Pellets Storing Pellets

[traeger860]

I agree with traeger860, I also store mine in 5 gallon buckets and they are kept outside. I also sieve mine through a piece of 1/4 inch screen. This allows all the fine dust and small particles to be eliminated prior to using. There is always fine sediment and pieces in the bags depending how they were handled before you purchased them. Keeping the fines out helps in preventing auger binds and back fires. I wasn't aware of the Bucket Companion that traeger860 mentioned, but they are now on my shopping list. Welcome to the forum, great folks and great recipes.

I do this too. I use one of these to make the process a little easier: https://a.co/d/az6na6M

 

[Like Smoke]

I live in Colorado and gold prospecting and rock hounding has been a hobby of mine for some time. If you want to save some money on a screen you can make your own. Find a 5 gallon bucket that the bail has broken off or has other damage and cut off about 3 inches from the bottom, I use a jig saw. Cut out 4 triangles in the bottom leaving some plastic to support the screen. Cut a piece of screen to fit the inside the remaining bottom (I use 1/4 inch) and you have a cheap sieve. You can glue the screen in , or leave it loose if you want to use different mesh screens. Works as well as my purchased ones and costs a lot less.

 

[Manannan]

Another option, I have used this version for a couple of years now:

https://www.amazon.com/Tierra-Garden-GP55-Galvanized-Sieve/dp/B000TAOYRQ?th=1

 

[BigHildy53]

I use Oklahoma Joe's pellet buckets. I store them and pellet bags in a deck box on my deck. I am in Virginia and get plenty of humidity in the summer. No issues.

Amazon.com

 

[Fyrefly1]

I use five gallon HD buckets with the lids and store in my outdoor grill station that's covered with a generic grill cover. My IW 650 stays outside covered with a Traeger cover. I never remove the pellets from the hopper. I checked the pellets yesterday in preparation for a New Years day cook. They're solid and shiny so good to go. My bulk supply is stored in HD buckets in my garage which is subject to seasonal variations in SoCal (40F to 100F). I see too much over thinking on this subject, which I admit to initially but if you avoid direct water impingement they last a long time.

The Traeger site says they won’t be fresh after 6 months??

 

[BobbyQ]

Traeger is in business to sell pellets and their own storage containers. I have pellets that have been stored for 2+ years and they work just fine. So long as they keep their shape and aren't swollen they're good.

 

[RustyJake]

Most pellets are just compressed wood fibers. Stored out of the elements in an air tight container I don't see how they could ever go bad.
Traeger, according to their patent for making pellets, indicate the use of oils to assist with the production process and possibly enhance flavors. Maybe their shelf life has something to do with the use of the oils and it's shelf life. Oils tend to go rancid if they are left too long and/or not stored properly.
Just speculation on my part. But they definitely are in the business to sell more pellets like the other manufacturers. I don't recall seeing a shelf life statement on any of their pellets.
Do we know how long the pellets were stored prior to being purchased?