Our Wood Pellet Boiler decisions.........

nande2000

DanRichards wrote: »

Having just had a chat with an installer, he inferred that buffer tanks were recommended by some manufacturers, and not others. The boiler that we're looking at doesn't seem to need one. Its an Italian make, thats been installed in the UK for about 5 years now. It has a 2 year warranty, enforced by the installer with free parts available after that! I hope we wont need to find out!

We're going to have another couple of days to think it over, then probably give the go ahead next week.

Hi, Who is the manufacturer ? When you say free parts available do you mean during the 2 year warranty ? If its after it cant be true.
Another question to ask is how long do they keep the parts in stock after the boiler has been discontinued by the manufacturer.

DanRichards

Ive adjusted the previous post. It did read a bit daft didnt it!

The manufacturer is MCZ and the boiler is the Red compact 24.

mark-w20

I would not rule out the Grant Spira just on the 3 tonne hopper, that is an additional bulk hopper that you do not need to have, the Spira comes with a 110 kg pellet hopper as part of the package that you can fill from bags, it's also a condensing boiler increasing its efficiency and has self cleaning. Needs no buffer tank as it turns itself on and off as required (just like gas or oil) it also modulates its output as required between 6 & 26 KW.
By the way I don't work for Grant.

DanRichards

This is what i started this thread for really. Its great that we can finally have some information about these boilers in one place!

With regards to the Grant boiler, its not that we have ruled it out, its just that the installer we are favouring has suggested the MCZ instead. I guess at some point you have to rely on the experience and competence of the installer you trust the most to do the job. As a landscaper i would only supply and install decent quality products myself, and i hope that goes for the wood pellet installer too!

Do you have the Grant wood pellet boiler at home? If so, what's your setup and are you pleased?

nande2000

Trianco have some WP boilers out too i noticed last night. I like the look of their external unit. No buffer tank needed and pump is integral to the system. i'll do a bit further digging to see if I can find prices, but they look new to the market.
http://www.trianco.co.uk/products/greenflame-biomass-wood-pellet-boilers

Personally I would feel much more comfortable buying something made in the UK, as the response time to fix issues out of warranty (maybe even in warranty) should be quicker.

mark-w20

I don't have a wood pellet boiler at home, my home is not suited to one. I am a heating engineering and mainly install oil boilers, I have for many years installed nothing but Grant's. As new products and ideas come onto the market I like to keep up with these developments. As a result of this I have looked at various heat pumps, biomass boilers etc. I have also done Grants installers course on the Spira and have to say I was well impressed with it, if my house was suited it would be my choice, but like you say different installers have different preferences. The Grant however is a UK / Ireland product which I have no doubt is a good thing with regard to after sales service.

Hutchch0920

Hello!

A very interesting thread, have you checked out http://www.yougen.co.uk/ ? This may be a useful resource for gaining information on different installers etc.

I would also say look again at the Grant boiler, it is made in the UK and they have a long standing history of manufacturing oil condensing boilers. From my dealings with them, they have spent a lot of money on R&D, so much so that their wood pellet boiler is the only one of its kind that has the condensing feature, which enhances its efficiency. (I also do not work for Grant, I am actually a wood pellet supplier!). Wood pellet prices will no doubt rise, and a portion of this price will track that of oil, due to the necessity of using oil in the harvesting of wood & its transportation at various stages. However what we do not expect to see is spikes in the price of supply. Typically, once the suppliers have revised their prices, these will be valid for around 6 months, if not longer. Most suppliers can now offer fixed term contracts, and ours track the rate of RPI.

With regards to having a bulk store fitted, it depends on your location and the size. If you are happy to manually handle the fuel, and will be fit enough to do so in the forseeable future, then the cost is likely to outweigh the benefit of having a bulk solution fitted. How many pallets you use depends on how large your house is but a typical domestic property will use around 3 to 5 tonnes a year, so 5 pallets is a reasonable assumption.

If you have not spoken to us already, please do feel free to contact me at Billington Biofuels, we'd be happy to advise.

Claire

DanRichards

Well, after another chat with our favoured installer, we have decided to go ahead with the work. We did talk about Grant Boilers as an option, but it would have pushed us out of our price range. The guy only had good things to say about them, but we couldn't have afford it, and also it seemed not to be suited to our house and setup.

The things with wood pellets really seem to be that everybodys situation is different and so different boilers and setups are going to work better for some and not for others. I'm thinking that this'll mean there wont necessarily be a "winning" boiler for everybody, it depends on price, current heating situation etc.

Anyway, decision made. I'll be updating (with pics if possible) when the install happens, then as regularly as needs be after that with regards to heating costs etc.

WooHoo!!!!

nande2000

Fantastic, i look forward to seeing how it goes for you. Good luck !

nande2000

Just out of interest what prices are you getting quoted for pellets ? I've been contacting suppliers and they are all in the process of putting their prices up 10% Worrying considering oil has been at the same price for the past 2 years. I would be expecting the price of pellets to go down not up.