Wood Pellets

tinofapples

cantwbr1 wrote: »

Hi Tin. Are you getting a new pellet boiler or giving up on pellets alltogether

A new boiler altogether. I had a fella out yesterday evening, he fitted a new motor, cost me €190 all in. €70 for the motor €120 for him. Why do you ask ?

cantwbr1

tinofapples wrote: »

A new boiler altogether. I had a fella out yesterday evening, he fitted a new motor, cost me €190 all in. €70 for the motor €120 for him. Why do you ask ?

Curiosity. I think that most peoples experience is that while pellets are very economical the niggly bits can be very frustrating (me included) and was wondering if you had reached the end if your tether

tinofapples

cantwbr1 wrote: »

Curiosity. I think that most peoples experience is that while pellets are very economical the niggly bits can be very frustrating (me included) and was wondering if you had reached the end if your tether

You have it in one, while the price of pellets has increased they are still considerably cheaper than oil. A friend was spending 3k to heat a very similar sized house to our sub €1500 cost. It is the niggly bits that frustrate the hell outta me and in particular my wife. It's not good enough to be without heat for 2/3 days this time of the year. Sure if something went bang at the right time over Xmas I could be without heat for a week or more. That would be tolerable if you had the backup of oil or solid fuel.

danoriordan1402

tinofapples wrote: »

You have it in one, while the price of pellets has increased they are still considerably cheaper than oil. A friend was spending 3k to heat a very similar sized house to our sub €1500 cost. It is the niggly bits that frustrate the hell outta me and in particular my wife. It's not good enough to be without heat for 2/3 days this time of the year. Sure if something went bang at the right time over Xmas I could be without heat for a week or more. That would be tolerable if you had the backup of oil or solid fuel.

pretty much the same scenario for me - herself keeps saying that getting that boiler was the worst thing we ever did ( when it has a niggly issue, element, sensor etc) but the savings do make a difference...

120E to fit that auger motor seems a bit steep though (unless you got a full boiler service out of him), when mine was acting up I took it out to check it, its a 10min job.

tinofapples

danoriordan1402 wrote: »

pretty much the same scenario for me - herself keeps saying that getting that boiler was the worst thing we ever did ( when it has a niggly issue, element, sensor etc) but the savings do make a difference...

120E to fit that auger motor seems a bit steep though (unless you got a full boiler service out of him), when mine was acting up I took it out to check it, its a 10min job.

He mentioned on the phone to my wife earlier that day that he would have to charge the service call out charge but because of that he'd do a full service of the unit. What does that consist of really ? What maddened me was the new motor had a new gearbox attached to it, he took this off and insisted on bringing it cause it wasn't included in the €70. Unusual to be that it was attached to the motor as a single unit.

We're bent over a barrell with parts, the capacitor I paid €15 was available on ebay in US for $3.75. Is that a fair mark-up ??

danoriordan1402

tinofapples wrote: »

He mentioned on the phone to my wife earlier that day that he would have to charge the service call out charge but because of that he'd do a full service of the unit. What does that consist of really ? What maddened me was the new motor had a new gearbox attached to it, he took this off and insisted on bringing it cause it wasn't included in the €70. Unusual to be that it was attached to the motor as a single unit.

We're bent over a barrell with parts, the capacitor I paid €15 was available on ebay in US for $3.75. Is that a fair mark-up ??

Yeah, the mark up in parts is a bit cheeky alright. Here's a tip, a tech told me before that if you think the motor capacitor is gone ( thats the black one) you can swap it with the white fan capacitor to test it.

PeteHeat

tinofapples wrote: »

He mentioned on the phone to my wife earlier that day that he would have to charge the service call out charge but because of that he'd do a full service of the unit. What does that consist of really ? What maddened me was the new motor had a new gearbox attached to it, he took this off and insisted on bringing it cause it wasn't included in the €70. Unusual to be that it was attached to the motor as a single unit.

We're bent over a barrell with parts, the capacitor I paid €15 was available on ebay in US for $3.75. Is that a fair mark-up ??

You did well, fitting the gearbox entails stripping the burner completely, splitting it in two and removing the auger. That is no easy job even in a work shop which is where I do them because of the amount of time and tools required.

Normally I leave a spare burner in place and take away the broken one when a gearbox or auger is needed.

Anyone servicing these burners can't take the chance of buying parts off ebay which may not be a direct replacement for the original, if we get it wrong the customer has every right to expect the correct part to be fitted free of charge.

Even when we get a part from the manufacturer that is not working they don't replace it on warranty, a mark up is necessary to cover the cost of parts sitting in the van (borrowed money or money not earning interest).

Customers must be realistic about labour charges, they are getting a man with a van full of parts, insurance etc and all that costs plus he is trying to make a living, depending on how far he travels there is not much left out of €120.00.

I know where tinofapples is located he is too far from me so I could not help him which is why I didn't post earlier.
.

peter65

Hi folks, quick question about timberpro. Have they gone bust. Their website is down and when I rang the phone number I got a different company. Their still offering pellets but I was wondering if they'll be as good. Any thoughts?

PeteHeat

peter65 wrote: »

Hi folks, quick question about timberpro. Have they gone bust. Their website is down and when I rang the phone number I got a different company. Their still offering pellets but I was wondering if they'll be as good. Any thoughts?

I heard on the grapevine that it's under new management, I don't know where they are getting the pellets from.

We use Leinster Pellets and have had no issues with their pellets or delivery.

I hope the above is some help.
.

stodwyer

Leinster pellets in my opinion burn a lot hotter and have no dust.

S

peter65

Cheers lads, does anyone know if they deliver up north

offalyred

cantwbr1 wrote: »

I'm having a lot of problems with dust this year. I got a fill of pellets in March last and since October I have been cleaning out the base of the bulk storage twice a week. The screw feeder inlet is filling with dust and everything stops. Does anyone have any advice. I reckon that I have 1.5-2 Tons of supply left so cleaning out the hopper is not an option at the moment.

I was having dust problems too, but I cut some slits in the plastic auger pipe that brings up the pellets and put a bucket underneath to catch the dust. Works a treat, no more dust in the auger and a bucket full of dust after about 4 months.

tinofapples

offalyred wrote: »

I was having dust problems too, but I cut some slits in the plastic auger pipe that brings up the pellets and put a bucket underneath to catch the dust. Works a treat, no more dust in the auger and a bucket full of dust after about 4 months.

Very good idea that

PeteHeat

tinofapples wrote: »

Very good idea that

Two side effects to watch out for:

The tube can split if the slits are placed anywhere near a point of pressure on the tube, (also have seen a line of 6mm holes in a few augers causing one to split).

Make sure to keep the area cleaner than usual, the dust can (and has) blow around the base of the boiler catching fire.

.

Sonia smyth

Can anyone tell me where's the best rates at the moment to order 3 tonnes of blown in pellets?

cantwbr1

Sonia smyth wrote: »

Can anyone tell me where's the best rates at the moment to order 3 tonnes of blown in pellets?

€280/ton @DPellet

Flem1984

Hi guys I'm just wondering does anyone have a baxi multifuel. We recently moved into a house and can't get it working, looks like control panel gone. We have had a plumber and electrician out but no luck and apparently this model 1.5 version is no longer been made. We have been in touch with baxi and they can make a panel up for £200. But we this has taken 4 weeks to get this far and we are unsure if this is even the problem!
We are looking at a verner wood pellet burner, anyone any experiences with these?
Thank you, apologies if in wrong section but can't find any up to date threads or as recent as this

PeteHeat

The Baxi was sold by Heatmerchants all feedback I have received on them has been negative that's not to say there isn't one working somewhere.

Appears Heatmerchants have washed their hands of them (heatmerchants customers words not mine).

The Verner is a good multifuel boiler especially good with black oats and wood pellet, requires a buffer tank there is a man in Mountrath who knows them inside out not sure I can post his details send me an email if you wish.

Don't rush into buying any boiler second hand, most were not fitted with load valves and are prone to leaking.
.

Flem1984

PeteHeat wrote: »

The Baxi was sold by Heatmerchants all feedback I have received on them has been negative that's not to say there isn't one working somewhere.

Appears Heatmerchants have washed their hands of them (heatmerchants customers words not mine).

The Verner is a good multifuel boiler especially good with black oats and wood pellet, requires a buffer tank there is a man in Mountrath who knows them inside out not sure I can post his details send me an email if you wish.

Don't rush into buying any boiler second hand, most were not fitted with load valves and are prone to leaking.
.

Thank you Peteheat, if you could forward on his details as we are very close to mountrath. I'd appreciate it.
Heat merchants just didn't want to know at all about it.

towbar

Have verner here 8 years and have being happy with it

mark_18tp

just went onto done deal and noticed that a lot of people are selling of there woodpecker wood pellet boilers, they must have been bad.

i am installer of wood pellet boilers and am mcs approved in the north, and i think woodpecker/gerkos give wood pellets a bad name. around 8yrs ago pellet boilers really took of in ireland with the grants etc and a lot of "installers??" where putting in boilers because they looked good.

as a installer and approved for mcs for every job i do i get about 20 people ringing to see if the technology as improved, which it has. but i still feel that the bad experiences where due to two main factors.

1. untrained installers - putting in the boilers with the biggest mark up /commission rate.

2. quality of pellets- there was a lot of suppliers a few years ago and now there is only 2 or so in the north and will there is a few small issues at times but this problem is mostly for the part sorted.

any other views

mark_18tp

my advice is to always buy austrian boilers basically stay away from anything local, heard a few reports on grant pellet but its a bit cheeky you have to do their course

Biglad

Woodpecker boilers were rubbish and badly made, it's been mentioned previously and the ongoing rediculous issues my brother in law is having with his proves this.

Our Italian made Mescoli is still going strong after 7 years. I replaced some ignition elements and a capacitor for the auger and that's it. The fire deflector inside the burner had worn away in one corner and I had a new one made locally at a steel firm. So beside the usual wear and tear no issues worth speaking of.

There are many good pellet boilers on the market. Gerkross wanted the grant money and that's how they build and priced their boilers, cheap and cheerful.

There are good German, Scandanavian, Austrian and Italian boilers on the market as they have been making wood burning stoves and pellets boilers long before some of you reading this were born, that's why I went with Mescoli.

The previous poster from up north is right. Installers didn't know what they were installing and most re-sellers didn't know what they were selling...bad mixture that...

towbar

Biggest issue now is price which has not moved in line with diesel and while quality has improved the limited number of manufacturers is an issue.

mark_18tp

disagree with the limited manufacturers, there is a lot of manufacturers to choice from and are quality machines
problem is people buying cheap and listening to uneducated salesman trying to get commission.

towbar

No I mean the pellets themselves. Fully agree on buying good machine

jimf

mark_18tp wrote: »

my advice is to always buy austrian boilers basically stay away from anything local, heard a few reports on grant pellet but its a bit cheeky you have to do their course

why would you say its a bit cheeky to have to do their course mark
surely it would be a great advantage to you and anybody else to know the product if you were to become an installer/service engineer for this brand

Biglad

I agree on the limited choice when it comes to pellet suppliers. You could nearly say that Balcas has a monopoly. The pellet quality has been good however.

It's a real shame though that the pellets rose in price when the oil went up but now oil has come down considerably this hasn't shown at all in pellet costs, a real shame but again the result of to little competition in the pellet market.

Dtp1979

jimf wrote: »

why would you say its a bit cheeky to have to do their course mark
surely it would be a great advantage to you and anybody else to know the product if you were to become an installer/service engineer for this brand

Also stop clowns fitting them, not knowing what there doing

mark_18tp

if you are qualified in pellet boilers e.g. an approved mcs course, i think its wrong that grant asks you too do another course to fit their boiler. "approved grant installer"?? and then its another course ontop of the course I have already took. i feel its a bit cheeky

I think they should allow mcs accredited installers, install them no extra course. i have seen them and there is no difference in them compared with others.

i just sometimes think companies don't understand the costs involved.

Dtp1979

mark_18tp wrote: »

if you are qualified in pellet boilers e.g. an approved mcs course, i think its wrong that grant asks you too do another course to fit their boiler. "approved grant installer"?? and then its another course ontop of the course I have already took. i feel its a bit cheeky

I think they should allow mcs accredited installers, install them no extra course. i have seen them and there is no difference in them compared with others.

i just sometimes think companies don't understand the costs involved.

Apart from the fact that they're condensing. I think it's good that grant only want guys trained by them fitting their boilers

jimf

I can understand mark that you have to take time off from your daily schedule to do these courses and maybe a bit of travel also involved I only do oil but imho the trip to grants in birr was a well worth while experience

I was at a launch night in limerick last jan and they were quite adamant this course was a must do if you wished to become an installer

with the bad experience a number of years back with other manf I think grants are not willing to leave anything to chance as you already said yourself in an earlier post bad installers mean bad performance and even worse reputation

mark_18tp

im glad you can see my point, and i do see yours.
but my issue is when i spoke to a grant agent its basically a retrofitted grant vortex internals and they don't ask that approved installers fit their oil boilers

i will do the course one day but i stand by the fact that is setting double standards for oil and pellet

Biglad

You can never do enough training and although the Grant boilers might be in principle the 'same' they clearly still have unique features and or requirements. I sell MegaPixel CCTV and we still like engineers to do our companies training course (free of charge) to make sure they get the best out of our product.

I am no plumber myself but I was worried about the lack of info available with local plumbers when it comes to pellet boilers so I have been doing all my maintenance myself which was straight forward and easy. Even replacing an element or capacitor turned out to be simple.

My next project is a buffer tank and all the valves and bits...will need help with that ken though!

PeteHeat

mark_18tp wrote: »

my advice is to always buy austrian boilers basically stay away from anything local, heard a few reports on grant pellet but its a bit cheeky you have to do their course

Doctors differ, patients die.

There were quite a few Austrian boiler manufacturers that were and still are anything but helpful especially when it comes to parts, maintenance manuals and training.

I have lost count of the number of times my emails and telephone calls to Austrian / E.U. manufacturers have been ignored despite explaining that a consumers home was without heat in the depths of winter.

As for Grant they could have launched their Grant Spira pellet boiler in 2006 but held off until they had carried out full field testing to iron out any possible issues, could explain why they are the biggest seller in the UK under the UK renewable energy schemes?

I have traveled to a number of manufacturers in Europe for training, my time spent travelling to Grant for training was painless in comparison.

For your information it's not a retrofitted Grant Vortex (the best selling oil boiler in Ireland and the UK) I have yet to see a vortex actually wash itself with water!

For training we did the theory courses in Dundalk I.T. very similar to the MCS course, they were no comparison to the manufacturers courses which naturally were specific to each manufacturers products and invaluable when it came to installation and after sales service.

I think if Gerkros had stuck with their original training and installation guides (pre SEI grants) they would still be in business today, sadly the madness created by a €4,000.00 grant meant quality of installation and wood pellet fuel was left to one side in the rush to provide product.

Balcas are not the only pellet fuel manufacturer in Ireland, Laois Sawmills also manufacture here.
.

Dosiateh

Hi there, I have problem with a SHT wood pellet boiler. Plug it out from power and after I plug it in again I got no response from it at all. Anybody around Kildare area know something about that boilers?

smwalsh

Hi all

Back to problems with Gerkros Woodpecker Burners. I have an Er01 reading and cannot clear it. Manual says Safety Thermostat High Voltage 1. Any ideas what this means? I cannot clear it to try to restart the burner again. (Oh how I long for those Er13 messages)

Got my plumber coming out to take a look, not hopeful... Anybody know of anyone in the West who has experience fixing these machines?

Not that one

This i had this message as well at one stage.
I have the 40kW Gerkros boiler - digital display model.

I think when this message came up, my buffer tank had a lot of air that needed to be bled.
Just turn the key at top of tank and let out any excess air (same process as bleeding radiators).
You may need to allow water back into your system to "re-pressurize" the system if you had a lot of air in the system.

Anyone with more technical advice please feel free to contradict.

I've had several Error messages over the years and trying to remember if this was my ER 01 response.
The 40kW woodpecker is hard work. I've just about lost trust in mine, as any issue usually means 1 week without heat while i try to figure out problem, order replacement part and get it fitted.

jennifershauna

tinofapples wrote: »

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.

How much space would one need for 3 tonnes?!? I buy boot full's working out at €100 per month....dust in the bags is starting to annoy me and the price hike? I thought it was a 'green' fuel they can't f**k with the price like oil?!? It's all a balls we b paying to breath soon...dirty air n all

Get off my soapbox

jennifershauna wrote: »

How much space would one need for 3 tonnes?!? I buy boot full's working out at €100 per month....dust in the bags is starting to annoy me and the price hike? I thought it was a 'green' fuel they can't f**k with the price like oil?!? It's all a balls we b paying to breath soon...dirty air n all

They are about €2k to buy. Tey come in different shapes and sizes but this might help give an idea of the space needed for a bulk storage canvas silo. (details from kbf) . You can get plastic ones as well.

Capacity : 3.8 tonnes
Height : 2400mm (8ft)
Width : 2200mm (7ft 2in)
Depth : 2200mm (7ft 2in)

There should be a gap of approx. 10-15 cm between the silo and the wall in order to permit ventilation behind it.The distance between the steel supports and the ceiling should be 20 to 25 centimetres, because the filling pipe will take up this space.

I might be getting rid of mine in the next few weeks if anyone was interested.

tinofapples

jennifershauna wrote: »

How much space would one need for 3 tonnes?!? I buy boot full's working out at €100 per month....dust in the bags is starting to annoy me and the price hike? I thought it was a 'green' fuel they can't f**k with the price like oil?!? It's all a balls we b paying to breath soon...dirty air n all

The price will continue to rise imo, up till recently I could get 10kg bags for €2.95 a bag. 20 cent has been added to that now and can see same in future.

Hawthorn_Pl

Hi There. Is there anyone in the West Of Ireland who services scotte opop pellet boilers.I have the 430. No issues with it at the moment just wondering who around the Galway area services them?

Loueln

mark_18tp wrote: »

just went onto done deal and noticed that a lot of people are selling of there woodpecker wood pellet boilers, they must have been bad.

i am installer of wood pellet boilers and am mcs approved in the north, and i think woodpecker/gerkos give wood pellets a bad name. around 8yrs ago pellet boilers really took of in ireland with the grants etc and a lot of "installers??" where putting in boilers because they looked good.

as a installer and approved for mcs for every job i do i get about 20 people ringing to see if the technology as improved, which it has. but i still feel that the bad experiences where due to two main factors.

1. untrained installers - putting in the boilers with the biggest mark up /commission rate.

2. quality of pellets- there was a lot of suppliers a few years ago and now there is only 2 or so in the north and will there is a few small issues at times but this problem is mostly for the part sorted.

any other views

Hi there,
I would like your help if you know anybody able to fix my gerkross woodpellet boiler. there's a water leaking on the side. The boiler seemed to work fine except for the leak.

ayzeb123

do you still service the Kedco boilers, if so where are you based?

ayzeb123

Hi Mark, Do you service kedco boilers in the northwest of ireland