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  » Making Your Own Pellets

1. 

   admin
   Key Master

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   Posted 2 years ago #
2. 

   guastini
   Member

   i have wanted to produce my own pellets for years. I am especially interested in junk mail to pellets and well as other biowaste. Looking for affordable pellet making ideas

   Posted 2 years ago #
3. 

   sxviper04
   Member

   scotplod, you probly are scratching your head ,tried everything you can possibly think of, and think about it every awake hour aren't you? I went through the same thing. Hang in there it is worth it. what I have learned is to mix 10 pounds of flour and some vegetable oil. then mix in 3-4 pounds of a fine silica sand, not play sand. regular sand does not have a cutting edge to it. Run this throughuntil the ports become shiny looking (no black coating). If you look close with a light, you will see small ridges from the drilling process for manufacturing. these are what you want to remove. HANG IN there though. I am now producing hardwood pellets that look as good as store bought.also be sure to grease the two rollers.I learned the hard way! should be 2 flush mount type grease fittings at both ends of the shaft.Good luck! where are you located? please post how you make out

   Posted 2 years ago #
4. 

   geopell
   Member

   I did the conditioning with the flour and the oil and the sand. Ran it threw 5 times, it made some great pellets. Then I put in the oak sawdust and some oak small shavings and it it just stuck there. I put more pressure on the the rollers and some pellets came out, not many. Some were also burnt looking. Tried to add some water figuring the dust was to dry it did not help. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

   Posted 2 years ago #
5. 

   sxviper04
   Member

   Is the material kiln dried? What are you using for a binder? Sounds like your mix is too dry. The burn look is from the pellets staying in the die to long then being pushed out. Try mixing so your material has a damp feel. Should push this through rapidly. Pellets will be damp and poor looking, but will give you an idea of the problem. If this works, you can then run them through again slowly to remove more moisture. Hope this helps. Post you results please. Good Luck!

   Posted 2 years ago #
6. 

   geopell
   Member

   Thanks for the reply. After I sent the post I got the die nice and warm and made a wetter batch and it went right threw the mill. The pellets were wet but I didn't send them threw again. In that batch I added some pellet binder also, not much. How much pressure do you put on the die? The wood is kiln dried from a cabinet shop. Do you have a way to tell the moisture in the wood? Thanks again

   Posted 2 years ago #
7. 

   sxviper04
   Member

   I run the rollers down till there is minimal pressure to start. If rollers stop turning because of build up called bridgeing, tighten a little more. The more pressure you crank down on the rollers, the more drag you put on the die and motor bog. will eventuall come back to bite you. As far as moisture, I've been mixing by feel but all depends on humidity. Not the right way but it works. I've been looking around for a good tester and found a 40 grain tester at www.gemplers.com that I'm told works very well but a cost of $255.00 . Alot of cheaper testers out there but you get what you pay for. Don't forget to grease bearings daily. good luck

   Posted 2 years ago #
8. 

   geopell
   Member

   I started to make a batch of oak dust and had the pressure on the dies right. Some pellets came out slowly then the material in the machine just keep on churning in the hopper and no more pellets came out. Increased the pressure a little but did not help. It turned the oak dust and shavings into a talcum powder substance. When I stopped the machine and took out the die thinking it was clogged the pellets almost fell out of the die. The roller slots are packed solid with the wood material so it made the roller very smooth. Is this normal and if not why is this happening.

   Posted 2 years ago #
9. 

   sxviper04
   Member

   geopell, email me at rcm2007@hughes.net with a phone number and best time to contact you. I'm a slow typer

   Posted 2 years ago #
10. 

    Jide
    R & D

    Have same problem as geopell is having.Ecept my die plugs up solid and have to drill out.Have no problem making paper pellets.Any one have any clues?

    Posted 2 years ago #
11. 

    sxviper04
    Member

    have you conditioned the die, are you using a binder, and how is the moisture?

    Posted 2 years ago #
12. 

    sxviper04
    Member

    geopell, how are you making out since we talked last?

    Posted 2 years ago #
13. 

    geopell
    Member

    swiper04 I cleaned the die real good with the dremel and polished it with a small rod and very fine emery cloth. Haven't tried it yet, will let you know.

    Posted 2 years ago #
14. 

    sxviper04
    Member

    what are you using as a binder?

    Posted 2 years ago #
15. 

    Jide
    R & D

    I use pellet binder from this web site.

    Posted 2 years ago #
16. 

    sxviper04
    Member

    how full is hopper when you feed? if fed too fast pellets dont stay in die long enough to heat fully. try pouring in hopper slowly and consistantly. if it turns to powder mix is too dry, if it runs right through and looks bad mix is too wet. theres a very fine line between what works with moisture levels. you just need to play around and find the sweet spot. I've been through it all, but don't give up. you'll get it. what machine do you have?

    Posted 2 years ago #
17. 

    Jide
    R & D

    I have the ss-200a model.I have made good hard pellets before but now can not repeat process.Even when i make paper pellets a turn off machine then go back to run a repided batch the pellets are stuck in die. I feed mixture into machine slow.

    Posted 2 years ago #
18. 

    sxviper04
    Member

    yours is similar to mine. are you warming the dies first? if you want email me with your # and i'll call you (Posted above)

    Posted 2 years ago #
19. 

    sxviper04
    Member

    how is everyone making out. been awfully quiet on here. is that a good sign.

    Posted 2 years ago #
20. 

    admin
    Key Master

    Hey sxviper04! Sent along some sawdust to you from Jide. I here he's got quite a setup rigged up. Hopefully he'll be sending along some pics soon. Let me know how you make out with his dust. You'll find some larger chunks in it, but he says he takes them out. He's got a 4mm die in his SS-200A. A 6mm is on the way. I think that will solve alot of his problem.

    Let us know how his dust works for you.

    Brian

    Posted 2 years ago #
21. 

    sxviper04
    Member

    ok, will be waiting for it's arrival. I would also be interested in seeing jides setup. we can learn alot from each other. even the simplest thing could make a big difference.

    Posted 2 years ago #
22. 

    geopell
    Member

    Good Morning all, I have been working with sxviper04 and found something interesting. If your die gets stuck with dust have your mixture of flour used to condition the die and send that in with the dust. It actually pushes out the stuck pellets. FYI

    Posted 2 years ago #
23. 

    Jide
    R & D

    Hi everyone been out of town the last week have not had time to play with machine.Made about two hundred pounds of paper pellets yesterday.Worked real well then went back to try to make hardwood pellets again same thing happens.Took geopells advice and tried the flour and sand mixture and run it through to unplug die sorry did not work for me. had hi hopes,back to the drawing board.

    Posted 2 years ago #
24. 

    sxviper04
    Member

    jide, you don't want to use the flour/sand mixture for this procedure. that mixture is only for breaking in the die. use just a flour/oil mixture. as mixture becomes powdery just add more oil. can use cooking oil or used motor oil works well also.i use this everytime to warm the die on start up for 3-4 minutes and then when i am all done making pellets. you'll have about a 2 hour window that you can let the die stay full with pellets but make sure to run before letting sit overnight or you'll get more quality time with a punch and a hammer. i am curious though why yours wouldn't push out. the flour/oil should be making it's own pellets. also a thing for all that i have noticed with mine is that if i run for a long time, if i seem to need more pressure on rollers, i tighten down a little more but with little effect. the mix seems to turn to powder like it is too dry. what is happening i found is that mix gets under the ends of the roller shaft and starts to harden causing the pressure adjustment screws to do nothing. just something to check. good luck to all

    Posted 2 years ago #
25. 

    Jide
    R & D

    Yes i have found that when you run for awhile the same thing happens you get build up under the shaft.When i get every thing right I will fix that promblem.So you run flour mixture through dies when done running pellets for the day.I was not doing this,this is why when I go back the next day the pellets are stuck in the holes.I will try this.Had any luck with the oak saw dust i sent.Going on vac for the next 5 days talk to you when I get back.

    Posted 2 years ago #
26. 

    admin
    Key Master

    I have to say that I haven't done that, but I haven't had any issues with a clogged die the day after either. Seems that I can leave it overnight and have no problem the next day. (maybe I just cursed the Gods),I'm not running oak though. Just the same it's great info sxviper04! Thanks!

    Posted 2 years ago #
27. 

    sxviper04
    Member

    Glad to be of service. my pain is your gain! still waiting on jides material. will try as soon as it arrives and post results. have been doing a little with cedar. with no binder, it makes a hard, smooth pellet. but need to experement a little more though. moisture needs to be exact with it it seems.

    Posted 2 years ago #
28. 

    admin
    Key Master

    I sent that Friday or Saturday last week priority Mail, it should be there by now. Hopefully today.

    Posted 2 years ago #
29. 

    sxviper04
    Member

    picked up jides material this morning. my mistake. forgot to tell you i have a po box. thought you were sending ups or fed ex. that ok though. opened to find larger pieces in with sawdust so i screened it through 1/4" screen (farm or hardwarestores stock it). then i put in cement mixer and added about 3 tbspoons of pellet bond and let mix for a couple minutes. then i added 1 cup of water and let mix while i warmed up machine. began adding material and soon found the problem. as die warms more went from wet to dry. started turning to powder from rollers tearing at it. added a little water to dust in hopper and pushed through fine. made good pellet but were a little brittle. that told me the story there. i added 1/2 a cup more water to mix and fed it in. made a nice hard and shiny pellet. material works well but like i've said before the moisture is very touchy. i also think it probably worked better because i have a 6mm die. admin said your getting a 6mm? where is this wood from. if you send me your email i can take a picture and send to you. hope this makes you happy. glad to help

    Posted 2 years ago #
30. 

    admin
    Key Master

    sxviper04, I sent along 5lbs of his sawdust, so just to clarify... did you add 3tbspoons of Pellet Bond to the whole 5lbs?

    Posted 2 years ago #

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