pellets in buderus hydronic system

hi, this forum has been a source of info for me for awhile now, so i joined to ask the membership a question


i have a buderus multi-fuel boiler, and i was a lazy **** this summer and do not have much wood to burn.

i went to get a bunch of coal, but the local dealer has decided to just stock pellets

so, i bought some, and made a 15 inch by 5 inch tray, with 3/8 inch holes drilled throughout to pour pellets in, and put split firewood on either side of it.

i do not have any kind of auger/hopper system, this is manual, i add some pellets when i am in-house and tending to the burner.

the sampson control seems to be working fine, to regulate the air intake when the temp changes

just wondering about any pitfalls associated with my method, and any input about how to make my boiler more effecient when i burn pellets in it



thanks for any and all feedback


EDIT:
i realize this should probably be in the 'boiler room' topic, my apologies for making the staff work, i'll read more before my next post

exactly what i have, didn't remember the 'logana' name on it, thought it was a nice piece of equipment... but it was installed in the 80s

i have family member with a huge truck to get coal from about an hour away, just needed something to keep the oil tank full as we're getting a cold spell right now (south of albany)

thanks for the help, i appreciate it

cheers for the link admin, think it's the post that led me to the forum when i had issues with the sampson controller for the intake.

I've burned coal with zero problems in the past, your advice will save me cash this winter :D

cheers and stay warm