A pallet of stove pellets weighs a ton - 2000 pounds. 50 bags at 40# each.

I moved every one of those bags 3 times: Off the pallet to the back of the big trailer. From the back of the big trailer to the back of the cargo trailer, then stacked them inside the cargo trailer for at-hand storage.

Bought two pallets at Deep Homo. The forklift driver got them shoved a bit far forward on the 18 foot trailer, but better too much tongue weight than not enough. Took it easy coming home.

Got about 2/3 of the first pallet unloaded and stacked and then chained it to Guido and yanked it to the back of the trailer to save some steps. Once all of that pallet was in the cargo trailer, I chained up the full pallet that was 3/4 of the way to the front of the trailer and hauled it back over the axles of the trailer. Did have to back up and get some slack for a good jerk to get it moving but after that, with Guido in low-low and 4 wheel lock it just idled away with it.

I'll unload the rest into the barn tomorrow. I think 6000 pounds of dead lifts is enough for one day.

Dang Paul, I would not be able to walk for a week after that.

I complain and fuss when I have to load and unload my 15 - 40 lb bags of pellets once. My pellet heater is in my shop so it is only loaded up and run when our temps drop below 25F at night or I plan on working in the shop on a project or reloading. It is a small Englander unit that only holds 40 lbs in its hopper.

I will say that I have had my pellet heater for 12 seasons now and still LOVE its simplicity (except when I had to replace one auger and the element that starts my fire for me.

I moved a ton the other day. You need to rethink your process. You are operating like the fed. gov for efficiency
What was the price per ton?

C'mon, Paul. That's just a warm up.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
I moved a ton the other day. You need to rethink your process. You are operating like the fed. gov for efficiency
What was the price per ton?

$270 with my military discount. I wish I had a way to handle it more efficiently, but given what I have for equipment and storage facilities, I'm pretty limited.

That’s what I have to do when I buy mulch. I can get 25 bags of the big bags of hardwood mulch in the bed of the truck. They fork lift it to me but I don’t want them scratching up my truck so I load all of it, by myself, into the bed. Every other time I’ll throw even more bags in to the back cab of the truck. I then drive home, and move it, stacking it around where it will be dropped once the bag has been cut open. Then I go right back, and get another 25+ bags until I’m 55-60 bags of it. Bone dry the bag can be 20 something pounds. Wet, it can be 35 pounds.

So it works out to something like 6000-7000 pounds all in, picking it up, loading it off the truck, moving it, and finally cutting each bag open and spreading it out. I used to do it all in one day and my back, and legs would be absolutely shot for days. These days I’ll go get round 1, filling up the bed. Get it off the truck, then leave it for 2 days. Then I’ll cut it open and spread it. Getting old sucks so I have to spread out the work over 4-5 days instead of one. It’s an ass whip every time and screws me out of going to the gym to lift, for an entire week.

So two pallets, moved three times, that's 12,000 pounds shuffled around?

Crikey.

Don't you have pallet forks for your tractor? If so maybe you could separate the pallet into two 1,000# pallets and move them with it.

Mandelbaum!
Mandelbaum!
Mandelbaum!

It’s go time!

Those pellets already got you warm and you haven't even lit them.

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:
Don't you have pallet forks for your tractor? If so maybe you could separate the pallet into two 1,000# pallets and move them with it.

I do, but it's only good for about 600 pounds.

As I unload the second pallet, I may futz with it a bit and see what it will lift. Sure would help.

quote:

Originally posted by wcb6092:
Those pellets already got you warm and you haven't even lit them.

Yup, just like real wood!

I predict the installation of a Geo Thermal system for you.

Your spouse wants you around for awhile.

Nice. I do the same with 4 tons every year!
I used to take them down the stairs into the basement too!
Now I spread them out into the sides of the garage. Gives me just enough room to park.

We have been heating the house entirely with wood pellets for several years now. This upcoming heating season is the fourth year.
The original plan was do most of the home heating with wood pellets, but alas, the price of home heating oil has continued to increase.
After a bit of practice/experience and a frozen boiler heat loop a few years back, we now use oil heat strictly for domestic hot water.
We have considered/explored going with "on demand" domestic hot water heating, but with the considerable up front expense, the payback is at least a decade.

We had a contractor friend add boiler antifreeze in all of the heat loops.
With the boiler running now strictly for domestic hot water only, the missing waste heat given off by the running boiler became a problem. The boiler waste heat heated the boiler room.
Our well pressure tank, water softener, and plenty of plumbing also lives in the boiler room.

I installed a large analog dial thermometer and two infrared "chicken coop" heating lamps in the boiler room.
It required a new 20 AMP circuit/outlet for the lamps. The total wattage for the pair of "chicken coop" infrared lamps is 500 watts.
When the outside temperature goes below about 15 degrees Fahrenheit, I monitor the boiler room temperature and turn on one or both of the "chicken coop" infrared heating lamps.
I have it set up so I can read the boiler room thermometer from outside without opening the boiler room door by looking through the boiler room door window. (door glass is immoveable, doesn't open)
If the "chicken coop" infrared lamps require being plugged in/turned on, then I do have to get inside the boiler room and open the boiler room door and manually plug them into the outlet.
The oil fired boiler requires the boiler room window to be opened up at least an inch for makeup air due to combustion. (has a small double hung window, opposite end of the boiler room from the door)
Cold outside makeup air is the major reason for the "chicken coop" infrared heating lamps.
Last winter, it was less than two weeks of running the "chicken coop" infrared heating lamps for adding boiler room supplemental heat.

The first two years using the pellet stove, we used five tons of pellets per year.
Last year was unusually mild and we used four and a half tons of pellets.
I have one more 40 pound bag of pellets from last season, before starting in on the initial three tons purchased/stored for this season.

We have covered storage space for three tons of pellets here at the house. When most of our pellets are consumed, we take the pickup truck and bring home two more tons.
My trailers are now parked behind the barn for the winter. I refuse to run them on the road when road salt/brine is in use.
I can load two pallets of pellets (4000 pounds) on my big trailer that I use for hauling the Kubota tractor.
The Toyota Tacoma pickup is a short bed (5.5') and is limited to a half pallet of pellets (1000 pounds) per trip/load due to the short bed.
Premium pellets are available very close, bringing home the final two tons is four round trips to the pellet seller location.

We choose Canadian premium 100% hardwood pellets with very high BTU content and with an extremely low percentage of post combustion ash.
The "good" pellets are more expensive than the "budget" brands, but the total quantity used in a heating season is less, and there is noticeably less pellet stove cleaning.
I've run the numbers for each year now, and using the pellet stove is a few percentage points less than half the cost of home heating oil.
Presently, the Canadian 100% hardwood pellets are $400 per ton.
The last time we had heating oil delivered, the driver noticed the three tons of pellets sitting under cover and commented "I guess you won't need any more heating oil this year."

I am retired and during the spring/summer/fall seasons I am extremely busy.
But when the black powder/muzzleloader hunting season ends on January 1st until spring arrives, that's my "dormant" season.
My typical winter "uniform" is shorts, T-shirt, and Crocs when i don't need to leave the house.
The females in the house (and the pair of Bulldogs) prefer the inside temperature to be in the high 70's.

Here is 100 pounds of lap decorations and the operating pellet stove is not far away.

4456 by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

His favorite spot on a cold winter day.

10813 by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

PHPaul,
I've never seen any other bag size (40 pounds) at Lowe's or Home Depot, but we buy our Canadian 100% hardwood pellets at a store that specializes in firewood/pellet/coal stoves & supplies.
They sell the pellets by the ton on a pallet.

50 bags at 40 pounds each = one pallet
They also do 100 bags at 20 pounds each = one pallet.

When I'm dead and gone, my Girlfriend will need the 20 pound bag size. Rotator Cuff surgeries prevent her from lugging the 40 pound bags around.