Wood pellet burner/UFH

B

Builder

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Has anyone any experience on running UFH with wood pellet burner.
My plumber says to run the UFH 24hrs and my wood pellet burner may use a maximum of 7kg pellet per hour which will make it very expensive as I have bought the pellets by the bag.
Also has anyone made a self build storage for wood pellets or any hints on how to make one as I would need to buy pellets in bulk. Any other supplier of bulk pellets apart from Balcas as it take 4 weeks from order date.
 
Tips on building your own pellet store...

  • Storage unit needs to be waterproof (including damp) and air tight.
  • Storage unit needs to be of sufficient strength to hold the pellets being stored, it is unlikely that a stud wall construction will be strong enough.
  • Needs to have the appropriate fitting for accommodating a blown delivery.
  • Maximum distance from lorry to store connection is 80 feet.
  • The inside of the storage unit needs to be free from electrical sockets, electrical switches and electrical fittings.
  • The delivery pipe on the storage unit must be made from metal and must be earthed
  • Storage unit will need an exit port to allow the release of the delivery air and this port should be fitted with a filter to reduce dust exiting the storage silo.
  • The floors of the silo should have a slope of at least 40° going towards the feed mechanism.
  • A flexible sheet such as rubber should hang in the path of the pellets being blown into the storage unit. This will stop pellet damage during delivery.
 
I will be installing a similar system WPB and UFH downstairs and rads upstairs. What you need to ensure is that your boiler is a modulating boiler. Most boilers are either on or off meaning that you get all or nothing from the boiler. with a modulating boiler the temperature on the return circuit to the boiler is measured versus a thermostat on your north exterior wall and the boiler only will only come on at a level to raise the temperature in the return loop above the setpoint. that means your boiler will modulate its output to maintain the temp in your room versus the external thermostat. This means as the temperature outside goes up or down the boiler will modulate its output. It costs a bit more to install up front the one I will be installing is €8500 but the boiler efficiency is vary good.
As regards the storage unit ensure that you have a camlock connection installed so that the supplier can connect the hose from the truck.
 
rahman,
can you tell me which company you have chosen for this modulating boiler, i hope to go with WPB and UFH downstairs with rads upstairs aswell.
I have been told that German and Austrian manufacturers of the WPB are the best?? did you find any of this information during your investigations?
 
hi, we installed a Wood pellet boiler and are delighted with the performance so far. We are runing UFH on it, but as was said in an earlier post, I do think it is best to have a buffer tank in conjunction with the pellet boiler. We bought a Windhager, Austrian manufactured boiler as this was the one we were happiest with the research we put in and yes I do think the Austrian and Germans manufacture the best in them. Efficieny is high, modulating, 5 year gurantee and low maintenance, pellets fed by air system. We are also building a pellet store ourselves in the attic of the garage (we have put in steel girders/supports, so it won't come down!) and the bought tanks/storage systems will not fit there. I am building it from 3/4 inch ply, well supported with a timber frame. You could look at using galvanise steel if you can get someone local or yourself to fold the sheets. There will be other suppliers coming on very soon. If I can help please feel free to email me and I will share what I know. Cheers, Optimistic.
 
Caro-line
I have done extensive research on WPB and I intend to go with a Windhager system as well. There are 2 agents in Ireland one in Skibereen ( Heatright) and one based in Longford (Smartheat) both on net. Another very good make is Viessmann in fact both Viessmann and Windhager are made in the same factory. Both of these systems have a very good control system and have an excellent track rcord in Germany. You pay for quality both of these systems are about €9000 but these systems are the best on the market.
 
I did not know that the Viessman was made in the same factory, but interesting to know as this was the one other model we had considered. Let us know how you get on. We dealth with the Skibbereen base who is the importer and distributer here in Ireland for Windhager. Optimistic.
 
Just about to embark on a self build with WPB and UFH. I plan to install a wood pellet \ woodchip boiler i.e a boiler capable of burning both fuels. Does anyone know whether there is a boiler out there that fits my specifications. I have been looking at the baxi boiler, but am unsure if this product fits the bill. Please advise.......anybody
 
I had a look at combo boiler and the best one I found was a one made an Austrin company KWB. These are the best on the market and a little more expensive but quality costs. Check out links for various models
[broken link removed]
www.nps.ie these are the agents for Ireland.
Coillte recomend these boilers and have a number of them installed around the country.
check out for further info. there are loads of other suppliers out there but KWB would be the best on market
 
Hi, We looked at the KWB and while it is a great boiler, the price is very high, from memory about 15+K. There has to be some place called stop (I think) in the viability of what is spent on heating systems. That would buy a lot of pellets for a very good brand of cheaper pellet boiler. Also, storage is another issue, you need a shed to store chips and willing to shovel in the chips if a smaller storage shed is built. Pellets can be pumped in by the truck when it delivers, into a built storage unit inside. I do also think (again from memory) that there has to be some adjustments made to the boiler to change it from pellet to chip use as there is different combustion for both materials. WHile having a boiler to burn both sounds great, I don't think it is viable in my opinion. All the best. Optimistic
 
Hi JohnDOD,
Warning about Baxi... may not bother you but we were about to purchase one and discovered while going through all tech spec that they are not automatic ignition.....You have to physically light this....
Best of luck
 
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Not only do you have to light them yourself, but also hoover them every fill, approx 2/3 days (from memory). A messy job inmy opinion from the way t was explained to me.
 
Nightmare, Are you sure about the manual lighting of the Baxi? Suprised that Heat Merchants would be flogging such a primitive boiler...

The least anyone in this day and age should have is a boiler that is timed from the Utility room of the house or is run from Thermostats within the house. Fair enough if you have to empty the ash every 3 weeks or so and clean the boiler a few times a year but anything beyond that is an inconvenience.
 

Thats only running full blast, that won't happen much

I checked out the windhager specs, looks pretty good.

[broken link removed]

I don't know much about the vacum fuel feed though, I'd speculate that using this saves equipment cost (a good feed auger will cost over 3k alone) but what are the electricity requirements for running this?
 
I Am Building A One And Half Storey House And Am Thinking Of Using A Guntamatic Wood Pellet Boiler From Ashgrove Engineering In Kanturk County Cork . Wondering If Antbody Has Any Experience Of This Type Of Burner And The Company . Also Wondering What Are The Most Cost Effective Solar Panels To Use In Conjunction With A Wood Pellet Boiler . Is There A Need Or Is Better To Have Two Tanks One For Solar And Then One For The Wood Pellet . I.e The Solar Tank Feeding The Wood Pellet Boiler Tank
 
Builder said:
Also has anyone made a self build storage for wood pellets or any hints on how to make one as I would need to buy pellets in bulk.
Click to expand...

Balcas have a spec for a self build storage on their website [broken link removed]
 
hi,

thinking of going for ufh and d wood pellet boiler. i have seen the kedco recommendations for floor size but does anyone know of a calculator for floor space area? i will be going for a 4000 sq ft house and d advice i have been getting is a 30 kw is sufficient....
 
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