Solid Fuels Prices and Types

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Some Eco Friendly Fuels

and some not so

Environmentally Friendly Fuels

 This type of Highly Compressed and heat treated Briquette is good

Above is pictured an Eco Friendly - Wood Briquette. There are several types of wood based briquettes available on the market. The above type is a highly compressed, and heat treated briquette. The identifying characteristics are:

(1) Dark in colour looks partially burned.
(2) They are very hard indeed, somewhat brittle, and break easily with a tap.
(3) Have a pleasant almost incense like smell. Smell nice when burning too.
(4) Have a slight dusty sooty deposit on them.
(5) Some - but not all types - have a hole through the middle.

The above picture shows AFAIK an imported type of the heat compressed briquette. These can be bought quite cheaply in parts of the country.

There are ones made in Ireland and some imported ones. This is generally a good type of wood briquette which will burn really well leaving only a fine ash which is excellent for the garden as a fertiliser.


Prices

Price for this type varies quite a bit. Bord na Mona sell one but, as usual with BNM the price is not competitive.

The above pictured type can be bought on a one ton pallet for €346 in the Dublin area. There is a delivery charge on top of this amount though.

 

This is a so-called wood briquette - I would avoid this type

Above is another type of so-called wood briquette - these "things" come in a variety of shapes - some are round logs type things, others are various types of brick shapes.

These lumps of sawdust are in fact not a true briquette, they are basically just compressed sawdust, and they burn just like sawdust - poorly. You might as well be burning chunks of chipboard.

I have tried them and personally I would avoid them, unless they came very- very - very cheaply so as to make it really worth the trouble. otherwise I would say - stay away from them.

Peat Briquettes

Imported peat briquettes can be bought for €372 per ton delivered. This compares with smokeless coal at €350 per ton delivered and Premium Polish coal at €320 per ton delivered.

Peat Briquettes from Estonia different shape to Irish and CHEAPER

I have checked these prices in the last week and AFAIK they are correct. Please do not contact me asking for specifics. Do your own Google search, ask around, and you will find a good deal close to you I am sure. Just don't be satisfied with some of the rip-off prices on offer. The housing bubble would never have happened but for the silly people who were prepared to pay the crazy inflated prices being asked. Stand up for yourself and insist on a fair price for winter fuels.

Carbon Tax

The government are going to add another chunk of carbon tax soon to coals and oils - so stock up before the hit. It will be interesting to see if the Eco Friendly fuels will track the coals in price - given that the wood based fuels will NOT have a carbon tax added. But Ireland being the Rip-Off Republic, I predict that the gougers will be in there like a flash taking advantage.

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