So you think you might get a wood boiler?

[RogerS]

By that, I mean one of those wood boilers where you feed in logs, it transfers the heat into a thermal store from which the central heating and hot water for the house are then extracted.

Do not. DAMHIKT.

The decision is binary.

Question 1. Do I have an infinite supply of free seasoned logs ?

No. Forget it. Go and get a proper heating system.

Yes. Do I want to be a slave to the bloody thing, filling its voracious maw with four wheelbarrow full of logs every day. Each day. Wondering if you're too late and the bloody thing has gone out.

Again.

Mmmm..thought not. Oil boiler here I come.

 

[Woodmonkey]

My mate has one like this, but he is a tree surgeon so he does have an endless supply of logs. He also has an immersion heater too so you can have a shower in the morning without having to get up and light a fire at 5am.

 

[xiphidius]

Wood Pellets...

 

[Farmer Giles]

I bought a combined log/pellet boiler a few months ago. I'm still in the process of installing it however its linked to 2000 litre heat store, auto ignites logs and pellets and auto swaps between logs an pellets. The idea is you stuff it full of logs, which should be enough for a days heating, but if you're out or can't be bothered to fill it then it auto switches to the 250kg pellet store on the side which should be enough for about a week in the coldest winter. It's a Solar Focus Therminator, I was lucky to get it nearly new so got a good discount. I'm currently on LPG and my gas boiler will be my backup for the inevitable break down.

 

[Keithie]

or ...if you have higher energy needs and some space to grow stuff...maybe wood pellet, grain and grass (miscanthus)

http://www.treco.co.uk/products/boiler/ ... ass-boiler

 

[RossJarvis]

Additionally, as the BBC pointed out this week, if too many people burn wood we will run out of trees and the planet will die. The country ran out of wood in the 18th century and it was only the switch to coal which helped us to industrialise and brought the trees back. It's sort of a nice idea if not too many people do it. Coal is much much more energy dense, less polluting and doesn't't cause any trees to die which are trying to suck up the CO2 from everything else.

 

[sunnybob]

I saw a tv report a while back saying that all the trendy log burners being installed in London are causing the return of the Pea Soup fogs.
I survived those original 1950;s pea soupers, but many people didnt. And i definitely recall the Clean Air act which specifically banned that kind of thing. Just wondering how these salesmen are getting round that particular law.

 

[Beau]

I saw a tv report a while back saying that all the trendy log burners being installed in London are causing the return of the Pea Soup fogs.
I survived those original 1950;s pea soupers, but many people didnt. And i definitely recall the Clean Air act which specifically banned that kind of thing. Just wondering how these salesmen are getting round that particular law.

Modern clean burning stoves http://www.stovesonline.co.uk/smoke-con ... r-act.html

Snag is if the owners don't use them right or put poorly dried logs on them they belch out smoke and damaging particulates.

 

[sunnybob]

When I was a kid, our open fires burnt EVERYTHING. Even down to all the kitchen waste and vegetable peelings wrapped in old newspaper and put to the back of the fire. Thats what caused the killing smogs.
Our metal dustbins contained nothing but ash.
If someone can burn cheaper stuff, they will, regardless of whats coming out the chimney.

 

[Farmer Giles]

We aim to use mainly logs augmented by coppiced timber from our own woodland. The logs are either from arboricultural work, managed forest or wind blown. I have 15 cages from the frames of old IBC containers that I fill up as opportunities arise. So the timber is sustainable and the boiler is of the gasifying type with very low emmisions, plus I'm up a big hill in the pennines. I don't want to use pellets unless I have to, I'm adding thermodynamic solar panels and possibly some solar PV later so should be able to keep to logs most of the time.

 

[tomatwark]

The cost of firewood has gone up as the demand increases.

I have a stove at home which we burn off cuts from the workshop on and it has reduced the gas bill, but if I had to buy logs it would not make any difference.

I think a lot of folks are fitting these as a design element and not as a way of saving money.

In the workshop we burn our off cuts and also one trip pallets our neighbours want rid of.

Although when it is really cold we will get through 5-10 pallets in a day, depending on the off cuts we have.

But even having to cut them up it is still a cheap way of heating 4500 sq feet.

 

[Farmer Giles]

Bought logs can't compete with natural gas on price, but it can with LPG. If you can scavange some free logs from around and about then even better. We have yet to do a full year yet however I reckon I will need about 7 to 10 tonnes of logs just for the CH& HW.

 

[Beau]

Bought logs can't compete with natural gas on price.

They can if its a larger set up like the OP mentions.

I do contract log cutting for various sized set ups. If you buy in roundwood by the wagon load and get it cut up on site you can easily undercut mains gas. I recon £75 per cube is the point at which logs match gas and on a larger scale you could be looking at £40-£45 per cube. Admittedly this requires a lots of effort and space with storing and loading boilers but not fiscally expensive per kWh

 

[Jacob]

Additionally, as the BBC pointed out this week, if too many people burn wood we will run out of trees and the planet will die. The country ran out of wood in the 18th century

No it didn't. Timber was cared for - the navy and other big users such as the early iron industry planted stuff and were very aware of conservation. Wherever wood was in demand there were maintained woodlands. The main clearances were down to farming, at it's worst with sheep. Modern clearance the same - it's for meat farming or fodder growing. Where forests are valued for timber you get conservation kicking in, for obvious reasons

it was only the switch to coal which helped us to industrialise and brought the trees back.

The trees started going when coal kicked in as there was less demand

It's sort of a nice idea if not too many people do it. Coal is much much more energy dense, less polluting and doesn't't cause any trees to die which are trying to suck up the CO2 from everything else.

Do you really believe that!!!
Coal and oil have both turned out to be disastrous, not only highly polluting in terms of air quality, dust etc but also to the point where CO2 is changing the climate itself. They have no future - either that or we don't!
Burning wood is virtually carbon neutral - as long as timber is being planted as fast as it is being consumed, but couldn't be done on a massive scale.
Using wood to make stuff is even better - it is carbon negative in that it sequesters CO2.
The real answer is alternative sustainable energy sources, wind , solar, tides etc

 

[Farmer Giles]

I was considering buying wood in the round and hiring a wood processor for a couple days and split the cost with few neighbours. I must admit I have only looked at pre-split log costs at the moment.

The RHI scheme now insists on traceable renewable wood since many abused the scheme by burning any old scrap including kitchen units causing pollution issues so I've been looking at the ramifications of this when you source pukka scrap timber. I keep a log (pardon the pun!) of all the timber I get with receipts, photos, type, moisture content etc. Given we grow some of our own then I think I need to register as a producer, it was a while since I looked.

 

[Beau]

I was considering buying wood in the round and hiring a wood processor for a couple days and split the cost with few neighbours..

I am surprised more people don't do this. With a strong extra pair of hands I work on it costing my customers between £10-£15 per cube to process based on a days work.

 

[RogerS]

Regardless as to whether or not one has access to 'free' or low-cost logs, the fact still remains that you're beholden to The Beast to keep feeding its voracious appetite. Day in. Day out. Night in. Oh, it's out.

 

[Farmer Giles]

Regardless as to whether or not one has access to 'free' or low-cost logs, the fact still remains that you're beholden to The Beast to keep feeding its voracious appetite. Day in. Day out. Night in. Oh, it's out.

Not in my case. I have a 2000 litre heat store and if I fill the boiler with logs it auto ignites them and burns the lot in one go heating up the heat store. The heat is slowly released in the house via a heat exchanger and underfloor heating. One load shoukd do a day, however if not, it will auto cut over to pellets and the 250kg hopper attached to the side which on its own will last a week. Pellets are not as cost effective as logs but still just about competitive with LPG.

 

[Beau]

Might be of interest http://www.nottenergy.com/energy_cost_comparison.

 

[RogerS]

Regardless as to whether or not one has access to 'free' or low-cost logs, the fact still remains that you're beholden to The Beast to keep feeding its voracious appetite. Day in. Day out. Night in. Oh, it's out.

Not in my case. I have a 2000 litre heat store and if I fill the boiler with logs it auto ignites them and burns the lot in one go heating up the heat store. The heat is slowly released in the house via a heat exchanger and underfloor heating. One load shoukd do a day, however if not, it will auto cut over to pellets and the 250kg hopper attached to the side which on its own will last a week. Pellets are not as cost effective as logs but still just about competitive with LPG.

My point was specifically aimed at the type of wood boiler that I have. I agree there are some very nice 'automatic' boilers out there. Even more automatic pellet boilers that do everything for you bar make the tea. At a cost. If I had £30k spare then I might consider a wood pellet boiler.

We also have a 2000 litre heat store. It is undersized for the house.

Plus from an engineering/physics perspective, heating something and then using that to heat something else just seems plain daft to me. No matter how good the insulation, there is wasted heat loss.