Stocking up on corn or wood pellets to get you through the cold months is wonderful, especially if you can buy in bulk or find a great deal. Flexibility and savings are two of your biggest benefits with a multi-fuel burning pellet stoves. When you stock up, you insure that you have fuel readily available without buying and hauling repeatedly when the weather is cold and miserable.
So if you buy a bunch of fuel at once, you may be wondering what your options are for storing pellet stove fuel and need some advice to insure your investment doesn’t lose its value.
Tips for Storing Pellet Stove Pellets, Corn, and Other Fuels
- Check that your stove (mainly for those planning to purchase a pellet stove soon) can burn the fuels you plan to buy. Not all pellet stoves burn corn, etc.
- Only buy quality, clean, dry, hard wood pellets.
- Always use a reputable supplier. Fuel resellers that specialize in selecting and properly storing fuel are your best bet. You want to make sure the fuel you buy was stored properly before you get it to store for the winter.
- When buying corn, make sure it is clean and dried down below 15 percent moisture. Low moisture is important for a good, efficient burn in the stove and to prevent spoilage.
- Try to only purchase enough fuel for the winter so nothing is left over to spoil in the summer high humidity months. You should not keep any pellet stove fuels over the summer.
- Keep track of your fuel usage so you have an educated guess next season how much to buy, if you want to buy in bulk.
- Take bad fuel back.
- Storing in sealed containers and/or climate controlled areas are best. Winter is dry, so the weather helps. Never store outside, in the elements, or where it can pick up moisture.
- Take precaution to store where rodents or miscellaneous debris could find its way into the fuel and later into your stove/auger. Use pallets or other means to keep it off the ground.
If you still have questions about storing pellet stove pellets, buying a pellet stove, or switching to renewable heat source for your home, contact our heating specialists.
Had 1/2 a ton of pellets left over from last winter. Stored them in garage. Pellets full in the hopper as well. No one told me. This year having terrible time . Stove won’t start. Figured out had to open the slide to make the intake hole bigger thinking maybe pellets swelled, ate bigger from humidity this summer and won’t fit thru auger. It worked. Is this what happened? Pellets wouldn’t fit thru auger? ?
The manual goes through information on not using fuel from one year to the other. I think the best thing for you is to discard your old fuel, clean out the auger and hopper system and start with good fuel again. You can maybe sell the old pellets to a farmer for bedding.