# What do you use to sift out fines from your pellets?



## Backstreets75 (Feb 20, 2011)

What have you built?  Did you buy a sifter?  Does anyone sell such a device?


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## slls (Feb 20, 2011)

Bought a large sifter, look close, I enlarged some holes. I like the personal touch, no machine.  I then, at the same time break the long ones.
My stove does not burn a lot of pellets on thermostat.


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## ChrisWNY (Feb 20, 2011)

I use a colander as well and dump my pellets into a large 50 lb. garbage can, but when all is said and done I end up scooping fines into my furnace when I get down to the bottom of the can, so I'm probably not doing myself any good by trying to sift them out that way. Other guys have rigged up contraptions made of PVC pipe and funnels so that they can drop their pellets into a funnel with a shop vac hooked up to PVC tee/elbow, that seems to be the most effective method of removing fines, but you end up cutting down on how much ash that Shop Vac can hold because the vac becomes filled with fines. I've never had issues just letting the fines drop through into the burn chamber, they coat the inside of the burn chamber which actually seems to help reduce ash build-up on the inside of the box. So, it becomes debatable whether or not a small amount of fines can serve some purpose inside a pellet burner.


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## hossthehermit (Feb 20, 2011)

I use the patented "Flame-Sifter" method.


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## Flammam (Feb 20, 2011)

What is this sifting you talk about? In my counrty pellets sift you and then burn dust and all...LOL


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## Don2222 (Feb 20, 2011)

Hello

I found some scrap wood and made the "TRH Wood Pellet Fines Sifter"

It fits right over a metal trash barrel and you just dump a bag in. After the sawdust is sifted into the barrel, the sifter is tilted so the end that the red arrows point are into the pellet bag!!

Just fine window screen at Home Depot and scrap wood!


See pic below:


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## slls (Feb 20, 2011)

Do you shake 40 lbs?


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## imacman (Feb 21, 2011)

This what I use.


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## Kenny1 (Feb 21, 2011)

I use a P61A to sift the fines  ;-P


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## g1mb (Feb 21, 2011)

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/23999/

Check out the above link to a thread in regard to a homemade pellet vacuum.

I made one of these and started using it a few weeks ago.  It works very well.  If I don't vacuum the fines from my pellets my house ends up full of dust in no time.  It's either vacuum the pellets, or vacuum the house.


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## wilburg (Feb 21, 2011)

why would I want to sift fines???   I havent done that yet .. am I doing something wrong?


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## pelletkrzd (Feb 21, 2011)

no sifting here either and has never been an issue.


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## hossthehermit (Feb 21, 2011)

slls said:
			
		

> Do you shake 40 lbs?



Only after I ta.. oh never mind...


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## rickwa (Feb 21, 2011)

my theory is if you are going to paythat kind of money for pellets you should be able to burn them without further processing. If not change brands.  Or if you want to do the work burn corn and make the little extra work pay off.


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## firewarrior820 (Feb 21, 2011)

Backstreets75 said:
			
		

> What have you built?  Did you buy a sifter?  Does anyone sell such a device?





I use to use this now i burn everything


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## kinsmanstoves (Feb 21, 2011)

Why?  Buy good pellets and you open the bag andf pour them inside the stove.  Enough said.

Eric


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## SmokeyTheBear (Feb 21, 2011)

Kenny said:
			
		

> I use a P61A to sift the fines  ;-P



Hi Kenny,

I also use my stove to sift the fines.


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## dmaclaren (Feb 21, 2011)

I put it all through the PF100.  Some go into the auger gear box and I clean it out after a ton or 2.


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## lbcynya (Feb 21, 2011)

+1 for flame sifter...  Stoves are designed (or should be) to accept a small percentage of fines...  I use everything I pay for...


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## burrman (Feb 21, 2011)

open the bag pour it in......


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## ironpony (Feb 21, 2011)

I bought a flame sifter from hossthehermit
haven't had to sift any since

hoss you should be getting the check soon........


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## jamesdjs (Feb 21, 2011)

if it burns I pour !


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## Backstreets75 (Feb 21, 2011)

imacman said:
			
		

> This what I use.



I like it!  Dusty house be gone!  I'm gonna build me a nice sifting machine!


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## tgordo49 (Feb 21, 2011)

Kenny said:
			
		

> I use a P61A to sift the fines  ;-P



Ditto, why waste the time, they burn just fine as-is in a Harman. Just open & empty that funky little chamber in the back once a year. I never thought of trying to CLEAN 6 tons of pellets, that makes my head hurt to even contemplate.


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## richkorn (Feb 21, 2011)

Stove burns the fines just fine!


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## briansol (Feb 22, 2011)

Even my POS burns everything.  lol  dump it all in.  I make an effort to get everything out of the bag.  Been doing this for 3 years and never had an issue with it burning.


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## arnash (Feb 22, 2011)

I can't see the logical connection between dust in the hopper and dust in the house unless you release a cloud of dust when filling the hopper.  Nothing that goes into the burn pot is released into the house or else along with dust there would be plenty of smoke.  You can't get one without the other.


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## abrucerd (Feb 22, 2011)

I tried sifting for about half a season... and then I came to my senses.  There was no difference in heat or performance when I did, so I just let the stove do it's thing.

Plus, you get some nice sparks when the sawdust lights up!


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## chris288 (Feb 22, 2011)

My " fines sifter "


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## Jeffrey nash (Feb 22, 2011)

LOL, I'm glad I just found this thread. I'm a brand new newby and I just spent 3 hours shifting a bag of Maine's choice I bought at one of the box stores and I got,NOW THIS IS NO JOKE, 5" s of fines in a 5 gallon bucket that went through my spaghetti strainer. I drilled a bunch of 1/4 inch holes in the thing cause the fines were all through the bag, top,middle,and bottom. Thought I had a bad bag but opened another one and its the same thing. Thanks for letting me off the hook. Thought I was going to be spending hours shifting these bags.
   On a good note I did buy 3 brands and have only found the issue in the Maine's choice. The cubex and okanogan's have been great with minute amounts in each and they all burn good so no harm no foul.
By the way...what is the real definition of fines? Saw dust or 1/8" to 1/4" and below? Oh well it does not matter now...I don't have to screen them anymore...lol

 Jeff


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## tinkabranc (Feb 22, 2011)

On the 5th winter with my XXV and have never bothered sifting the pellets.   
Burn em if you got em..LOL


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## Xena (Feb 23, 2011)

If I had t sift then that pellet isn't for me.
Buy quality and no sifting required.
Dump it all in and rock n roll.


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## DexterDay (Feb 24, 2011)

Well thanks to imacman. I finally got my sifter up and running. (I know some disagree) But I have to clean the hopper about once a month due to a Fines build up. Besides the $25 it took to build it, I dropped and broke my phone 2 days ago, while trying to take a pic of the progress. So add $50 for ins replacement also. LOL still worth it


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## DexterDay (Feb 24, 2011)

Oops. Wrong pic.


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## Northeaster2010 (Feb 24, 2011)

My Advantage eats them for breakfast!


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## ironpony (Feb 24, 2011)

conclusion;

some people have to much free time


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## woodsman23 (Feb 24, 2011)

If you have to sift then pellet burning is not a gift... oh well i tried. If i have to sift pellets then i'm going back to propane or wood. There is no way on this palnet i'm sifting pellets.....


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## DexterDay (Feb 24, 2011)

One persons trash is another persons treasure. Does not take as long to build device as one would think. Also does not take long to "sift" the pellets. It sits right outside the pellet crib in the basement, so its on the way. Cuts the dust down 100% (6.5 hp gets it done w/ hepa filter& fine filttration bag)  Anyone who owns a pellet stove knows the dust that comes along with one, is astronomical! So to each there own, but the Quads spring style auger (not solid) lets all the fines stay at the bottom of the hoppper. A screw and cylinder set-up would prob eat them for seasons on end without a problem. For the time it takes me now to "sift" the pellets for a months worth, would be the same time spent cleaning the inside of the hopper once a month. And to fully clean the bottom, I have to suck the fines and some pellets out with vacuum. So the conclusion.... Well.. I like it and I am no longer throwing pellets away. I will still clean the hoppper. But now only once a year. (end of season)


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## watrskir (Feb 24, 2011)

Honestly you guys are right....most stoves will burn  the fines without a problem. But before I built my pellet vac,  like Mac has, no matter how slow I poured a bag in my quad..the living room would get dusty. It still does but vacuuming them has definatly helped....I know..I clean. It took  1 hour and 20$ to make and I can vac a bag in 90 seconds....(give or take a second or 2). AND when Im trying to get rid of shoulder season pellets. I dump in at the same time with good pellets and it blends them up nice!! Yes I might have to much time on my hands but at least its not being used on cleaning the livingroom.  Besides...there is a beer fridge beside the pellet vac :>)


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## jtakeman (Feb 24, 2011)

Only sifting(more like screening. I catch the fines for show and tell) is for testing. Otherwise there "heat and fireworks" with the Omega. Same for the Breckwell I had. I might vac ther hopper once in a while. My quad was a dumper too, But I did vacuumed the hopper more often.


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## DexterDay (Feb 24, 2011)

watrskir said:
			
		

> It took  1 hour and 20$ to make and I can vac a bag in 90 seconds....AND when Im trying to get rid of shoulder season pellets. I dump in at the same time with good pellets and it blends them up nice!! Yes I might have to much time on my hands but at least its not being used on cleaning the livingroom. * Besides...there is a beer fridge beside the pellet vac *:>)


 Could not agree more. The time spent "sifting" is marginal. And some people's sickness is worse than others. It takes a special breed to just burn pellets. I have friends at work that think I'm crazy because of the things I do for heat. Even with the money I save ($thousands), they still think its easier "there way". So all in all, we all spend more time than normal heating our homes. Isn't that why your here now? (on this forum)


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## www_godzilla (Feb 24, 2011)

My Quadrafire Sante Fe burns the fines perfectly. I just dump the pellets in the hopper and let the wood pellets heat my home.  
Whenever I do my weekly cleaning,I make sure I vacuum the hopper and the auger too. 
 If you clean your stove when you are supposed to and do a good job at it....your stove shouldn't have a problem with the fines.


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## DexterDay (Feb 24, 2011)

www_godzilla said:
			
		

> My Quadrafire Sante Fe burns the fines perfectly. I just dump the pellets in the hopper and let the wood pellets heat my home.
> Whenever I do my weekly cleaning,I make sure I vacuum the hopper and the auger too.
> If you clean your stove when you are supposed to and do a good job at it....your stove shouldn't have a problem with the fines.


 this is what I did also. Once a month. Takes the same time either way. Once the bottom of the auger fills up, the flame starts getting smaller. Auger can no longer grab as many pellets. I may hate it in a week. But its still like a new toy. And I LIKE IT!


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## Centurion (Feb 25, 2011)

Backstreet, I used this when I had a stove.  Take a look at the link below.  It worked very well with pellets and the price is very reasonable.  If you buy it, remove the top screen for pellet use.  Now that I use a boiler I made a large bin that is faster.  

http://www.corncleaning.com/


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## ironpony (Feb 25, 2011)

[quote author="watrskir" date="1298606396"]Honestly you guys are right....most stoves will burn  the fines without a problem. But before I built my pellet vac,  like Mac has, no matter how slow I poured a bag in my quad..the living room would get dusty. It still does but vacuuming them has definatly helped....I know..I clean. It took  1 hour and 20$ to make and I can vac a bag in 90 seconds....(give or take a second or 2). AND when Im trying to get rid of shoulder season pellets. I dump in at the same time with good pellets and it blends them up nice!! Yes I might have to much time on my hands but at least its not being used on cleaning the livingroom.  *Besides...there is a beer fridge beside the pellet vac :>)[/*quote]


critical information which was not disclosed in the original dicussion


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## FordMastertech (Feb 25, 2011)

I throw in what ever is in the bag in the stoves hopper and the AE burns it up with no problems. I clean the hopper out at the end of the season and there is not too much fines in the bottom of it.
If I thought the bag the pellets came in would burn with out messing up the stove or making too much of a stink out side it would go in the hopper too.


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## perchin (Feb 26, 2011)

ummmmm.....NO. Besides quality brand pellets don't have many fines to begin with. I only have to vacuum the hopper out once a year burning UNCLE JED's.


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## joescho (Jun 21, 2013)

Don2222 said:


> Hello
> 
> I found some scrap wood and made the "TRH Wood Pellet Fines Sifter"
> 
> ...


 
That's the one for me

Simple, and low tech.

The only down side I can see is I can see me chasing some pellets that fall on the floor.


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## Don2222 (Jun 21, 2013)

joescho said:


> That's the one for me
> 
> Simple, and low tech.
> 
> The only down side I can see is I can see me chasing some pellets that fall on the floor.


 

It actually works well, the fines fall into a regular metal trash can and then you just tilt it and pour out the pellets!


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## tjnamtiw (Jun 27, 2013)

Works for me.


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## Don2222 (Jun 27, 2013)

tjnamtiw said:


> Works for me.


 
Very Nice!
What do you call it?

The pellet fun slide! ! ! LOL


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## tjnamtiw (Jun 27, 2013)

Don2222 said:


> Very Nice!
> What do you call it?
> 
> The pellet fun slide! ! ! LOL


 
The THANG!  Actually I stole the design from someone a couple of years ago that posted their picture of a similar one on this forum.  It keeps some of the dust out of the house which keeps the 'boss' from calling the lawyer............... for now...........


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