Kerry Bio Fuels Wood Pellet Options

tinofapples

Hi all ,
I've been looking at the above over the last couple of days and they seem to offer the best priced wood pellet boilers on the market.

Their Opop boiler is priced at :

€4360 inv VAT for the 16kW and €4670 inc VAT for the 24kW

They claim the 16kW will provide hot water and heating to your home/office up to 2,000 sq ft and the 24kW model will do from 2,001 to 3,000 sq ft.

Has anyone on boards any experience of this company or the products they are selling ?

If you factor in the Greener homes grant of €4,200 for the bolier it leaves you with a wood pellet boiler for almost nothing.I'd imagine you will have other costs then such as flues and caps and all that but am I missing something else ?

I have noticed a hopper on the Gerkros website which can hold 3.5 tonnes of pellets but have been quoted appox €2,800 for that.
We're building a garage (6885mm x 10050mm) along with the house at the moment so i'll have no problem housing something like this indoor but wouldn't be keen on paying a price like that for it.

Thoughts ?

Dave

Goll Mac Morna

That price sounds good, with the grant you are in a very good position.

I e-mailed Gerkros last Friday to ask them about their woodpecker boiler and the grant scheme.
I wanted to know how I could avail of the Grant if I ordered the boiler through my local builders merchant (who are selling the boiler)
ie would I have to list Gerkros as the supplier as the builders merchant are not a registered supplier...I got no reply

rooferPete

Hi,

The Kerry Biofuels product appears to be a good one, I do know that SEI will not allow a product on the list without all of the test certificates being in place.

They have a similar system in place for suppliers and installers of products that qualify for the grant.

The qustion is will a product that retails for €160.00 more than the grant qualify for the full amount at €4200.00 ?

I have my doubts that the government introduced a grant scheme to provide heating systems almost free of charge to every applicant, in fact the system would not only be free of charge but heavily subsidised if sold to a person or company registered for VAT.

That is the purpose of the two little words in front of the numbers published "Up To", also take into consideration the fact that any person building a new home will have to buy a boiler anyway.

Presuming they opt for an efficient oil or gas boiler they can expect to pay in the order of €2 > €2,500.00, I believe the amount of the final grant will be subject to common sense.

Goll,

The reason for the approved supplier and installer system is to ensure that quality systems are supplied by qualified people, a boiler half the required size is only a waste and the public (tax payer) would be in order to ask why their money was being wasted.

The installer must be 100% tax compliant after all the grant is tax payers money and SEI are accountable for every person / company they include on the list.

I have people calling in to me who before the grant came into place were being quoted €15 > 20,000.00 for home heating systems, some still are but it depends on the type of system and what it is capable of.

The rules of the scheme are largely based on common sense, I believe they also open the door for the government to introduce the carbon tax's they backed away from last year.

.

tinofapples

Pete,
In response to

The qustion is will a product that retails for €160.00 more than the grant qualify for the full amount at €4200.00 ?

I decided to call the Greener Homes scheme administrators at SEI (1850 734 734). I asked the girl if the grant for the wood pellet boiler was €4200 or up to €4200 . She said it was €4200.

So to get specific I said " If i bought a wood pellet boiler system for €5000 , I would get a grant of €4200 ? " She replied "Yes".

tinofapples

Just outta curiosity Pete , had you heard differently or were you just being cautious ?

It sounds too good to be true doesn't it ?

prospect

I would guess that the grant is a percentage of the retail price, up to a value of €4200.

So in the case of the smaller boiler you would get a % of €4360.
But I am just assuming this.

On the same topic, is it possible to get outdoor wood pellet boilers?

squire1

Free boilers? I think you'll find there is a catch somewhere. If not, anyone want to buy a Grant oil boiler:D

Mike_C

We were all afraid that wpb suppliers would increase their prices when the grants would come in so Why are people complaining that this company are suppling a cheap boiler, they are obviously pricing themselves to win a larger market share and others should and will follow suit if people go out and buy from this company. This is the only way we can get rid of the RIP OFF IRELAND culture. In the SEI literature , all wood pellet boilers approved on their product list are supposed to qualify for 4200 grant,there is no mention of percentage of total costs or other deductions. If the government back down from this I for one will start to generate a lot of noise and would hope others that dont want to pay excessive prices for renewable technology to follow suit.
I have no connection to this company other than the possibility that I will be a customer in the near future if their product is up to they same standard as other wpb.

Mike_C

We were all afraid that wpb suppliers would increase their prices when the grants would come in so Why are people complaining that this company are suppling a cheap boiler, they are obviously pricing themselves to win a larger market share and others should and will follow suit if people go out and buy from this company. This is the only way we can get rid of the RIP OFF IRELAND culture. In the SEI literature , all wood pellet boilers approved on their product list are supposed to qualify for 4200 grant,there is no mention of percentage of total costs or other deductions. If the government back down from this I for one will start to generate a lot of noise and would hope others that dont want to pay excessive prices for renewable technology to follow suit.
I have no connection to this company other than the possibility that I will be a customer in the near future if their product is up to they same standard as other wpb.

tinofapples

In the SEI literature , all wood pellet boilers approved on their product list are supposed to qualify for 4200 grant,there is no mention of percentage of total costs or other deductions.

As I mentioned earlier I have confirmed this on the phone with one of the scheme administrators.

I have no connection to this company other than the possibility that I will be a customer in the near future if their product is up to they same standard as other wpb.

I have no connection either but mentioned it here so that more of you could see what was out there , I have also mentioned Kerry Bio to 3 lads in work who are 99% certain to purchase from them.

rooferPete

Hi,

The information I was given is the numbers stand at the moment, so the only criteria for getting the grant is you must use a registered installer to qualify.

As is obvious I am in the business and what is more I carry a similar line of products to Kerry Biofuels the prices of most of the products are very similar between us.

My advice is if you can get the required paperwork Take the Grant but don't leave it too long.

As to the product offered I have not seen it so in all honesty I can't comment on it, but I doubt it very much that the owner of that company would offer a product that was not of high quality.

I wish him and his company all the best for the future.

.

RedLady

Hi ,

I too think that this looks too good to be true. I rang up SEI and KerryBio fuels are not on the registered installer list for the grant yet. When they do, I think that I would be interested in getting this boiler....thats if I dont find what the catch is in the mean time.

tinofapples

KerryBioFuels will tell you that they in the process of registering with SEI.

Time will tell.

TopMan

I noticed that Opop were not on the SEI list yet.

I've trawled the country for a pellet boiler up to 40 kW and the most reasonably priced was Gerkros at approx € 5,500 (including Vat). Commissioning is also included in the price which sounds great. With some of the other makes commissioning was a hidden extra of € 300-400. As well as that they give some re-assurance in that they tell me they have all ireland covered as regards commissioning and service technicians which is as important as anything.

What do ye think ?

rooferPete

Hi,

The Scotte products are on the SEI list, I have examined the paperwork and the products as up close and personal as I could get to boilers that were working at the time.

I was so impressed that I am taking delivery of the products this week for display in the showrooms and I will be recommending them over other products.

The products have the efficiency ratings that put others to shame and all the tests have been carried out to modern E.N. standards which are required on the Continent.

FWIW when comparing products I suggest that the purchase price should be the last subject to arise, efficiency, warranty, performance and track record are I believe the important subjects when investing in a product that is expected to perform when needed.

Of course I am biased being in the industry, that is also another point that must be considered when reading my posts.

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pitstop

RooferPete

Can you say more on the Scotte product - do you have a link or can you give price etc lowdown here??

Thanks a mill

Pit

rooferPete

Hi Pitstop,

As a consumer I would have no problem with the Scotte 30 Kw in my home, as my main heating source.

The prices are in the public domain so I think it's ok to say that the Scotte 30 Kw will cost €6,160.00 including vat and comissioning.

Out of repect to the moderators I believe it would be unfair and blatent advertising to provide further details on the range of products, as it is I don't hide my strong link to the business.

However I believe that is fair because everyone who reads my posts knows that I have both knowledge and a possible conflict of interest, that allows anyone who reads my posts to make informed decisions based on their own research and not just the opinions I express in here.

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pdeery

hi there, i have been really interested in getting a wood pellet boiler for my new house and went to a dealer here in the northwest 2 days ago and got the shock of my life when i was told it would cost €16,000 or there abouts for everything to be installed.she told me that by the time you take in buffer tank, storage etc. it takes you up to this price.

these people are very reputable and she was only warning me that other suppliers are not pointing out the extras to people. before people start to bash them i have to say this woman was very helpful and informative and not at all pushy.

it looks like i have no choice now but to go the oil route which really p****s me off but look at the price difference.

anyone else find these extras or got any alternatives

P

rooferPete

Hi pdeery,

The items that should be brought to your attention as not costed due to each project being different are :

Boiler house size / garage space.

The flue detail mainly the height .

Pellet storage systems.

Buffer tanks are not widely used in this country, they are needed more in countries with extreme winters which we don't have.

The terminology used can differ between suppliers, some may call the large cylinder for hot water a buffer tank, they are not a "Must Have" with pellet boilers.

For example the cylinder in our office is the old thirty gallon type but we are not running a family home or Solar through it, still the water storage should be part of the overall plumbing system in your home regardless of the boiler you use.

I hope I haven't added to the confusion.

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