Pellets - Fuel and feed

[OldMcDonald]

I noticed an advert on this site for a company that makes pellet presses. They are expensive, although a single press could be used for both wood burners and making animal feed pellets from farm-grown ingredients. They are also used to make fish food pellets - used as ground bait by some fishermen.

Has anyone made a press?

 

[Donman]

I am looking at them too. They look simple enough but I think that is deceiving. The rollers and dies need to be really hard to take the abuse.
They do make pto models that would save buying the extra power source.

 

[Interlaux]

Have not made one but did quite a bit of research. One of the larger in terms of published capacity USA commercial wood pellet plants is close to my house but business is not too good - process is a little expensive - dies,pressure exacting humidity control,binding are some of the more important issues.
What is common for wood fuel is shavings - that is what bio-fuel plants use.

Now if you were making a press to make fish food
Just advertise to buy someones failed-to-work-out wood fuel pellet machine and you might get one cheap.really cheap

 

[D33r3 6r33N]

I am looking at them too. They look simple enough but I think that is deceiving.

That's exactly what I thought too, then I thought she would divorce me if I purchased something that expensive and it didn't work. it's coming next week. (kidding)

I looked around on the internet and it seem like you really have to know what you are doing to produce a half way decent pellet.

If anyone makes their own I'd like to hear about it.

 

[Craig Clayton]

I am also thinking in that direction. I am thinking of buy a pellet stove that is a multi fuel which means it will burn any kind or grade of pellet. Instead of making pellets I am thinking of processing them through my chipper shredder and sieve for grade size. Then take that and cut it with 50/50 graded pellets.
Craig Clayton

 

[OldMcDonald]

I would only use it for animal feed pellets. Chainsaw and block splitter are used for firewood. I had reckoned somebody might have tried to make a wood chip one, and I wanted to pick ideas from that.

 

[easygo]

I have given this more then a passing thought but the proper sized raw material is hard to come by then I thought. It takes some pretty fine saw dust and particular humidity level and a few other things. Then later at a fair I saw a semi truck unload a big mound of sawdust for animal bedding. I asked what that load cost and the guy said around $3000. That was the point when I gave up on the idea.

 

[OldMcDonald]

easygo, The difference is that I have everything I need to make the pellets, including the olives for moisturising the mix. I only need to be able to build the pelleter at a reasonable cost.

 

[easygo]

I think it is worth a shot if you have the raw materials. Now that I think about it that truck load of saw dust must have been at least 15-20 tons (just a guess may be more) of material and that would be four or five years worth of wood pellets for someone burning 3-4 tons per year. One ton of pellets around here costs between $210-270 depending on brand and quality.

 

[204saskman]

i looked at the mills out there but to much money to justify it. I ended up with a grain burning stove. Costs me under 500 winter to heat. By the time i buy the mill/press and material and storage, it wasnt worth looking at anymore. Lots of guys look but its not worth it in the end.