Which wood pellet boiler?

[snarling bee]

I have decided that as 3 out of 4 houses need work on boilers/heating systems we should invest in a pellet boiler on a district heating circuit and claim the commercial RHI. I will need an approx. 80kw boiler. Are there any good or bad recommendations for make of boiler/storage system/installers in Beds/Herts/Bucks/Cambs/Northants areas. Reliability has to be more important than efficiency as the last thing I want is moaning tenants and family when it has broken down. Thanks.

 

[chickens and wheat]

Look at a P&H boiler , very simple and easy to care for
http://www.ph-energy.co.uk/

 

[suffolksmallholder]

I would imagine a pellet boiler of that scale will be a costly item. It'll work well on premium pellets (imports) but I would seriously consider a wood-chip boiler for a district heating set-up.
I'm a little further east of you but I'm starting to see the long term view of chip with Anglia Woodfuel's storage in strategic places air drying in readiness for the future.
A friend fitted a Veto boiler to his farm house and apart from the 'plumbers' and inexperienced 'importer', all this was eventually sorted, it is a superb system and he has gone on to fit a 300Kw Polish built (by Russian emigres) wood chip boiler for his current demands. The factory visit was a story in its own right!
The RHI grant is another interesting side of this but when we last talked it was moving forward steadily with verification of his heat meter......
I'm a champion of these systems but careful considerations, as you have mentioned, is top of the list where tenants are concerned. You'll need to understand the system in full and be able to rectify any problems immediately to keep them happy. The boilers themselves are really very simple once the basics are understood. You will just have to feed them in a proper fashion
As an example; I had tenants with a ground source heat pump and the company who supplied the thing were expanding so fast that their back-up was not up to scratch. This made my life a misery as dealing with an irate tenant on four of the coldest days during the winter of 2010 when the machine failed to operate was not easy! I had started to put together a plan to install a traditional heating system, ripping out said heat pump.
SS

 

[Loftyrules]

I'd look at these guys, seem very knowledgeable http://www.treco.co.uk/

 

[Simon Glew]

We are authorized installers for Eta, Woodpecker, MCZ,and Hertz.
Personally we tend to favor the Hertz boilers as they are super reliable, they also have a large set up in the uk and spares are readily available, which can be an issue with other makes.
As for fuel, chips are cheaper but more hassle, pellets are the easier option.
don't forget that you can meter the energy into each property and charge accordingly.
Generally you will be looking at a 5 Year payback on your project

hope this helps

 

[NavitasBen]

With Wood-pellet boilers you get what you pay for. If reliability is your priority perhaps look at a cascade system of 2 or 3 smaller boilers working as one system; this means if one goes down the others can still provide heat until the other is back online. We work predominantly with Windhager, and although they're pricier than most they're a truly quality product.

 

[chickens and wheat]

I fitted 2x97kw boilers instead of 1x199kw. This also gives you the option of turning one out to clean and service it without stopping the system obviously not at a peak time.

 

[Energy Energy]

We mainly install ETA boilers for district heating projects. We find the quality and reliability very hard to beat.
Yes, you do pay a little more but you will easy save that in maintenance and breakdown costs over the years.
Wood chip would be the preferred fuel if you have the space. This would also bring down the fuel costs.
We have installed systems where we metered the tenants properties so they could be charged for the fuel used.
Normally this was set at 1p kwh above the price of the fuel as this would also go towards maintenance.
The main thing is that you do go with the right boiler though. A cheaper install could end up costing you in the future.

 

[Bernt]

as above, we install district heating systems using Hertz and mainly ETA as they are pretty reliable amd very easy to set up and understand. Having looked at some of the pictures on the P&E website, i think i recognise one of the plantrooms they installed and quite frankly its one that got ripped out and a new Eta fitted,

 

[Jock]

What are Heizomat wood chip boilers like for reliability compared to those mentioned already?
Got a couple of companies coming to quote this week for system to serve farmhouse plus 3 cottages I let out.
One firm supplies ETA boilers, the other Heizomat. Much between them?

 

[chickens and wheat]

If I had the chance to change my system I'd add a way of easily adding 1 tonne tote bags of pellets to the silos without blowing, purely to save money.
I'd also add some extra vents to the shipping containers, to open when cleaning the boilers on hot days, its a dusty job and sun on the containers makes them very hot very quickly, so a through draught would be nice.
The insulated boilers hardly heat the containers at all its just the sun on the roof.

otherwise the simple system of 3 meters of flex auger directly from bin to boiler works a treat.

 

[Energy Energy]

I havent installed a Heizomat but with ETA, what they are producing now they guarantee spares for the next 20 years. That is the life time of the RHI and the minimum you will need to keep the boiler going for.

 

[Steven Rawding]

Good Evening, we have installed 39 Heizomat Boilers and find them very robust with fuel flexibility for the future across Pellet,Chip, Miscanthus and Rape Straw. Selecting a Biomass boiler which allows you not to be forced to buy a particular fuel will pay dividends over your boilers 20-30 year lifespan. www.vgenergy.co.uk for Biomass case studies/info or check out our Facebook page

 

[snarling bee]

Thanks for your comments guys, keep them coming. Having spent half of today investigating the job it seems to me that in our situation I will stick to pellets rather than chips, I do think that the boiler should be capable of both just in case we need to change. A pellet store will be easy to construct in the building we hope to use, but it is not the easiest access for a tipping lorry or loadall. A blowing lorry will have no problem. I think that with bigger systems wood chips make sense, and for a single house pellets are the obvious choice, and I do feel a bit in between.
I am slowly coming to the conclusion that either a ETA, HDG, Froling or Heizomat boiler will do the job perfectly well. I am sure there are others, some of which will burn grain as well, but at some point I need to narrow it down.
I have also considered installing 2 half size boilers, but I assume the cost will be prohibitive. If I was running a hotel or nursing home then I guess it would be a must.
I'll keep you all posted.
SB

 

[Simon Glew]

Pellet or chip for easy life - No Brainer anything else will have emission issues to address or at least prove for RHI.
Still think Hertz is your best option,however we fit ETA which is the same sort of quality and similar in price. Definitely cheaper than a Heizomat.

 

[robsmith]

Hi for all those wanting to install a new boiler in the York region - Midland Wood Fuels have a new depot at Stamford Bridge and substantial quantities of specification wood fuel. MWF can offer sustainble supplies and are registered on the Biomass Suppliers List - which is compulsory for all fuel suppliers to comply with RHI requirments.

 

[all_arable]

Hi for all those wanting to install a new boiler in the York region - Midland Wood Fuels have a new depot at Stamford Bridge and substantial quantities of specification wood fuel. MWF can offer sustainble supplies and are registered on the Biomass Suppliers List - which is compulsory for all fuel suppliers to comply with RHI requirments.

I think that if you are using biomass from your 'own estate' (in ofgen speek) and supplying nobody else you should be fine

 

[rusty]

We mainly install ETA boilers for district heating projects. We find the quality and reliability very hard to beat.
Yes, you do pay a little more but you will easy save that in maintenance and breakdown costs over the years.
Wood chip would be the preferred fuel if you have the space. This would also bring down the fuel costs.
We have installed systems where we metered the tenants properties so they could be charged for the fuel used.
Normally this was set at 1p kwh above the price of the fuel as this would also go towards maintenance.
The main thing is that you do go with the right boiler though. A cheaper install could end up costing you in the future.

I am just having a 70kw ETA fitted and one of the properties is a let cottage. What would you estimate the cost of fuel to be using wood chip at £100/t per kW?

 

[robsmith]

I think that if you are using biomass from your 'own estate' (in ofgen speek) and supplying nobody else you should be fine

I think that you will find that you still have to register as a self supplier. Also the wood / forests that you own would need to be under an active management plan or have felling licences.

 

[A Shade Greener]

With regards to Fröling boilers, we have installed them for a number of our customers and found them to be very reliable boilers and it comes equipped with a host of features including the patented 3-pass design which means long combustion cycles, guaranteeing better efficiency and a longer lifespan. The Fröling also features almost inaudible operation as well as the automatic cleaning facility.
These boilers have an integral hopper with auger-feed to the combustion chamber and a vacuum pump at the top of the hopper which periodically pulls pellets from the bulk storage area into the hopper. The Fröling has proved to be highly efficient, as many of our customers have saved on average 50% on their energy bills. Sadly we don't have experience with the other boiler makes, so cant really comment on their performance. Hope this helps!