Just wondering whether to buy just a few bags to put by, or a pallet load that might last 5+ years. We have a dry cellar to store them in.
My reply might sound flippant but is seriousā¦ why not check a packet and see if there is any āuse byā date markedā¦
At a pinch, with a nice dry cellarā¦ why not take a flier, then relax in the knowledge that you can escape a UK winter and enjoy a French winterā¦ all paid for 
and Iāve just found this ā¦
and as Iāve read elsewhereā¦ in theory they last for everā¦ BUTā¦ oneās stock of pellets will be ruined if humidity in the air and/or water cause the pellets to expandā¦
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I suppose it depends on how often you light the fire. Like Stella stated, dampness high humidity and they will break down in short time.
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Thatās what Iād hoped.
We were going to buy a couple of bags at Autun Bricomarche, but they didnāt have any. My expectation is that they should last 5 years+ stored dry, but there might be reasons why they canāt be kept, and will crumble after 2-3 years. Worth saying that the cellar is dry in the way one would expect of a sous sol, and not dry like a humidity controlled warehouse. We would store them off the floor not touching the walls.
Itās our hope to pop over for the odd Christmas: fly to Lyon and have a car for a few days.
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Stored off the ground and well covered with waterproof sheeting (belt and braces)
Iād recommend buying a minimum of 10 at once and paying with a carte de fidelitĆ©, That amount should fill a car boot and give you enough for a couple of weeks continuous use in mid-winter - though obviously dependent on your pattern of usage. Once you get a handle on that and price movements it should be easier to decide whether or not to buy a pallet - suspect if youāre over at Easter too thatād be enough for four or five years.
If the house isnāt damp, Iād consider half or three quarter filling the hopper before you go back to the UK, so you can either light the stove remotely with an app or as soon as you return. Similarly with the log burner.
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Why does ārĆ©sineuxā seem to be promoted as a good thing for pellets to be?
with the fine particles sticking together to make a pelletā¦ otherwise itās just sawdustā¦
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So nothing to do with pressing the wood dust at high pressure causing lignin? Resinous woods burn at higher temperatures giving more heat.
@Ancient_Mariner
To start with Iād buy a few bags when needed. Old houses like ours werenāt built to be hermetic, so unless well ventilated the humidity will rise and fall quite a bit, the pellets will capture the humidity and store it.
Donāt forget to fully clean out the pellet burner of all the pellets when you leave for a few months, you may come back to find the burner caked up. Buy yourself a few large plastic containers that seal hermetically.
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