Horse bedding is used in stalls to absorb urine and moisture, and is a necessary part of properly maintaining clean stalls. Ideal bedding material makes cleaning up messes easy, is easy to store, and is the least wasteful.
Straw and wood shavings are commonly used, but using softwood wood pellets as horse bedding is becoming popular among experienced horse and stable owners.
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Did you ever see our post on how to reuse empty wood pellet bags? Well here’s a brand new DIY project, just in time for the kids being home all week for Spring break. It’s also just in time for warmer weather coming our way!
This post will show you the simple steps on how to make a kite out of an empty wood pellet bag.
What You’ll Need:
-1 Empty Wood Pellet Bag
-2 Sticks or Bamboo Skewers
-Scissors
-Twine, String or Cording
-Markers, Stickers, Embellishments
The entire project, not including decorating the kite, should take less than thirty minutes. Be sure that any kid helpers are always supervised by an adult, because this DIY involves plastic bags and scissors.
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You probably know all the wonderful aspects of burning wood pellets for heat. However, did you know that you can grill, smoke and bake your food with a special wood pellet appliance? Wood pellet grills were first introduced over 20 years ago by Traeger Pellet Grills, and several companies have generated their own versions since.
When it comes to BBQing, people are usually pretty particular about their methods. In the last few years, wood pellet grills have been gaining a very loyal following due to quick heat-up time, evenly dispersed heat, and a distinctive smoky flavor addition. You do need an electricity source to plug it in – but no need for lighters, gas or any fluids.
Spring is generally a pretty good time to purchase your pellet fuel, as many suppliers offer ‘early buy’ sales and promotions. But with the convergence of a few significant influences that we’ve explained below, this spring may offer wood pellet consumers the best buying opportunity in many years.
Coming into this season, we saw a big inventory build across the entire industry, as both suppliers and retailers anticipated another year of very
strong demand for wood pellets. For the last couple of winters, the supply of pellets has just barely kept up with the demand from consumers. Who could forget the pellet shortages in the winter of 2014? Manufacturers ramped up production, and prepared for another harsh winter by building up a giant inventory position.
Pinnacle Renewable Energy created this very informative video to explain the whole process of how wood pellets are made – from beginning to end. Check it out!
Wood pellets begin their journey as tree seedlings. By absorbing nutrients from the soil, and carbon dioxide from the air, along with sunlight and rain, the seedling is eventually nurtured into a full grown tree. Then, it’s harvested for lumber and replaced with a fresh seedling. This renews the process all over again, in a controlled sustainable way.
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Do you hate cleaning your pellet stove? I do. It’s one of those necessary chores of pellet stove ownership that you come to dread. But over the last four years that I have been cleaning my stove, I have managed to reduce the time spent to just 20-30 minutes per month. I have found that the most critical step in cleaning your stove is having the right tools for the job.
1. Although it may seem obvious – a flashlight that you can wear on your head, or clamp to the side of the stove, is a must. Without the proper light, it is impossible to see all nooks and crannies where the ash is hiding. While the headlight allows you to use your hands for other tasks, it throws decent light wherever you turn your head to look.
2. Another must-have tool is a good stiff brush. I use an old nylon 2′ paint brush to sweep the ash from my heat exchanger, and off the walls of the stove itself. Don’t try to use a cheap flimsy brush. You need a sturdy one that can withstand the stress of regular cleaning.
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The ceremonial groundhog in Pennsylvania, Punxsutawney Phil, did not see his shadow this morning. The proclamation from the Groundhog Club leader was, “There is no shadow to be cast! An early spring is my forecast! Take your jackets off, you’re not going to need them!”. However, some analysts and official forecasters had different findings.
According to the Farmers’ Almanac 2015-16 Winter Outlook – February temperatures will drop to bitter cold, and will last well into March. While the Northeast hasn’t had an overly challenging winter so far this season, forecasters warn that it’s coming.
Despite the strong El Nino, many of these areas will still see wintry precipitation — more likely winter wet than winter white — but still winter nonetheless. Though the Spring Equinox will arrive on March 20th, winter weather may hang on for just a bit longer this year, making for a delayed start to spring.
Their predictions for Zone 1 (the Northeast) include significant storms and winter conditions lingering on from February, and through the Easter holiday.
What do you think? Do you stand by Punxsutawney Phil? For the record – USA Today has tracked his “predictions” since 1988, and he has been “right” 13 times and “wrong” 15 times, for an accuracy rate of 46 percent. Sometimes, all you can do is be prepared for as much as you can.
In any case – if you’re running low on wood pellets or wood bricks, give the experts a call at 1-800-PELLETS, or buy online 24/7.
It’s that time of year where the bitter cold can really get the best of many homes. You might be considering some home updates, or feeling a cold draft you can’t locate – and you’ve thought about a professional assessment. Is it worth the cost? Check out this video by the U.S. Department of Energy. It provides some helpful insight into what a home energy audit is all about.
An audit can help you determine how much energy your home uses, where your home is losing energy, and which problem areas and fixes you should prioritize to make your home more efficient and comfortable.
-Energy.gov
No matter how expensive, updated or technologically advanced your heating system is – you could be losing significant amounts of heat through unexpected places in your home. You may be running tests yourself, which is great. But are you as thorough as a professional?
1. Read the manual that came with your stove. According to Jason Tardiff of J&L Chimney Works in NH, this is the number one thing stove technicians wish customers would take seriously. He explains; “Most of the time, the answer to the problem lies in the pages of their owner’s manual.” From proper stove maintenance, to best practices and warranty information – the manual is packed with model-specific information, and it’s very often overlooked.
2. Don’t be so quick to blame the pellets. If your stove isn’t igniting, if you have a weak flame, or your pellets won’t stay lit, the fuel shouldn’t be your first thought. When was the last time you had your stove professionally cleaned? If you do it yourself, are you really getting to all the parts that need attention? Your pellet stove works off of pressurized air which is drawn from the exhaust. Have you cleaned all those passages? Is your exhaust clear of debris? Jason describes his years of discoveries: “The exhaust pulls in anything that’s in the air – so pet hair, dander, dust and lint are constantly sucked in. And as far as the auger goes, items left on the stove can fall and work their way in. I’ve found spoons and G.I Joes crammed in there.”
To summarize – in addition to the general responsible cleaning owners should be doing, a professional cleaning twice a year is definitely a best practice. Think of it like your dental health and your dentist. You clean your own teeth every day, but it’s still good to go to the dentist every six months for professional attention.
>> Read about the most common pellet stove problems
3. Your pellet stove needs a surge protector. You should not be plugging your stove directly into the wall. Furthermore, you need to know the difference between a power strip and an actual surge protector. Most modern pellet stoves have a circuit board that can be damaged without protection from even small electrical surges caused by power outages. Be sure to check your manual for information on electrical recommendations.
4. Don’t burn low quality pellets and expect great results. Check out the specifications on the wood pellets you’re purchasing. Look at the ash content listed, and know that the higher the percentage, the more frequent your cleanings will be. Higher quality pellets will have lower ash percentages, and therefore less maintenance.
On top of research, another great way to choose a fuel is by talking to your fellow pellet-burners to see what they’re using and why. Of course, you won’t know what you like for your home and your budget until you run your own tests. But if you’re buying the cheapest pellets with lower heat and higher ash specifications – you shouldn’t expect the same results as the higher quality options available.
5. Buy low-moisture firewood for your wood stove. Switching gears to wood stoves and fireplaces – the firewood you choose to burn is important. Jason explains, “No noise is good when burning your firewood. The crackling and popping you hear in a campfire is from excess moisture burning off – which you don’t want in your home.”
Too much moisture within wood doesn’t burn as hot, gives off useless steam when burning, and creates dangerous and flammable creosote buildup. A best practice when buying your firewood is to use a moisture meter to find out just how “seasoned” it is before you take it home. Wood burns the best when it’s been split, seasoned for at least 6 months, and is made up of less than 20% moisture.
>> Read about wood bricks – the firewood alternative.
Just like with pellet stoves, your chimney and/or wood stove requires regular maintenance, and should be professionally cleaned at least once a year. Any special “logs” that claim to get rid of your creosote can be used, but should not take the place of a proper, extensive cleaning.
Enter your zip code at Woodpellets.com to see if Cleancare Professional Stove Cleaning is available in your area.
Wood bricks are an excellent alternative, or supplement, to firewood. Much like
how wood pellets are made, wood bricks are manufactured by densely compacting bark-free wood fibers into a uniform shape. But first, the wood fiber is kiln-dried to hold less than 10% moisture. Because of this extremely low moisture rate and absence of bark and insects, the buildup of creosote is significantly lower than standard wood burning.
Wood bricks are most commonly packaged in bundles of 15-20 bricks. Bundles are sold individually and also in bulk, stacked neatly on on a shrink-wrapped wood pallet.
WoodPellets.com