ᐅ Shell boiler / hard coal

Recently, I came across the option of a so-called hard coal boiler, which operates similarly to a pellet boiler (side-mounted hopper, feed screw, and burner).
So-called pea coal (small hard coal lumps) has a very high energy value and is still affordable. When purchasing coal at a good price, the cost per kilowatt-hour of heat energy is just over 2 cents, which seems extremely economical.
The coal is available in 25-kilogram (55-pound) bags, sold by the pallet.

Has anyone here already had experience with this type of heating system? Unlike lignite, hard coal is said not to produce the typical smell associated with the former East Germany/Ruhr area in the 1960s. Is that correct?

How reliable is the operation, and are there any special considerations regarding the chimney inspection or permits for this type of heating?

What about dirt? Regular ash removal would be fine, and since the coal is packaged in bags, there might be some dust during storage and hopper filling, but otherwise it should be manageable.

Does anyone have experience with specific brands?

Thank you very much for your advice.

This is how you could already operate your forestry heating system back in the GDR era. There is quite a lot of pollution, and environmental standards are not met. If you are in an environmental zone, you don’t stand a chance.

Sylvia

Hello

A few years ago, I installed a boiler like that one. It was from the company Hansa in Rade.
The boiler runs without any problems. However, there is a bit of an odor.
If the boiler has an approval/certification, I don’t see Sylvia’s objections.
As far as I know, an environmental zone does not affect the options for choosing a heat generator.

Olli

Hello

Sorry for bringing up this topic again, but the “housewife” answer is misleading.

1. There are no environmental zones; maybe listen less to Tuna PR for a change.

2. These prefabricated boilers are automatically fed Ekogroszek boilers.
They are found all over Germany in many households.
Just try to look beyond your own perspective.

3. Ekogroszek boilers easily meet all legal limits.
Current boilers outperform the requirements by a factor of three.

4. This type is not comparable to GK or Förster boilers from former East Germany times.

There’s no need to light or manually refuel anything.
The boiler runs without a pointless buffer tank and modulates between 0.7–40 kW (at 25 kW nominal output).

5. There is no smoke coming from the chimney! No white, black, yellow, or purple smoke.
There is also no smell.
Whether the boiler is active or inactive, you cannot tell from the chimney. (Flue gas temperature 110°C (230°F))

The energy density of Ekogroszek is much higher than wood pellets, making the costs many times lower.

The kWh costs about 3 cents.

I know most “housewives” unfortunately can’t make sense of this information, but maybe some might want to use an internet search engine once in a while, not just to look for cat pictures.

Even YouTube is full of videos about this affordable heating technology.

Ekogroszek is delivered in practical 20/25 kg (44/55 lbs) plastic bags.

Best regards

In the first post, an immediate advertisement for outdated technology with an outdated portrayal of women.