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

A question about : Our Wood Pellet Boiler decisions.........

There seems to be very little info available online about peoples experiences of their installs of wood pellet boilers, and so, as we are about to choose one of these for our home, i thought i would document how we came to choose this solution, what the install is like, and how it works out for us in the future. Anything to help!

We are a family of 4 and have recently moved into a 4 bed semi which currently has old night storage heaters, a wood burning stove, and an old parkray stove. Our very corroded water tank is badly in need of replacement, and we arent looking forward to a winter without a decent form of heating.

Our previous property was a 2 bed terraced served by Gas, the village we now live in has no Gas main, so we started looking at what options we had available.

Right from the outset we were adamant we didnt want to use oil. The costs of which are only going to increase, and faced with a clean slate scenario, we were looking forward to going off grid somewhat.
Our choices therefore were LPG (no thanks!), Air source heat pump or a wood pellet boiler. The ASHP was my first port of call, but having chatted it over with various installers we came to the conclusion that our property was not right for one. We are getting cavity wall insualtion in the coming couple of months and have double glazing, but as i understand it an ASHP is more suitable for properties with exceedingly good, rather than just average, insulation.

Which leaves Wood pellets. We've done about as much research as you can into them and have currently received a couple of quotes, and are waiting for one more. The current costs for us are approx 10K for a boiler, 12 radiators, pipework, new 250 litre twin coil solar unvented cylinder and installation.
The boiler is a MCZ Red compact 24 which will sit in the garage. This has a 70KG hopper which i'll look to top up every 2-3 days we think. Originally i was sceptical about having to do this, but the more i think about it, the more i'm coming around to the idea. I quite like the thought of being in control of the fuel and being able to assess the usage throughout the year. Really im the type of guy who will sit in front of the thing stressing every time a few pellets get burned and wanting to know who the heck is turning on the hot water!

The 2 other options of pellet boilers we had were the ExtraFlame Melinda, which would have sat in the lounge or dining room, and a Grant 26 KW Spira with 3 tonne hopper. The Melinda we ruled out due to not wanting a smaller hopper or the boiler in the lounge!
We've now ruled out the larger hopper and Grant boiler as well. The 3 tonne hopper was costing about Ј1300. Yesturday i spoke to various wood pellet suppliers about the savings involved in receiving pallets over blown deliveries. Like one helpful chap pointed out, unless you take delivery of at least 3 tonnes there is very little saving, and you wouldn't let the hopper run completely empty, so would only really be ordering 2 to 2.5 tonnes at a time. With delivery charges it was really working out the same, and as im a fit and healthy landscaper, i've no problem with filling a smaller hopper more frequently. Time will tell.

Anyway, i plan on updating this as more decisions are made and keeping anyone interested with this up to date on the install, costs and day to day running. If you have any questions, please ask and ill try and answer as best i can. I really figure that as its an emerging technology, those of us that choose to adopt it should help document the process for the future.

All the best
Dan.

Best answers:

• Make sure that your installer/boiler supplier is MCS certified in order for you to qualify for the Renewable Heat Incentive when it opens for domestic applicants next year (supposedly)
• A good point, all who have quoted are, and it should be noted the above pricing doesn't include the Ј950 grant available.
  To be honest i'm ignoring the possibility of the RHI next year. If it happens, great. But i really wont be surprised if it doesn't.
• Generally i'm interested to see how this goes as, like you've said, not many people have taken the plunge and given good feedback about pellet boilers.
  The only thing that i really wanted to ask about was why you ruled out Oil (based on ever increasing prices) and didn't seem to factor in that the same will , more than likely, also happen to pellets.
  The popularity of stoves has certainly lead to wood and smokeless prices taking a marked jump over the last couple of years so i can't see how pellets are going to be immune.
  When factoring in that Oil stoves and Tanks seem to be much cheaper "up front" i'm wondering if this is more than just an economics based decission.
  I don't have any axe to grind with this as i am quite interested in Pellet Boilers as well as ASHP but i'm still put off on both, financially, until someone proves to me otherwise.
  So after all that please keep us updated
• I'm sure your right, that pellets wont be immune to price increases. From the checking i've done already there seems to be a fair difference in price between pallet deliveries. They range in price from Ј215 to Ј250 per pallet, and this doesn't include 5% VAT either.
  Obviously shopping around will help with this too.
  It is a bit of an unknown as to how many pallets per year we will use. We think it'll be about 5 pallets, but only time will tell. Like i said earlier, i'll be accounting for every little pellet we use!!!!
• Nice thread, I shall certainly be keeping my eye on this.
  We are just getting planning sorted out for a granny annex we are adding on to the house, so looking to alter our current heating requirements.
  We currently have an 11kw stove which just does the ch, i'm intending to link the pellet boiler into our system to do the water and the ch as well via a valve so it comes on in the morning, we can then use our stove at night and the valve shuts off thus saving pellets.
  Not looked into anything too far yet but seen the euroheat boilers and had a few quotes back on them, one other option ive looked at is one that can burn pellets - barley - corn - maize and woodchip but I cant remember the darn name of it, has its own buffer tank on it which cuts down on installation space.
• Im in a similar position so ill be keeping an eye on this post.
  I was looking at Tundra stoves, my worry is the warranty and support network.
  One thing I have found out from a friend of an owner of a wood pellet factory is that the business model is based on the price of wood pellets tracking the price of oil. Pellets will always be cheaper, but the prices will be linked.
  A new oil boiler is currently still winning for me. Worcester Bosch have a 7 year warranty deal at the moment.
  I wouldnt have an ASHP if you paid me!!
• Sorry one other thing I should mention. Im getting confusing signals from suppliers about buffer tanks. Some say you have to have one or efficiency and longevity of pellet boilers is effected, and others say they are not needed, what have you heard ?
• Must admit I have read that buffer tanks should be installed with pellet burners and log gassification burners as well.
  This is the one I mentioned in my post above https://www.woodmaster.com/ American but available over here, their furnaces have a built in / on buffer.
• 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.
  We're going to have another couple of days to think it over, then probably give the go ahead next week.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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?
• 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.
  https://www.trianco.co.uk/products/gr...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.
• 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.
• Hello!
  A very interesting thread, have you checked out https://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
• 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!!!!
• Fantastic, i look forward to seeing how it goes for you. Good luck !