# Wood pellet or solid fuel boiler?



## record (14 Dec 2008)

I need to get an extra boiler to supplement my air-to-water heating system. I am considering a wood pellet boiler, but am wondering should I also consider a solid fuel range (with a back boiler).

What do you think? Due to the trouble I am having with my air-to-water, I am going a bit cynical about this whole green heating thing.

Thanks for any replies.


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## allthedoyles (14 Dec 2008)

solid fuel is certainly not going to last forever.... and when it increases in price, it does not normally come back down like oil does....

my employers sell wood pellets ( about 2 years now ) and solid fuel and we have not received negative feedback yet for wood pellets .

Wood pellets can be purchased in bulk or bags , and MUST be kept dry at all times .

If you are looking at a short term solution ( 15-20 years ) I would suggest solid fuel

If you are in a smokeless area ,( and go for solid fuel )  check out the products you can burn before you decide on a system


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## Chief Seamus (4 Feb 2009)

What did you decide?
I am looking at a wood pellet stove with a back boiler at the moment . I have solar panels already for summer hot water but need to replace an oil boiler and I'm thinking of going green for heating the house too.
The pellets are about €320 a tonne, any real examples of how many litres of oil that displaces?


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## record (5 Feb 2009)

Chief Seamus said:


> What did you decide?
> I am looking at a wood pellet stove with a back boiler at the moment . I have solar panels already for summer hot water but need to replace an oil boiler and I'm thinking of going green for heating the house too.


 
I haven't decided anything yet! I am going to get an engineer to assess the whole system and advice me as to what would work best.

However, I did look into the wood pellet option and have definitely decided against that - lots of stories of it being very dusty, you have to get a special bulk storage area put in, plus some difficulties with quality of pellets.  The main drawback for me though was that the unit is noisy as it has an in-built fan to distribute the heat.  As the unit would be in my living room, this would put me off.


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## One (5 Feb 2009)

I bought a Waterford Stanley Erin Solid Fuel Stove with back boiler 3 years ago. It heats up most of the radiators in my house. I have found it great.


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## TomC (5 Feb 2009)

I have bought a stanley erin also. Think its time we had a special section for stove questions!


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## flatwallet (5 Feb 2009)

Hi take a look at www.estherm.com some stoves on there that might interest you.
or look at my pictures. I have 1 of those.
[broken link removed]#

Best regards Flatwallet


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## fmc (6 Feb 2009)

Record have a pellet stove with boiler and theres no fan blowing in the room if its a boiler model but there is a fan on the flue but very little noise and I kinda like it at this stage anyway.
An air model will have a fan blowing heat into the room. They are a little dusty but nothing like a s/f stove. A quality pellet is more crucial for a stove than a boiler but they are all pretty good standard now.


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