Storing pellets?

[LRRifleman]

Hello!

Looking to start this season off on a better foot than last year.

Last year, I had to store the bagged pellets near the front door, exposed to the elements, and toward the end of season, many of the unopened bags showed moisture expansion and "clogged" my pellet stove. Out of 15 bags left over from last season, 8 bags are unusable due to moisture. Even an open bag stored indoors showed substantial pellet swelling due to moisture.

This summer, I constructed an enclosed wood box to store a weeks' worth of pellets, and a new shed for storage of pellets. When I pick up the 2 tons of pellets I have on lawaway this weekend, when I get them off of the sealed pallet, will my storage plan be sufficient to keep the pellets usable and reduce the risk of moisture swelling?

Thanks in advance!

 

[jtakeman]

As long as they don't get physically wet, You should be fine. Just in case throw a water proof cover over the box. I assume(again) that the shed is water proof and not an issue!

 

[Roadstar]

The place where I get my pellets at keeps all their pellets outside in the open. These are Bear Mountain pellets from Oregon. All the pellet bags on the pallet are wrapped in that clear plastic wrapping that keeps them together and from shifting on each other. Then there is a large plastic cover that fits over each pallet of pellets. I believe all pellet manufactures ship their pellets like this. This place has tons and tons of pellets all stored outside. I have never gotten a bad bag or even a partial bad bag from them.

I’m not sure how many pellets you store exposed to the elements but you might want to see if you can pick up one of those large plastic bags that cover the pellet pallets from wherever you get your pellets at and see if that helps.

Just a thought.
Good luck

 

[flynfrfun]

Roadstar...how much are the Bear Mtns this year? I assume you got them from A&A in Tacoma just off Hwy 512? They burn the hottest & cleanest in my stove, but they are always around $285-300/ton. Hard to justify when I can get Blazers for $176/ton at HD & Lowes, or Cleanburn for $200ish. But, I'm looking for a ton of Bear Mtn for the coldest winter months.

 

[mascoma]

Hello!

Looking to start this season off on a better foot than last year.

Last year, I had to store the bagged pellets near the front door, exposed to the elements, and toward the end of season, many of the unopened bags showed moisture expansion and "clogged" my pellet stove. Out of 15 bags left over from last season, 8 bags are unusable due to moisture. Even an open bag stored indoors showed substantial pellet swelling due to moisture.

This summer, I constructed an enclosed wood box to store a weeks' worth of pellets, and a new shed for storage of pellets. When I pick up the 2 tons of pellets I have on lawaway this weekend, when I get them off of the sealed pallet, will my storage plan be sufficient to keep the pellets usable and reduce the risk of moisture swelling?

Thanks in advance!

You must be in a super humid area. I left a hopper full of pellets in my old stove I was selling in the garage for 2 years with the lid open and there was NO swelling or clogging when I test burned the unit for the eventual buyer.

 

[Roadstar]

Roadstar...how much are the Bear Mtns this year? I assume you got them from A&A in Tacoma just off Hwy 512? They burn the hottest & cleanest in my stove, but they are always around $285-300/ton. Hard to justify when I can get Blazers for $176/ton at HD & Lowes, or Cleanburn for $200ish. But, I'm looking for a ton of Bear Mtn for the coldest winter months.

Yes I get my Bear Mountain pellets from AA. I picked up three tons during their sale months (June-July) and paid $285/ton ($312.60 ton w/ tax). The three tons I picked up last year were $303.85/ton. Yes they are expensive. Last year the non sale price was $325.72/ton. I tried three bags of Blazers last year from HD and although they were clean they just didn’t have the heat output. I won’t buy Clean Burn because of their size, diameter and length. My insert has a little trouble handling them.

 

[3650]

Dont know where you are getting them. My local big box will deliver them for $58. 4 tons for $58 delivery is a decent price for me. Id spend more then that in fuel making 4 trips. When they deliver them they dont break the pallet apart so it stays the way it was stored outside the big box store. I plan on putting an extra tarp on it with ratchet straps for an added measure.

 

[Freddels]

I've been using pellets for about 10 yrs. I have them delivered by the ton and store them in my driveway on the pallets. I put a big blue tarp over them and another pallet on top to hold the tarp in place. I don't have any problem with extra moisture.

 

[teetah222]

This is my 3rd year and my bags only get stored outside. I keep them wrapped in the wrap they came from the store in and put a tarp over the top, when I can keep it there with the wind around here. They've been snowed and rained on that way and no issues unless I've got a hole in the cover and in a bag.