burning biomass pellets in a quadrafire MT vernon AE

[64impala]

Hi -

I currently burning wood pellets in my AE stove, but am considering trying biomass pellet (grass) as an alternative.

I'm not going to get the BTU's out of grass like wood obviously, and probably more ash.

Is there any reason why this wouldn't work? I saw a mention in a different post about updated fuel tables. How do I get those updates? My stove is a 2007 model and I'm sure nothing has been updated since I got it.

Any help is greatly appreciate.

[rona]

Iwould try blending them with regular pellets first. They do make a lot of ash. We tried making them using switch grass and lots of ash and pellets were not stable. There was a pellet business using alfalfa used for livestock feed and they made alfalfa pellets so we had them make pellets out of switch grass. I would consider it a failure that time. Maybe there is a additive that would help firm them up.

[kappel15]

hi 64impala and welcome to the forum. a dealer would have to install the other fuel tables. they are just improved tables of what is already on your stove. but if your stove is running fine, there is no reason for it. grass pellets is not one of the fuel tables on the AE, but you can experiment with them. just make sure you are around for a while when trying them in case of issues. the stove and exhaust path may need more cleaning with these "high" ash content pellets. do you know what number control board you have in your stove? kap
_________________
Quadra Fire
Trained Tech.
Sante Fe
Mt. Vernon AE
kan-burn shur-kleenII kap-kleaner

[64impala]

Hi Kap -

Where would I find the number on the control board? Is that in the stove or on the thermostat?

Rona - When you mean the switch grass pellets weren't stable, do you mean they were crumbly or didn't hold their shape? If that is the case, it is my understanding that if the biomass is too dry, not enough steam is created in the pelletizing process. Without the steam, the lignin (the glue inside the plant material) doesn't get transported through the entire pellet, resulting in a pellet that isn't firm or hold it shape.

[kappel15]

remove left side panel, and you will see the control board, it has a white sticker on it. the number will be on there. srv7000 -
_________________
Quadra Fire
Trained Tech.
Sante Fe
Mt. Vernon AE
kan-burn shur-kleenII kap-kleaner

[tjnamtiw]

You can also buy binder that is mixed in with the biomass when the pellets are processed. These small pelletizers don't get hot enough to release the lignin. In the case of the switchgrass, maybe there isn't enough lignin or they didn't run long enough to get up to temperature.
_________________
Quadra-Fire Castile and Sante Fe inserts

Tom

[kimeric]

64impala, where are ya in WI? and where ya gettin the pellets?

[rona]

[tjnamtiw]

Yea, Ron's right. It would take a group of like-minded 'workers' to pump out the pellets and make it worth while. There's a lot more than just dumping ground up material in the hopper. Sources for the binder can be either from www.makeyourownpellets.com or from the distributor >>> http://www.mataminc.com/woodfuel.php
_________________
Quadra-Fire Castile and Sante Fe inserts

Tom

[kappel15]

if these pellets are falling apart real easy, one thing you would have to worry about is a dropchute fire if enough fines got caught in it.
_________________
Quadra Fire
Trained Tech.
Sante Fe
Mt. Vernon AE
kan-burn shur-kleenII kap-kleaner

[rona]

One other thing to consider .- Dust is highly explosive and all you have to do is read about the grain elevators that blow up plus the different pellet factories that used to be in business but burned down.
There is businesses that grind up scrap wood and make livestock bedding from it. They burn up regularly too. I have friends that make a decent income by picking up scrap wood and grind it for livestock bedding. Our plan was to possibly work with them towards making wood pellets but they made more on selling bedding then what they could get if they sold wood pellets. Their plant was totally destroyed by fire a month ago

[64impala]

[rona]

Not to discourage you but if that one lung diesel comes with a spare repair kit, has a water cooling tank instead of a radiator and is chinese made there is several issues with it.
Look at the one made in the US. Blue and White color but forgot the name right now. Tom could help with that.
Make sure you don't have to stand over it and push the material down the hopper and into the mechanism with a stick.
Also see if they have a way of controlling the length of the pellets.
Two simple but important things to watch for. See if there is anyone close enough that has one of the same brand that you are looking for so you can talk to the owner.
We were lucky enough to spend a day with a dealer as he struggled to make it work to give a demonstration. He said he had received training on running it but you could have fooled me. He ended up with one man pouring material into the hopper, another pushing it down with a stick. Someone else moving pails of pellets and spreading them on a screen to cool of and dry.
Those machines were made for third world countries so farmers could make their own feed.

[tjnamtiw]

http://www.buskirkeng.com/

Looks like a good machine. I ALMOST bought a Chinese 22 hp mill, three sets of dies, a hammer mill and 2 extra screens. Including shipping, hiring a import broker, and shipping to my door was just under $4000. You can see the markup from the US sellers of the equipment.
_________________
Quadra-Fire Castile and Sante Fe inserts

Tom

[64impala]

Today I shipped about 50 lbs of dried grass clippings to a gentleman who is going to pelletize them and ship them back to me for a trial in my AE. With a little luck, I'll have the pellets back by the end of the month, just in time to turn the stove on.

I'm thinking that the stove will have to be set on the utility pellet setting or maybe the wheat setting. I'm going to experiment with 100% grass and various blends of grass and wood.

I'll post results when I have them.