Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie

Wood Pellet vrs Wood gasification Boilers

Options
  • 17-11-2011 9:00pm
    #1
    Bamber_1976
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3 ✭


    Hi,

    I have been researching both.

    1) Wood Pellet Boilers

    They seems to have a very mixed review / alot of issues with damp pellets and some are very costly

    2) Log Gasifying Boliers.

    They seem to have much better feedback but what are the downfalls ?
    Is it easy to get wood suppliers ?
    Are they as costly as Wood Pellet Boilers to run.

    House is 3000 sq feet with UFH downstairs and rads upstairs.
    Very well insulated (60mm in Cavity & 42mm in plasterboard on exterior walls)

    Thanks for all advice.

    Liam
    Tagged:


Comments

  • Options
    #2
    Carlow52
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,389 ✭✭✭Carlow52


    Very well insulated (60mm in Cavity & 42mm in plasterboard on exterior walls)

    To be honest, in the current climate with the price of energy only going one way, the above would not be described as being 'very well insulated'

    Have you someone guiding you on this stuff?

    The log gasso yolks have been discussed within this site recently.
    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055508301

    You seem to be wedded to UFH/rads and wood....:)


  • Options
    #3
    roadtripman
    Registered Users Posts: 80 ✭✭roadtripman


    Hi, you mentioned in the other thread its going to cost you €13 for the system, to me that seems alot of money when you have to buy pellets to fuel it which are going to get alot dearer because the track the price of oil and thats only going to go one way, have you considered geothermal, that what i would be leaning towards, all just my humble opinion, let us kmow what you decide


  • Options
    #4
    BryanF
    Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators Posts: 10,140 Mod ✭✭✭✭BryanF


    roadtripman wrote: »
    Hi, you mentioned in the other thread its going to cost you €13 for the system, to me that seems alot of money when you have to buy pellets to fuel it which are going to get alot dearer because the track the price of oil and thats only going to go one way, have you considered geothermal, that what i would be leaning towards, all just my humble opinion, let us kmow what you decide
    sure is a lot of money, so you'd recommend geothermal that only really works with UFH and could cost you upwards of 20g:eek: + an unknown electricity cost - same argument you make re oil:rolleyes:

    OP if you've gotten to the pellet boiler stage then IMHO its about what biomass/timber fuel source is available to you!

    IMHO the gasification boiler is a great option but this is dependant on you having a source of seasoned timber.. possibly a bit more fool-proof than having the right pellets in the years to come..


  • Options
    #5
    PeteHeat
    Registered Users Posts: 648 ✭✭✭PeteHeat


    roadtripman wrote: »
    Hi, you mentioned in the other thread its going to cost you €13 for the system, to me that seems alot of money when you have to buy pellets to fuel it which are going to get alot dearer because the track the price of oil and thats only going to go one way, have you considered geothermal, that what i would be leaning towards, all just my humble opinion, let us kmow what you decide

    Hi,

    Pellet does not track oil this was proven when the oil prices dropped to around 45 cents a litre, the one tight relationship wood pellet has with oil is the fact that the delivery trucks use diesel which may effect the delivery costs.

    Wood gasifiers come in a wide varierty of boilers with different features and quality levels, if buying one its better to look long term and pay the extra for a quality boiler, even Atmos who are referred to in the other thread have a wide range of different products all different quality levels.

    I have no problem recommending a gasifier to anyone who has a private source of good quality logs and who understands the need for the logs to be very dry (moisture content less than 20%) which can take two years drying in Ireland.

    There are lots of suppliers of logs some sell naturally dried and others are kiln dried, it is not unusual to require 10 tonnes (or more) for the Irish heating season.

    Wood gasifiers can need to be refilled more than once a day, this can be OK for many in the farming business as many farmers are working from home so they can top up the boiler after lunch, this is not really a good solution for a person who leaves home at 6.30AM arriving home at 7.00PM

    Geothermal can be a good system but there are a lot of things to take into account, first is the site suitable? heavy soil can be a nuisance as the water table does not flow fast enough for the system to recharge, sandy soil and the water table can drop too fast leaving the system with no water table to recharge from.

    Very few carry out proper heat loss calculations to determine the correct size of the heat pump which can lead to the heat pump having to operate outside the cheap electricity band.

    Electricity is needed for the heat pump and as we have seen our electricity prices are tied to the price of oil and gas hence the increases of 20% plus.

    The O.P. mentioned a mix of underfloor and radiators, geothermal is not an ideal solution for radiators as it works best with the low flow temperatures used by underfloor, try pushing the heat pump to give an output over 55c and the COP drops.

    I hope the above is of some help,

    .


Advertisement