Why sift the pellets?

[Lance1]

I keep reading about sifting the fines from the pellets. Can someone tell me why this is done?

 

[kast]

Causes problems with some stoves I guess , I only sift the bottom of my pellet barrel before pour in another bag; haven’t had any issues so far.

 

[alexdrozd]

Gives you something to do with all your free time now that you are out of work.

 

[JBlank912]

The fines in the bottom of the bag jam my augur. So I shake the bag to get the fines to the bottom and hold back the last 1-2 pounds per bag, Then once a week or so I sift those to get the fines out so I can use them. I do it while watching TV and my stove keeping me warm. I actually find it relaxing, kind of like playing in the sand when I was a kid.

 

[control1]

Some kids may have allergies and this probably helps.When one pours unsifted pellets into the hopper it does throw some wood dust in the air

 

[kast]

I pour mine in an ash bucket with a lid, and then shake it lightly to get most fines to settle at the bottom. Then when I reach the bottom and need a refill, I sift the last pound before adding more pellets, takes two minutes.

 

[pelletizer]

So you don't dump a chunk of plastic like I sifted out last night in your stove.

 

[Richardin52]

I have found the best way to sift my pellets is to dump the whole thing into the stove and let it burn the fines out of the pellets. Works great and you get some heat out of them too.

Really though my Castile has no problems with fines at all.

What stoves are having problems with fines out there?

 

[swalz]

I only sift the Greenway pellets I have, the HardWood Heat from TSC has very little fins in it. The Greenway pellets make my auger moan if I don't sift them. They have a lot of fins in them about a coffee cans worth, I still have around forty bags of them to burn.

 

[kast]

Yeah the LG's have a lot of fines

 

[sydney1963]

I used to sift my pellets until someone on here said their stove eats em right up. They happened to have the same stove as me so I stopped sifting. I know others have stated that the fines clog their augers.

 

[Lance1]

I have found the best way to sift my pellets is to dump the whole thing into the stove and let it burn the fines out of the pellets.

This is the way I do it too I was just wondering why people are sifting, sounds like allot of work.

I have the Beckwell P23, at my guess is 10 years old (I've had it for 3 years, came with the house) and I've had no problems.

I use bagged pellets, some have allot of fines (a cup?) and others don't.

 

[homebrewz]

I also have a 10 year old Breckwell P-23 and I don't sift the fines. I do vacuum out the auger periodically, but it doesn't
seem to really affect it in any way. I also try to minimize how much I move the pellet bags around to prevent creating
more fines than there already are.

 

[Lance1]

Hey, small world on the P23. How do you vacuum the auger, though the drop shoot?

 

[homebrewz]

Hey, small world on the P23. How do you vacuum the auger, though the drop shoot?

I let it run out of pellets, and then vacuum out the top of the auger from the bottom of the pellet bin, and
also from the drop chute. I also lubricate the auger and the fans before starting it up for the season, aside
from all of the other typical maintenance.