Windhager BioWIN260 with wood pellet feed system and 3 Ton hopper (Waldo county - Maine)

[PassionForFire&Water]

One of our customers started the installation of a Windhager BioWIN260 (88,000 BTU/hr) with bulk wood pellet feed. He made a wooden pellet hopper that holds around 3 tons.
Will post more pictures when I get them.

 

[BoilerMan]

Nice looking install! I like his 3 ton bin, very nice looking fabrication.

TS

 

[PassionForFire&Water]

I'm still waiting to receive more pictures on the actual bulk pellet hopper hook-up.
I attached an animation on the working concepts of the BioWIN pellet boiler.

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Disclosure: I'm the north american importer for Windhager

 

[PassionForFire&Water]

Some pictures of the flexible hose to pellet bin installation

 

[BoilerMan]

The pnumatic feed system is really something. I was at a jobsite today where they were building an 8ton hopper for a MeEnergy system.

TS

 

[PassionForFire&Water]

A look inside the DIY pellet hopper

 

[velvetfoot]

How would support be for this unit?

 

[PassionForFire&Water]

How would support be for this unit?

All spare parts are stocked and readily availalbe from the Billerica-MA warehouse: flexible hoses, pellet augers, doors, sidepanels, stickers, cooling fins, PCB-boards, ... .
System layout/integration is provided at minimal cost.
DIY wooden hopper designs are available (per PE)
Commissioning of system by factory rep is possible

 

[711mhw]

Would you explain the pellet bin to boiler part a little? Does it vacuum to a little storage on the boiler? automatically, 2 lines? Filling the hopper? That's quite a build on that hopper. thanks

 

[PassionForFire&Water]

Would you explain the pellet bin to boiler part a little? Does it vacuum to a little storage on the boiler? automatically, 2 lines? Filling the hopper? That's quite a build on that hopper. thanks

Below you can find some pictures of the Windhager BioWIN pellets feeding system. I will take some more of the vacuum system itself later today. I need to open a new unit to make some decent pictures
1 is the vac turbine
2 is the temporarily holding bin
3 pellet hopper.

There is a pellet level indicator in the bottom part of the pellet hopper (3)
When the pellets are near or below this level the vac turbine will switch on.

Then the vac turbine delivers wood pellets in the temporarily holding bin (2) for a number of seconds.
Then the vac turbine stops.
The magnet is de-energized. The magnet was holding the flapper closed, while pellets were filling.
The flapper swings opens because of the weight of the pellets, and the pellets falls in pellet hopper (3)
Then this sequence starts again for in total 30 seconds of pellets feeding, or the time that was initially calibrated depending on the length of the hoses.

Advantages:
- the Vac turbine does not suck combustion gases trough the pellet auger into the pellet bin (3): no burn back
- the Vac pellet feeding system can operate when pellet boiler is burning pellets
- The pellet hopper does not need to be designed to see vacuum, only the temporarily holding bin (2) sees vacuum.
- The return air hose blows air into the bulk storage bin, so the suction line can suck up the pellets easier without being blocked by to many pellets at once.

You can actually also see this process in the movie clip earlier in this post (somewhere halfway in the movie).

(broken image removed)

 

[velvetfoot]

Very cool. Does the unit have some self cleaning features?

 

[heaterman]

The BioWin Exclusive series, which is what this unit is, requires virtually nothing in the line of daily or weekly maintenance. Cleaning of the firepot, the ashes at the bottom of the combustion chamber and the flue tubes is all fully automatic. Normal use with good pellets in this size unit would require ash removal 2 or 3 times per season. What little ash residue accumulates is augered into a sealed ash container that is underneath the pellet hopper. It has wheels and a fold out handle on it so all you need to do for emptying it out is unlatch it and wheel it to where you are getting rid of the ash.
I like this unit a lot. The one we installed a few weeks ago is performing far beyond what I thought any kind of bio mass burning unit was capable of. They are as maintenance free as you can get. I was amazed at the efficiency and the flue temp in the very low 200* range through the whole burn cycle.

 

[velvetfoot]

This and the other automatic pellet boilers sound great. Some kind of on site bulk storage would be required. I'd have to figure out how much volume to store a winters worth. There's no way I could create something like that bin made of wood, but would have to figure something else out. I don't even think pellets are available in buck where I live, so I guess bagged pellets would be used, eliminating one of the attractions of this system. The whole automated and minimal handling thing is quite appealing.

 

[PassionForFire&Water]

This and the other automatic pellet boilers sound great. Some kind of on site bulk storage would be required. I'd have to figure out how much volume to store a winters worth. There's no way I could create something like that bin made of wood, but would have to figure something else out. I don't even think pellets are available in buck where I live, so I guess bagged pellets would be used, eliminating one of the attractions of this system. The whole automated and minimal handling thing is quite appealing.

Bulk storage really depends on the size of your house and heat load.
If you only consume 2 bags of pellets a day I would start out with manually feeding the pellet hopper.
Most pellet hoppers hold 8 to 10 bags or 320 to 400 Lbs of pellets
2 x 40 Lbs bags = 80 Lbs or roughly 80 Lbs x 7,500 BTU/lbs = 600,000 BTU/hr or 25,000 BTU/hr on average

You can upgrade during your first heating season or after your first heating season if it doesn't work for what reason it may be: not practical, to heavy work, work schedule, no teenager that can do the work for you, .... .

If you decide to go for a bulk pellet storage I would go bigger then 3 tons, because most bulk pellet deliveries do not charge a delivery charge above this minimum quantity or very minimal.
I would not go bigger then 5 ton because then you spent to much money upfront on your fuel.
I rather keep it in my pocket for 2 or 3 more weeks.
3 Tons will last you 75 days or more if you consume 2 bags a day or less
You can hire a local carpenter to construct a wooden pellet hopper if you can not do it yourself.
A wooden bin is much cheaper and you can work around your available space and configuration.

You are about 70 miles from Sandri Energy in Greenfield MA, who is a big player in bulk pellet delivery
There must be more companies that provide for bulk delivery because there are quite a few pellets mills around where you are located.

Below an example of a wooden bin inside a concrete basement.
3 suction points inside the bin
The picture earlier in this posting shows a bin with only 1 suction point.



(broken image removed)

 

[velvetfoot]

Thanks! Just one more question. Does this require a 6" flue?

 

[PassionForFire&Water]

Thanks! Just one more question. Does this require a 6" flue?

5" minimum, double wall, with barometric damper.
As all Austrian pellet boilers do

 

[sinnian]

Who services them in Maine should a problem arise with the unit?

 

[PassionForFire&Water]

Who services them in Maine should a problem arise with the unit?

Installations are done by local HVAC companies or the home owner, or a combination of the two.
System design is provided by Caluwe, Inc. or WindhagerUSA, Inc. and/or the Austrian headquarters.
DIY wood pellet bulk storage bin designs by PE are available in different configurations.

Service in New England is handled by Caluwe Inc. and/or WindhagerUSA, Inc later in 2013.
Same for the commissionings of the Windhager BioWIN wood pellet boiler systems.
First commissioning and on-site training is still included in the price at this point in time and will be for 2013.

Spare parts are stocked at same company in the Billerica-MA warehouse.

BioWIN, it's in the name: a win/win situation for all parties, but especially for the home owner!

 

[sinnian]

Installations are done by local HVAC companies or the home owner, or a combination of the two.
System design is provided by Caluwe, Inc. or WindhagerUSA, Inc. and/or the Austrian headquarters.
DIY wood pellet bulk storage bin designs by PE are available in different configurations.

Service in New England is handled by Caluwe Inc. and/or WindhagerUSA, Inc later in 2013.
Same for the commissionings of the Windhager BioWIN wood pellet boiler systems.
First commissioning and on-site training is still included in the price at this point in time and will be for 2013.

Spare parts are stocked at same company in the Billerica-MA warehouse.

BioWIN, it's in the name: a win/win situation for all parties, but especially for the home owner!

So no one

For Maine, and installer would need to be certified in solid fuels ~ not an HVAC.

 

[maple1]

Didn't he answer your question on who services in Maine?

Service in New England is handled by Caluwe Inc. and/or WindhagerUSA, Inc later in 2013.

 

[sinnian]

Didn't he answer your question on who services in Maine?

Service in New England is handled by Caluwe Inc. and/or WindhagerUSA, Inc later in 2013.

Yes he did. Neither of which is IN Maine, nor in New England until later in 2013. What's your point?

 

[heaterman]

Sinnian. This is a new product line and a broadening dealer base will be established as it goes along. If you have any skills in the trade you might do yourself a favor by getting in on the ground floor so to speak and investigate the product a little bit. Maybe you could be the "Maine guy".

I would say from what I know about the situation, and have seen of the product that Windhager is firmly in the top 10% of the industry from a quality and engineering standpoint and they have expressed a firm commitment to becoming a major player in the field here in North America.

 

[EffectaBoilerUser (USA)]

Marc,

What's the approx. cost of this pellet system (minus the home made hopper)?

Thanks,

Brian

 

[maple1]

Yes he did. Neither of which is IN Maine, nor in New England until later in 2013. What's your point?

No agenda here.

From just reading the reply, it seemed he was saying that service in New England (of which Maine is a part of), is handled by Caluwe. Which I thought was your question - who services in Maine. I.e., if a boiler is located in Maine, who services it? If you meant who is located in Maine that services a boiler, that is another thing - I have no idea who Caluwe is or where they are actually located at.

I also read the 'later in 2013' part of the reply as relating to Windhager and not Caluwe - so if that was not right, then I misread the whole thing.

This seems like some great technology - if I didn't have the wood supply I do, I'd be considering it very seriously.

 

[EffectaBoilerUser (USA)]

Is this pellet boiler tested/certified to UL/CSA solid fuel burning devices for indoor use and is it ASME stamped for pressure operation? Have you had any issues with inspectors regarding the UL and ASME requirements?

Since it sounds like these units are being installed by HVAC professionals I would be curious to know the struggles with local codes that you've had thus far.

Thanks,

Brian