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What are your thoughts on coffee?

Discussion in 'Pellet Stoves, Pellet Fireplaces, Pellet Furnaces' started by Scot Linkletter, Aug 2, 2019.

  1. Scot Linkletter

    Scot Linkletter

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    If you had the option to buy pellets with coffee grounds as an additive, would you?
    It turns out that coffee grounds are 10k BTU/lb. Significantly higher than wood. But also slightly higher in ash content too.
    There's the "green" aspect where you're using a product that would be in landfills and then there's the aroma aspect. There's a lot to be worked out, but it's just an idea right now. It would require a significant investment in testing.
     
  2. Chaz

    Chaz

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    Coffee grounds in pellets is interesting, but plz, no pellets in my coffee.
    :coffee:
     
  3. imacman

    imacman

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    100% coffee pellets have been done before. Myself, jtakeman, and I think Schoondog had a mill make coffee pellets for testing. We went around to all the Dunkin Donuts & coffee shops we knew and had them fill 5 gal pails with used grounds.

    End result......they were a little tough to get compressed, but burned just fine in my 10-cpm. Lots of ash, good heat. Maybe Jay remembers more about it. I'll look, but don't know if I kept pics of before/after burning.
     
  4. Horkn

    Horkn

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    Please no coffee. Anywhere.

    That stuff is the devil
     
  5. subsailor

    subsailor

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    I would definitely try it.
     
  6. jtakeman

    jtakeman Moderator

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    As an additive it shouldn't be a problem as long as you adjust the mix to keep the end ash content below say 0.06 or less. I ended up mixing my test samples with softies at about a 25% coffee/75% softwood ratio. Heat was really good!!

    Raw grounds moister content(well over 50%) was our biggest enemy and we didn't have a means to dry it. Bogged the mill down and we could only add other fiber to help dry it out some!! Gonna need to get some of that moisture out or it could be a means of adding moister content before you steam and pelletize?

    I want test samples! :D Please!! I'll even break out my old gear to do a review!! :whistle:
     
  7. billb3

    billb3

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    A lot easier to use as a soil amendment.
    Who makes enough grounds to makes this economically viable at the scale required ?
     
  8. Scot Linkletter

    Scot Linkletter

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    Did they have an odor?

    There's a company that collects it from every large user.
     
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  9. jtakeman

    jtakeman Moderator

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    Very mild at that 75/25 ratio. The first bit we got at a higher ratio it did have a coffee smell similar to a fresh brewed pot but nothing over powering. Made me want some doughnuts though!! :whistle:

    Keep us posted!! :D

    :popcorn:
     
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  10. billb3

    billb3

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    In the U.K. ?
     
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  11. Scot Linkletter

    Scot Linkletter

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    No. I'm talking about in the Northeast US.
     
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  12. Chazsbetterhalf

    Chazsbetterhalf

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    Well I have been trying to ignore this thread since we have a wood stove. But my first thought was, man do they make pellets with coffee grounds in to put off the scent of fresh brewed coffee. How neat. Lol and no have not read the thread. But just had to say something.
     
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  13. brenndatomu

    brenndatomu

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    We have a local company that sells somewhat "fancy coffees" and does R n D and taste tasting in the lab here...when they roast the beans it really stinks up the neighborhood...doesn't even smell like coffee IMO (which I don't like coffee, but agree with many that some of it smells pretty good) I can't even imagine how bad burning it would smell! :eek: :faint:
     
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  14. imacman

    imacman

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    Unless you're outside, you wouldn't probably smell it anyway. When I burned the 100% coffee pellets, I went outside to check, but didn't smell anything.....but then again, the top of my stove venting was 15'-18' up.
    :coffee:
     
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  15. Dpopps

    Dpopps

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    Sound like a great idea, unfortunately your products don't make it my way.
     
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  16. Highbeam

    Highbeam

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    We have coffee roasters in town too, their exhaust doesn't smell like brewed coffee. Kinda nasty actually.
     
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  17. schoondog

    schoondog

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    Played around with coffee grounds back in the grass pellet days. Remember I had coffee grounds laid out in the sun to dry. The guy who made the grass pellets was interested in making coffee pellets but I think we made up a batch or two of coffee/grass mix but getting the coffee grounds was a lot of work.

    Doggy
     
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  18. bogieb

    bogieb

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    Sure, I would try cofee mixed pellets. As long as the ash isn't significantly worse than your usual product, I could live with that. Just don't use kopi luwak :rofl: :lol:
     
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  19. imacman

    imacman

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    :picard:disgusting

    Unfortunately, the coffee and coffee/grass pellets we tested resulted in quite a bit of ash.
     
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  20. Pete Zahria

    Pete Zahria

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    I drink enough Dunkins to recycle the grounds to heat my house..

    Dan

    dunks.JPG