Hi All,

I have been looking at biomass heating and have come to the conclusion that for me, a log burner is the way to go. Sourcing, splitting and drying logs is not a problem for me and as a major bonus I reckon that it will take a particularly innovative Chancellor to be able to tax my chainsaw!! All other fuel including wood pellets gets to the end user through some sort of corporate supply which can be regulated and a tax applied, be it excise duty or VAT or both.

I had considered plumbing my existing oil boiler into the system as a back-up because I quite fancy having the option to switch fuel when I am not at home to fill the boiler with logs every day but still need some central heating. This is most likely when we go on a winter holiday or when I am away on business and my Wife is working shifts at the hospital.

Multifuel ie log & oil or log & pellet boilers with separate combustion chambers for each fuel are available in mainland Europe and I believe are not uncommon. The initial log burner purchase cost is higher and there will be a further cost for an oil burner or pellet head but at least there is only one expensive flue to install and the pipework/connections should be simpler.

Costs from Kotley.com (ex-Poland) look like this:- Atmos DC25SP, 25Kw Log gasification boiler for £2409.00 incl VAT (@22%!), pellet head (can be purchased later and retro-fitted) is £1340.00 incl. VAT. Shipping will be about £200.

Apparently I can remove the oil burner head from my exsting oil boiler and mount it instead of the pellet head if I get a register/mounting plate made - a hole in a piece if steel plate so not a big deal. I appreciate that I will still need an accumulator, Laddomat 21 and the other associated gubbins to make it work but what do you think? Am I self-delusional or is this a good idea?

Has anybody been there and already done this - successfully preferably?

Is there something about this idea that I may have misssed?

Thanks,

Graham