How to make Wood Pellets without Mill
Wood pellets have been used for various purposes, such as for heating, cooking, pizza ovens, and industries. Several wood pellets companies are making it from the raw materials of forest and agriculture like dkbrænde is providing wood pellets to their customers in different adjustable sizes.
Other materials being used in the manufacturing of wood pellets are sawdust, shells of nuts, and hard covering of fruits. In industries, the pellets are made in large amounts, while you can make it at home without using heavy machinery. Many small business owners are also making wood pellets on their own.
If you also want to make wood pellets at home, read on the simple step-by-step method. Break the raw material into smaller pieces and use them as wood pellets.
Cutting and Drying the Wood:
- Collect the wood chips and raw material from your home and dry it. For making a small batch of wood pellets, 4-5 buckets of sawdust are needed. If you want to make 8-10 pounds of wood pellets, then collect more lags and sawdust.
- You can order the woodchips and sawdust from a sawmill. Remember to order it before time as the sawdust is in high demand. You can order raw plant material from farmers and use them in the formation of wood pellets. Small business owners are ordering plant material from farmers in a large amount.
- Cut the woodchips into small pieces of 2.5cm. Usually, the owners of the sawmill cut them into the required size. You can skip this step if you get a pre-processed sawdust from the company.
- Now grind the smaller pieces of woodchips in a lumber mill. Turn it on, pour the woodchips slowly and grind it with care. If you don’t have a lumber mill, order it from the lumber yard.
- Dry the woodchips up to 10 – 20%. You can dry it with the natural heat of the sun and can use mesh paper. Spread the woodchips over the flat surface and let them dry.
Mixing and Conditioning the Wood:
- Pass the woodchips through a sieve to remove the dust particles and stone. Pour the wood into the sieve slowly so that all the stones get collected by the magnet. These stones and particles can break the heavy machinery.
- Add a little amount of vegetable oil. It will help the woodchips to join firmly if you have 15ml of woodchips add one tablespoon of oil. Add the vegetable oil slowly, don’t add it abruptly as it will be absorbed in the woodchips.
- Now add the dried wood to the mixture and grind it. If you don’t have a professional mixture, you can use your kitchen grinder to grind the wood consistently.
Making and Storing:
- Transfer the material on a flat surface and press it using high heat and pressure. Apply temperature of 170 – 190 °F.
Separate the damaged pellets from others and let them cool. Store the cool pellets in a bag. Many storages and garage bags are available to store the wood pellets and use them freely.