Wood Pellets

Energysaver

towbar wrote: »

have you noticed balcas sterling price £129+vat. they will not accept sterling though for republic of ireland deliveries. Big difference even allowing 21.5% vat

I think VAT is only 13.5% on pellets but I can't find my last bill to check this. I assume that the Balcas price of €210 quoted by ninsaga includes VAT, so without VAT @ 13.5% that would be about €185 per tonne which is about Stg£160 at current exchange rate. So premium for Rip Off Ireland is 24%. Thats about the same as retailers in other sectors this side of the border.

Energysaver

ninsaga wrote: »

Just curious - did you get Balcas in the end? Any problems with them in terms of dust level?

Is there such a thing as 'bad' pellets or is it just a myth?

I think there is such a thing as bad pellets. I've had deliveries with a lot of dust and also some of the pellets seem to disintegrate in the auger between the silo and the hopper on the boiler, but maybe that's a problem with my auger.

Thanks for the prices - very useful.

Energysaver

Maybe we should ask people to post recommendations of suppliers here rather than identify poor suppliers. I've only used 1 supplier so far and although the last delivery didn't seem too bad I've had dust problems so I can't recommend the supplier at this stage.

jimmysull

Energysaver wrote: »

Maybe we should ask people to post recommendations of suppliers here rather than identify poor suppliers.

I can recommend Kedco for bagged wood pellets in Cork, I've had 3 deliveries over the last 18 months and so far so good.
Never got bulk pellets so can't offer an opinion on those

towbar

last 2 balcas load I got seem good and not much dust

dugger

I could sell you 21.336 Tons in 15kg bags on 28 pallets for €3200

tinofapples

I could sell you 21.336 Tons in 15kg bags on 28 pallets for €3200

28 pallets, sure I'll make room in the garage for them.

Seanbec

dugger wrote: »

I could sell you 21.336 Tons in 15kg bags on 28 pallets for €3200

What Brand of pellet. What country did they come from and why are you trying to get rid. I assume you would sell them in smaller lots ie I dont have to take all 28 pallets

69king

seems very dear !! shocked with all theese prices for pellets!! one word for u kids O.A.T.S:eek: ..... ONLY COASTING ME 95 EURO A TONN 13% MOISTURE. NOT AS GOOD AS WOODPELETS BUT AT THAT PRICE... WELL LETS JUST SAY...:rolleyes:
U DO THE MATH:cool:

tinofapples

Took delivery of 3 tonnes of pellets again on 30 Dec, €598 all in.

You're burning oats ??

henryporter

€598 all in

Presumably with Balcas? What was quality like. I got 3 tons off them in November. Very dusty!

Pete M.

Also got three tonne from Balcas approx 2 months ago and a lot of dust in there too, pain in the rear.

Wouldn't mind, but the last time, I said it to the driver and he asked had I swept out the storage area since I started and I hadn't, so I did, so now I know the dust was in the delivery. I'll be having words methinks.

Otherwise though they ain't running too bad.

Incidently, anyone know where to get woodpecker spares for a reasonable price, ignition coils etc. and maybe an auger. No probs yet, just in case...

tinofapples

henryporter wrote: »

Presumably with Balcas? What was quality like. I got 3 tons off them in November. Very dusty!

Yes indeed,haven't looked in to my storage box yet to be honest. Will open it up one of the days for a look.

ninsaga

Its coming near that time again to order more pellets (bulk delivery).... my last delivery was Firestixx ...but they are more expensive than everyone else. Essentally you get 4 tonne for the price of 4.5tonne from Balcas,DPellet etc

Anyone got good/bad experiences with their pellets over the last few months with quality, moisture, dust, price, burning through them more than prev?

ninsaga

Pete M.

Lot of dust in my last Balcas delivery.

Waiting on my next, coming tomorrow and when I told them that there was a lot of dust, they said if it was the same again next time, they'd send out someone to have a look.

Quality is generally fine, but the dust is a pain in the butt.

Have an idea that they mave have used excess pressure when blowing them in last time.

ninsaga

Cheers - are they still 210Euro/tonne?

Pete M.

Think I'm paying around €590 for 3 tonne, so that'd be just under 200/T.
They've been the same or thereabouts for a good while now.

djmc

A tip that wood pellet makers wont want you to know
I light my baxi in the evening after work and turn it off before I go to bed
its on the higest temp setting and I just fill it enough for the evening the house stays warm enough til the next morning
Spent under 300 euros on wood chip so far this winter

ninsaga

Pete M - looks like you are not including VAT - Balcas online incl. VAT = €210/tonne

volvo 240

How many tonnes of pellets would I use as a very rough quide running about 12kw of rads in a 100sqm home that would be heated to 21 degrees all over. (Grandparents feel the cold) It will end up with reasonable insulation? Thanks.:) James

Pete M.

Perhaps, not exactly sure about price, will have look later, just got the call from the driver, he'll be here at 7:45 :eek:

As for how many pellets you'd use for 21c in 100sqM, very rough estimate, depending on whether twas boiler/stove, what kind etc., no more than 6 T?
That's like 2000L oil equivalent I think.
And that would be plenty for it to be roasting, just like the auld folks like it.
Would probably end up complaining about the heat, but that's what makes them happy I suppose....:)

volvo 240

Pete M. wrote: »

Perhaps, not exactly sure about price, will have look later, just got the call from the driver, he'll be here at 7:45 :eek:

As for how many pellets you'd use for 21c in 100sqM, very rough estimate, depending on whether twas boiler/stove, what kind etc., no more than 6 T?
That's like 2000L oil equivalent I think.
And that would be plenty for it to be roasting, just like the auld folks like it.
Would probably end up complaining about the heat, but that's what makes them happy I suppose....:)

Thanks for the reply. They do like it warm!!:) We have the same size house in Normandy France that we are selling to move to a bungalow for total renovation in County Kerry:cool:.
To heat our French home we use a villager AHI woodburning stove with backboiler we use 700 euros worth of wood in our French home and use 20 cubic metres over 7 months. We used to use 2000-2500 litres of oil before we ripped out the 12 month old oil boiler! We heat 12 radiators.
We think we are going to fit a parkray cumbria stove with backboiler to heat the rads and water in our house in County Kerry. It burns coal, smokeless and wood. we think 50 40kg bags of house coal would last us for the winter and cost about 700-800 euros. It would be great to burn pellets being a lot more green and more automatic but far more costly at 200 euros a tonne! Thanks James

Pete M.

Just got my three tonnes and they are currently €175/tonne plus VAT@13.5%, making my load cost €595.88.
They don't appear too dusty yet..............

stodwyer

Hi Pete. Who did you get the delivery from? Brites?

Pete M.

Yip.

Kennie1

Did anyone get a price for 3 ton of loose pellets this season or are they the same price as last season???

Biglad

Same price. My last delivery was less dusty but it took the driver twice as long to deliver the pellets, anybody want to guess why...

Pete M.

Appropriate Response: Because he was looking for a tip?

AH response: Your Ma....

Biglad

lol, as I complained about the previous delivery and the amount of dust and fines, he blew the pellets in at reduced pressure. As for a tip; don't eat yellow snow...:D

Pete M.

aha!

Got loads if dust in mine last time :mad:

Reduced pressure, good tip (bleedin obvious though eh? self DOH...)

Balcas by any chance?

Biglad

Yes. I must add that I find them the only ones that can deliver up here in a reliable fashion. I tried other so called bulk suppliers but they want you as a customer to make sure that they can shift a full lorry load i.e. ring around on their behalf if there are any other takers...I don't htink so.

With Balcas I've always noticed a big difference between the new round body lorry and the box shaped one. With the box shaped one there always appears to be more dust and fines.

Kennie1

Got mine three weeks ago and was not here when delivered(first time in 4 years) Guess what? Had to clean out boiler twice, full of fines, usually only have to clean once every 6 weeks. Won't make that mistake again!

Biglad

Again i must say that our Mescoli hopper and auger aren't really bothered with dust, the auger design (flat screw) brings up 90% of the dust and it gets burned with the pellets. The problem I have I suppose is that dust doesn't give me as much heat as pellets. My brother in law is still struggling with his Woodpecker set up. He has drilled holes in the bottom of the hopper to let the dust drop out but the auger still needs emptying on a regular basis, a real pain in the back side and clear proof that these early Woodpeckers were a very bad design.

offalyred

Balcas online to-day is quoting for 3 ton bulk delivery as follows Price: €594.00 VAT @13.5%: €80.19 Total: €674.19

I paid €794.50 (inc VAT) in Feb 2010 for 4 tonnes

This amounts to approx €26 per ton increase.

Are there alternative suppliers with good quality pellets?
I live in the midlands.

Thanks lads

tinofapples

offalyred wrote: »

Balcas online to-day is quoting for 3 ton bulk delivery as follows Price: €594.00 VAT @13.5%: €80.19 Total: €674.19

I paid €794.50 (inc VAT) in Feb 2010 for 4 tonnes

This amounts to approx €26 per ton increase.

Are there alternative suppliers with good quality pellets?
I live in the midlands.

Thanks lads

Here we go now, this is the start of it, price creeping up. Out of curiosity what does the term used in recent posts, fines, mean ?

Biglad

Afaik fines is a term used for small bits of broken down pellets, a lot courser then dust. If pellets have a hard landing you create quite a few "fines" i.e. breakage. Originally we had some of this happening untill I used an old mattress from a Cot to dampen the landing on delivery.

Just ordered 3 ton of Balcas for immediate delievry, whatever that means with these roads. Looks like the "thaw" might not last that long looking at the long range forecast...

tinofapples

Just had a look at receipt from previous pellet purchase in May, paid €595.88.

Biglad

tinofapples wrote: »

Just had a look at receipt from previous pellet purchase in May, paid €595.88.

I paid that for 3 ton in January as well

tinofapples

Biglad wrote: »

I paid that for 3 ton in January as well

Piss ya off no end wouldn't it.

tinofapples

Has anyone sourced any supplier cheaper than Balcas ?? Anyone use Harper/Crone's for supply ??

Kedco are doing 3 tonnes for €230 a tonne incl Vat & Del anywhere in ROI.

Pete M.

Hopefully have enough to see us through to the new year and shur we'll see then what the price is like maybe..

But I just wanted to ask if other people keep an eye out for particularly long pellets while loading or checking etc.?

I extract samples and have found that all the longest ones are all within a couple of mm of each other, around 60 - 70 mm.

Though I did find one yesterday that was around 75mm :eek:

I know there's a rational explanation but it's kind of creepy nonetheless...

FML :pac:

smwalsh

Hi all

We have used Timberpro pellets made in Kells for the last couple of hopper fills and have found them to have much less dust than Balcas.

We have a recurring problem with our Grekos Woodpecker burner. When the weather gets cold (Sub -4) the burner regularly fails to reignite but will on a manual re-ignition. Have any of you experienced something similar?

Had my installer look at it last year but they failed to solve the prob (the temperatures were back up then)!

I find it really frustrating waking up to a freezing house every morning.

Does anybody know who I can ask to help? We live in Mayo

Regards

Biglad

smwalsh wrote: »

Hi all

We have used Timberpro pellets made in Kells for the last couple of hopper fills and have found them to have much less dust than Balcas.

We have a recurring problem with our Grekos Woodpecker burner. When the weather gets cold (Sub -4) the burner regularly fails to reignite but will on a manual re-ignition. Have any of you experienced something similar?

Had my installer look at it last year but they failed to solve the prob (the temperatures were back up then)!

I find it really frustrating waking up to a freezing house every morning.

Does anybody know who I can ask to help? We live in Mayo

Regards

Hi, this might be a loooooooong shot but, it only gets really cold overhere when there is virtually no wind. Could it be that your under pressure (think that's what it's called) is a bit on the low side i.e. not enough of a draft generated because of a short flu? Like I said a long shot, but your coil should work no matter what the ambient temperature and as long as there are pellets you would think she would fire up. I would stand/sit beside the machine on a very cold night to see what's happening. Even if it means switching the thing of and let it restart. You should be able to follow all stages of the ignition process and determine failry easily where it starts going pearshape. Coil on? Does it get hot? Is there a flame at any stage? When ignition fails are there pellets in the burner and if so are they blackened/semi burned?
My brother in law has a long list of problems with his Woodpecker, I'm sure this one is on it somewhere as well...

Hope you can work it out.

Ps.

Do Timberpro deliver in bulk like Balcas?

Pete M.

I also have one of the older woodpeckers (installed circa December '06, dog be with the daze).

I too have had several problems with it, but not the 'not starting when cold' one.

As for Biglads's suggestion, there may be something to that, but there is a fan which creates a draft, so it should take off anyway. But perhaps the coil isn't on just long enough to start the pellets off when they are particularly cold.

This can be adjusted (I think) using the wee dials on the front (fan high, fan low, power, etc.), just not sure which one.

I have spent hours and days sitting there watching it, waiting for it to start or finish.

I've had to replace the ignition coil once since installation and it was very straight forward indeed and allowed me to learn a bit more about it.

The (former) other half has threatened violence on it several times due to problems with it and the heating in general, but we recently sorted out the UFH (part of the manifold was on backwards) and now she reckons she's happy enough with it.

Biglad

At this stage it would be interesting to know what state the machine is in when it has failed to fire up. Pellets, no pellets, burned unburned etc. The fan will start the flaming process but you still need proper underpressure to keep it all going. The Brother in law would have the non starting issue because of a lack of pellets (auger clogged) and it would blow itself out. He also fitted an additional fan to create draft as his flu was to short and non-insulated. Gerkross offered them a solution by fitting an electronic read out panel, at least now it tells him more or less what's wrong and it takes away some of the guessing.

Pete M.

Well I know that we always have a breeze up here, so there's a good draw on the flue and it's quite long and insulated, so that end of things on mine is grand.

tinofapples

smwalsh wrote: »

Hi all

We have used Timberpro pellets made in Kells for the last couple of hopper fills and have found them to have much less dust than Balcas.

We have a recurring problem with our Grekos Woodpecker burner. When the weather gets cold (Sub -4) the burner regularly fails to reignite but will on a manual re-ignition. Have any of you experienced something similar?

Had my installer look at it last year but they failed to solve the prob (the temperatures were back up then)!

I find it really frustrating waking up to a freezing house every morning.

Does anybody know who I can ask to help? We live in Mayo

Regards

How much are they charging you for 3 tonne delivery ? What involves the manual ignition ?

cantwbr1

I got a fright in November when Kedco told me that they no longer delivered bulk pellets to Cork. I used dPellet in Kilkenny but think that there is a lot of dust in the delivery in the load. What is the general experience with them. They got me out of a hole (delivery the same day)and would reuse them if the general experience of them is good.

On a tangent I need to service my Kedco boiler this spring. Does anyone know of a reliable person in Cork who would do this, or am I better of doing it myself (relatively handy). If I was doing it myself what do I need to focus on.

greencavanman

I have a 30kw Gerkros Woodpecker boiler and the burner ignition element is gone again. Boiler commissioned in Nov 2007 and this will be the 4th element installed.

I used to get a local guy, former Gerkros employee, to instal the element but he no longer does this.

He referred me to Suirvale. But since they are based in Tipperary, god knows when I will be sorted.

Does anyone know the make of the burner Gerkros used? I'm thinking of buying a supply of elements on the web.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Pete M.

greencavanman wrote: »

I have a 30kw Gerkros Woodpecker boiler and the burner ignition element is gone again. Boiler commissioned in Nov 2007 and this will be the 4th element installed.

I used to get a local guy, former Gerkros employee, to instal the element but he no longer does this.

He referred me to Suirvale. But since they are based in Tipperary, god knows when I will be sorted.

Does anyone know the make of the burner Gerkros used? I'm thinking of buying a supply of elements on the web.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Get in touch with these bucks.

http://www.woodpeckerenergy.com/contact-us.php

Posted me a replacement element about a year ago, maybe more.

I've had to replace it once since '06.

Really easy to install as well btw.