shed with only the original plastic on the pallets. Almost always have a ton leftover.

 

[save$]

I have had some, kept in my garage, that are 2 yrs old. I cannot say there is any difference.

 

[Harman p-68a]

I have pellets from 3+ years ago also burning well when I have the stove this time of year start up to take chill off in am and evening etc!! Mine are stored in my breezeway just staked on pallets with a thick sheet of plastic no problems I do throw some rodent deterent under my pallets in breezeway just as a precaution !

 

[slvrblkk]

I have some that are a few years old and they still burned great...they are garage and shed kept.......

 

[krooser]

Don't waste your time putting plastic on the floor... just keep 'em dry and you are good...

 

[Pellet-King]

Wont matter unless they get wet and turn back to sawdust, pellets do not "go" bad

 

[Bioburner]

When they look like cat turds you know they are bad.

 

[Don2222]

This winter is going to be my first time heating with a pellet stove. I already have 4 ton stacked on my 3 season porch for this winter. I worry about burning all of them up before heating season ends and picking up a 5th ton while still on sale. On the other hand I may only use 4 ton if its going to be a mild winter and have alot of extra..

The storage area would be my pole barn with a concrete floor and no heat. I am thinking I would put down a sheet of thick mil plastic, pallet on top with bags stacked and covered with the big plastic bag they came in then pull up the plastic off the floor and tape it to the bag all around.

Sound like a good method and place to store extra? As long as they keep dry will they burn the same next winter? If that works maybe I can get like 5 ton extra..

Thanks

I had some in my garage that were a 1.5 years old and they burned real crappy compared to the new ones. Maybe some humidity got to them, so I would say it might depend on where they are stored and where you live. We have a lot of moisture and morning dew around here!

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I don't have a pellet in my stash that has a born on date later than the spring of 2011. I ran a test run on the stove yesterday, no problem.

But if you are worried it is the duty of a pellet pig to offer to safely dispose of all pellets that have past their best use by dates. Just keep them dry and they will burn.

 

[mithesaint]

Probably not going to burn very well if they are older. PM me your address and I'll come take them away. I'll even do it for free, cause I'm that nice

 

[krooser]

I've burned pellets from trees that were over 50 years old....

 

[mik_kane]

Last year I bought 3 ton from Lowes and could only store 1 ton inside. I left 2 ton outside with no cover except for another wrap of heavy plastic over and around the wrapped pallets. Thinking about it now should I of put down plastic under the pallets.?

 

[Lousyweather]

Last year I bought 3 ton from Lowes and could only store 1 ton inside. I left 2 ton outside with no cover except for another wrap of heavy plastic over and around the wrapped pallets. Thinking about it now should I of put down plastic under the pallets.?

no point closing the door after the horses have already run out.....I would suggest using those pellets first....IF any damage has been done, its done......the more handling you do, the more likely you'll get breakage, mo fines, etc.....if you cant keep em inside, I suggest covering them with a tarp well, and maybe when they are delivered, have them put the slid on another empty skid to improve air circulation around the bottom of the unit (and keep it out of any water!)

 

[RKS130]

This winter is going to be my first time heating with a pellet stove. I already have 4 ton stacked on my 3 season porch for this winter. I worry about burning all of them up before heating season ends and picking up a 5th ton while still on sale. On the other hand I may only use 4 ton if its going to be a mild winter and have alot of extra..

The storage area would be my pole barn with a concrete floor and no heat. I am thinking I would put down a sheet of thick mil plastic, pallet on top with bags stacked and covered with the big plastic bag they came in then pull up the plastic off the floor and tape it to the bag all around.

Sound like a good method and place to store extra? As long as they keep dry will they burn the same next winter? If that works maybe I can get like 5 ton extra..

Thanks

I have found no difference....except in the case where they improved! I had a stash of Pennington Nature's Heat pellets which were way too long to burn. But, a year later they had softened enough, presumably from moisture, so that they broke easily in the auger. No jams no problems. Probably lost some heat but at the end of last year I used them all up happily.

 

[Bioburner]

I haven't seen Wally world get in the Penningtons here. Maybe got complaints about being to long for normal stoves. Glad I only got hooked on a couple bags.

 

[glenc0322]

If I was you I would not burn anything that is over 3 months old. Just send them to me and I will dispose of them for you. Seriously I have had some stored in my basement for 2 years with no problems I run a dehumidifier in the room they are stored in

 

[Bender1320]

Thanks for the info. Now I can stock up when the sales run and not worry about the extra.

 

[CT Pellet]

I love this question! I started my wood pellet business nine years ago out of an old dairy barn up in Goshen, CT. To this date, I still have a partial pallet of pellets up there and every year I burn three bags to start my season. Ran three bags through the stove last week and they still burn just as they did nine years ago. So far, I can attest to the fact that they are good for a minimum of nine years....next year?....Who knows?

 

[mik_kane]

no point closing the door after the horses have already run out.....I would suggest using those pellets first....IF any damage has been done, its done......the more handling you do, the more likely you'll get breakage, mo fines, etc.....if you cant keep em inside, I suggest covering them with a tarp well, and maybe when they are delivered, have them put the slid on another empty skid to improve air circulation around the bottom of the unit (and keep it out of any water!)

Like I said I wrapped the 2 skids up with heavy plastic and left the bottom of the skid open. I had no problems last year and thinking about it, it was probably better to have no plastic under the skids. Anyway all those pellets from last year are gone. Now this year I bought Barefoots that are safely stored away in my basement since I had to break open the skids to unload it off the truck.

 

[DirtyDave]

they will store outside under a polly tarp well for a long time in the rain and never know they werent made today. most inventory shipped is over a year at beginning of season

 

[Bioburner]

I checked out Indeck pellet company online and they show row upon row of pallets outside.