Wood Pellets

I think they run at something like 180 a tonne..??

Bags are not an option.. buy bulk.

As for a sucessful trouble free supplier.. i dont think ive come across one yet.

Every one of them seem to have had difficulties.

I think Balcas are getting it together now and are prob one of the better suppliers

Bulk storage is the only option if you want to save money with pellets, bags only for limited use such as stoves etc. I've used balcs twice this year, and they're fine, no long wait pellets are fine, only problems I've had are my own fault in putting together the silo. There are a few options on the market for silo's now Balcas & JFC have plastic ones not sure haow good they are and Gerkros reccomend a Maffai one made of Steel (a very large mechanno set!!) Do a lot of reasearch and see the silos installed or else build your own unit and store them internally if you have a slarge space in a shed! There's more work to wood pellets compared to oil or gas or even geothermal but they're not tied to the rising cost of energy other than the cost of transport!!

Cork_Rebel wrote: »

Hi

Am at the start of a big house refur project and am trying to decide Gas v Oil v Wood Pellets. House is a semi d in Dublin city with side entrance.

Trying to get the pro's and con's of Wood Pellets.

Assumptions!
1) Need to build a 2.5m by 5m shed to store boiler and hopper.
2) Hopper needs to store 3.5 tonne pellets

Q's
1) The hopper will be 20m away from delivery truck. Does this pose a problem?
2) Are the pellets hard to source? Are they manufactured in Ireland? Is there sufficient supply in Ireland to meet future needs?

Anything else I need to consider?

Cork Rebel assumption 1 is incorrect, you can have a completely external system no shed required, gerkros do a housing for the boiler & 300kg silo (like an external oil boiler just bigger!) assumption 2 is correct you need a 3.5 tonne storage silo to get the SEI grant, external types are available, no shed needed, Gerkros, Balcas and JFC do various types.

20m max is currently the distance for delivery from the pellet truck measure it exactly, talk to supplier (as opposed to an installer!!) & there are a number of bulk suppliers, I use balcas who I find quick and good quality (so far) more will appear as demand increases.

They're recycled sawdust do I belive there plenty although a lot currently goes into MDF too!!

I hope this helps

Cork_Rebel wrote: »

Thanks No6. Appreciate that.

I should be ok with the 20 meter, assuming the truck can drive in into the drive way.

I was listening to Duncan Stewart last Sunday at Green Party energy fair and he reckoned within 10 years oil and gas are going to be in very short supply.

Is there a front runner for reliability in boilers to go for and is there one's that should be avoided? Was talking to a couple of suppliers and the prices seem to vary by up to 10K depending on which boiler you go for.

I'm looking for something that doesn't involve too much maintenance work but I don't mind cleaning out the ashes every month. Also I dont need something that has a space shuttle computer inside it.

Look at Gerkros, they're Irish and reasonably priced, size one to suit the size of your house, just because its red and from Europe and expensive dosn't mean its the best on the market or in space!!