Pellet container and scoop

[rowerwet]

a relative of my wifes uses a cast iron coal hod for storage near the stove, also a black cast scoop, actualy dresses up the hearth area.

 

[LewLasher]

Well, yesterday I went down to the feed store and got a 4-quart galvanized scoop - thanks, the old ranger!

Still thinking about what to use for a container. Lots of really good ideas here; I'm glad I asked.

 

[kbjelka]

I use a Pellet Pail http://www.pelletpail.com and love it. Just drop the bag in and lift it out. Comes with a scoop. Holds a full 40 pounds and works like a charm. It's expensive but it's built like a tank and works as advertised. Four tons later, no regrets.

 

[flowercat]

I use a plastic storage container and a cat liter scoop. The cat liter scoop allows the dust to stay in the container when I fill the hopper. The pellets stay in the scoop and dust flows thru the scoop. I don't poor directly from the bag as much becasue I was pooring dust in the hopper.

 

[tjnamtiw]

This is the contraption that my stove store uses. It takes up quite a lot of space but gets rid of all the fines. Kind of pricey, though.

(broken link removed to http://woodheatstoves.com/the-hopper-pellet-dispenser-p-2174.html)

 

[Steve_in_NH]

I'm very happy with my Coal Hod from Northline Express.com. It's heavy gauge and holds one full bag. Makes it easy to fill from bags out on the porch (and keep the dust from pouring out of the house) and pouring into the hopper is easy with the secondary handle. About $50.00 and it looks good in the living room.

 

[LewLasher]

I'm very happy with my Coal Hod from Northline Express.com. It's heavy gauge and holds one full bag. ... About $50.00 and it looks good in the living room.

I looked at their site (after first mistyping it as Northern Express and getting a newspaper in Michigan ...). They have a heavy gauge coal hod/pellet bucket (SMM-C-66) for $67.80, a smaller coal hod/pellet bucket (SMM_C-65) for $52.80, and a much lighter coal hod (SUC-1704) for $19.90.

The large heavy-gauge "coal hod/pellet bucket" weighs 24 pounds. That would seem to make it noticeably more difficult to lift than just lifting 40 pounds of pellets without the coal hod (I'd use the scoop in that case). The smaller "coal hod/pellet bucket" weighs 6 pounds, and the even lighter "coal hod" weighs just 3 pounds. The heavier hod/bucket is 18" high x 17" wide, the lighter hod/bucket is 14" high x 15" wide, and the "coal hod" is 17.5" high and 16" wide.

I wonder why some of the coal hods are also labelled as pellet buckets. The one that's just called a coal hod seems like a good deal at $19.90, unless there's some reason why it would be inappropriate for holding pellets. (The description on the Web site claims that it is "[a]lso perfect for storing pellets, wood, or kindling"!)

 

[mandkj]

I have been using the same $19.90 version to carry pellets for almost 5 years and its as good as the day I got it.

 

[tinkabranc]

I also have had the $19.90 version for a few years now and it still is holding up well.

 

[defield]

I have a 14" Coal Hod/Pellet Bucket, from Northline, like Steve_in_NH and love it. Brother-in-law saw it and bought one.

I screen pellets, in the basement, into a plastic tote. Use a 4Qt. galvanized grain scoop to scoop pellets from the tote to the pellet bucket. Lug the pellets up to the main level in the bucket.

The 14" is a great size for me, very sturdy and well balanced, looks great by the stove, and because of the shape of the bucket and side handle placement pours into the stove in comfort with no spills.

 

[LewLasher]

I ordered the $20 coal hod from Northline Express, but it is much smaller than advertised. It's supposed to be 17.5" high, but it's actually barely 10" high. I guess I'll have to return it, but now I'm not especially eager to buy any other products from them.

 

[defield]

Lewlasher,

I have purchased from Northline on numerous occasions and found them to be an excellent company to deal with, from properly represented products, fast order response, and very good customer service.

Please give them a call as there must have been a misunderstanding.

Ranger

 

[imacman]

I ordered the $20 coal hod from Northline Express, but it is much smaller than advertised. It's supposed to be 17.5" high, but it's actually barely 10" high. I guess I'll have to return it, but now I'm not especially eager to buy any other products from them.

Not sure where you got the 17.5" measurement from....the $20 coal hod they sell clearly states that it's 9 1/2" high.

(broken link removed to http://www.northlineexpress.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=5IM-LT0163)

The only one I saw that stated it was 17.5" high was listed as $30, but even that one probably is using the handle as part of the measurement.

 

[LewLasher]

Not sure where you got the 17.5" measurement from....the $20 coal hod they sell clearly states that it's 9 1/2" high.

(broken link removed to http://www.northlineexpress.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=5IM-LT0163)

The only one I saw that stated it was 17.5" high was listed as $30, but even that one probably is using the handle as part of the measurement.

The one I got is now listed for $30, but was on sale a couple of weeks ago for $20. Sorry about the confusion.
If they are using the handle as part of the measurement, they are pretty sleazy.

 

[ducker]

wow... I use an ultra cheap solution. I bring up a bag from the basement, and then use a cleaned out 1 quart yogurt container to scoup it out of the bag... and then use my hand to get the final pellets out of the bottom of the bag. I then pour the fines and handful of pellets left in the bottom in to a single bag, to be sifted through later.

 

[lindsey777]

CanadaClinker, that is a very nice pine chest. I am handy with saws and have no fingers missing..... Did you buy plans for the chest or design it yourself? Can you share plans to build, or pointers? Thanks!!

 

[woodsman23]

I buy rocky mountain pe;;ets and there is never any fines or dust to worry about ever. I have a wicker bin next to the stove with a cloth lining and it holds 4 bags no problem, was 20 bucks at big lots..

 

[LewLasher]

The $20 coal hod would have been a good deal if it were actually the size as advertised. But it doesn't seem worth it to spend $60+ for a coal hod, when there are lots of other, more reasonably-priced, containers, like the galvanized trash cans.

 

[LewLasher]

I went to Target to see some alternatives to coal hods. For less than $60, I can get a very fancy hamper, or a storage ottoman. I like the idea that the hamper or ottoman is covered when you are not in the process of scooping pellets. And you can sit on the ottoman or rest your feet on it. The smallest storage ottoman, costing $20, looked like it was just about one cubic foot. (The exterior dimensions were more like 15".) That doesn't look like it would be big enough, but it's difficult to compare a compact shape to an oblong one. I could get 2 of the small ottomans, or a larger one for about $50. Either way, it would cost less than the coal hod of appropriate size.

In other news, I called Northline Express customer service, and they were GREAT. They were sympathetic to my complaint about the measurement of the coal hod, and called the supplier, and the upshot is that I don't have to pay the shipping charges for returning the item.

 

[LewLasher]

I did get one of the small $20 ottomans at Target, and, it turns out, it's just a little too small, so I'm going to blow another $20 and get a second one. (They seem to be a limited, seasonal item, so I'd better not delay on that.) They're small enough that I have room for 2 of them in my living room, and I think they'll actually look better with 2 of them.

The good news is that the ottoman seems to be strong enough that it did not collapse under the weight of not quite 40 pounds of pellets.

 

[Stentor]

Are these the storage ottomans you looked at? What's the material? I'm looking for a container but I wonder what material can be left close to the side of the stove. One in the catalog is made of rattan. I haven't checked the others.


(broken link removed to http://www.target.com/b/ref=in_br_display-ladders?ie=UTF8&pf_rd_r=0E88ECMY17XNTBF0PE2H&pf_rd_p=427160401&pf_rd_i=B000WQ4XX2&node=3527821&pf_rd_s=left-3&pf_rd_m=A1VC38T7YXB528&pf_rd_t=201)

 

[LewLasher]

Are these the storage ottomans you looked at? What's the material? I'm looking for a container but I wonder what material can be left close to the side of the stove.

For some reason, I can't find the $20 storage ottoman pictured online anywhere. (The tag says "REdecorate" and "Room Essentials".) The fabric is "microsuede" polyester. I don't know what the melting point of polyester is.

The other thing about storing pellets in your living room, and, bear with me because I am new to this, is that my living room is starting to get that "woodsy" smell that my car had yesterday when I had the back of the car all filled up with bags of pellets.

 

[Stentor]

Thanks for checking. I'm in no rush, so I'll look around. And that point about a "woodsy smell" was something I hadn't thought of. I've mostly just been carrying in a bag and dumping it into the hopper, so there usually isn't much left open. The smell might be OK but better to try it and find out.

 

[tonyd]

To avoid scratching the stove,Try using a PLASTIC bucket or scoop. Keeps the stove looking new around the loading hopper.

 

[Shortstuff]

I use a Rubbermaid storage container and coffee container as a scoop. It holds 5 bags and of course I use my pellet vac to clean them before use.

Steve