Frequently Asked Questions

Below is the list of the most frequently asked questions. If you have not found the answer to your question, use the contact form on the Contact page.

What burner should I choose for my boiler?

Usually, the burner should be selected so as to correspond to the boiler power; however, if it is oversized, the burner size should not be lower than one size below the boiler power. A too small burner will use most of the energy (and fuel) to heat the large heating unit. We can also use a burner which is one size larger than required, e.g. when the boiler power is close to the burner power. In such a case you should remember that the excess power will not be accepted by the boiler since the boiler power is the ultimate parameter that determines our thermal comfort.

What boiler can I use a pellet burner for?

The simplest answer is: any boiler equipped with a combustion chamber that can accommodate the flame and the pellet combustion residues. The shape of the chamber is of no particular importance. What is important, is the possibility of an easy installation of the burner (inside the door or on a side wall). In view of a high risk of the boiler damage, it is not recommended to install the burners where the water jacket would need to be disassembled as such an operation could lead to the boiler unsealing.

Pellet burners are installed in most of the slow-burning boilers – gasifying, fines, coal, pea coal or oil and gas types.

Which boiler’s manufacturers assembly PellasXs’ burners in their devices?

For current list of manufacturers click here

How often do I need to clean my boiler with the pellet burner?

The maintenance interval assumed for small units should be about one week to remove the ash, clean the furnace tubes, bridges etc. Finally, the interval depends on the boiler load and the volume of the fuel consumed which should be noted by the user during the operation. At least once a year the boiler flue should be checked and cleaned as, in some oil boilers, the flue cross-section area can be reduced even by 50% which may finally lead to the burner polyurethane pipe being melted.
Large heating units should be cleaned in a similar way bearing in mind that it is recommended to remove the fuel combustion residues after approximately one tonne of pellet is burnt.
Also the quality of the pellets being used has a significant impact on the cleaning frequency. The lower the quality, the more care needs to be taken. And what to do if I know that the pellet quality I am going to use is low and I still want to be sure that it can be handled by the burner? The answer is simple: REVO will help you better than the Superman would.

My burner temperature sensor is burnt - what to do?

The burner temperature sensor is responsible for the safety of our boiler. Once it is burnt, the controller will stop the operation of the burner until the sensor is replaced with a new one. Contact the repair shop to order a new one.

My igniter is burnt - what to do?

Order a new one at a repair shop. Fortunately, a burnt igniter will not make you wait for a new one in a cold house as you can always fire the burner using e.g. a fire starter squares to be put on the pellets when a fire starter icon appears on the controller display. To avoid the necessity to restart the burner in the same way, it is advisable to set the controller to a supervision mode while waiting for the new fire starter.

Why the PellasX’s burner is so expensive?

The price is a relative form – the best example of this are much more expensive devices produced by West- European Companies meanwhile much worse than PellasXs’ products.
Of course, cheaper burners can be found on the market but part of them are technologically obsolete products, complicated in use or just not working. Another, are able to work for short time when it turns out that something is wrong – the salesman don’t want to take the responsibility for the service because of the economic reasons.
The price of good product contains also after- sales service and this is something that should be taken into account when choosing our burner.

I bought a PellasX burner some time ago and I would like to extend the capabilities of my system. Will I need to buy a new burner?

Customers who use PellasX equipment do not have to be afraid of such situations. If they want to install a new sensor, thermostat of a module for our burner, they can easily do it. New pump? Mixer? Remote control via the internet? No problem. They can be installed without buying a new controller and can be used immediately. In case of a web module, it may sometimes be necessary to change the controller software. An authorized serviceman will do it in 15 minutes.

Is it safe to burn pellets?

Well, it’s going to be a long story… Generally speaking, it is safe to burn pellets. Of course, it depends on the way we want to do it. For example, pellets can be burnt well in a retort burner both in the burner, feeder or the hopper which may be quite risky if we are not fully aware how to fine-tune and prepare the boiler. Of course, it is still possible and some of the manufacturers use the so-called “fire-fighters” which are supposed to solve the problem. However, this is just an indirect solution if we consider the water acting in the feeder filled with pellets or the increased consumption of pellets by the units of that type.
PellasX burners are equipped with a number of protective components which ensure safe combustion of pellets. First of all, they are operated in an intermittent manner and the operation is similar to that of oil or gas burners which consume fuel when necessary. Additionally, the risk of flashback is minimised by the proper supply of the air-fuel mixture into the chamber. Furthermore, the physical processes are controlled by the burner temperature sensor which monitors the temperature in a continuous manner and can stop the operation whenever the temperature exceeds the pre-set value. All the above-mentioned safety devices make the answer to the safety question simple – the answer is “yes”. However… there is always a chance that something goes wrong. Relatively most of such possibilities are generated by human factor, i.e. our laziness, carelessness or simply the lack of knowledge of the proper operation and selection of the equipment for the specific needs. These are the main reasons why the use of pellets can raise your blood pressure. However, should it happen, the PellasX burners will surprise you with another protection which is the pipe connecting the burner with the feeder made of polyurethane. The pipe will melt in emergency so as to prevent the flame from entering the hopper. It guarantees that your boiler room will never become a dangerous place.
And that’s it. But whenever a safety question arises, it is worth to mention the risks that we call the “human factor” above. If you install a boiler burner which does not meet the requirements of the Operation & Maintenance Manual, e.g. those related to the minimum chimney draught, the risk of pellet use increases as always when we want to use the equipment in a manner not compliant with the requirements. The same applies to coal, pea coal or oil and gas or any other types of equipment. Another issue. If because of laziness or lack of knowledge you disregard the cleanliness of your boiler, do not maintain the associated equipment or carry out the cleaning or maintenance procedures in a careless way, you are just asking for a problem. And one more thing. Do we always have to show off our great boiler room to our mates while being under the influence of alcohol? Some of the readers may feel offended but most of you knows what the matter is. It is the safety, dear customers, the occupational health and safety.

What is the difference between an inner feeder and a "throw-in" (gravity) type burner?

A “throw-in” pellet burner is the next stage of the retort burner where the “fire fighter” was replaced by a feeder and a burner separated from each other. As long as we burn pellet of perfect quality which meet all the standards, have all the certificates, are as expensive as china ceramic and, most of all, are of very high quality, everything should run properly.
A burner with an internal feeder is not so demanding as regards the pellet quality. PellasX burners are said to produce problems for the manufacturers of high quality pellets because (unfortunately for them) the burners can also handle the pellets of significantly lower quality. Such an opinion has been further reinforced after our portfolio was extended with the burners of the REVO line. Another advantage of a burner with an inner feeder is the capability to dose the fuel in a more precise manner which has a direct impact on the burning quality and the stability of the operation. The additional feeder guarantees that the whole fuel dose is fed to the furnace in the required direction. This is also related to the safety of the burner operation since in case of a flashback, apart from the blow-in, the device can force the fuel residues left in the fireplace to be fed to the furnace which may save the day.

What pellets can be used with PellasX burners?

PellasX burners are suitable for wood pellets and some types of agro-pellets (REVO series) with grain size of 6 to 8 mm. Our burners will not “say no” to low quality pellets, they will be “pleased” to burn the high quality pellets but they can also accept grains (e.g. oat) or agro-pellets as a replacement (please note that if any of such replacement fuels is used, it will result in the lower power achievable by the equipment and necessity of more frequent burner and boiler cleanliness checks).

Is the operation of PellasX automatic?

The control system of PellasX burner allows for fully automatic operation of the burner starting from the automatic ignition through continuous adjustment of the operation of the burner and the external equipment to the shutdown and supervision of the boiler operation and the restart.