EcoPellets Tasmania began manufacturing wood pellets in 2019 after seeing the amount of timber waste being produced from plantation timber in Tasmania.

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Why is wood pellets more suitable for heating than sawdust and firewood?

candice By candice 2021-10-07

Wood comes in many forms, species, sizes and origins. Let’s simplify the discussion to just the three wood mainstays: wood chips, wood pellets and logwood (firewood).
Each fuel type can be used only within a range of heat demand as shown in the graphic below. If you are working in BTU’s, then 1KW = 3,412 BTU.

Wood Pellets
Firewood, everyone knows and understands, You cut down a tree, cut the trunk into lengths and split it with an axe, Firewood handling can’t be automated. We can’t build a machine that will stack, move and load firewood into a boiler, our hands need to do that. Because of this, firewood heating is only viable for smaller heating loads: houses, small businesses, garages etc. Try to heat too much with firewood and you will need to devote full time hours cutting, splitting and loading! The big advantage of firewood is that you can harvest it yourself leading to the cheapest heating fuel possible.
If you are at all second guessing the commitment to handling firewood for your heating system, we strongly encourage you to look at pellets instead. People that heat with firewood know that’s what they want and they are eager to get at ‘er with their axes, chainsaws and plaid shirts etc.

Wood pellets are amazing. They are made to meet specifications and are very controlled, you always know what you’re getting because your supplier can provide consistent quality testing results. They are the densest form of wood fuel at 650 kg/cubic meter. They can be moved through automated pneumatic and auger systems and they can be stored easily and for a long time. You can enjoy the cost savings and carbon neutral benefit of pellets without ever actually handling them. The drawback of pellets is that, unlike firewood, you have to buy them from a manufacturer,$12 For Each 15KG Bag，Still cheaper than propane, oil or electricity but not as cheap as wood chips.

Chips are the cheapest form of wood fuel that you can buy because they are easiest to produce in large quantities. You need a multi-million dollar pellet mill to make wood pellets but you just need a chipper to make wood chips. Because wood chips are bulky and don’t flow like pellets do, to use them for heating you need a robust fuel handling system which is why wood chips won’t work for smaller heat loads. If you’re looking for a wood chip heating option for your house, look at Wood Pellets, It will make you spend less money on heating in winter.