Wind-Powered Pellet Mill

2013 - Volume #37, Issue #5, Page #26

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Jeff Hoard uses wind power to make feed pellets for chickens and other livestock out of alfalfa meal and various raw materials. The pellet mill is a prototype for a larger future unit.
  “I wanted a pellet mill so I could mix edible weeds with the high protein alfalfa grown in this area,” says Hoard. “I also want to make fuel pellets from non-edible weeds and sell to people with pellet stoves for a little winter income.”
  Hoard notes that a ton of wood stove pellets runs about $260, with the nearest source 100 miles distant. While his full-scale pelletizer will be designed to run off multiple power sources, he decided to run the prototype off the 20 mph winds that blow steady on his Nevada ranch.
  “I built the pellet mill from scrap and about 20¢ of welding rod,” says Hoard. “On a good breezy afternoon, it will ‘squirt out’ about 2 1/2 gal. of beautiful mash pellets. That is enough to feed our flock of 40 chickens for a few days.”
  The heart of the mill is a flywheel from an old treadmill drilled out with holes for a rotating die and a 6-pointed “tap” that looks like a sprocket. Instead of teeth, the points taper to match the holes Hoard drilled in the flywheel.
  “The flywheel has a 1-in. thick perimeter with a thinner inner wheel,” explains Hoard. “I drilled 14 holes evenly around the center edge of the wheel. I then drilled out each hole with a 3/4-in. bit to create a cup for meal to drop into.”
  The tap was designed to match the hole spacing. As the tap and die turn, they are bathed in meal and the 3/4-in. cups fill. Each turn of the tap adds about 1/8-in. to the developing pellet. As it exits the holes, it breaks off and falls free into a holding bucket.
  Hoard built a bracket from angle iron for the tap and die and attached it to a 42-in. length of 2-in. pipe. The pipe is sized to fit over and rotate on any T-post driven into the ground. The tap is welded on a shaft that is mounted between 2 pillow-block bearings on the bracket. The die freewheels on a second shaft between 2 bearings mounted to the bottom of the bracket.
  Propeller blades mount directly to the tap shaft provide power. A length of rod with a tail made from an old traffic sign keeps the fan blades turned into the wind. A hook also mounted to the pipe holds a 5-gal. catch bucket for the pellets.
  “I modified an old switch box to make a shroud over the tap and die and hold the ground meal,” says Hoard. “It has a hole cut in it to allow the pellets to drop free.”
  Hoard shares his creative scrounging ideas and projects on his DVD titled ‘Hillbilly Heaven’ available at his website.
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, HM Ranch, HC 61, Box 6108, Austin, Nevada 89310 (hmranch@wildblue.net; www.hmranch-hoardmfg.com).

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Wind-Powered Pellet Mill ENERGY Wind Power Jeff Hoard uses wind power to make feed pellets for chickens and other livestock out of alfalfa meal and various raw materials The pellet mill is a prototype for a larger future unit “I wanted a pellet mill so I could mix edible weeds with the high protein alfalfa grown in this area ” says Hoard “I also want to make fuel pellets from non-edible weeds and sell to people with pellet stoves for a little winter income ” Hoard notes that a ton of wood stove pellets runs about $260 with the nearest source 100 miles distant While his full-scale pelletizer will be designed to run off multiple power sources he decided to run the prototype off the 20 mph winds that blow steady on his Nevada ranch “I built the pellet mill from scrap and about 20¢ of welding rod ” says Hoard “On a good breezy afternoon it will ‘squirt out’ about 2 1/2 gal of beautiful mash pellets That is enough to feed our flock of 40 chickens for a few days ” The heart of the mill is a flywheel from an old treadmill drilled out with holes for a rotating die and a 6-pointed “tap” that looks like a sprocket Instead of teeth the points taper to match the holes Hoard drilled in the flywheel “The flywheel has a 1-in thick perimeter with a thinner inner wheel ” explains Hoard “I drilled 14 holes evenly around the center edge of the wheel I then drilled out each hole with a 3/4-in bit to create a cup for meal to drop into ” The tap was designed to match the hole spacing As the tap and die turn they are bathed in meal and the 3/4-in cups fill Each turn of the tap adds about 1/8-in to the developing pellet As it exits the holes it breaks off and falls free into a holding bucket Hoard built a bracket from angle iron for the tap and die and attached it to a 42-in length of 2-in pipe The pipe is sized to fit over and rotate on any T-post driven into the ground The tap is welded on a shaft that is mounted between 2 pillow-block bearings on the bracket The die freewheels on a second shaft between 2 bearings mounted to the bottom of the bracket Propeller blades mount directly to the tap shaft provide power A length of rod with a tail made from an old traffic sign keeps the fan blades turned into the wind A hook also mounted to the pipe holds a 5-gal catch bucket for the pellets “I modified an old switch box to make a shroud over the tap and die and hold the ground meal ” says Hoard “It has a hole cut in it to allow the pellets to drop free ” Hoard shares his creative scrounging ideas and projects on his DVD titled ‘Hillbilly Heaven’ available at his website Contact: FARM SHOW Followup HM Ranch HC 61 Box 6108 Austin Nevada 89310 hmranch@wildblue net; www hmranch-hoardmfg com

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