Overview of pellet stoves, pellet stoves features

Variants of heating equipment for private houses and household / industrial buildings much. One of them - pellet stove, which appeared in our market relatively recently. Despite the novelty of these devices have already earned a good reputation - thanks to an impressive list of benefits.

What are pellet stoves?

Pellet boilers, fireplaces, or called structure, heating room due to a special kind of fuel combustion - pellets. The latter are small extruded pellets from wood waste. Fuel is completely safe - eco-friendly it makes the absence of any harmful substances. Including glue.

Pellets come in two basic types:

• industrial; they are made of different types of waste, however the pellets flow above and below the efficiency of the furnace;
• household; These are made from high quality raw materials, and therefore the thermal efficiency is much higher.

we recommend using the latter type of download-only boilers in private buildings. Moreover, it is desirable to select the pellets, based on the characteristics of a particular device - this will increase the heat transfer and the operational period of the furnace.

Types of pellet boilers

Heating equipment of this type is classified on the basis of different criteria

According to the materials which make up the structure

Most fireplaces are made from high-quality steel. Much less common devices, the basic material of which - cast iron.

By types of burners

There furnace:

• flares; best way "home" version; for flare boilers are characterized by low power, ease of use and configuration, reliability; Among the disadvantages of the form - the sensitivity to the fuel quality and unidirectional heating furnace walls;
• fireplace; characteristic feature - the pellets are burned in special pellet bowl; there is less adjustment possibilities, and also place demands on fuel; but such a furnace can be placed in rooms - quiet and safe equipment;
• volume combustion; much more similar burner used in industrial-type devices, but also in household aggregates them is place; minus - increased bulkiness; advantages - higher power and undemanding to the granules (in Russian realities of the latter aspect is of considerable importance).

According to the type of fuel supply

The furnace is divided into:

• mechanical; operator turns into such a boiler stokers, forced to constantly monitor the combustion process;
• semi-automatic; manually here give only the power - control the rest falls on the shoulders of automation; in terms of value for money, this option is preferable to the other;
• automatic; the user only the fuel load required - Automatic will do the rest; but to start setting the equipment is better to call the professionals - they will make all the necessary calculations on the basis of size of the room, the required temperature and other parameters.

By fuel type

Pellet boilers run on different fuels. There furnace:

• working exclusively for wood pellets; in the absence of regular opportunities to provide for themselves molded fuel does not make sense to purchase such equipment; More selection step need to consider the furnace supply options suitable type granules;
• partially combined; allowed to use briquettes and firewood - this contributes to the furnace size; but the main role played by fuel pellets, while other options are helpful in situations where there is no access to the pellets; Failure to do so leads to equipment failure;
• combined; These units have several furnaces, different formats; therefore permitted to use both pellets and briquettes of wood with on a regular basis; cons combined units - the high price and a decent size.

by appointment

Depending on the purpose, equipment is divided into:

• fireplaces, heaters; their task - heating the air; the most popular option - such furnaces take up little space, have a "right" to be placed in residential areas and is easy to "get along" with any interior design;
• hot water boilers; different solid sizes and featureless appearance; usually they are installed in utility rooms or basement;
• hybrid units; task combined devices - and direct heating of air and heating of the coolant; in terms of design similar to the convection equipment.

Installation of stoves powered by fuel pellets

Ovens granular pellets have such a structure:

• body of metal - stainless steel or cast iron quality grades;
• Area filling bunker fuel; Some models are designed for external silos;
• elektroshnek supplying pellets to the combustion chamber in batches;
• fan; its purpose - supply of cold air from the room into the device and output hot (along with working) - the outside;
• firebox;
• burner;
• ashpan - an element for collecting wood waste;
• a heat exchanger for the circulation of cold / hot air;
• thermostat and control panel.

The principle of operation of furnaces

For the operation of pellet boilers need electricity. Thanks to his work the control unit, the fan and the auger. After loading the granules are portions - by the screw - are fed into the combustion chamber. Due to the air intake of the room there is a fuel fire. At the launch of the system goes up to 10 minutes.

Important! Independence from conventional power systems ovens. Without electricity boiler operation is impossible

The gases formed during combustion are supplied to the heat exchanger. Hence, by their room distributes fan. The smoke goes up the chimney. Most modern models are equipped with a thermostat, set and controlled a certain temperature in the room.

The resulting ash falls into the ash pan. Waste from burnt pellets quite a bit. The average frequency of cleaning - once a month. More advanced models require less frequent attention to this aspect - until the disposal of waste every two months.

In the presence of water heating system is heated and the liquid together with air. The water circulates through the pipes entering the spetsomkosti if necessary.

Automation greatly simplifies the user interaction with the furnace. A computerized system makes each step boiler operation more efficient and secure.

Advantages and disadvantages of pellet boilers

Popularity boilers, pellet, growing thanks to the advantages of the series. Among them:

• effective heat dissipation; The efficiency of such devices is comparable with the efficiency of gas heating devices and much higher than the efficiency of wood stoves;
• fuel efficiency;
• full environmental; in the absence of granules of any harmful substances;
• autonomy; provided that the user is deprived of the automated system need to control the combustion process - Automatic making almost all human;
• independent of the main power supply systems;
• almost complete non-waste - burning, the pellets leave a very small amount of ash; ash cleaning is rarely needed;
• safety equipment and no need for installation in accordance with the relevant services;
• aesthetic design, fireplaces boilers - the ability to "write" the unit in any interior.

Not without flaws. These include:

• the need for electricity, without which it is impossible to ignite the fuel, the screw operation and control unit;
• the high cost of the equipment; mid-range - 100 000-1000 000;
• European dependence on Russian models of energy systems and the quality of pellets; devices may be sensitive to voltage fluctuations and demanding of the fuel; choosing the oven, be sure to consider the surge protection and the ability to purchase pellets suitable for a particular model.

If there are financial opportunities furnaces merits outweigh their disadvantages

How to choose a pellet stove?

Criteria stoving conditions:

• power; the most important aspect - when choosing a device, you must start from the volume space; average required power - 1 kW / 10 m²; calculation scheme is valid for rooms with ceiling heights of up to 3 m;
• type and the granules flow; the need for a variable one pellet and adhered to furnace design and volume space; average consumption of compressed fuel - tons / month;
• of producers and distributors; recommended buy equipment from the seller, providing a comprehensive, or at least service;
• heat exchanger material; branded manufacturers produce only furnace steel heat exchangers; less popular manufacturers allow fabrication of elements of iron; iron variant is less preferred - it is heavier and more termoinertnostyu characterized.

Errors in operation of pellet stoves

Boiler for pellets can be expensive and quality, but if the choice of the machine was incorrect, inevitably disappointing. The fundamental error is in general non-compliance of the boiler consumer targets. It is necessary to clearly understand their needs and how the oven is able to satisfy them. First of all equipment should be evaluated in terms of its type and selection criteria.

A common mistake - an incorrect calculation of the output of the boiler and heat the room. The result - too low or high temperature. Better to spend more time, but make the right calculations. And even better to entrust it to a specialist.

The poor performance of the oven - another annoying problem. It is usually associated (if we are not talking about low-quality equipment) with typical Russian realities - mentioned poor quality of electricity and fuel.

More briefly enumerate three possible troubles:

• Sparking the chimney; The reason - the wrong choice of the latter;
• the expanding room for wood dust; reason - incorrect choice of location for the stove;
• Increased frequency of the ash content; the cause - wrong setting pellet burner.

conclusion

Pellet boilers - a good option efficient and economical heating. Suitable for those whose conditions do not allow to take advantage of the main heating or gas equipment. But for dignity to be paid must be carefully chosen oven. The correct choice is tantamount to a comfortable low-cost operation. Errors in the calculations provide problems.