Pellet Boilers, Whole House

[cdaigle430]

Hello from Southern Maine;
I am replacing my 47 year old Chevron #2 Oil boiler and origionally was considering the viesmann vitola 200 and an external water tanks;

http://www.viessmann-us.com/en/Residential/Products/oil/Vitola_200.html

Now I am considering a whole house pellet boiler furnace;

http://www.maineenergysystems.com/OkoFEN_AutoPellet_Boilers.htm
Looking for personal experience with either one and opinions on going completely pellet vs #2 oil.

 

[mikehaugen]

Not sure what your situation is, but wood fired gasification boilers are all the rage right now. I am trying to muster up the cash to try one vs. My current propane furnace. They are pricey.

 

[dave1949]

I think you are smart to check it out. The percentage of Maine homes heating with oil is down to 67% now and falling. Used to be over 80% in 2000.

I would want to talk with 2-3 current owners of any particular brand to get their experiences. Check out the consistency of pellet quality and price stability. The price for bulk delivered pellets is said to be stable.

Sure would be nice to put your fellow Mainers to work in the woods to make the fuel, and there may be some state or federal incentives.

 

[charlz]

Check out the consistency of pellet quality

This is a key item I have found in the 8-9 years of running a pellet stove... not all pellets are created equal. Out West here they are made from softwood and you expect the pellet to look like what it is made of. Lot of dark stuff (bark or dirt) green stuff (pine needle) and it is not a very good pellet. The best pellets I have seen were from Canada and made with beetle kill pine, they were the color of straw and burned very clean and hot. Most leave some type of 'clinker' behind that must be cleared at some interval. It looks like some fused together dirt or sand, sometimes it is just loose grit and other times it will be more like a 'puck'. The worst pellets I have had required shutdown twice a day to remove the 'puck'. I would be really interested to see how this system deals with a more solid by-product. I see from the page it says it is bottom feeding (mine is top) and that helps eliminate ash but doesn't say anything about 'clinkers'. Maybe the bottom feeding design prevents any type 'puck' from forming and the grit is collected with the ash.

 

[coobie]

Hello from Southern Maine;
I am replacing my 47 year old Chevron #2 Oil boiler and origionally was considering the viesmann vitola 200 and an external water tanks;

Vitola 200

Now I am considering a whole house pellet boiler furnace;

MESys AutoPellet Wood Pellet Boiler Central Heating System : Lower Your Heating Bill with Wood Pellet Boilers : Maine Energy Systems
Looking for personal experience with either one and opinions on going completely pellet vs #2 oil.

Good place to ask your question Hearth.com - Information on Fireplaces, Wood Stoves, Pellet Stoves, etc.

 

[Car Doc]

I have a free standing multi-fuel pellet stove but that's about all we have in common on this subject so my input will be short. In the 6-7 years I have had mine I have always wanted bulk pellets that I could load into my 48 bushel grain hopper. And in my case anyway bring them in with 5 gallon buckets rather than bags since we dont have bulk wood pellets available here..

That's my point right there is if you dont have bulk fuel it will get to be a pita quickly. Now if you can handle the fuel easy in the worst weather etc it wouldn't be a bad way to heat I dont think anyway ymmv as always. The other thing I found was when I bought mine pellets were pretty cheap. Fact corn was too but once they went up in price (since someone wanted them uhumm) propane and electricity and natural gas are better now in my area anyway and we hardly ever use our pellet stove now my .002 and good luck!