We want to see your stacking and storing techniques! Send us a picture of your pellet and/or wood bricks supply to enter the 2017 “How Do You Stack Up?” Photo Contest! There are two different ways to enter for the chance to WIN!
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It’s getting to be that time again. You need to start making room for your pallets of wood pellets that you’ll be using soon. We’ve shown you how to stack a few tons in a small space, but what if you need more room? Here are some handy organization tips from the experts at Houzz:
It’s easy to become overwhelmed on projects like this when you jump in with no plan. It’s best to start with some rough guidelines and goals.
Unfortunately, there isn’t always a bunch of extra space available to keep your wood pellets stored safely, and out of the way. Of course, it’d be best for your wood pellets to be stored inside, but there isn’t always room for that! Unwrapping the shroud and re-stacking all the bags is a great solution to only having small spaces available. Take a look at how some of our customers stack their pellets indoors, here. Read how we stacked 50 pellet bags in a very tight space, here. Your pellets can also be stored outside successfully, if you take a couple of extra steps.
If you’re having wood pellets delivered to your home for the first time, or are storing them in a new location, it’s a good idea to measure out the space first in order to know what you can fit. First, let’s start with dimensions, so you’ll be able to plan your spaces effectively.
Have you read our post about how to repurpose empty wood pellet bags? What about our tutorials on how to make a water blob, or a kite, or DIY treat bags from empty bags? Here’s a new one for you – a pallet tarp! We’ve created a step by step guide on how to use your leftover bags to make an extra layer of protection for your pellets, that fits over a skid of 50 bags nicely.
What You’ll Need:
(click to enlarge)
Dimensions of Wood Pellet Bags and Pallets
A skid, a pallet of stacked wood pellet bags, is 48 by 40 inches. A 1-ton skid of fifty 40-pound bags is about four feet tall, and a 1.5-ton skid of 75 bags is about six feet tall.
You might have enough space available to keep the pellet bags on the pallet just as they were delivered. If you only have a smaller space available, or the 48×40 inch dimensions are inconvenient to you – re-stacking the wood pellet bags by hand is your best bet to maximize limited space.
The approximate length, width and height of a standard 40 pound bag of pellets placed horizontally on the floor is 27 x 18 x 5 inches. These measurements can adjust a bit with some maneuvering of the pellets within the bag.
In a perfect world, you would have big open space indoors to store your wood pellets. Of course, that extra space isn’t always available – especially if you have several pallets of fuel to store.
If you don’t have room to store your wood pellets in the garage or basement, the next best thing is a shed or shelter in a raised, dry place.
If you have to store your wood pellets outside, you’ll need to fully
inspect the outer plastic that has been wrapped around your fuel, when it arrives. Check for any rips or holes where moisture can seep in. Make sure to repair any damage with water proof tape or additional layers of plastic. Read more
In May, Woodpellets.com offered a free summer storage promotion that was wildly popular among our customers. The buy now – take delivery later option was perfect for those who wanted to take care of ordering their fuel early, but didn’t want to give up precious space over the summer for storage.
We received so many requests in June to bring this offer back – we decided to do it! For a limited time only, you can order your wood pellets or wood bricks now, and not have to worry about taking delivery until between August 15th and September 15th!
Why is this offer so popular?
Don’t wait too long – you have to order your wood pellets online or by phone before Friday, July 17th to get free storage!
Storing Wood Pellets Outside
It’s not always possible to store your wood pellets inside. If you don’t have room to store your pellets in the garage or basement, the next best thing is a shed or shelter in a raised, dry place. If you can only store pellets outside – you can do that too. You just have a few extra steps to take, starting with inspecting your fuel when it arrives.
Your fuel is carefully wrapped and protected with a plastic shroud before it’s sent out for delivery. Upon inspection, repair any rips or holes in the plastic shrouding with water-proof tape or additional layers of plastic.
Next, add a a securely fastened tarp over your fuel, to protect it from water and from any birds or small animals that may try to puncture the plastic to make a home. Empty milk jugs filled with sand or water tied to the edge of the tarp is a great way to prevent it from flying up!
There are 50 bags on each one ton pallet, which stands about four feet tall. If you bought 1.5-ton pallets, there are 75 bags stacked about six feet tall. The wooden pallets the fuel is stacked and wrapped on top of are 40 by 48 inches. Make sure your tarp is large enough to cover your pallets entirely.
>> Make your own tarp out of empty wood pellet bags! Follow the directions on our
DIY pellet bag water blob article, and just make it into a square or rectangle instead of a pouch.
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Wood pellets are made of super condensed fine wood particles, held together only by natural sap within the original wood fiber. If you’re curious about the wood pellet creation process, check out our post about
how wood pellets are made. Premium wood pellets burn so hot and so easily because of their very low moisture content. Unfortunately, these little heat powerhouses are unable to withstand direct contact with water. The time lapse video below will show exactly what happens when pellets become wet.
As you can see, the water expands the pellets and breaks them down into their original state of sawdust. If pellets have expanded after moisture contact, they are not usable in your pellet stove. (On the bright side – expanded wood pellets make for great natural horse bedding and kitty litter!)
WoodPellets.com