Pellet container and scoop

[LewLasher]

This is kind of a trivial topic, but I didn't see it anywhere else in the forum.

I just got my pellet stove last week. I would like to get a pellet container to put in my living room, doesn't have to be real fancy but something that looks a little nicer than having plastic bags lying on the floor. Doesn't have to be huge, either; I'm willing to refill it fairly often.

How much volume (in cubic feet or gallons) is equivalent to a 40-pound bag? What size containers do other people use? I'd think that a container big enough for 2 bags ought to be sufficient.

Another stupid question: if you don't completely empty all the pellets from the container into the stove hopper, and then you pour a new bag into the container, are the pellets at the bottom of the container still going to be good indefinitely? Or will the old pellets go bad for some reason (e.g., could they eventually disintegrate into "fines")? Is it better to "rotate your stock", emptying the container completely before pouring in a new bag?

I'd like to get a nice big scoop for transferring pellets from the container into the stove hopper. Where do you find such a thing? Someone told me I could just use a cut-off bleach container, and that might be more practical than a tiny little scoop. But a nice big scoop would be good, if I could find one somewhere.

 

[23westwood]

I use a clothes hamper that I bought from Bed Bath and Beyond last year. One of my reasons for buying it was it was easier for my wife to scoop pellets into the hopper instead of lifting the 40lb bags. This hamper has worked out really well. It holds just over two 40lb bags of pellets. It is also lined on the inside which helps reduce the dust when I pour a new bag in. For a scooper I use a dust pan which also works out well because it is just a bit smaller than the hopper fill door. My stove has a 70lb hopper so when it's low I can usually put a full bag in it but if there is any left over I dump it into the hamper. This also helps out with the fines too because they tend to go to the bottom of the container.
I attached a couple of pictures to show you what it looks like. It's not a perfect solution but is a bit neater than 40lb bags sitting around.

I'm also interested to see what others are using.

 

[imacman]

I bought an antique copper wash tub that I found on eBay.....they seem to pop up there quite often....I think I paid about $50. You can see it in the pic sitting next to my stove. I will hold about 1 1/2 bags (approx. 60 lbs). The one I bought was painted, but the one in the auction below could be cleaned up and polished.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Large-Antique-C...yZ163058QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I also bought an inexpensive grain/feed scoop at the local feed store for about $7

 

[Delta-T]

each 40lb bag of pellets is approx. 1 cubic foot. I've seen rather large scoops intended for animal feed at Tractor Supply that might be useful.

 

[mjbrown]

i use an 18 gallon tote from walmart...about $7, and cut the bottom out of a 1 gallon laundry detergent bottle with the cap left on. the tote holds exactly 2 bags of pellets,and i refill daily...no worries about leftover pellets. you can use a larger bottle to get a larger scoop,i chose the one gallon because the hopper lid on my harman P38 is narrow and the bottle is just the right width.

hope this helps


mike

 

[Panhandler]

10 gallon galvanized garbage can with lid, painted to match stove, holds 40 lbs. Tractor Supply

 

[Xena]

I use this copper bin that's been in my living room
since the 70's when we burned wood in the fireplace.
It holds about 80lbs of pellets.
You can't really tell from the pic, but it's on a small
pedestal to avoid having to bend over. You can see
it there to the left of the stove in my avatar. It works great
and looks cool too.

 

[smoke show]

10 gallon galvanized garbage can with lid, painted to match stove, holds 40 lbs. Tractor Supply

and this is what it looks like

 

[defield]

A galvanized feed scoop, like the ones shown in the link below are excellent for transferring pellets from a storage container to a stove. They come in three sizes, load nicely, and the handle placement makes the scoop well balanced and a pleasure to use. Really like mine!

http://www.petvetsupply.com/fescandstbi.html

 

[CanadaClinker]

I'm not a cabnet maker but do own a chop saw and table saw. Put this pine chest together this January. Holds 8 to 10 40lb bags. It serves as a kind of coffee table. Stove takes 80lbs so use a black coal hod to fill it. When not using the coal hod, we put either flowers or pine cones or bullrushes in it (whatever the season). Oh, at one end of the pine chest, we keep whatever stove cleaning tools and a small vacuum hose for connecting to the home-made centra vac system we have next to the stove (for cleaning the stove). This way everything is kept relatively neat and tidy. :coolsmile:

 

[imacman]

CanadaClinker, that is a GREAT pellet bin you made...great job!! I'm jealous..... ;-)

 

[CanadaClinker]

Thanks macman..... wife and I are happy with it and I still have all my fingers......! :lol:

 

[LewLasher]

A galvanized feed scoop, like the ones shown in the link below are excellent for transferring pellets from a storage container to a stove. They come in three sizes ...

http://www.petvetsupply.com/fescandstbi.html

Which size would you recommend?

 

[defield]

Firestarter,

I like the 4 Qt. size.

Ranger

 

[brian22]

I'm not a cabnet maker but do own a chop saw and table saw. Put this pine chest together this January. Holds 8 to 10 40lb bags. It serves as a kind of coffee table. Stove takes 80lbs so use a black coal hod to fill it. When not using the coal hod, we put either flowers or pine cones or bullrushes in it (whatever the season). Oh, at one end of the pine chest, we keep whatever stove cleaning tools and a small vacuum hose for connecting to the home-made centra vac system we have next to the stove (for cleaning the stove). This way everything is kept relatively neat and tidy. :coolsmile:

Wow thats nice....Thats the kind of container I will be getting for my pellets..I'm bulding a 28 x 30 addition for a family room and that would be a nice container to have.

 

[sydney1963]

I just dump right from the bag into the stove. The more you handle the pellets the more dust that collects all over everything.

 

[CygnusX1]

I use 3 coal hods for my pellets.

You can buy them new for $50.00, but I got mine at yard sales for about $10.00 each.

http://www.amazon.com/Deluxe-Fireplace-Hearth-Bucket-Carrier/dp/B0002277JI

 

[smoke show]

coal hods are $19.00 at the local farm supply store.

 

[tjnamtiw]

I just dump right from the bag into the stove. The more you handle the pellets the more dust that collects all over everything.

My fireplace dealer had this large plastic square container with legs that he dumps the bags into. Then he puts a bucket in front of it under a chute. When you pull the chute down, the pellets drop onto a screen and roll down into the bucket. All the fines collect in a pan under the screen. He uses it to run all his demo stoves. Pretty neat setup but you would want it in your garage, not your living room.

 

[drizler]

I just dump right from the bag into the stove. The more you handle the pellets the more dust that collects all over everything.

I have to agree here, why all the bother? When I need a bag I just wander down the stairs to the basement hoist one onto my shoulder and go up with it. Lay it inside the stove's bin and slit the entire bottom of the bag across end to end and just slide the bag off the pellets. Much less dust tossed around that way. For staging area I just toss a few bags in the closet.

 

[geek]

I'm not a cabnet maker but do own a chop saw and table saw. Put this pine chest together this January. Holds 8 to 10 40lb bags. It serves as a kind of coffee table. Stove takes 80lbs so use a black coal hod to fill it. When not using the coal hod, we put either flowers or pine cones or bullrushes in it (whatever the season). Oh, at one end of the pine chest, we keep whatever stove cleaning tools and a small vacuum hose for connecting to the home-made centra vac system we have next to the stove (for cleaning the stove). This way everything is kept relatively neat and tidy. :coolsmile:

very nice job....nice looking stove too...!!

 

[Xena]

I just dump right from the bag into the stove. The more you handle the pellets the more
dust that collects all over everything.

I have to agree here, why all the bother? When I need a bag I just wander down
the stairs to the basement hoist one onto my shoulder and go up with it.

Will be going into 5th season with the pellets. Never had a problem
with excess dust on anything, but then again I make certain I only
buy pellets that have very little to no dust.

This has been discussed before. A container near the stove
is helpful for many people for many different reasons. Some have to
store their pellets outside and would rather have immediate access
to fill the stove. Some people have family members that might be
the ones left to load the stove but cannot lift a 40lb bag of pellets.

My deal, the copper tub had been sitting next to the fireplace for 30+ years
so I figured why not make use of it plus my brother is a lazy ass
and most of the time if the pellets aren't right there he won't fill the damn stove.

 

[CanadaClinker]

Thanks Geek.... think'n of new projects is half the fun of own'n a stove. To clean the 10 bags of pellets that go into the new pine chest is easy now that I built this pellet cleaner with an attached vacuum hose. I made 2 of them. The second one I built an inch wider and moved the vacuum hose attachment port to the other side to work better with our setup. It removes all the fines and dust in the air right in our living room. With the pine chest holding 10 bags, I can go a long tiime between fillings and I know that what's in the chest is clean product. Pellet brands containing a lot of fines don't bother us anymore as long as the pellets burn hot and clean. :coolsmile:

 

[smoke show]

I'd like to see close up pics of the cleaner if you could. thanks

 

[CanadaClinker]

Here's a couple of pics I had ..... basically anywhere between 35 and 40 degree slope of the 1/4 inch screen does a great job. A little shelf at the top to rest the bag and I even added a rope handle later at the top serves two purposes.... to carry the unit as well as prevent a bag from sliding down the screen. The board half way down the slide is what I call 'flow control'. It regulates how much goes down the slope in case too much goes at one time. Simply rest the bag on the top shelf, cut a 4 inch slit on the bottom side corner and let gravity do the rest.... takes about one minute clean a bag.

The 10 bag pellet chest, the cleaner with the vacuum hose attachment is our recipe for keeping pellets in bulk ready to use in our living room. :coolsmile: