Wood chips or sawdust are two types of waste materials that people who want to reduce heating costs can use to make their own wood pellets. In general, pellets have been widely used as a new fuel in many countries and in daily life due to their characteristic advantages. Additionally, as a cost-effective alternative to traditional energy sources and fuels, they can be both an economical and environmentally friendly choice. While finished wood pellets are readily available in forest areas, they can be expensive in cities due to limited resources and high demand. Below you can find out more about the production method with a pellet mill as well as the possible advantages and disadvantages of producing your own.
Can you make wood pellets yourself and save money?
As already written, most pellets are industrially produced in large quantities. Most people are therefore used to purchasing ready-made wood pellets from retailers. Therefore, many might be confused about whether it is even possible to make wood pellets at home. Such a possibility exists when you collect the raw materials and invest in some important machines and can manage them both domestically and industrially. In addition, you have to calculate the costs in advance, although such pellet presses are also available for rent. But most importantly, you should have basic woodworking skills. So if you make wood pellets yourself and in this way yourHeating your home with woodor want to make it in a small business, scroll below to find out what materials you need and what steps you need to follow to get the fresh fuel.
Before you start making pellets
Once you've chosen your wood materials, it's time to begin the process. You should get the raw material in advance. Raw materials are diverse, such as wood waste, sawdust, wood shavings, agricultural waste, plant straw, corn cobs, garden waste, dry leaves, tree stumps and other biomass materials. For example, if you use sawdust, you should also add water. This is important because this raw material is essential for the production of pallets. However, the moisture content of the sawdust should be around 8 to 15%. This helps with manufacturingthe best pelletsfor heating.
Wood logs can also be used for production, but you have to chop them up. Additionally, if you don't have more than 10-15 logs, you won't be able to make enough wood pellets yourself. You may also get a small load of wood chips. So if you're expecting more pellets but don't have the materials yourself, consider going to your local lumber yard or sawmill and getting enough scrap wood and logs. You can also order other raw materials such as branches, stems and leaves from dead plants. Since you'll need wood chips, sawdust, etc., you'll want to collect a good amount of these materials as well.
Use a wood chipper and chop up large pieces of wood
For this step you will need a wood chipper and a hammer mill. This allows you to reduce the wood to a very smaller size. Be careful not to make the pieces of wood thicker than 2.5 cm. You should do this so that these can fit into the die of the pellet press. However, if you just use sawdust, you don't have to worry about this. Turn on the wood chipper and feed the branches and logs into its mouth. At the other end, keep a container where the wood chips will collect. Smaller pieces of wood typically produce wood chips about 8cm in diameter. If your wood chipper produces larger wood chips, you will need to feed the wood 2 times or more to make it smaller.
Reduce the size of the wood chips
Now you have to use a hammer mill to turn the smaller wood chips into even smaller pieces, or particles. The hammer mill crushes your wood chips and turns them into tiny pieces of wood by repeatedly fractionating and colliding between the wood chips and its grinding steel plates. Now switch on the hammer mill and gradually pour the wood chips into its mouth. Keep a container underneath to catch the small particles that come out. If you don't own a hammer mill, you can rent one from a local sawmill. If you use sawdust to make pellets, you don't need to go through this step because the sawdust has already been ground by a hammer mill.
Dry the wood before you can make wood pellets yourself
If you are aiming for a small number of pellets and therefore have fewer wood materials, you can dry them directly in the sun for a day or so. If it is windy outside, you can cover them. However, if you are dealing with a larger quantity of wood pieces, you will need an industrial dryer to get the moisture content to around 10-20%. But how can you test the moisture content of your wood pieces? This is easy to do with a moisture meter. You can get it at most agricultural stores or you can also order it online. Accordingly, you may not need to dry sawdust. However, if you have stored your sawdust in a humid environment and feel that the moisture content is more than 10-20%, spread it on the ground for a day or in the sun for some time.
Add vegetable oil
If you are working with a few loads of pellets, you can add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil for every half kilogram of wood pieces and then mix. However, don't add more as you can do this later if necessary. This allows the wood particles to bond naturally without chemicals. You won't notice a significant difference in the texture of your wood particles because they absorb the oil quickly. If you try it with a lot of wood raw materials, you don't have to worry about adding binders to bind the wood particles. A large amount of wood is processed in industrial machines and mills, where it undergoes sufficient pressure and heat. These help the pellets bond naturally.
Use a pellet press and make your own wood pellets
The next step is to properly use the appropriate machine to make the pellets. Wood pellets are produced in industrial pellet mills with flat dies using a die-casting process under high heat and pressure. The wood particles are pressed vigorously and given a uniform cylindrical shape. The good machines cost between 2000 and 5000 EUR, so you should already know at this point whether such an investment is worth it for you. Pellet presses are available at most machine shops and agricultural hardware stores.
If your local farm hardware or machinery stores don't sell a pellet mill, you may also be able to purchase one online or even rent one. Now turn on the machine. The die is heated to the appropriate temperature for this process. The ideal temperature for pelletizing can vary depending on the machine used. When this temperature is reached, put your wood particles into the machine to get your wood pellets.
Allow the pellets to rest and cool
Now, when you bring the hot and seemingly moist pellets out of your pellet press, you should spread them out on a dry surface. This will keep them naturally cool and dry for about a day. If you have made a fairly large batch of pellets, you can run an industrial air cooler for about 1-2 hours to cool the hot pellets. Additionally, this is an important process that you should not skip. If you store hot wood pellets in bags, they can easily become damaged and flattened.
Storage tips and final thoughts
Your homemade wood pellets are now ready to light your pellet stove or other heating devices powered by it. One of the most important final steps is storing and storing the pellets. Store these in airtight and resealable plastic or paper bags or plastic containers. Store these containers or bags in a dry, very low humidity location away from direct sunlight and water. In particular, you need to make sure that the place where you store your pellets is protected from any type of water source. Try to keep the pellet store in an elevated location above the ground.
So if you are serious about making your own pellets, then gather the raw materials and machinery and get started. You may also be wondering if the wood pellets are worth the cost and effort. Try to make wood pellets only if you are really interested in getting a large batch to power a heating system, for example. A small need does not bring much financial or time added value. Because the production of wood pellets is not just hype, but requires more effort and higher investments, as you can probably already guess. In addition, you have to take care of the entire process, from preparing the raw materials to storing the pellets.
