I've seen that there are several brands of wood pellet heaters on the market. We are looking at installing one in our new house as it runs semi-automatically and has low emissions. Ww are building a passiv haus standard home and so I am wondering is does anyone know of a model that allows an external air intake as we don't want the house to fill up with wood fire smalls when we turn on the stove extractor fan.
wood pellet heaters & external air intake
(21 posts) (10 voices)-
proftournesol
MemberPosted Friday 13 Sep 2013 @ 1:38:11 am from IP # -
Lance
Key MasterIf you mean external air for the combustion, then the unit we have here has that, it is available from http://wheater.net.au/ and http://www.snowflamepelletstoves.com/employees/default.html (we got ours from Multi-Fuel Heating, Darron was excellent to deal with).
Posted Friday 13 Sep 2013 @ 4:40:34 am from IP # -
sheelagh
MemberWe bought a Grace Pellet fire heater. Steer clear - the noise is excessive, so much so we now have to look at getting a sound bar to increase the television volume so we can hear it over the noise put out by this heater when the fans are running. Without turning the heater up, which triggers the fans, the heater does not maintain heat in our living room. So disappointed with this brand.
We had older Canadian model which was great but with 10' ceilings it was inadequate to warm the house.
Now we are stuck between a rock and a hard place $4000 later. The company who sold it Pellet Fires Tasmanian do not want to know.
Does anybody know if there is an Australian Standard for noise emissions from Pellet Fire heaters?
Posted Friday 22 May 2015 @ 1:21:34 am from IP # -
Lance
Key MasterIt's definitely worth seeing your proposed pellet heater running before buying. Ours (a Snowflame) is a little loud, but not enough to cause probs hearing the TV, even being only 2 metres away, but then, our TV runs through our sound system.
I would probably go for a different unit next time, I like the Nero (http://www.cheapheat.com.au/nero-heater/35) although it has a max sound level of 50dB which is quite low but might be too much close to a TV.
You could try a sound barrier between the heater and the greater lounge area if the room layout allows, a freestanding upholstered panel (as used in offices to separate areas) would certainly reduce sound levels, and you could make something like it using a large sheet of styrofoam covered in your choice of fabric. Worth a try...
Posted Friday 22 May 2015 @ 5:16:08 am from IP # -
tezz
MemberDue to budget, I bought a entry level, on sale, Ziegler & Brown Flamme. It does have provision for external air intake, but none come with the Accessory Flue Kit as standard. Once other work is done on my reno I'll get one installed.
It seems many of this type of heater have intrusive levels of fan noise, including mine.
I'm impressed with most other aspects, but definitely not the noise, having to crank the volume on the TV at least 6db, though it still masks lower sounds.
The manual does show access to fans, but it's not been possible to get past the top level of that menu option.
I'm still waiting on a Warranty service call as the self ignition has failed, so will ask the tech when he finally gets here.
If no joy, I may look for replacement quieter fans after the warranty expires.
In the meantime, firelighters get me going.
Any prospective buyers should get a working demo in a showroom.Posted Sunday 24 May 2015 @ 7:21:02 am from IP # -
wlb
MemberIt might be worth tossing in a word of warning here, although it may not be applicable to Australia. I have no idea how people with pellet heaters store their pellets, but in Europe it seems that it's not unusual for pellets to be delivered like coal was, into a room, hopper or basement.
Unfortunately, stored wood pellets generate carbon monoxide which accumulates in the room, hopper or basement. There have been quite a few deaths in Europe in recent years from CO poisoning.
As I said, it's probably not relevant here as I suspect they would be stored in much smaller volumes, in an outdoor hopper, with more frequent deliveries. But it's worth knowing about this potential hazard.
Posted Sunday 24 May 2015 @ 9:47:53 am from IP # -
tezz
Membermost smartphones - Apps are available, free or paid, that allow " near enough " measurements. For comparison purposes, the measurement is usually taken at a distance of 1 metre.
For more precise measurement, not really required in your case, some of the pricier Apps can be used with the developer's, or 3rd party calibrated microphones. Allow several hundred $ if you're really keen.
If you still have a dumb phone, then your common local or online stores have SPL meters for approx $80 ( from memory )Posted Tuesday 26 May 2015 @ 1:30:47 pm from IP # -
Morbo
MemberI think $40 at Jaycar
http://www.jaycar.com.au/Test-%26-Measurement/Environmental-Meters/Sound-Meters/Micro-Sound-Level-Meter/p/QM1591
or $329 with calibrator
http://www.jaycar.com.au/Test-%26-Measurement/Environmental-Meters/Sound-Meters/Pro-Sound-Level-Meter-with-Calibrator/p/QM1592
because the cheap ones are not calibrated and no one will take your measurement seriousPosted Tuesday 26 May 2015 @ 10:08:54 pm from IP # -
alburdon
MemberHi prof,
Pellet heaters are highly efficient; but as we see above they can be noisy and expensive to run. May I recommend that you look at putting in a masonry heater instead. More efficient than any other form of home heating and with less emissions (see CSIRO figures to prove it) and a seriously high level of satisfaction. I declare an interest here because after putting one in our home we decided that Australia needed to hear about them. PM me if you want to know more.Posted Wednesday 27 May 2015 @ 12:22:49 pm from IP # -
FreddyBare
MemberIs this guy taking the piss? http://www.heavenlyheat.com.au/ $7800 and you have to do pretty much all of the work either yourself or pay someone about $4000 do do it for you. to me it just seems like a rocket stove.
Posted Wednesday 3 Jun 2015 @ 10:59:54 am from IP # -
Oilburner
MemberI don't know why anyone would want a pellet stove.
So much energy going into processing the pellets to start with and you are tied into them as fuel.With a regular slow combustion stove you can burn anything from tree wood, to old pallets and boxes, newspaper logs etc.
My neighbor is nearly 80 and she has a slow combustion heater. In the middle of sydney there is still plenty of free wood for her. I went and saw the tree lopper guy round the corner who is more than happy to drop it off instead of taking it to the tip. She splits it with the little electric log splitter and anything too big she puts aside till she has a pile and I go over and chop it up with the chainsaw.Sometimes I see a stack of Old broken hardwood pallets in the factories which they are more than happy for me to take away and she cuts them up with the drop saw.
My mate got onto a local tree lopper and he has brought him enough wood in 12 months to last him at least 5 years he reckons.
Why anyone would pay for processed pellets when so much free fuel is around for regular wood heaters is beyond me especially when they run silent and require no power input.
Posted Monday 8 Jun 2015 @ 4:58:50 pm from IP # -
Lance
Key MasterAs mentioned previously, the problem with wood heaters is that they are generally dirty to run (the way most people run them), they produce too much smoke at startup, take too much messing around for many people, plus the time to split wood etc. They are ok if you are retired or don't have anything better to do with your time, but having had both slow combustion and pellet, I would go with pellet again despite the cost as the convenience is worth it.
Am wondering if the people you mention dry the timber out properly before burning, doesn't sound like it. This is one of the biggest causes of excessive smoke production, burning damp timber, is a common problem.
The only aspect that wood heaters can come out on top on is running cost really. Sure, the fuel might have lower transport miles, but it is so much more polluting, especially the way most people use their heaters, that pellets probably have a lower greenhouse impact. Remember, burning wood with the air turned down to make the fuel last longer, as is common in Oz, produces lots of particulates and methane. So, you are taking wood, which used CO2 to grow, and turning it back into CO2, smoke and methane. That's a very high greenhouse impact when it's on an ongoing basis.
Posted Monday 8 Jun 2015 @ 11:17:03 pm from IP # -
Oilburner
MemberSeems you are taking the worst case scenario as the rule rather than the exception.
The heater I have makes very little smoke turned down or otherwise. In any case, whats smoke? Some carbon particles? Oh geez, can't have any more of the most common substance on earth being emitted can we?
You ever noticed how much smoke and everything else is emitted from one Bushfire? It's well known that one decent bushfire season produces more emissions than all the wood fires on earth will for the next 10 years. and thats just in one part of the word, not from the fires that burn all over.
From the environmental aspect, pellets are laughably hypocritical. The amount of energy tat goes into them from harvest to end user would be magnitudes more than is used on the wood I harvest from my own property and is used in the chainsaw and splitter. I'll also bet these pellet heaters use a lot more electrical input than my wood heater which uses none at all.
Yes, cutting the wood is work. Even if it's breaking up and cutting the old pallets which would only go to landfill. Have you any idea how much wood in the form of pallets gos through just one waste transfer station close to the city? I do. I have been to the place my brother in law runs many times and seen the tons of them first hand.
I never hear anyone bitching and wineing about that but then people want to get up in arms about a bit of smoke a wood heater produces.
Laughable.If someone went in there and took that wood and made pellets out of it, THAT would be doing something worth while!
Another hypocrisy I see with pellets is the greenwashed championing convenience.
Either you are concerned about the environment and will make the effort to do the best for it you can or you are just paying it lip service and will go with whatever suits your lifestyle best.
I'll bet plenty of people would have the mindset of cutting would to be too hard and laborious or to time consuming but would then pay to go to a gym, no doubt driving their car there and back, to get the exercise they avoided in cutting up some wood. I can easy knock over a weeks worth of wood in the hour most people would spend at a gym let alone travel time and having their latte when they are done.Don't know how many people have told me it's too hard to cut and stack wood but are either physical slobs or do a bit of pretend physical exertion at a gym.
To me, cutting wood is not work, it's exercise, keeping me fit and healthy and is logical to ones well being. Even with a chainsaw and a splitter, I sweat like a pig and get a workout you just can't get in a gym as you can with real physical work.Frankly, I don't really give a damn about the environmental beat up effects of a wood fire. The do gooders can skew numbers and pay for the statistics they want to be concluded all they like, but anyone that's not kidding themselves can see that firstly it's a natural thing, secondly has a lot less external energy input than anything else and thirdly that any emissions that are created are paled into insignificance by 1000 other things that are done every damn day that no one pays attention to because to do so would again be undermining the conveniences they are not prepared to give up.
Posted Wednesday 10 Jun 2015 @ 2:32:20 am from IP # -
Morbo
Membernext to work is a prefab company, lots of offcuts there to harvest. Or at your local carpenter/building supplier. Then use your PV electricity to cut it up and alas, low embedded energy!
How are the pellets held together, glue?
I like the gym bit, people use the car 3km to work, then drive to gym, just to be seen doing spinning (stationary bicycle)Posted Wednesday 10 Jun 2015 @ 7:01:02 am from IP # -
Bushwalker
MemberJust be careful the offcuts aren't from treated pine. It's toxic.
Posted Wednesday 10 Jun 2015 @ 7:39:26 am from IP # -
Bushwalker
MemberMorbo said:
no harm in some arsenic?You decide:
http://www.softwoods.com.au/blog/cca-treated-pine-safe/Finally, the one thing you must be extremely careful to never do with treated pine is burn it. Burning CCA treated pine created toxic smoke that can be hazardous to health, so it is advised that CCA treated pine be disposed of through normal waste collection services, unless it is a large amount of timber (where you will have to make arrangements with your council for it’s safe disposal)
Posted Wednesday 10 Jun 2015 @ 1:19:55 pm from IP #