BULK WOOD PELLETS - Renewables - Biomass Boiler

Builderwoman!

Bulk Woodpellets delivered and blown into fuel store have gone up 86% per tonne from last year. Minimum orders are usually 3 tonnes. I know diesel prices have increased for delivery trucks. But it’s really not fair on those of us in the domestic market who have been trying to be greener and who were early adopters. If oil went up 86% from one year to the next there would be chaos. How are we supposed, in a cost of living crisis, to tolerate this massive price rise financially, on top of huge electricity unit hikes etc? Comments, hope of decrease or advice on where to get a better price welcomed. Feel free to PM if necessary. Thank you.

graememk

Oil has doubled, and briefly tripled, and nearly come close to 4x very briefly.

Gas prices are nearly 3x what they used to be. 4-5c was the norm. But now it's in the low teens.

The cost of living crisis is mainly down to the fuel cost. I don't have any solutions for you though. But it's not just wood pellets, it's across the board.

bullit_dodger

Also (and don't read this a me being negative towards you) but wood pellets aren't really a good renewable source. When you burn them your still releasing the captured CO2 that the wood has. Wood pellets have been mis-sold to people over the last decade or so I think as "green" when really....they're not.

The dirty little secret behind 'clean energy' wood pellets | Biomass and bioenergy | The Guardian

That's not to say that they are bad and you should scrap your burner. No, it's more like that it's probably at best neutral to the environment. That said, if you have to burn something.....they are one of the best of what's there.

Like Graeme I don't have a solution for you and sympathize with your predicament. Shocking to see that they have tripled like oil heating ! :-(

con747

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058288512/bulk-wood-pellets-renewables-biomass-boiler

What prices are you being quoted for quantities.

the_amazing_raisin

Just to wander off topic, has anyone ever looked at making their own pellets?

You can get animal feed pellet machines for a few thousand which seem to do the job.

If you have a lot of green waste and a shredder/mulcher then you could make some of your own pellets

They're probably not at the quality level of wood pellets but the price is right

con747

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120365763#Comment_120365763

I'd reckon getting the right moisture content might be the issue doing it yourself.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120365787#Comment_120365787

Yeah I imagine so. I think the process of pelletising forces a lot of moisture out, but you'd probably need some drying pre or post pelletisation to ensure they work

I've seen a couple of wood drying kilns on YouTube which is basically just an insulated shed with a few fans to keep fresh air flowing and some heat lamps to warm the air when it's cold

This was in America, not sure how well it would work in damp Ireland where you can practically swim through the air some days

But could easily be rigged up to a couple of solar panels so it dries the pellets on sunny days (on top of solar gains)

Of course this is on top of the couple of fields worth of agricultural waste and sheds you need to process and store the pellets

I've kinda moved beyond cottage industry into small industrial venture, haven't I? 😂

Builderwoman!

It would be impossible I would imagine to get the moisture content spot on if you used a variety of waste wood materials.

Builderwoman!

It was €550 a tonne before Christmas and they are €530 a tonne now. They were €285 a tonne last year!

Builderwoman!

Wasn’t as familiar with oil prices. Thanks for that.