Been a while but finally purchased. Very relieved to be nesting again, and I hope for the last time…
Central heating is oil. Okay to see me through this winter but want rid 2021. Has anyone got experience on Pellet burners for heating rads, and as visual fire insert in kitchen. Have been doing research but the trusty panel of Survive France is not what you know but who you know. !! Your thoughts and recommendations would be of great benefit. PS won’t be buying from Brico places or mass market shops. Have read previous installments but some looking for more recent advise and experiences. Cheers for now.
Yes Jilly, we heard that you have managed to buy somewhere. Congratulations!
As for pellet burners, we have been considering one too for our lounge to replace the Godin log burner.
Last time we had the chimney swept, we discussed it with the sweep and he mentioned that people he knows are less than happy with them for the reasons that the fan can be quite noisy (whilst listening to the radio or TV) and the other reason was the ash - it’s just as dusty as a log burner. He was happy with his but it is not placed in his lounge and he doesn’t use it all the time.
Thank you Graham…My the Tom Tom drums have been busy. I’m still in cooling off period? Would you mind telling me who is the “rumour munger”…if there is one thing I’ve been made acutely aware of is this…It can be so wrong at times and causes distress
We use Nick Wright 05.45.71.33.36 He also advertises in etcetera magazine
I heat entirely with logs - huge woodburner that drives the hot water and 12 radiators! I love it BUT of course the drawbacks are many - hard work (I source a lot of the wood myself from our garden), lots of ash, and its not fully automated. I always warn people that heating entirely with logs is a lifestyle choice, not a heating choice!
Mainly for the ‘not automatic’ reason - but it affects the others too - I kept the connections for a boiler in a little outhouse, with the idea that I could have both heat sources - the boiler - which could be pellets - coming on automatically for morning heat, then obviously switching itself off if and when the woodburner is lit.
So you don’t necessarily have to choose between logs and pellets - indeed there are 2-in-1 stoves that burn both - nor have the relatively ugly and noisy pellet boiler in your lounge.
Thank you Geof. I was unaware that the pellet boiler was a noisy blighter. Good to know.
Jilly
We have 2 woodburners. For 4 years now have burnt, almost exclusively, the artificial logs from the factory in La Sauvetat (nr. Eymet). Cannot recommend them enough. More expensive than logs (although only a bit) but … (a) all identical; (b) no work to do except to fetch them; © they can be easily split and used as firelighters; (d) just as hot as wood; …now the really interesting bits: (e) practically no ash (empty pan twice over winter); (f) chimney spotless after 3 years. For a bit of character we occasionally put on a log or two.
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My sister has a huge pellet boiler in her cellar, even when upstairs you can hear it filling etc, NOT a quiet thing! We bought one as an extra instead of another log burner. We used it one winter and thank goodness it was in the hall and we only ever had it on low as the fan was horribly noisy. The next autumn we looked at all the slightly cheaper ordering a whole pallet of pellet bags and we calculated what we had used for the previous winter and it worked out at nearly €400 just on a secondary heater! yes it was lovely having it come on before I can down or if we were out (had it set for 6am and 8pm just for an hour or so) but it wasn’t pretty or quite like a log burner! We then bought another Godin log burner and our total costs for the year to run 2 wood burners was only about €450. As others have said there is still the cleaning etc. I think I would consider a boiler but the costs of the pellets seem to be going up quite a bit which would be a consideration too.
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Thank you Roger. Your the 1st to comment on artifical logs which are really making me think again.
Very grateful
Jilly
Definitely food for thought. I do prefer log burners but as Gov trying to steer residents away from oil I thought pellets were a better option. The choice of insert outlets for rads and flame effect are pretty limited compared to the vast array of log burners. Do multi fuel log burners count as environmentally acceptable? Jilly
