Vacuuming Pellets Through my Floor?

[3650]

Thanks for going to all the trouble to post those pics. I appreciate it. Now it much more clear to me. I better look into getting one of those.

 

[johninwi]

3650, this may intrest you

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/larger-corn-cleaner-now-with-added-video.143131/

 

[FirepotPete]

Hey Pete, I built the one that was on IBC board, works great but I don't think it would be good for pellets.

Ya that gang had quite the collection of cleaners. Took one idea to another with great success. I really didn't have the head room to build what I wanted so the cornvac

johninwi, that's one heck of a job, I wouldn't have the room for it but great post on how to make one. As watcher1 noted, the old IBC forum had a large collection of cleaners that were home made. I see Kap around here from time to time, I wonder if he still has any pics of the ones he built?

 

[Deezl Smoke]

I have a dumb idea. Why not move the stove closer to the pellets and pipe the warm air upstairs? Hot air (people say I am full of it) rises. It's ligher than ambient air, making it very easy to pipe up hill.

 

[sdimmick3]

Here's the whole setup. The cornvac system is the round 25 gallon tank on top of the tote. The round part on top of the tank is the two part head that separates the dust from the corn. It's just a screen in the middle, note the large black hose on top is from the shopvac, the small black hose runs to the wand that pulls the corn into the cleaner. Also note in the top left there is a piece of 1 1/2" pvc pipe. I use to use that to extend out to the truck from the cornvac and then put the small black hose on it. I've found that the less the vac has to pull the better, even if it's mostly horizontal. So now I just move one tote out of the way and back the truck right into the garage so just the hose reaches. Easier on the shopvac and a little faster. All the wires hanging around are for grounding. I have them all running to a neutral block that is connected to a ground rod I put in outside.

This is the end of the hose with a piece of 1 1/2" pvc pipe made as a wand. The end of the pipe is cut out so that it fits the groves in the bed liner of my pickup. That also helps pickup the corn. Above the orange tape are holes drilled for makeup air, if you don't have enough air mixing with the corn it won't clean it as well. Don't be afraid to drill holes, if you get to many you can always tape the shut until you find the right balance. The orange tape is just a guide for me when sucking corn out of the IBC totes, it tells me how deep the wand is without burying the holes and plugging them.

To transfer the pellets from the IBC totes I just move the cornvac head onto a 3" pvc connecter built onto the top of the 55 gallon lid, such the corn out and then use 5 gallon buckets to bring to the stove. Excuse the mess but I was busy while taking pics!


Also the wooden stand is something I built to hold the 25 gallon tank above the totes to make it stable and be able to easily get to the blast gate on the bottom of the tank to open and let the corn go into the totes.

This may be a stupid question, but will the corn flow freely if you open the gate valve on the IBC tote? I currently have a 1-ton bin made of wood in my basement that loves to attract mice. If i get rid of this bin and use 55-gal drums, im wondering if i can simply open this valve on the IBC to fill the drums in the basement without using a vacuum. I would have to use a vacuum to empty my truck, so regardless i would have the corn vac system.

 

[rona]

The easiest would be to make friends with a young teenage football player or basket ball player. A lot of people hire a neighbor to mow the lawn or shovel snow. It would give them exersize and the ability to earn a little extra cash. Pellets are tough to handle without breaking them. Corn can be moved with air. I got the parts to make the outfit back when IBC was running but decided against using it and did something else.

 

[rona]

I have a dumb idea. Why not move the stove closer to the pellets and pipe the warm air upstairs? Hot air (people say I am full of it) rises. It's ligher than ambient air, making it very easy to pipe up hill.

Depending on the model stove you have there is a fellow named Tom Brewer who sells a kit that is a heat exchanger you install into your stove and run water through it so you can use hot water to heat your house. This is not your common coil heater but a lot more complex and it works. I think he may have made something on U tube that explains it better.

 

[FirepotPete]

This may be a stupid question, but will the corn flow freely if you open the gate valve on the IBC tote? I currently have a 1-ton bin made of wood in my basement that loves to attract mice. If i get rid of this bin and use 55-gal drums, im wondering if i can simply open this valve on the IBC to fill the drums in the basement without using a vacuum. I would have to use a vacuum to empty my truck, so regardless i would have the corn vac system.

Sorry I didn't see this sooner. No the side ball valve on the IBC tote will not allow much for flow of corn or even pellets. You need the weight of the corn or pellets and gravity to get them out of the IbC totes. Or, like I do, vacuum them out of the top into 55 gallon drums.

 

[sdimmick3]

Sorry I didn't see this sooner. No the side ball valve on the IBC tote will not allow much for flow of corn or even pellets. You need the weight of the corn or pellets and gravity to get them out of the IbC totes. Or, like I do, vacuum them out of the top into 55 gallon drums.

Im thinking of vacuuming them out of the valve into 55 gallon drums that are air tight. The totes will be inside my 1st floor garage and i will run a connection thru my basement access in the garage and hopefully suck them out of the valve into the drums. Should work if everything is air tight. Now, what do i need to ground? I saw a post earlier, but was a little confused what to do there with the grounding.

 

[FirepotPete]

Im thinking of vacuuming them out of the valve into 55 gallon drums that are air tight. The totes will be inside my 1st floor garage and i will run a connection thru my basement access in the garage and hopefully suck them out of the valve into the drums. Should work if everything is air tight. Now, what do i need to ground? I saw a post earlier, but was a little confused what to do there with the grounding.

The problem with vacuuming out of the bottom valve is getting that valve closed completely once you finish filling a barrel. While there isn't enough flow to make it worth trying to get the pellets/corn out by just opening it, by opening it you will no doubt have problems getting it closed again.

Just vacuum from the top, your vertical lift from either going from the bottom of the IBC and then UP to the 55 gallon drum, or from the top of the IBC tote to the top of the 55 gallon drum is minimal.

Grounding. I have a separate ground rod driven outside my garage. From there I have a solid 10AWG wire running to a neutral/ground bar. It's the type of ground bar that you can buy for a few buck to add to a service panel. It will have several screw type connection points on it. One is used for the main connection to the ground bar (or what ever you decide to ground to) and the rest of the screw connections can be used to connect separate wires that run to other parts of the vacuum system.

I have one wire off the ground bar running to the head of the corn vac, one running to the 55 gallon drum, one that is stripped and runs from one IBC tote around the aluminum supports and then to the other IBC tote to the supports. Another runs down the entire wand that I use to suck up the corn.

On the wand I have a clip on the end that goes to the head of the corn vac. The wire runs down to the end of the wand and I just use electrical tape to hold the stripped wire that goes to the end of the wand.

Then I have another ground wire with a clip that I attach to the 55 gallon barrel, in the barrel I have a stripped wire that goes to the bottom and has a lot of extra wire so that when the barrel fills it can stay near the bottom. The top of that wire comes out the top and is wrapped several times around the metal band that seals the lid to the barrel. I just use the clipped end to connect to the barrel wire when I am filling the barrel. Otherwise it is not connected.

 

[sdimmick3]

I assume your truck load is near a ton of corn....about how long does it take to vacuum out that truck?

Thanks for all your help and knowledge

 

[FirepotPete]

I assume your truck load is near a ton of corn....about how long does it take to vacuum out that truck?

Thanks for all your help and knowledge

I get around 2600#'s in the bed of the truck.

Using a 16 gallon, 6.25hp shop vac it takes about four hours, that's if I don't take beer and pee breaks!

The first couple of years I had PVC pipe extended out of the garage to the truck. Try and keep it as short as possible. I now just move out the tote nearest the door and back in the garage and fill the other tote with a short hose and then move the other back in the garage. Made a huge difference eliminating 10' of PVC pipe in how it would pull and clean.

I also use just a bag in the vacuum and empty it every 4-5 times the secondary 25 gallon tank is filled. The bag really doesn't get that full but it seems to plug up and slow down the flow and put more work on the vac motor.

I tried using just a HEPA filter but that plugs up real fast so just go with a bag. If you are careful with the bag it will usually last at least one season.

Also don't repeat a mistake I made the first year. I was always careful to sweep up and make sure the totes were sealed against mice. I forgot about the vac itself and one crawled in and totally ruined a HEPA filter and bag. I now make sure that the hose end is sealed. Also if using a secondary tank (like the one for a corn vac system) make sure to seal the top off, you will get mice and moths in it and the moths will make their way into your house. This is if you are using corn of course. Not sure if the pellets would attract any of the above mentioned critters but better safe than sorry.