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Pellet stoves

  • 28-02-2018 11:33pm
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 4


    Hi I'm hoping to to buy the ravelli aria pellet stove has anybody any thoughts on the pros and cons...


«13456

Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 19 arminkavix


    Looking myself and so far.......
    Noise is an issue with pellet stoves.
    Ignitors fail fairly often although not just Ravelli.
    Online Italian stores on the continent selling for 1000 yoyos less than here with Euro wide shipping to come on top.


  • Registered Users Posts: 173 ✭✭EHP


    arminkavix wrote:
    Looking myself and so far....... Noise is an issue with pellet stoves. Ignitors fail fairly often although not just Ravelli. Online Italian stores on the continent selling for 1000 yoyos less than here with Euro wide shipping to come on top.


    I have a kalor pellet stove with the last 3 years no issue with noise and haven't changed the ignitor yet. Had a harman pellet stove in another house before again no issue with noise but the ignitor wouldn't last a year in it for some reason. I also have customers with kalor, extraflame and K-Stove and no issues with noise or ignitiors in any of these.


  • Registered Users Posts: 19 arminkavix


    Could you recommend a shortlist of good manufacturers of boiler pellet stoves with good local support in the 16-25kW range?
    Are there any to avoid ?


  • Registered Users Posts: 173 ✭✭EHP


    arminkavix wrote:
    Could you recommend a shortlist of good manufacturers of boiler pellet stoves with good local support in the 16-25kW range? Are there any to avoid ?

    What general area are you in. The 2 I would recommend most would be Kalor and extraflame, Kalor being my first choice but that's just because I have more knowledge on it. Check out woodpelletstoves.ie for info on Kalor and local stockists, for extraflame Kerry biofuels is the only supplier I know probably is more.


  • Registered Users Posts: 19 arminkavix


    South East. Ravelli seem popular around here but had my eye on Kalor efficiencies of 95% at max output.
    Is it a good idea to slightly undersize these units compared to what used be done with kero boilers?
    Like put 20Kw pellet in where 25kW kero was and keep them running close to full output or does that shorten the life?


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  • Registered Users Posts: 4 Dachsieone


    Another concern I have is if there is a power out is there away to start the pellet stove manually and would they feed themselves manually


  • Registered Users Posts: 19 arminkavix


    Dachsieone wrote: »
    Another concern I have is if there is a power out is there away to start the pellet stove manually and would they feed themselves manually

    Unless you have a back up generator or a UPS it's just a lump of steel and ceramic.
    That's why we have a Jotul 118 and a Waterford 104 as bankers for heat and cooking.
    What a way to make a wood pile disappear though, and probably 70% efficient at best.
    Thankfully the wood is free apart from the elbow grease :)


  • Registered Users Posts: 173 ✭✭EHP


    arminkavix wrote:
    South East. Ravelli seem popular around here but had my eye on Kalor efficiencies of 95% at max output. Is it a good idea to slightly undersize these units compared to what used be done with kero boilers? Like put 20Kw pellet in where 25kW kero was and keep them running close to full output or does that shorten the life?

    No advantage to undersize as most if not all pellet stoves modulate down in power once the preset temp is reached.


  • Posts: 21,179 ✭✭✭✭[Deleted User]


    We were looking at the pellet stoves in the stove centre in Carlow Town yesterday. Looking at around 3K inc installation.

    I want to use it in the sitting room to replace the very expensive to run open Gas fire, we have a superb Efel 9 Kw Oil stove in the Kitichen/Dining area and have Oil heating for the rest of the house but I don't like having it on when I'm only in 1-2 rooms.

    Anyone know what price you should expect to pay inc installation for pellet stove ? looking for about 5-6 Kw max.

    Please link to some reliable models.

    Interested in insert stoves also.

    Failing that we can just install a 2nd hand efel for 400 Euro's and hopefully tap into the oil feed for the other oil stove which is the other side of the chimney.

    They're giving away the Efel oil stoves 2nd hand in this country for some reason, they're great but I wanted to get away from oil and I don't want to use solid fuel.


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 16,635 ✭✭✭✭dr.fuzzenstein


    Personally I don't know if I would go for a pellet stove again. I had an Exraflame and I found it a lot of work.
    The chute holds 1-2 bags of pellets, so you're forever lugging bags around. Pellets burn clean, but you still need to empty the ash every few days. You need to either spend a few thousand on a silo or you will have to get pellets once a week and throw them into the garage or the shed.
    Every few weeks you need to take it apart and clean out the system. It's horrible and dirty and a lot of work.
    At least twice a year, you need to clean the chimney. MAKE SURE that you have a chimney that can be easily swept. Mine wasn't and I cursed it to hell every time.
    You will need a dust mask and a large capacity vacuum cleaner if you do it yourself.
    Or you spend a lot of money on a technician to call out and service it and separately a chimney sweep.
    The one I had was horrible at starting up, took 2-3 goes most of the time, that means opening it up, emptying the pellets again, waiting half an hour till it cools down again (even if it never lit).
    Replacing the glow plug was not fun, but replacing the pellet feed motor was dreadful.
    I'd go for a simple stove next time.


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  • Posts: 21,179 ✭✭✭✭[Deleted User]


    It's not something I'd be using daily for many hours to be honest.

    Depends on how intensive the cleaning is if it would bother me or not.

    Lugging bags of pellets, how many would you use a day , how many hours would you get per bag at what heat setting ? that's a 6 Kw stove isn't it ?

    Definitely the Oil stove is brilliant, no cleaning apart from the door before I light it, but you just turn it on and as long as there's oil in the tank it needs nothing. I really don't know why they're not much more popular !

    As I said I can buy them really cheap 400-500 Euro's so financially it probably makes a lot more sense I just like the idea of the pellet stove because I'm not a huge fan of coal (smokeless) and the work that goes in it and the pellets might be a bit less polluting than the oil stove but they're probably more polluting than the smokeless coal.

    Wood burning stoves are getting attention in the U.K because they're more polluting than diesels with no emissions control on the chimney emissions, how it compares to pellets I do not know. I'm in the sticks anyway so it's not a huge deal.


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 16,635 ✭✭✭✭dr.fuzzenstein


    The aria doesn't look to bad to clean at first glance.
    Mine also heated water and radiators, so was a lot more complex to clean.
    To my mind a solid fuel stove would be a lot less complex, meaning less to go wrong, cost less in the first place and have a longer life expectancy.
    Also, wood or coal for burning can be bought anywhere, but pellet stove burns only pellets.


  • Posts: 21,179 ✭✭✭✭[Deleted User]


    Yeah I'm half thinking I should just go with a smaller Oil stove minimal maintenance, no ashes , no fuelling as long as there's oil in the tank and very long life, the installation though is expensive regardless of stove costs.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 18,958 ✭✭✭✭Shefwedfan


    Sorry to jump on this thread...I am looking at wood pellet stove room heater to replace a Woodburning Stove(Green 8kW).....it has multifuel connection so burning logs/coal in it

    The room is huge so the 2 radiators don't heat it. It is main room and each morning I end up lighting the stove which is a pain but also the room is cold till it gets up and running. I was looking at the pellet stove because I can set it on a timer.

    I guess a 8kW will be required to replace. Any recommendations?

    I dont mind the bags of pellets. I have a large shed to store them in and would be way easier that logs/coal which I am using at the moment

    I did talk to someone and they mentioned keeping the pellets dry is a disaster? I would guess if I have a dry shed it would be no issue and then just buy in bulk like I do with the coal


  • Posts: 21,179 ✭✭✭✭[Deleted User]


    Do you have oil heating ? if so then seriously consider the Efel Stoves, we have the 9 Kw and it heats the Kitchen, dining and conservatory absolutely no problem. Most of the time when the conservatory is closed we only need it up quarter way or "less" and it's a miser on oil. No maintenance, service once a year maybe and that is it.

    I was keen on the pellet stove but not so keen now really. I do like them though. But for simplicity the Efel oil stove means as long as there is oil in the tank the stove will burn 24x7 without any issue, refuelling , ashes or soot.

    The main reason I was considering pellets was environmental reasons but as I've been reading wood burning is as bad as smokey coal and that's a no no for me, smokeless coal you'd be better off burning as it's a lot cleaner seemingly. There are issues in the U.K now with burning wood as it's far worse than the controlled emissions from diesel exhaust of most modern diesels.

    So hard to know what to do. I might even just convert the open gas fireplace to solid fuel open for now until I decide what to do because burning the gas in the open fireplace is expensive but the gas is the cleanest fuel which amazes me, it should be the cheapest for that reason, I could go for Gas stove also but bottled gas is more expensive also.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 18,958 ✭✭✭✭Shefwedfan


    Yes, have oil heating in the house.....how do you get the oil from the tank to the stove? I guess you need to run a pipe to it?


  • Posts: 21,179 ✭✭✭✭[Deleted User]


    Yes you need to run a feed to it but once done it's done forever, beats having all that fuelling and cleaning with solid fuel or wood pellet stoves.

    You could put a small tank closer to the stove and run a feed from there. The beauty of that is that if the main tank runs out you'll still be able to run the stove and apart from lighting it requires no electricity and can even be lit if there's a power cut.

    According to the manufacturers the 10 Kw consumes 0-3-1.2 L/Hr They're actually called Nestor Martin now I think.

    This is the one we have or similar under the name Efel, and of course you'll need a flue if not already installed.

    http://www.nestormartinstoves.com/stoves-and-inserts/products/28-s-series-oil-s-41

    If you already have oil I guarantee you would not regret having this ultra low maintenance ultra reliable stove.

    I have seen these stoves go for as little as 400 Euro's on adverts and donedeal , reason for selling is usually something like "going back to solid fuel" and that sounds crazy to me because they're so good.

    I'm half thinking of getting the 5 or 6 Kw for the sitting room, if I can't take a feed from the existing supply which is the other side of the chimney then I'd install a small tank at the side of the house which is about 8 meters to the stove.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 18,958 ✭✭✭✭Shefwedfan


    Thanks Mad_lad

    I guess it can be set on a timer to come on a specific time?

    I like the idea of the pellet stove which you can turn on/off from mobile phone. I have a Climote so it works for rest of house.


  • Posts: 21,179 ✭✭✭✭[Deleted User]


    Unfortunately no timer, you can’t control it like gas stove or pellet stove.

    You kind of have to weigh up the pros and cons of pellets V oil stove.

    Pellets harder to store , keep dry, stoves need maintenance and will cost more to replace parts need to be refueled very frequently , cleaning , ashes etc.

    Oil stove need nothing only oil and clean with a cloth you can leave it lighting as long as there’s oil in the tank, no refueling and no real parts to wear out.

    You can have it serviced once a year if you wish.

    I don’t know if there’s an oil stove you can regulate and set via timer electronically, personally that doesn’t bother me.

    I’d be interested to know what you go for and what you think of it but as I said I’ve seen some of these stoves going for as little as 400 euros 2nd hand, I’d find that hard to resist becaus they really are that good.

    The only real negative about the oil stove is it’s not electronically controlled but as I said it’s no issue to me.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 18,958 ✭✭✭✭Shefwedfan


    The lack of a timer is huge issue. The oil would be cleaner than starting the wood burning but you would still have 30 mins before the room would heat

    Also bringing a connection to the oil could be an issue. I would need to put a second tank because I can't see how I would run a pipe from the current tank.

    I have two huge dry sheds so storage is not an issue.

    you say needs to be refueled frequently, once a day if I have coming on in morning for a few hours and then in evening for a few hours?

    My main goal long term is to reduce my oil requirements and I did think wood pellet would be more environmental friendly?


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  • Posts: 21,179 ✭✭✭✭[Deleted User]


    Wood burning is now frowned upon especially in London where it's causing a lot of pollution and is soon to be banned in a lot more places in Germany.

    They're still ignoring it in the U.K and experts deem it far worse than modern diesels because the emissions are completely unregulated, wood stoves are probably worse but the fact remains , smokeless coal is better for the environment than wood burning.

    There's many centuries of coal left and I hate forests being destroyed for revenue generation. That in my opinion is far more devastating. Wood is deemed environmentally sound because trees can be replanted but I don't believe all forest is replanted for pellets. Most of our forest is for revenue generation purposes and I don't really approve of it, too much pine and not real hard wood anyway.

    Yes by all means if controls are an issue then pellet stove sounds ideal and I do like them but this is the catch, are they worth the higher maintenance and maintenance costs ?

    I wouldn't let the oil pipe be the deciding factor in your decision unless it's too difficult to connect, the 2nd tank could be ideal.

    Jus to add a bit more about emissions.

    While wood burning is deemed carbon neutral there are very high consequences and that's PM emissions.

    If you live in the country as I do it might not be so much of an issue.


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 16,635 ✭✭✭✭dr.fuzzenstein


    It's the usual green insanity.
    Wood burning from renewable forests = good because carbon neutral, what about all the other sh*t? Who cares.
    Diesel = good because less CO2. What about all the other sh*t? Who cares.
    Then start screaming and jumping up and down because inner cities start to resemble 19th century London with fumes and grime and "no one could have EVER foreseen that!"
    Pellets is just another form of burning wood, but that's good, because it pellets, all modren and fancy, jaysis, it has to be good!
    Greens are just the same as everyone else now, sell their mother for short term political gain, fcuk the consequences and don't think beyond the next election.

    On a practical note.
    Wood pellet stoves with a backboiler are a screaming nightmare to clean and maintain. I reckon (but don't know) that a room heater only, would have to be far easier to maintain. Maybe easier than a solid fuel stove (with lighting and daily cleaning), but you still have to take higher purchase price and maintenance into account and possibly higher fuel costs, I don't know about that one. But there's a convenience element to it.
    As for storage. I used to go to the yard once a week and by 10 bags @ 15 kg each and feck them in the garage. I kept them on a pallet, a bit off the ground.
    Dampness was never an issue. If your pellets go damp, they turn into weetabix and are no good anymore. And I would always take 2-3 bags with me from the garage and keep them beside the stove, far handier.
    Don't bother with a pellet silo for a small room heater. It'll never pay for itself with the marginal difference in price. And you can buy pellets as needed, rather than having to buy 2 tons at a time. I would only buy a silo if I had to heat Dromoland Castle.
    If there is an existing stove, I would stick with it, otherwise probably oil.

    Finally, one of the biggest drawbacks of a pellet stove is that you cannot go on 2 weeks skiing holiday and throw on the timer. The pellets don't last more than a few days. So you gaff will be frozen unless a neighbour calls in and throws in a few pellets.
    I now have gas central heating from a pipelin and I love it to bits. It's virtuall mainetance free. Chimney sweep only checls everythying every 2 years and says "yeah, it's grand".


  • Posts: 21,179 ✭✭✭✭[Deleted User]


    Yeah oil or mains gas is dead handy when you have to be up early and home in the evening.

    Our boiler is 35 Kw so I don't want it guzzling oil when I'm only in 2 rooms mainly, the heat from the oil stove warms the hall too, and it might be running 3-6 Kw instead, the boiler cutting in and out is still burning oil despite the house being warm and I don't need warm bedrooms during the day when I'm not in them, they don't be freezing anyway.

    A 5-6 Kw, stove the sitting room would be running between 1-3 Kw most of the time probably and it's ultra low maintenance, turn the de-coke thing every week and wipe the door before using it and that's all it requires, oh and oil.

    One things for sure this was a very long cold winter and I'm ready for it to be over !


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,082 ✭✭✭blackbox


    Shefwedfan wrote: »
    The lack of a timer is huge issue. The oil would be cleaner than starting the wood burning but you would still have 30 mins before the room would heat

    Also bringing a connection to the oil could be an issue. I would need to put a second tank because I can't see how I would run a pipe from the current tank.

    We have an oil stove for several years and we basically leave it on from October to May. We have it turned down very low and it gives a nice background heat to the whole house without using much fuel - it is located in our hall. I would definitely recommend one. We use an additional heater (woodburner or electric) in whichever rooms we are using. It is effortless compared to the woodburner.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4 Dachsieone


    I have now installed the ravelli aria pellet stove. Thanks for all advice.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4 Dachsieone


    Where can I buy good quality wood pellets in Cork 10kg or 15 kg. Can they be bought online with delivery. What are the best and cheapest. Thanks


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 18,958 ✭✭✭✭Shefwedfan


    arminkavix wrote: »
    Looking myself and so far.......
    Noise is an issue with pellet stoves.
    Ignitors fail fairly often although not just Ravelli.
    Online Italian stores on the continent selling for 1000 yoyos less than here with Euro wide shipping to come on top.

    Any links please? Who would install if you do buy? Thanks


  • Registered Users Posts: 469 ✭✭Mrs cockett


    Dachsieone wrote: »
    I have now installed the ravelli aria pellet stove. Thanks for all advice.

    Let us know how it goes please


  • Registered Users Posts: 32,943 ✭✭✭✭NIMAN


    Interesting reading for me in this thread, as I have been thinking recently again about slack burners.

    How do wood pellets compare in terms of running costs? Anyone know?

    My big fear for a slack burner is the fact that it's coal you're burning, and the government attitude to this dirty fuel as time passes. Might be taxed a lot.


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  • Posts: 21,179 ✭✭✭✭[Deleted User]


    NIMAN wrote: »
    Interesting reading for me in this thread, as I have been thinking recently again about slack burners.

    How do wood pellets compare in terms of running costs? Anyone know?

    My big fear for a slack burner is the fact that it's coal you're burning, and the government attitude to this dirty fuel as time passes. Might be taxed a lot.

    Haha EV driver burning filthy coal , should be ashamed. :D

    From June or July it will be illegal to burn Smoky coal, Illegal to Buy and illegal to sell and about bloody time too. Nothing worse in estates or anywhere with clouds of coal smoke it's disgusting and a complete health hazzard.

    Next to go should be all smoky solid fuels in all towns and villages.

    Next , watch the cost of smokeless fuels rocket !


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