Useful information, explained clearly by experts
Fuel
The best and most efficient biomass fuels are generally dry, homogeneous, and easy to control. Efficiency is primarily determined by moisture content, the structure of the material, and the type of boiler used. The drier the fuel, the higher its heating value; the optimal moisture content is typically no more than 14–16%.
The range of biomass fuels is extremely broad: it includes, among other things, firewood, wood chips, and numerous agricultural byproducts, such as grain bales, rapeseed, soybean, and corn bales, corn stalks, and sunflower stalks. Materials with high moisture content—up to 60%—can also be used, such as grape pomace, branches, twigs, and willow shoots, as well as black locust and dogwood, which regrow year after year in floodplain areas.
No, in addition to these, any type of biomass and waste generated as a byproduct of crop production or as environmentally friendly waste can be used as fuel. You’ve surely encountered problems with waste management and disposal yourself. Many of these materials can be used in this boiler. Did you know, for example, that grapevine and fruit tree prunings have significant heating value?
This depends largely on the floor area of the building(s) to be heated, their heat demand, and the outdoor temperature. We can provide an exact figure after conducting a site survey. For a boiler designed for two round bales, this can range from 4 to 12 round bales.
The Combustion Process
On average, a bale burns for 3–4 hours, but this depends on the heating requirements of the building and the quality of the fuel.
Straw-bale boilers are designed for bales weighing up to 300 kg; bales heavier than that may be too compact and, as a result, may not burn completely.
It can be heated from 10 degrees to 90 degrees in about 6–9 hours without interruption.
The boiler door may only be opened when the fan is turned off. During operation, combustion air is blown into the combustion chamber, creating positive pressure there. For this reason, opening the door during operation is prohibited and poses a risk of accident!
Before opening the door, always make sure that the equipment is not in operation.
Maintenance Process
Depending on the number of bales burned, every 1–2 days.
We provide more detailed information on weekly, monthly, and annual maintenance tasks in the user manual, which we make available to our partners. We recommend performing a thorough cleaning every two weeks.
Equipment-related
The lambda probe is an oxygen sensor. It measures the amount of oxygen remaining in the flue gas and uses this to determine whether there is too little, the ideal amount, or too much air present for combustion. Wood and straw are fuels of inconsistent quality. Their moisture content and heating value fluctuate constantly, and often different types are used. To ensure consistently high-quality combustion while accounting for fuel quality, the system is controlled by a lambda probe, enabling an outstanding continuous efficiency of 90–93% under all operating conditions, with low emissions of harmful substances. This control system enables efficient combustion of the fuel and also reduces fuel consumption by approximately 20–15%.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us! Is your question not listed above? Please email us at info@altherm.hu!