Gerkros Wood Pellet Boiler ?

Delboy5

Anyone bought one of these ? Can anyone tell me the approx. cost of one ?

Think you can also get a 3 tonne hopper for these as well, considering this at the moment in light of the €4200 grant now available !?

Homebound

I have purchased the Gerkros wood pellet boiler from a Heating & Plumbing place in Longford. The grant is brill 4200 this is just great. I hope to have it installed soon so I can tell all you guys how much I an saving:D

fatboypee

I know this has probably been done to death but if the grant is 4.2k how much do you pay for the boiler y'self ??

Cheers

FATB.o.y

AlanD

Are these boilers worth installing over an existing natural gas system? Would I save anything over a gas boiler?

Anything that's environmentally and financially sensible gets a thumbs up in my book.

mosskk

We got one installed a couple of months ago, it's working fine. Total cost supplied / installed / commissioned was just under €7K incl VAT. Pre grant though, grrrrr, no retrospection.

We still have to get a bulk storage silo, est. cost approx 2K. Once we get that, the cost of heat produced should be approx 50% of the cost of the same amount of heat produced by oil.

Need to find out where I can get a silo from . RooferPete, if you're reading, do you know ?

One more tip, the Gerkros Woodpecker (40kW) with 200kg hopper takes up a lot of space, ideally you should allow approx 2m x 1m floor space plus another 1m clear space in front to allow you to open the front to take out ashes.

In our house, I reckon we'll get payback on the boiler + silo in 5 yrs, at current oil prices, that's WITHOUT any grant.

BillG

I have had a Gerkros 30kw installed and find it very good. I have it running as my primary heating source with an Oil Boiler as backup as the wood pellet industry in Ireland is fledgling and I wouldn't guarantee the availability of pellets once more people install pellet boilers and outstrips the native industry's (namely Balcas) capacity to supply.

I also bought the bulk silo and the external housing for the boiler and fitted the system myself, (apart from the pipe work as I haven't the tooling)

I found the Gerkros logistics to be the main problem but mostly this is because they have been in the process of organising their suppliers and I would hope the overall service be much better for others.

I use about 25Kg of pellets a day which works out slightly under EUR4 for all heating. I expect this figure to reduce during the summer.

Delboy5

BillG,
Any chance of posting up the dimensions of the boiler\external housing and of the Silo ?
What was the total cost of your system ?
Looking into buying one at the minute............

dfcelt

I wouldn't mind that info either BillG, thanks in advance

BillG

Hi,

The outside housing is roughly 3m x 2m and made from broad-corrugated steel laminated with a rubberised coating of some description. The exact silo measurements can be found on the Gerkros website but with the pipe-work and auger it the dimensions are roughly the same as the housing.

I found that the external silo was best placed with one end facing the rear of the housing thus the overall footprint of the solution is about 5.2m x 3.5m. not the smallest of footprints:-)

I can post a run down of some of the problems I had to face during the install if it would help?

All-in-all, I am very pleased with the solution and with Gerkros despite their supply problems. The boiler is very well designed and Gerkros supply a burner manufactured in Sweden. Any competent plumber can plumb the system in. Gerkros themselves will commission the boiler ensuring the burner is tuned and and the boiler correctly installed.

As I did most of the work myself the solution cost around the 10,000 euro mark. I consider this okay as, even wiithout the grant, the payback time is within 6 years during which time we have reduced our carbon usage.

IM(NS)HO pellets are they way to go as the technology is low-tech, there is little to go wrong and the unit can be intergrated easily into an existing heating system. In fact, as mentioned before, I have kept our old oil boiler incase we hit a problem sourcing pellets at any stage.

Bill

TopMan

How much do Gerkros charge to commission the boiler ? Other suppliers cash in on the commissioning !!!

rooferPete

Hi TopMan,

Not exactly true, because I personally know one supplier who doesn't build in "Hidden Extras" and the prices haven't increased because of the grant either

.

overdriver

BillG wrote:

Hi,



I can post a run down of some of the problems I had to face during the install if it would help?

yes please, Bill. Also, what model boiler did Gerkros install? I assume its on the body of it somewhere?

Thanks

O/D

Salmon

Folks,

Has anyone a typical rundown of price for boilers based on output and the 'typical' size of house they would service?
Eg 20KW boiler 2000ft2 €5000
30KW boiler 2500ft2........................... This would be good info to have!!

up for anything

BillG wrote:

Hi,


I can post a run down of some of the problems I had to face during the install if it would help?

Bill

Please, I'd be very grateful.

secman

Anyone out there got any info on costs of Gerkros Woodpecker boiler ?
Impossible to get in touch with them at the moment. Also any info from anyone who has installed one in the last 6 months, pros / cons would be helpful.

thanks in anticipation.

Secman

Salmon

Any prices folks??

GG66

Salmon wrote:

Folks,

Has anyone a typical rundown of price for boilers based on output and the 'typical' size of house they would service?
Eg 20KW boiler 2000ft2 €5000
30KW boiler 2500ft2........................... This would be good info to have!!

It depends on the efficiency of the boiler and prices vary depending on the brand.

If you're asking specifically about the Gerkros I was told the 20KW would cover my 200sqm house and it was priced just over 5k. a 25kw version was around 6k. (prices 3 months old) Doesn't include installation.

Prior to this other suppliers told me I would need a 25KW so??? more confusion on pellet boilers.

JCBr

I've installed a Woodpecker boiler feb07.
I have it linked into previous gas central heating system which was very expensive to run - between 1800e & 2000e per year.

Here's a breakdown of the costs to install.
Item Cost VAT(21%)
Item Cost VAT(21%)

Gerkros 30kW Wood Pellet Boiler, including 175kg hopper, Auger feed system, Burner, Flue fan and commissioning Cost + Vat
€4,882.50 €1,025.33
Supply and fit 5” Insulated Flue suitable for Boiler €750.00 €157.50
Pellet Delivery Coupling Pipe with Static Grounding Collar €136.00 €28.56
All Copper and Qualplex pipework, Tees, Bends, Valves,
Fittings, Pump, Expansion Tank, etc. and installation
of same €790.00 €165.90

Supply and fit isolator switch, 4-core cable, Conduit, Selector switch, and all electrical items as required. €350.00 €73.50
Labour €450.00 €94.50

Total €7,358.50+vat€1,545.29
Total Invoice (inc. VAT) €8,903.79


Deposit Received €0.00

Amount Outstanding €8,940.09

minus Grant at 4200 €4,740.09 cost to me

So far I'm very happy with running costs - estimate running cost to be
1000e/yr - 1800 SQfeet bungalow

towbar

jcbR - What are you using for pellet storage - did you build your own?

JCBr

I built my own storage area
Its built from 8'x4' sheets of 3/4" ply sorrounded by a steel frame & tapered / funneled to a point at which the orger is attached (the orger that came with the WP is being feed from this point).
I've installed a trapdoor at the end of the funnel such that I can stop the wood pellets entering the orger (incase of blockage I can remove orger).
I've also made an escapement door in the event the hopper itself gets blocked with pellet dust - this way I can empty / unblock the hopper if required.
I've did all of the above as I had heard so many concerns on quality of pellets causing blockages.
Thankfully I've never had any issues with blockages / ashes etc.

Hopper size is H 9' x L 6' x W 5'
Funnel point is approx 1' off ground - tapered back to 3' ( N.B same slope as small hopper supplied with boiler )
Cost me 500e (materials)

towbar

Sounds like a good solution- just wish I had built a bigger garage to allow me to do same.

TopMan

I hear gerkros now have a vacuum system for bring wood pellets from bulk storage up to 50m away to a unit right beside the boiler. They tell me they'll have a working demo model in their showroom in october.

kevinsullivan

I lost power to my woodoecker last night mains supply is still there but the boiler is dead anyone have any clues

AckwelFoley

No, but you may be in a spot of bother, as gerkros is no no onger in existance, the went bust late last year.

Did you buy it direct or through a store?

First port of call is to contact the installer to check the burner

Mods: I suggest moving the above post or the entire thread to the renewables forum for better traffic

TopMan

The best guys to contact regarding Woodpecker issues are 2 of the ex Gerkros service engineers who have set up their own servicing business. I had a letter from them a few months ago as a Woodpecker owner.

James - jameshadow@vodafone.ie
Joel taker@hot.ee;)

Slate

snyper wrote: »

No, but you may be in a spot of bother, as gerkros is no no onger in existance, the went bust late last year.

Did you buy it direct or through a store?

First port of call is to contact the installer to check the burner


You can contact their engineers on the old Gerkos number 062 71105.

JoelLuuk

Dear Woodpecker customers.

Suirvale Renewables Ltd. have been appointed as exclusive service agents for the Woodpecker range of wood pellet boilers. Shoud you require a service,telephone technical support assistance or require spears,you may contact the numbers listed below for assistance.


Contact: Joel Luuk 087 1210159 James Bourke 087 2866735

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact us.


If there is no answer please leave your number and name and we call you back.


Yours sincerely.

Higgy

After a lose of power the boiler will switch off for H&S reasons, think the error code is 16. you just have to hold the ON\OFF button in for five seconds to turn off and the same to reset.

vbunse

has anyone had the upgrade from the older system to the new digital controls on the gerkros 2006 model year.? a friend of mine had it done but our local agent has stopped trading...