» Making Your Own Pellets

I'm new to pellet making

(39 posts)
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  1. Gburg
    Member

    I have been watching this site for several months.It has provided very good information for us begining folks, keep up the good work! I'm from pa. near Gettysburg. I was wondering if anyone was up grading from a small pellet mill.I want to start small and work my way up to a larger mill in time. I have a 35 and a 100 hp farm tractors. So i really don't have to have a motor at this time. I have access to a farm grinder/mixer[hammer mill]. I can get plenty of sawdust and hay, corn stalks.Thanks for any help you can provide.

    Posted 1 year ago #

  2. sxviper04
    Member

    i would contact admin to see if he has any machines available.

    Posted 1 year ago #

  3. MO pellets
    Member

    Gburg: Did you contact the admin. I have a small mill,and I'm trying to make oak pellets, and I have found this mill is to small. The mill I have will make softwood, feed,grass,hay pellets, but is not the mill for hardwoods.you can email me at jgrissom1301@fairpoint.net

    Posted 1 year ago #

  4. mechanic
    Member

    Hey all

    I'm from Nova Scotia and was wondering if anyone would be interested in sparing some time to actually "Show" me how to make the best pellets. I just purchased a 22Hp pellet mill and now need to know how exactly to run it for best performance. I was hoping to bolt the machine onto a trailer and then do a road trip to where ever for a weekend and learn all of the bitter details.

    Things like Machine prep, saw dust recipes and maintenance are on the top of the list. I'd rather learn first hand. As is I spent hours trying to crank the machine to get it going and it took forever. I find the forums are great but what I'm really learning is just how much I don't know.

    As is I believe in learning from experience but would rather learn from someone else's experiences rather than wasting time on my own :)

    thanks and let me know ...

    Posted 1 year ago #

  5. tjnamtiw
    Member

    I've also been a 'lurker' for a while now and have been contemplating buying the same 22 hp mill and 22 hp hammer mill. However, I haven't taken the plunge yet because of the HUGE learning curve that is apparently needed to make passable pellets. It also seems like even in the best of situations, people only get acceptable performance for at most an hour or two. Moisture content seems to be a major factor that we hobbyists don't really have a means of control as larger scale producers have.
    Being a retired engineer, I wonder if anyone has chamfered the inlet side of the holes in the die. I read of so many instances where the pellets plug the holes or come out soft or even as dust. With the chamfering, a larger surface area would be presented to the rollers, which would result in a larger FORCE thereby compressing the pellets better and forcing them through the holes. I think that would be one of the first 'mods' I would try.
    Thanks to everyone for being here and doing the 'leg work' for we late comers.

    Posted 1 year ago #

  6. admin
    Key Master

    Many of you have been very grateful for the information provided by this forum and have told me so. I appreciate the kind words.

    To help with the costs of the website and forum I ask that you click on a sponsor at the bottom of any of the pages either here in the forum or on the website itself. Each click provides about $.04-$.06 towards defraying my costs, and helps keep the forum going.

    So if you have benefitted by reading any of the information contained here, don't send your money, just CLICK!

    Posted 1 year ago #

  7. tjnamtiw
    Member

    Hi Admin,
    So I'm not totally off the wall on the chamfer idea!!! It's good to hear it works. I can see that too big a chamfer would create so much force that it would just push the pellets right through if the bores were too slick. It would be a delicate balance, for sure. Maybe a bigger chamfer with radial grooves in the holes to hold the pellet back a little would be worth a try. Anything to take the variability out of the equation. Thanks for the invite to ask more questions too.

    Posted 1 year ago #

  8. mechanic
    Member

    Yeah you definitely want the electric start the crank on the 22 is a bugger. Anyone know of a way to jury rig an electric start on it :)

    Also I'm all for signing up for a seminar if any one wants to put one on. It would be well worth I think :)

    Posted 1 year ago #

  9. mechanic
    Member

    OR does anyone have any tips on starting the crank one...

    Posted 1 year ago #

  10. sxviper04
    Member

    mechanic, how far are you from bangor? i would be glad to teach you the ropes if you want to do some weekend.

    Posted 1 year ago #

  11. mvukovich
    Member

    I sold my 15hp diesel and purchase a 16hp gasoline engine and a PTO. I gave up on starting that diesel with a crank.

    Posted 1 year ago #

  12. tjnamtiw
    Member

    Hi Mark,
    Could you email me at tom@pensandcalls? I have some off topic questions for you. I'd appreciate a few minutes of your time.

    Tom

    Posted 1 year ago #

  13. mvukovich
    Member

    I try your email, it didn't work. Here is mine mvukovich@centurytel.net

    Posted 1 year ago #

  14. mechanic
    Member

    hey sxviper,

    I'm about 8 or 9 hours from Bangor so not so bad... a fun road trip :) I would certainly appreciate some training for sure. If we could try later in the spring that would be great. I could leave some Friday afternoon and meet you in Bangor on a Saturday morning sometime. Don't suppose you have any hints on starting a 22 HP crank? :)

    thanks

    Posted 1 year ago #

  15. tjnamtiw
    Member

    Isn't the 22 hp advertised as electric start????

    Posted 1 year ago #

  16. admin
    Key Master

    He purchased it elsewhere

    Posted 1 year ago #

  17. David
    Member

    Good Morning,

    I have become a new member to the Make Your Own Pellets Forum. I can’t tell you how thankful I am that I found this site. We have been trying, unsuccessfully, to make pellets from kiln dried hardwood and have become increasing frustrated with the process. I wonder if you could provide some feedback that may help us out?

    I purchased a 10 hp pellet mill a couple months back and just now started the process. The problems we have been encountering have a common theme with most that I have read. I have not polished or reamed the die…didn’t realize this was necessary. I purchased a moisture meter and wet the dust to 12 to 15 m/c. We tried using flour as a binder, however, that didn’t seem to work so well…seems we are getting a caking effect between the die and roller and then the die plugs up and everything stops. I read on the forum that there is a pellet binder available. Would you recommend this versus flour? When you first start your mill what is the process to heat the die? Do you simply let it run without any dust or do you cover the roller with a mixture and let it run for 5 or 10 minutes?

    I would greatly appreciate any help you could provide.

    Best regards,

    Posted 1 year ago #

  18. admin
    Key Master

    Welcome David- Ream the die first off, using either .239 or .240 Then I do recommend pellet binder when pelleting sawdust, nothing is better. What is the model number of the machine I need to know the diameter of the die.
    admin

    Posted 1 year ago #

  19. sxviper04
    Member

    i received an email from david. will call him in the morning and talk shop

    Posted 1 year ago #

  20. wire guy
    Member

    Hello Everyone,

    My name is Frank, and I am from Connecticut. I inhereited an mill from my father. I do not know from who he puchased it. It says 230A on the mill and what apears to be a 22hp diesel for an engine.

    I have read all the posts on this awesome website. I purchased the binder from here, and I also purchased the reamers.

    How do I know which way to put the flat die back in? top/ bottom?

    Thank in Advance
    Frank

    Posted 1 year ago #

  21. admin
    Key Master

    Hi Frank, the die has chamfers on the topside.(looks like a bevel around the hole).You'll see the difference if you look closely at both sides. Make sure you use plenty of machine oil and the slowest rpm's on your drill press when reaming. This will help keep the the carbide reamer cooler with less chance of breakage.

    Posted 1 year ago #

  22. wire guy
    Member

    Thanks for the quick response.

    On one side of the die, the chamfer is wide but not too deep. On the other side the chamfer is not as wide, but it is quite a bit deeper. Any thoughts?

    Frank

    Posted 1 year ago #

  23. admin
    Key Master

    I wonder if your Dad tried to put his own chamfers in? Anyway, I would use the side with the narrow chamfers that are deeper as the top of the die.

    Posted 1 year ago #

  24. carter
    Member

    Hi all,

    Does anyone know of a small-scale pellet making machine that can be operated with a hand crank or human power?

    Would this be possible?

    Thanks!

    Posted 1 year ago #

  25. admin
    Key Master

    That would be something new for me. I hadn't heard of it so far.

    Posted 1 year ago #

  26. tjnamtiw
    Member

    I can't imagine cranking that thing hard enough and long enough to get it hot enough to work. Maybe Hulk Hogan.

    Posted 1 year ago #

  27. sharon
    Member

    I have added a post to the binders page but like David (see above) we are stuck and really need action in the pellet making dept as it is now winter in New Zealand.
    We have NO idea how to make pellets.
    When we imported the machine we thought...machine + sawdust = pellets! So naive we now realise and are very pleased to find this site.
    Everyone sounds so helpful and knowledgeable.
    Please can we get the instructions step by step.
    Our machine is a 9pk 400. It came with an electric motor but due to excessive costs with running three phase power here we had a new petrol motor fitted.
    So all the money has gone into the machine, but it won't keep us warm.
    Many thanks, hope for some help soon.
    Cheers, Sharon. New Zealand.

    Posted 1 year ago #

  28. Nector33
    Member

    Hi all

    We just bought a Pellet Pro's Model PP600 and we figured out how to make nice wood pellets but the output isnt enought (on the site it says 350-600 Lbs/H but we get 40-80 Lbs/H) . We are now looking at a bigger mill like the Model BF-350 and I was wondering if it's output was trully 1200Lbs/h?

    I'm also looking for a conveyor/dryer two in one like on this video :

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQPbGXfj4wo

    Can someone tell me where/what company sell those. Thank you

    Nicolas

    Posted 1 year ago #

  29. admin
    Key Master

    nector33
    One thing you'll find out about Pellet Pros is that they inflate the production capacity of their mills. That's because Pellet Pros uses DDG in making pellets. That is a soft biomass that runs easily through a pellet mill but is not a wood pellet. The videos look like the machine is just spitt'in out the pellets, but remember, pellets made with DDG (dried distillers grain)are not wood pellets. They contain as much as 30% DDG. Who knows how much DDG the videos have. They are not good to burn and leave a high amount of clinkers. Most people are not aware of this, which makes the videos deceptive. The same mill we quote at 100-150lbs/hr. for a 15hp diesel because is is using pure sawdust and no DDG. What is the motor that you have?

    Posted 1 year ago #

  30. Nector33
    Member

    Admin

    Thank you for the answer. Anyway concerning my pellet pro machine I don't intend to use it anymore because I'm looking for a machine whit a bigger output.

    Nector33

    Posted 1 year ago #

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