Geoffrey
Member
- Messages
- 83
- Location
- Oxfordshire
Does anyone have one of these? I have seen you can get a grant towards installation but they're much more expensive than ordinary woodburners. Are they really much greener or is it a fad?
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Wood pellet stoves
- Thread starter Geoffrey
- Start date
Roger H
Member
- Messages
- 338
- Location
- Northumberland
You might want to have a trawl through:
http://www.greenbuildingforum.co.uk/
http://www.greenbuildingforum.co.uk/
Geoffrey
Member
- Messages
- 83
- Location
- Oxfordshire
Thanks for the link.
DaveBrigg
Member
- Messages
- 908
- Location
- North Lincs
We've had ours running for just over a week now. It's an Atmos burner with a 1000 litre water tank ('thermal store') - the idea being that hot water is available instantly with the burner just ticking over.
Having had an oil burner in our last house to compare, we've noted the following:
It is more labour intensive. We've been out nearly every day checking the pellets, although this might stop when the novelty wears off. Once or twice the pellets have got stuck in the auger, which has meant no hot water in the morning, although the problem was cured with a whack from a big stick. Operating properly, they should only need attending to once a week or less.
We seem to have got through a huge amount of pellets in a week; probably because we have a large draughty house with no loft insulation at the moment, and walls still damp from replastering. I assume that whatever system we had, it would be racking up the fuel bill. Hopefully it will calm down in the next few weeks. It also struggles in the evening when the central heating is on, the children have had a hot bath, and the wife wants a bath before she goes to bed. Presumably a bigger boiler or more efficient insulation would cure this.
On the plus side, the carbon released is being used up by the trees planted to provide our next batch of pellets. We have also been able to burn all the scrap wood left behind by the builders, which I rescued from their skip. Stacked up with timber, the pellet supply cuts out, and it heats the water for 'free'. It also makes us realise exactly how much energy we are using, (and wasting). We've found another owner locally, so will combine the next pellet order to get a bigger discount.
If you are considering buying one, I'd advise visiting someone who has one up and running to see what is involved.
Having had an oil burner in our last house to compare, we've noted the following:
It is more labour intensive. We've been out nearly every day checking the pellets, although this might stop when the novelty wears off. Once or twice the pellets have got stuck in the auger, which has meant no hot water in the morning, although the problem was cured with a whack from a big stick. Operating properly, they should only need attending to once a week or less.
We seem to have got through a huge amount of pellets in a week; probably because we have a large draughty house with no loft insulation at the moment, and walls still damp from replastering. I assume that whatever system we had, it would be racking up the fuel bill. Hopefully it will calm down in the next few weeks. It also struggles in the evening when the central heating is on, the children have had a hot bath, and the wife wants a bath before she goes to bed. Presumably a bigger boiler or more efficient insulation would cure this.
On the plus side, the carbon released is being used up by the trees planted to provide our next batch of pellets. We have also been able to burn all the scrap wood left behind by the builders, which I rescued from their skip. Stacked up with timber, the pellet supply cuts out, and it heats the water for 'free'. It also makes us realise exactly how much energy we are using, (and wasting). We've found another owner locally, so will combine the next pellet order to get a bigger discount.
If you are considering buying one, I'd advise visiting someone who has one up and running to see what is involved.