Gerkros WP Boiler users???

Builderwoman!

Anyone using Gerkros WP boiler notice that you are motoring through pellets these days? We certainly seem to be! (Even delivery guy commente don it!!) Comments and feedback welcomed.

Foleyart

Yeah ! we have a viadrus pellet boiler with underfloor and we got 3 tons in early Nov, out of pellets 2 weeks ago!!! another 3 tons. I know the weather has been very cold but 3 tons in 2 months is ridiculous.:eek:

Builderwoman!

Foleyart wrote: »

Yeah ! we have a viadrus pellet boiler with underfloor and we got 3 tons in early Nov, out of pellets 2 weeks ago!!! another 3 tons. I know the weather has been very cold but 3 tons in 2 months is ridiculous.:eek:

Snap Foleyart! We are the exact same. I have phoned Gerkros asking them to send engineer as it does seem excessive. Any other feedback welcomed too. Thanks.

TheHamster

I have a Baxi Pellet boiler and sadly still buying bagged pellets as I haven't got bulk storage yet and I am using around 30 15kg bags every 4 - 5 weeks so 3 tons in 2 months seems heavy
My brother in Law has the same boiler as me, his flue got blocked and he burnt 6 bags in one evening so it may be worth checking your airflow.

yakyak

Builderwoman! wrote: »

Anyone using Gerkros WP boiler notice that you are motoring through pellets these days? We certainly seem to be! (Even delivery guy commente don it!!) Comments and feedback welcomed.

Two weeks into new pellet delivery and boiler is on the verge of packing up! will not rise above 47 degrees and is clogging up with black damp residue inside the boiler, has anyone had similar issues or indeed suggest an alternative motive !!!

Builderwoman!

Needs a good clean out by the sound of things? Not my department (hubby's) but it would seem that your boiler needs a little bit of attention. Call Gerkros Service Manager James...we've found him very helpful.

towbar

We use a verner boiler and used 3.5 ton in 3 months also - have switched to Balcas pellets this year and initally thought they were better than what we were using but not so sure now. Brother in law used similiar over same time period same boiler same pellets.

The black residue is a big problem. I read in an energy magazine recently it has been affecting about 5% of users in Europe people are not sure if its a pellet or boiler problem but apparently it really messes up the boiler. I think the suggestion is that the boiler is buring at too high a temp so the ash starts to melt which is the residue you see like tar sticking to the boiler.

Jack Duckworth

Maybe the boiler needs a service/cleaning. When was it done last?

Builderwoman!

towbar wrote: »

We use a verner boiler and used 3.5 ton in 3 months also - have switched to Balcas pellets this year and initally thought they were better than what we were using but not so sure now. Brother in law used similiar over same time period same boiler same pellets.

The black residue is a big problem. I read in an energy magazine recently it has been affecting about 5% of users in Europe people are not sure if its a pellet or boiler problem but apparently it really messes up the boiler. I think the suggestion is that the boiler is buring at too high a temp so the ash starts to melt which is the residue you see like tar sticking to the boiler.

Agree about Balcas pellets. Quality is bad. We've had to pay more for better pellets and our boiler is much the better for it. No point in saving on fuel and wearing out the boiler.

towbar

I noticed the balcas pellets burn blacker than our previous supplier but there was alot less dust in the Balcas - maybe they use some sort of binding agent - how is thehampster getting away with 15kg per day?. We are consistently burning 40kg per day over the winter. We used about 8 ton last year and this year I think it will be a bit less.
On a 2 ton equals 1000l of oil I would expect to use about 6.5-7 ton per year. (2300 sq ft bungalow)

What size house are you heating hampster?
What pellets are you using?
Are you using underfloor or rads?
Do you use a buffer tank?

Biglad

Hi Builderwoman,

We got 4 tonnes delivered at the start of november and i got my most recent 4 tonnes last wednesday 19th of march. It might not surprise you that after 2 consistent pellet deliveries this last batch is already causing concerns. The average length of the pellets is probably less then 10mm. This means that the volume of pellets that is loaded by the feeding screw is to low at times which causes the flame to go out and the boiler has to re-ignite. This is the first time ever for this to happen.
On the amount of pellets used I can provide a simple anwser. We are haeting a 2500sqft 2 story house with UFH. We have a 10 month old baby in the house and we keep the day time temperature between 20-21 celsius with a 2 degree drop back for the night. My wife has been of on maternity leave for quite a while as well which meant the heating was on during the day for that period as well. I know a fair few people who claim that they are using up to a third less pellets, one of them is a mate of mine who has ecxactely the same boiler. He is only recently married and there are no children. His house is just under 2000sqft and his upstairs rooms are set for 16 degrees... of course he will use less pellets.
People who give you these low usage numbers are boosting about something to make them selfs feel better about the decisions they made, does that make sense?
I think I can save up to a third of what we are burning at the moment by installing a buffer tank, so that will be the next step. Our Mescoli also fires up every time the boiler temperature drops 5 degrees C which means it's cycling far to often. I will be getting the parameters to change that to a 10 degree drop and together with the buffer tank it should do the trick.
My BIL is still struggling with his WP boiler. The installed a digital read out display on his machine which only confirmed why it kept cutting out. If there is a certain amount of dust in the pellets the machine stops. He then empties the auger pipe and starts again. Since his last delivery in November this only happens once every 2 or 3 days, before that is was a daily event...
The interesting thing is that my previous two deliveries came in a brand new tanker style lorry (round body and no tipping required for ofload) directly from the main source. The driver was very nice and the pellets were the best I've seen.
This last load came in a square body lorry with the same name on it but the driver had to tip the container before he could start ofloading. I just wonder if this is the reason that these pellets are all very short. There doesn't seem to be a lot of dust but just very small pellets.
There has also been a lady in the area taking samples of pellets delivered to people who complained about the amount of dust etc. Unfortunately they have all been given the same c**k and b*ll story which comes down to something being wrong with their storage. One of them has a straight pipe through the wall in to his storage, no bends or nothing, rubber mats you name it. She still didn't think it was right.
None of the people concerned ever heard anything back on the samples taken, surprise surprise.

Builderwoman!

Thanks Biglad for your reply. Who are you getting your pellets from at the moment? We seem to be using a lot of pellets at the minute. We are using an awful lot of pellets at the moment. About a tonne a month. We got an upgrade on our gerkros boiler (was older model and updated it to digital one) and that's when we seem to have increased our usage. Anyone else the same?

Jack Duckworth

Hello all,
Just after receiving a delivery of pellets from Timber pro Ltd (700 euro for 3 tonne). I havn't started using them yet as I want to use up all the old one first (may take a week or two). Has anybody bought pellets off these guys yet? They're based in Kells Co. Meath and their lorry looks very professional- not just an Animal feed lorry!! They may be worth a call if you need pellets soon. I know the owner and he "persuaded" me to give him a go. He sounded very ambitious and guarantees his pellets cannot be beat but I'll take what he said with a pinch of salt!

B.T.W: Having problem with Gerkros boiler: Boiler lights normally, heats up for about 40 mins and then errors out for no apparent reason while burning (red light on burner comes on). Checked pellet feed and it seems fine, clean out the boiler and still the problem persists. To get it working again I have to go out to the boiler and switch it off and then on again and its starts working again for another 40 mins and so on. Going to give Gerkros a ring tomorrow but just wondering what yer opinions are.
Thanks,
J.D.

Biglad

Our friends in enniskillen. Smaller pellets which I think has something to do with complaints they got from people with vacuum systems. The longer harder pellets, which I got in June '07 and which lasted a good while, seemed to block the narrow inlet pipes of these vacuum systems. There doesn't seem to be a lot of fines in my last delivery, just some dust as you would expect. have you got underfloor heating or radiators? My BIL has underfloor like me and he seems to be burning about the same amount of pellets as we are. I think the buffer tank is the big one when it comes to cutting down on the pellets.

Biglad

700 Euro for 3 tonne is simply to expensive. we are running the risk here that more and more people are starting to import foreign pellets for which we have to pay the price. I'm sticking with Balcas for now anyway.

Have been hearing mixed reports on Woodpeckers so really can't comment on that one.

Builderwoman!

Just wondering what the price are you paying at the moment for pellets from Enniskillen?

Corkwhite

Balcas are €660 for a 3 tonne load, Timberpro are €705.

Builderwoman!

Thanks for that post. Not much in the difference then for far superior pellets from Firestixx Ireland or from TimberPro (also Firestixx pellets). I'm glad we've changed over.