Wood Pellet Boiler

Bamber_1976

Hi,

I am building a new house (3000 Sq Ft) and looking at installing a wood pellet boiler.

I have done some research.

ETA - looks good but expensive. (13k)

Has anyone any suggestions on wood pellet boilers they would recommend ?

The house will be well insulated and has UFH downstairs and rads upstairs.

Thanks,

Bamber

Carlow52

the big issue here in our damp climate is the pellets getting damp in the hopper. Dont underestimate this problem

Quality of the pellets can be an issue also

Also 13k is a lot of mula for a yoke that u can only burn one product from a few suppliers.

Have u researched other solid fuel yokes at this price point?

Bamber_1976

Hi Carlow52,

I have not done much research into anything else at this stage but would appreciate any and all advice on options that are good for Ireland.

Thanks,

bamber

PeteHeat

Hi,

I have to disagree with Carlow 52 about the pellets getting damp, the only way this happens is if the pellet store actually leaks and allows rain in.

I am biased with sales and installations in the hundreds however it also means I get to see a lot of installations literally years after they were installed and have yet to see wood pellet in a dry store absorbing moisture from the atmosphere.

The ETA is a very good boiler and is priced according to the number of features it has as standard and should not be dismissed by the consumer who feels they need all the extras, no we don't sell ETA.

Possibly one of the biggest mistakes made in the past was consumers buying the system that did not suit them or their lifestyle (which includes working schedules).

There are lots of cheaper systems available, a few things the consumer should look for:

Be honest with yourself, is manually cleaning the ash pan once a week OK or just a pain every week?

Are you willing to pay a little extra to have the system serviced every year or do you have the interest in DIY to carry out the work yourself?

Do you want to buy from a salesman or a tradesman?

The difference can be the salesman is there to sell not meet your personal needs / requirements, you may have to pay for the advice you get from the tradesman as he may advise you not to buy a pellet boiler and recommend an alternative system either way you buy the knowledge.

I hope the above is of some help,

.

cavan4sam

i had a gerkros 35k boiler heating well insulated 2500 sq ft timber frame house got rid of it after 3 winters just didnt heat the system properly (countless services and breakdowns later) i changed to a high effeciency oil boiler , imho i would not advise gerkros very bad back up service , i had no prob with pellets as i built a silo in garage from plywood and never had prob with dampness
if again i wouldnt touch the wood pellet full stop

No6

I too have a Gerkros 35KW boiler and have had to stop using it. It is just too expensive to maintain with no garuntee that something else wol'nt go the week after serviceing. In principle I still do believe in wood pellets so if you buy a really good boiler that has decent gurantees from a company who woulnt go bust and has serviceing facilites available then go for it. Ensure you system is designed correctly with buffer tank and that both the boiler and teh pellet store are located internally in a garage, external boilers and or fuel stores do not work well in Ireland, it just too bloody damp!!!

I'd have to disagree with Pete on one of the biggest mistakes with people buying pellet boilers was that they bought systems from people who hadn't a clue what they were doing and in general mis sold units to people for situations where they wouldn't work and then installed them incorrectly!! I blame SEAI for pushing them before the technology was tried and tested in the Irish market and for letting a load of cowboys sell them. Its the same situation with the solar & insulation IMO too. There are good dealers out there they are just very few and far between.

EHP

I have been involved with pellets in the last 3 to 4 years. I have worked for a company selling pellet boilers, the company has since closed and I am now self employed as an electrician and plumber as I was before. I have a pellet boiler for my heating and a pellet stove in my living room. I do not sell these boilers or have any interest in sales, I do still service repair and install all makes, but this is only a very small part of my own business.

Pellets getting damp is not an issue full stop, unless you literally put them in water. There is two makes of outdoor silo that I have experience with and neither have ever had an issue. If buying a pellet boiler and you are at home everyday at some stage ie don't work away from home all week and are willing to be hands on with the boiler you could save your money and buy a less expensive boiler eg opop which will work perfect for you but will need manual cleaning. (I personally have an opop). If you want a boiler that will require very little hands on then you need to spend the money and move to an ETA or Kozulsan boiler both of which I have experience. There are many other good quality boilers on the market for example Grant engineering have just released a condensing pellet boiler and are very well priced. I have no hands on experience with this boiler but have used grant oil boilers for years and they always build quality and I know they spent at least 3 years developing this boiler. The best thing is to talk to different suppliers and go and see the boilers in operation and see at least 3 of each boiler working so as to try and eliminate being taken to see friends and family boilers. I don't believe that there is any heating source (oil, pellet, solid fuel, heat pump etc) that doesn't work, there is just badly sized and installed systems. Pellet is not as easy to use as oil no pellet boiler works without some user input but the savings are there to be made. I am currently using bagged pellets make sure you go with a bulk silo of at least 4 tonne capacity as most deliveries are minimum 3 tonne and the bags are a pain to deal with. Also keep in mind that wood pellet may not be the only type of pellet on the market there is potential for other types eg miscanthus pellets to become available so check if the boiler you are buying can burn these.

Twiggy69

I have been using a Gerkros 30 boiler for the past year, fitted and commissioned by a Gerkros specialist and it has worked 100% to date. I only use bagged pellets, stored indoors, that way I'm certain of both the quality and dryness of the pellets. I looked into the bulk option but too expensive, and I heard too many horror stories of bad batches leading to constant breakdowns etc I use approximately 8 x 15kg bags per week to supply DHW and heat my 3200sq ft house. In winter 2010 my kerosene bill for 12 weeks was €2,700, last winter it was less than €500, so don't be put off by the nay-sayers. Do your research and get a specialist to install & commission your boiler and you should have years of trouble free service from your investment.

Mind you, I am just in after spending 2 and a half hours servicing and cleaning my boiler. It's been a good while since I did it, but I took my time and did a thorough job using an ash vac and a wire brush. I'm filthy after it, but the boiler is running like new and I have the satisfaction that I was capable of doing it myself. So wood pellet is a "hands-on" deal, so you have to be prepared to spend time working on it and you should be rewarded with an efficient heating system.

I noticed a fair build up of material in the blast tube and white powdery build up inside the boiler which I scraped back to the metal, just wondering if this is normal?

tinofapples

I've been using the Kedco (Opop) 24kw boiler for almost 6 years now and as already stated here it needs a bit of hands on effort every once in awhile. I have had issues in the past which I think were more to do with the plumber and the commisioning agent not knowing how best to set-up the system than anything else.

I have a 2200 sq ft house with rads and underfloor heating. I would estimate €1400 would cover us for a 12 month period. We had a new build so couldn't tell exactly what it would cost if it were oil

My greatest concern is that pellet prices will keep going up and up. When we commisioned the boiler I think pellets could be bought for €165 a tonne bulk. Last load I got was €960 for 4 tonnes.

I'm working in a timber mill at the moment where we burn shavings to heat kilns and I'm doing alot of thinking about this as an alternative to pellets in my boiler. I know they will not burn as long as a pellet but at a fraction of the cost :rolleyes:

izeult

Currently living in a house with a wood pellet burner and I have never ever come across something that causes so many problems....we're not helped by it being a rental property and apparently only one person/firm in Ireland actually supporting the particular stove brand in question. It worked very well about 2 years ago but since then it's been nothing but non stop problems.... It's a super top of the range one we have and quite honestly I would put my hand on my heart and say avoid and go with a multi source fuel stove.

If you're sold on getting wood pellet stove a few things to consider
1) A source of pellets
2) Storage of pellets as them getting damp is a big no no and causes plenty of issues

Twiggy69

As I previously stated, my solution has been to source good quality bagged pellets and store them in a dry environment. I just had 1.5 tones delivered for €400. I should get 2 months heating out of that.

Iderown

We have/had a Gerkros wood-pellet boiler. It gave so much trouble that we had the burner (and associated control electronics) replaced with an oil burner.

There is another thread on the same topic at
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056005902

one foot in the grave

Anyone with a Froling woodpellet boiler? I have one for 5 long years. Every couple of months it malfunctions. After regularly finding the boiler turned off due to problems with the suction system, we replaced the suction system with an auger system. The auger has ceased working on at least two occasions. We've had hardened ash pipes, the stoker unit replaced, the pellet module replaced and the power tripping out. And long pellets bridging causing the boiler to go off on fault.

Can't afford to continue replacing parts and call out fees. Thinkin of moving to oil again. Anyone with similar problems?

MartiX

Check here <SNIP>

muffler

MartiX wrote: »

Check here <SNIP>

Get outa here ya chancer