Sustainable Energy author Ireland (SEAI)

Eco Friendly Wood Briquette Logs

2012-01-23T16:15:00.007Z

100% Eco friendly

Wood Briquette Logs

Cheap as Coal!

I have just been in contact with Michael at Prima EcoFuels in Ennis Co. Clare and he now has a premium quality HardWood EcoLog available.

It matches the heat output of peat briquettes at just over 20,000 Kj/Kg, and unlike peat briquettes is 100% Eco friendly.. These Eco Logs have a really impressive heat content for any wood based product. Michael tells me that this very high heat output is achieved by the fact that these Eco Logs are made of high quality hard-wood, are very highly compressed, and have a very low moisture content.

EcoLogs are very clean to handle and store, unlike coal, they are very compact and can be stored and stacked high just about anywhere reasonably dry. You could put several tonnes in a bicycle shed!!

So you want to know the price?

If you buy a pallet which is 91 bales on a pallet, weighing 910 kg, just short of a metric tonne, you will get free delivery and the price is €350.

Cheaper than coal!

Doing the sums, that works out at the equivalent of only €15.38 for a 40Kg bag - cheaper than a lot of coals.

Some of the good things about EcoLogs is they have less than 1% ash - and the ash is really lovely stuff - fine as talcum powder and can be put straight onto your roses or veggies - makes a great garden fertiliser. Another nice thing about this fuel is it is so clean, clean to handle and store, clean burning, smells nice hasn't got that choking toxic smell of coal. Creates very little ash, a tiny fraction of coal - this means less cleaning of the grate. The ash won't fill your rubbish bin up either, or it can be spread on the garden if you wish.

Sharing a load with friends or neighbors would be the way to go in order to avail of the best price. If you want smaller loads, unfortunately the cost will get a lot dearer but still not unreasonable.

I have ordered some myself and will give feedback here on the blog in due course on the burning characteristics, heat output, overnight burning etc.

If the Government had some wits!

Now, if only the Irish government has an ounce of wits, they would reduce or remove the 13.5% VAT from eco friendly fuels, and thus promote sustainable energy to the masses. Rather than the grant schemes that now tend to favour the better off.

Contact Michael at 065-6843669. Or e-mail sales

http://www.ecofuelbriquettes.com/buy-wood-briquettes/sales/wood-briquettes/premium-hardwood-briquettes-pallet

Experimental and Boru Doras Fireplace Doors

2012-01-21T23:07:00.003Z

A Fireplace Door or an Inset Stove?

Following my post update on the Experimental Fireplace door I installed over a year ago, I have received several letters and enquiries about the post.

Here is one of these letters:

Hi Tony,

Interesting update about the fireplace door. The fire front seems like a practical and low cost solution - i.e. the kind of thing that some overpriced stove profiteers would dread.

http://wood-pellet-ireland.blogspot.com/2012/01/experimental-fireplace-door-with.html

There is an Irish made Boru fire front - I wonder if any one has experience with it yet? It might be particularly worth considering in light of your recent posting about the poor performance of some inset stoves. A fire front is of course less efficient than a stove but the ease of retro fitting may make it a better trade off for cost versus efficiency gain.
Regards, Simon Quinn, Tralee, County Kerry

The Boru Doras Fireplace door looks fine but the one big factor I see going against it, is the price. At around €550+ it is a truly silly price to pay for a simple door, especially given that it is not even in stainless. You could buy an inset stove for that money.

I would not choose a fireplace door at all- at all - if I did not have a Firebird back-boiler already installed in the fireplace. You can in fact risk overheating the chimney breast if you do not have a wrap-around boiler in place.

If you are considering a fireplace door in a fireplace without a wraparound boiler, I would be inclined to go for an inset stove instead.

(1) An inset stove will give you perhaps 50% more efficiency that a plain door.
(2) You will not risk over heating the chimney breast and subsequent damage.
(3) You can buy an inset stove for roughly the cost of the Boru Doras!!

What Inset Stove costs the same as the Boru Doras?

The poor quality picture above is of the Hamco "Glen" inset stove. The Hamco inset can be bought for roughly the same price as a Boru door. At the very least it will give a much higher heat output to the room, and you will not have the higher risk of compromising the chimney breast.

Multi-fuel Stove Design Blacksmith Artisan

2012-01-14T17:57:00.004Z

Some Design Features Noted
with Question Marks on the

Blacksmith Artisan

While writing the last post regarding inset stove efficiency, I was looking more closely at the photo I took of the Blacksmith Artisan with the door open, and I noticed a couple of features which might just have an impact on the overall efficiency of the convection section of the stove.

I have marked the two features in the above photo which I feel could possibly adversely affect the airflow of the convection box. (see my previous posts on inset stove design)

FEATURE NUMBER ONE IN QUESTION

The top arrow points to the "air-wash" vent. The question I have in mind is; from where does this vent take it's input. I suspect that it takes air from the convection air channel. If it does this, it is doing two very wrong things:

(1) It might thus be mixing convection air with combustion air - this is a complete no-no in good stove design.

(2) By possibly taking warm air from the convection flow, it would at least be reducing the efficiency of the convection heater section of the stove.

FEATURE NUMBER TWO IN QUESTION

The lower arrow points to a large slot cut to accommodate the handle locking mechanism. This slot is about the same size as one of the air intake vents. If the slot is cut into the convection channel, which I suspect it is, it will at least cause turbulence in the convection air flow and reduce the efficiency.

If anyone has clear and concise answers to these two questions, I would be happy to hear and to possibly publish.

Blacksmith Artisan Inset Stove Comment

2012-01-13T00:15:00.005Z

Problems with the

Blacksmith Artisan Inset Stove

Blacksmith Artisan Inset stove with door open

I have just received a comment from a reader outlining their experience with the Blacksmith Artisan inset stove. It would seem their experience echoes the "Artisan" case I have documented.

I am beginning to believe that most if not all inset stoves have an over-rated output figure - through no fault of the manufacturer/vendor company, but perhaps more likely due to the methods of testing used by the test and certification companies.

I have contacts in the building trade, and the word out there is that inset stoves are nowhere as good as free standing stoves of similar rating.

I am inclined to think that it would be a good idea to mentally subtract say 33% from the certified output figures of inset stoves. This would give you a more realistic idea of the heat output. For instance, an inset stove boasting a certified 6Kw output, might perhaps more realistically achieve an actual 4Kw.

The Comment Letter

CK has left a new comment on your post "Blacksmith Stove Review Part 4 - Alert -":

Tony, I too am from Co.Kerry and have recently purchased the "Artisan" inset stove. My experience is similar to yours - disappointed with the product.

We opted for the inset based on the product description - "Fits into any 16" or 18" fireback". Buyer beware - it does not!

We installed the inset and were so disappointed with its performance that we questioned the installation. We then removed the fireback and fully lined the chimney with a 6" flexible flu liner (which was not needed for the inset stove) believing that this would maximise the output from the stove. Again, this was not the case.

We removed the stove again and had a registered Blacksmith installer (recommended by the retailer) install the stove. He completely sealed the chimney recess with fire cement before reinstalling. The heat output improved slightly,but still disappointing.

I agree with your findings - nowhere near the 5KW output as specified.

Our only option now is to contact the Blacksmith technical department and have someone call to inspect the stove. Is there anyway of measuring the heat output from the stove? Please let me know!

A Partial Answer to above Question

To accurately and scientifically measure a stoves heat output into a room would require complex laboratory conditions and a lot of equipment.

However, that said, there is a fairly simple test you could do yourself at home. It would not be highly accurate, but it would establish roughly the heat output.

1. The experiment would need to be carried out on two separate days with very similar weather conditions. It would require a calm day with little or no wind. The outside temperature would need to be within a degree or so on both test days. For instance a calm day with outside temperatures of 10C.

2. You would need to let the room go cold overnight to the same temperature on both test days. For instance the room should be at a starting temperature of say 17C on both occasions.

3. You will need to buy or borrow 3 electronic thermometers - these are not expensive and can be got on EBay for €5 - €7. They respond rapidly and are moderately accurate.

4. You would have two sensors in different parts the room well away from the direct source of heat, - and one measuring the outside temperature.

5. You would need a 3Kw electric convection heater or use two heaters -one 1Kw and one 2Kw. These will provide a reference point. Remembers that electric heaters will reach temperature within a few minutes. A fire will need time to fully ignite, and an iron stove will take time to warm up - so the timing points will need to be offset by roughly 30 minutes, (Assuming an efficient and full ignition of the fire - you may need to add some more time until the fire is good and red)

6. On Test Day ONE. (a) note the inside and outside temperatures. (b) Switch on the electric heater/s, (c) turn the thermostats up fully and (d) time how long it takes the room to reach a steady 23C.

7. On Test Day TWO. (a) Note the temperatures as before. (b) Light the fire using plenty of firelighter and kindling, and allow 30 minutes for the stove to heat up. (c) Time how long it takes for the room to reach 23C.

This simple method will give you a ball park idea of the thermal output of the stove against a reference point. My bet is that the electric heaters will have the room up to temperature as quickly as the stove, even though their output is nearly half the rated output of the stove.

Smokeless Coal Cosyglo €14.75 a bag

2012-01-09T19:01:00.000Z

I promised to give details of smokeless coal at good prices. Ganly's of Athlone, Longford and Mountbellew are offering Born na Mona Cosyglo Gems at only €14.75 a 40Kg bag.

The price is for 1 Tonne 1000Kg lots of 25 x 40Kg bags, and there is a delivery charge to be negotiated. Ganly's price for one bag is still very good at €15.95.

They also have an excellent price for peat briquettes at only €3.19 per bale. Another item that they offer at a reasonable price is a stainless steel anti-downdraught cowl at €69.95.

Let me know how you get on with these deals please.

Ecolocap - Fluidic Energy Inc. - EEstor and a Car Super-battery?

2012-01-07T17:25:00.008Z

Waiting for a Super - Battery

The actual realisation of a truly viable electric car, that can go 400+Km on a charge, is cheaper than an internal combusion car, and requires virtually no maintenance - is still IMHO a long way off.

Why do I say that, especially when all of the drive technology, such as ultra high efficiency motors, control gear, charging devices etc. are all in place, and are reasonably priced. What therefore is the ELEPHANT in the room, or rather what is that elephant which is most evidently NOT in the room?

EV Missing Link

The missing link to a cheap efficient and long-journey viable EV (electric vehicle) is a viable high capacity and reasonably priced battery.

Electric cars are way more expensive BECAUSE of the cost of the battery. Currently available batteries can be up to half the cost of an electric car. The problems with available batteries are: (1) It takes too long to charge them, (2) They give too little mileage before going flat some only 100 - 150 Km. (3) If you go flat in the middle of nowhere, you are screwed. (4) The battery costs a fortune, (5) The battery does not last very long and has to be replaced, perhaps up to three times in the life of the car.

Put life / cost of an EV battery another way, how many manufacturers are prepared to give a 10 year guarantees on their lithium EV batteries? Experience has shown that a gas or deisel engine can go for 15+ years. If a car engine goes belly-up you can buy a used one or reconditioned one for much less than half the price of a new car!! Batteries are chemical factories and burn themselves out. EV lithium batteriers are crazy expensive. The current cost of an EV car and the possibility of having to replace the battery in its life, would go a long way towards outweighing the saving on juice.

For most people an EV is not a good bet as the current situation stands.

The Mythical Quest

Several companies have, for several years, been promising us a battery with 2 to 5 times the capacity of current Lithium Ion batteries and at half or less of the crazy price of Lithium Ion.

Ecolocap's Battery "Test" results?

Among those companies "announcing" the imminent launch of a super battery have been, Ecolocap - who went as far as showing a prototype and publishing its "test figures". Strange thing though, is that over a year on and all had gone VERY VERY quiet and no battery of course.

Another outfit proporting to offer a super battery is EEstor which can now safely be classified as a "mythical" company with an equally mythical battery that has failed to emerge after many years of noising abroad.

Fluidic Energy Inc. which managed to get two large grants from the US government has also gone whisper quiet, and nothing much has stirred in a year or so.

Best Bet

I have been thinking, and recon that a letter addressed to Santa Clause might be a better bet for fulfilling all of our hopes of receiving a gift to the world of a cheap and viable EV battery!!

Ireland: Island of Taints and Dollars

2012-01-06T00:09:00.003Z

"Taints" - a Definition

particularly as pertains to Ireland

taints; verb

1. To affect with, or as if by, an infection or disease.
2. To affect with decay or putrefaction; to spoil.
3. To corrupt morally.
4. To affect with a tinge of something reprehensible.

verb.intr.
To become affected with decay or putrefaction; spoil.

noun.
1. A moral defect, a stain or spot.
2. An infecting touch, influence, or tinge.

NOTE: (a) A survey taken last April found that a mere 12% of the population of Ireland trusted members of the Irish Parliament!! (b) Many of Ireland's problems have money, greed, and dishonesty at the core.

Grossly Inequitable Irish Household Tax

2012-01-05T23:06:00.001Z

Madness
in Irish Taxation
(a rant - I hope you will agree a justifiable rant)

The Irish Government have introduced a grossly inequitable household tax on EVERY residence in Ireland. The same amount €100 will equally apply to the Prime Minister on €200,000 salary as to a pensioner in a broken down cottage living on €11,000.

A pensioner surviving on €11,000 a year will pay - - - €100
People with massive debts and on the edge of suicide will pay - - €100
The Irish Prime Minister on €200,000 plus expenses a year will pay - - - €100
A barrister earning €500,000 a year will pay - - - €100

The Stipulations

Beatings will continue until morale improves.

You will not be billed or informed of your need to pay.
You will pay or be punished by the State.
You will pay within three months or we will make you suffer more.
The punishments will continue until you pay.
Inability to pay - including starvation - will not be an acceptable reason for default.
No exceptions - except for the politicians and the rich.

By Order of the Great Irish Leaders

IRELAND Island of Taints and Dollars

2012-01-05T22:11:00.004Z

Ireland, once known as
The Island of Saints and Scholars
Now better referred to as:

The Island of Taints and Dollars

In some of my recent past Posts/Rants I was expressing the need and the hope that the Irish Parliament might see fit to show some moral backbone and lead the country from the front by taking a 50% cut in their truly massive, and now immoral, salaries and pensions.

This proposition however would seem not to have struck a positive chord from our leaders. The actuality would seem to be quite the opposite in fact. With retired former politicians having the cheek to publicly state they will not budge voluntarily.

It would appear that it will take a legal crowbar or legislative JCB to force any reduction whatsoever from these greedy people.

"Screw the population - we are holding onto what we have" - is the war cry from our elected leaders!

Eco Friendly Solid Fuels Straw Briquettes

2012-01-05T20:00:00.001Z

Straw Briquettes

Eco Briquettes

Straw - Rice Husk - Almond Shell

I had a recent letter asking about straw briquettes and how effective they are. Truth is I know nothing much about straw as a bio fuel - so like any PC geek, I do a bit of digging on the web.

So I learn that straw briquettes are an ecologically clean, nontoxic bio fuel.

(1) They are made in a variety of ways - just like wood briquettes. Some are better than others. The highly compressed types are better than the less dense sort.

(2) They come in various shapes and configurations. shown above is the full body circular section with a diameter of 50mm. The length can be varied by order.

(3) The above type have a typical density: of 1.2g/cm3

(4) Typical calorific values vary between 3800 - 4700 kcal/kg or you could multiply by 4.18 to get Kj/Kg 15,884 to 19,646 This is roughly the same heat output as peat briquettes

(5) Ash content typical is 5.8 %. This is high compared to wood, and even higher than some coals. The ash content of woods varies greatly between different fuels. Typically between 0.43 and 1.82 percent of the mass of burned wood (dry basis) results in ash.

Wood based fuels the ash content varies quite a bit between different types of timber product, stemwood 0,4-0,6%, stem bark 2-5% and 1-2% branches. The ash content is highest in those parts of a tree where growth occurs. In the leaves, needles and branches and leading shoot varied between 2 and 6%. Generally though, wood based fuels can be expected to give a 1 to 2% ash content.

For comparison, Typical Ash Content in Coals are:

    Anthracite Coal : 9.7 - 20.2 weight %
    Bituminous Coal : 3.3-11.7 weight %
    Lignite Coal : 4.2 weight %

Straw briquettes are commercially produced in many places, currently on the web are adverts for supply of large quantities from Ukraine among other countries.

Other types of bio briquettes on offer include almond shell and rice husk. If you would like the figures on these - why not go and look them up?

Experimental Fireplace Door with Backboiler UPDATE

2012-01-02T19:15:00.006Z

Experimental Fireplace Door

Update

I have had a number of requests regarding this experiment. Some of these email requests want specific information sent to them. I say yet again PLEASE NOTE THAT I DO NOT AND WILL NOT ACT AS A CONSULTANT OR ADVISOR. All such requests get binned so do not bother sending that email.

Others simply want to know how the experiment is going this winter. I am very happy to provide an update for those requests.

1. So far this winter we have used only the experimental fireplace to heat the entire house.

2. Apart from the Christmas week, when we had guests staying, we have not used the electric immersion water heater.

3. The fire burns 24 - 7 for 5 continuous days - then it has to have the ash removed and is re-lit within a couple of hours.

4. 11 rooms including 3 bathrooms are constantly heated to between 19C and 24C 24-7. The bedrooms are kept intentionally cooler. The warmest room is the living room in which the fire is situated. The only source of heat in that room is the fire itself the air temperatures vary between 22C and 24C.

5. There is sufficient hot water most of the time from the fire and back-boiler - except when we have guests.

6. During the cold spell, when the outside temperatures were -1 to 4C and windy - we used just short of 80Kgs of coal per week.

7. In milder external temperatures of 8 - 11C the usage goes down to 60Kgs a week or maybe just a tad less.

8. To answer some enquiries regarding the temperatures of the chimney breast - which I have just measured right now, here are the readings:

(a) 500mm above the fire the wall is at 45C
(b) 1500mm up it is at 35C.
(c) In the room backing the fireplace the temperatures are 1 meter from the floor and directly behind the fire the wall is 36C.
(d) At ceiling level it is at 32C.
(e) In the two bedrooms above and directly in line with the flue the wall is at 29C.

All temperature readings were taken twice using an infrared non-contact industrial type thermometer.

Technical Problems?

Only technical problem I have had to date is in the air control. I modified the under-floor butterfly valve to get a tighter fit using a silicone washer. The silicone sheet I used has not taken the heat too well and has partially melted. I will have to replace this and will use a piece of quality branded silicone baking tray - which hopefully should handle the heat better.

Advantages?

Am I pleased with the results? You betcha!! Everyone in the house is very pleased with having a constantly warm house 24-7. The room temperatures vary only a couple of degrees throughout the 24 hours.

€26 worth of smokeless coal per week during the coldest weather so far to give 24-7 constant heat and hot water seems to me to be very good value for money.

Disadvantages?

Cons: Tending a fire takes some work. Roughly 4 to 5 times in 24 hours. Then once every 5 days it needs to be let go out and we empty the under floor ash tray and re-light the fire.

Versus Heating Oil??

Would I use the Oil Fired Heating again? With home heating oil taxed to the limit in the Republic of Ireland - it is some 20+% dearer than in the North of Ireland - I would rather go cold than be robbed!!!

It would cost a lot more anyway to operate the oil heating 24-7 to give the same level of comfort we now have with the experimental coal fire.

.

Wasteful Irish Digital TV Changeover

2011-12-26T22:54:00.004Z

Irish TV is Going Digital

in 2012

This Post is about sustainability and waste of natural resources - it is also a rant!

There is a saying in Ireland; "there are two ways of doing a job, (1) the general way, and (2) the Irish way"!!

Irish TV is going 100% digital in less than a year - so a good thing - eh - yes and NO!!

For the last several years there have been hundreds of thousands of TV sets and PVRs sold in Ireland all with built-in "Freeview" digital capability - a ready made audience out there for Digital TV.

You might say it was an "NO BRAINER" for Ireland to use the "Freeview" system, given so many people already have ready made receiving systems?

Damn it all - you would be completely wrong in your thinking. Why? because you would not probably be factoring in that the decision making is often done by public sector employees who have IMHO no contact with reality. Or additionally or alternatively, there is the good old kick-back system at work - lots of vested interests!!

I already own a TV set, a PVR and a VCR all with "Freeview" capability. Will I be willing to complicate my system and spend more money to add a uniquely Irish "Saorview" (means actually "free-view") box to my system? Bloody hell - I will not. For the most part Irish TV is pretty much crap anyway - when compared to the BBC, ITV, CH4 and all the International stuff available on FreeSat.

Spend more money and complicate my system to watch Irish TV - when I already have new and perfectly good equipment that is more than capable of the job - NO THANKS.

Another way for Irish TV to go digital and get 100% geographical coverage was to buy space on BBC FreeSat system - that solution also would be much too logical and way too simple to suit the "Irish" way of doing things. All smacks of the millions spent on unused voting machines - and a dozen other wasteful scandals. The questions that should be asked about how the Irish digital TV decision was made could essentially, IMHO, be boiled down to TWO QUESTIONS: (1) Gougers? or (2) Gowls?

A few million wasted there - ahhhh sure - what the heck - there's plenty more where that came from - isn't that right Seamus?

Here is my e-mail to the Saorview people:

Hi,

Ireland has had hundreds of thousands of TV sets and PVRs with Freeview built into them sold in the last few years. I myself have no less than three items TV PVR and VCR all with Freeview built into them.

But when there is some job to be done in Ireland - there are two ways of tackling the matter. (1) The General Worldwide Way and (2) the "Irish Way".

Some bunch of overpaid public service "gobshites" chose to go bloody "Saorview" instead of the generally acceptable and widely available "Freeview" system.

What does this mean to me - it simply means I will not be bothering with Irish TV anymore after October 2012. I will be damned if I am going to complicate my system and incur further expense adding a saorview - bloody box.

My FreeSat will provide me with more balanced news, current affairs, advert free programming, and movies.

Damn it - I love Ireland and I hate the gobshite way that things are done in Ireland.

Regards,

Tony McGinley

Ireland State of the Nation Politics and Poverty

2011-12-24T12:42:00.001Z

"it was the best of times -

it was the worst of times"

Strange year 2011 - and I wonder what sort of a black hole are we looking down into in 2012? My tag line for 2011 and my wish for 2012 are the following:

Not Until!

Not until the hard-pressed and poorer half of the (Irish) population see the well-off paying their fair share. Not until the government have the gonads to take on a bloated and inefficient public service sector. Not until the Irish Parliament take a moral lead by reducing their own huge salaries and pensions by a substantial amount, like 50%, and not until they additionally limit their obscene and obese expenses to say €10,000 of ticketed items a year, will there be any appetite in the population for the hair-shirt taxation now being placed on rich and poor alike.

(The current political situation) It is a déja vu situation echoing past times when Charlie Haughy, addressing the nation, told the Irish people to tighten their belts, while, at the very same time, he was buying a bunch of Charvet shirts in Paris for £16,000 or what amounted to more than two years income for most.

The Spirit of Christmas

I wish my readers the true spirit of Christmas the Holy season, and a fresh hope for the New Year.

.

HSE Health Service Executive FLUSHED

2011-12-20T19:36:00.001Z

Is it GOOD news

or not-so-good news

The Irish Health Minister has announced the winding up of the HSE Health Service Executive, which I prefer to call the Huge State Enema, because this organisation has wastefully managed to flush away more millions than nearly all the rest of the State agencies put together.

But the question remains, is it time to jump for joy? Somehow, I have very very very serious doubts indeed - so I will not be cracking out my ballet pumps.

Why do I have serious doubts??? Because the very SAME people will be running the new show. It could perhaps be said by some people - certainly not me, that this is a bit like getting rid of Hitler from Europe, and then putting him in charge of Israel.

So maybe the above picture is more representative of the general emotions that will be felt by many at the news that at long last the HSE has been flushed down the toilet - along with the billions of Euro they wasted.

Ireland Black Economy and Civil Disobedience

2011-12-15T20:13:00.004Z

FLASH-OVER?

(Rant Warning Duly Issued!!)

I fear the Irish social balance is tipping beyond the point of recovery. The extreme levels of potential difference could well be about to flash-over and discharge like a lightening bolt.

I've posted a number of times about the vigorously growing "Black Economy" in Ireland - it is growing by the day. It is partially driven by the gross imbalances in our society, and also by the unfair taxation being placed on rich and poor alike, and taking little or no cognisance of fairness and balance.

On the one hand you have an over-paid elite on €200,000+ per year - who cannot see what the problem is, and on the other end of the scale you have families trying to subsist on about €10,000, who cannot see for the anger they feel at the injustices they experience. Yet both of these groups are being taxed exactly the same in many instances.

The most recent tax introduced is a €100 household tax.The €100 to those on incomes of €100,000 is a thing of nothing. But to those at the other end of the income scale, it is frequently the difference between eating or not eating, between heating the home, and not heating the home, between having medical treatment or doing without. The situation represents nothing short of social injustice and I believe it to be morally wrong. The same dynamic is true for the carbon tax and the VAT placed on essential heating fuels.

Collective Madness?

A €100 household tax, carbon tax and 13.5% VAT on essential heating fuels - all on a country where there is some 40% fuel poverty??? Is this a collective madness or what?

The social imbalance, and the gross injustices that these imbalances actually represent, are giving birth to civil disobedience movements lead by some rebel members of the Irish parliament. There is a move afoot to rally the masses into not paying the household levy. There is also a growing anger among the less well off, as they see the fat cats prosper while they are squeezed ever harder.

What we do not want is a breakdown in the civil order. It is my belief that clear and decisive actions need to be taken immediately to avert this imminent danger.

Not Until!

Not until the hard-pressed and poorer half of the population see the well-off paying their fair share. Not until the government have the gonads to take on a bloated and inefficient public service sector. Not until the Irish Parliament take a moral lead by reducing their own huge salaries and pensions by a substantial amount, like 50%, and not until they additionally limit their obscene and obese expenses to say €10,000 of ticketed items a year, will there be any appetite in the population for the hair-shirt taxation now being placed on rich and poor alike.

It is a déja vu situation echoing past times when Charlie Haughy, addressing the nation, told the Irish people to tighten their belts, while, at the very same time, he was buying a bunch of Charvet shirts in Paris for £16,000 or what amounted to more than two years income for most.

Wasteful self-serving Irish Public Sector

2011-12-14T21:19:00.008Z

Self serving Institutions

Wasteful Public Sector

Minister Brendan Howlin, the Irish Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform - a new Irish Reformation - has a right old dogs body of a job before him. Why am I saying that just now?

Well it's because I have just heard of a report from the ESRI (economic and Social research Institute) which clearly indicated that, despite

€6,000,000,000

- yea - I wrote it with all the zeros and nice and BIG so you can clearly see the amount of money in question - €6bn extra having been spent between 2003 and 2007 on the various Public Services, that there was no noticeable improvement in the service.

Self Serving Institutions

This is the Gospel I have been trying to spread about “Self Serving Institutions” run by over-paid completely - insulated from reality - public servants.

HSE Huge State Enema

Only in the Educational sector was there any degree of perceived improvement. So Minister, why not consider scrapping the (HSE Huge State Enema), otherwise known as the Health Service Executive.

Minister, while you are at it, please also consider scrapping SEAI. You might also consider asking Michael O’Leary of Ryan Air, and some other people with an actual business sense, to take charge of these services for a year and clean them up, because hopefully they would not stand for the grotesquely deformed monster that currently passes for service by these institutions. Trades Unions, which basically I would support in theory, are also to blame for breeding much of the un-maintainable unreality we now have on our hands.

The private sector public are getting restless Minister!!

New Irish Fuel Poverty Authority

2011-12-09T23:25:00.002Z

A NEW IRISH GOVERNMENT AGENCY

TO TACKLE

FUEL POVERTY

AND PROMOTE

SUSTAINABLE ENERGY

It was like a dream that I had and I was just thrilled to hear the following news:

The Irish Government has just announced that they intend to scrap the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) - and replace it with a new agency whose prime remit will be to tackle the very embarrassing and highly immoral level of Fuel Poverty in the country.

The new Government Agency, without a name as yet, will, among other projects, promote the installation of efficient small multi-fuel stoves in the thousands of older homes which currently lack efficient heating appliances.

Stove Installations costing no more than €500!

These types of stoves cost no more than €400 retail and installation costs could easily be kept to an average of €200. Of course when the stoves are purchased in very large quantities, and when the VAT is removed - the cost could be well below €300 per unit.

Inset stoves that could fit directly into an existing fireplace with minimal labour and materials can currently be purchased for around €500. Bulk purchase and VAT removed, these stoves could easily be distributed at less than €400, installation costs could easily be limited to around €100 per house.

In addition to the prime goal of getting rid of open fires and inefficient solid fuel stoves, the new agency will additionally embark on a drive to promote the use of Wood Briquettes and other Eco Fuels and thereby, over time, eliminate coal, turf, and other fossil fuels.

Wood Briquettes, when purchased by the ton, or 1000Kg, retail at only €346 per ton pallet. The current level of VAT which is 13.50% on this Eco Fuel will be removed, thus making a retail price of only €305 per 1000Kg.

Eco Fuel at only €12.20 per 40Kg bag!

That price would give the equivalent of €12.20 for a 40Kg bag. When you put that against the current best price for coal at around €14 per 40Kg bag, it will prove a powerful incentive for people to move over to Eco Friendly Carbon Neutral wood fuels.

How this fuel will be distributed has not as yet been decided, but the agency will make sure that it does not become the domain of the door to door price gougers!!

A further drive of the new agency will be to educate the public on fuel efficiency and how best to manage their appliances and fuel in order to gain the best value for money.

There will be grants and loans, payable over time from pensions and allowances. These will be made available for pensioners and those on marginal incomes.

New Agency could Kill 2 Birds - with 1 Stone

This new agency could kill two birds with the one stone (1) Ease Fuel Poverty, and (2) Promote Sustainable energy - if it can be kept honest and if it is managed using standards from the real world and not become self-serving institutions run by fat salaried individuals on €1000,000 plus per year.

Wouldn't it be grand if this could be pulled off?

Fuel Poverty and Sustainable Energy

2011-12-08T09:59:00.000Z

Fuel Poverty

and

Sustainable Energy

some thoughts

Thankfully the Irish Government, in its recent hair-shirt budget, saw fit not to place the extra burden of another layer of carbon tax on solid fuels. This will be some small consolation to the many who depend on open fires etc. for their primary heat.

What I would love to see is the SEAI being set on a path to put small efficient multi-fuel stoves into the thousands of older homes with very inefficient fires. Then, as an additional measure, the promotion of eco-friendly fuels to burn in these stoves. This could be done by removing the 13.5% VAT on wood and bio-mass briquettes, and even by subsidising the price and fixing the maximum final retail price per kilo- so to stop the gougers cashing in on the deal.

Such a smple, inexpensive, and uncomplicated strategy would, I am sure, be beneath the dignity of, and not to the taste of SEAI. So a good idea would be to scrap the SEAI and set up a "Fuel Poverty" agency who's prime remit would be to tackle the immoral level of the problem, and as a secondary goal promote sustainability through the promotion and education about the use of eco-friendly fuels and appliances.

Redefining Sustainable Energy

2011-12-04T00:38:00.039Z

R E - D E F I N I N G

Sustainability and Sustainable Energy
in the light of Fuel Poverty

I have got some nudges from a few readers about my recent statement that I have decided to forgo on ordering oil this winter and instead use coal. I have done this as a protest because heating oil in the Republic is some 20%+ higher than a few miles up the road in the North of Ireland.

Many people who have no choice but to use oil are this winter buying their heating oil in cans by the week or by the month. They are doing this because they cannot afford a fill of oil. In so doing, they are being charged an extra 10% at the pumps on top of the 20%+ the Republic of Ireland charges over and above the Northern. Ireland prices. Currently heating oil is at €870 a fill and soon to reach almost €1000.

There are also the many people in Ireland who do not even have the luxury of oil heating, and who depend on open fires, electric heaters or old inefficient solid fuel ranges for their heat.

Fuel Poverty

In August of 2008 the WHO World Health Organisation described Ireland's then level of Fuel Poverty at 17% as "Shocking". I am inclined to guess that the figure now is more like 35% or even higher - and rising by the day. What would the WHO say to 40% fuel poverty in Ireland?

An acceptable definition of fuel poverty is where a household is spending in excess of 10% of its income on energy.

The figure is an international embarrassment to a rich country who's professionals, public service managers, and politicians earn twice as much as what is acceptable say in Germany a way richer country than little old Ireland.. A surgeon with 5 years experience in Germany earns €117,000.

So what are the average energy costs in a household? My own costs, based on current prices and working on usage taken from last year, are roughly: Electricity just under €1,000, Oil €1,100, coal etc. €500. That comes to €2,600 a year and we count ourselves as economical in our usage. That €2,600 will increase to €2,860 with the increase in carbon tax and the 13.5% on top of the carbon tax.

In Ireland Today Fuel Poverty = Households with an income of less than €28,600

By the accepted definition of fuel poverty, any Irish household living in a fairly average house, that has an income of less than €28,600 a year - €550 a week - is deemed to be in fuel poverty. Carbon Tax and VAT at 13.5% is a major contributory factor.

Re-defining Sustainability

This Blog is about sustainable energy... . . But, in the last year or so, I have desperately felt the need to re-define the meaning of sustainable.

Here are two dictionary definitions of the word SUSTAINABLE:

(1) Able to be maintained at a certain rate or level.

(2) Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non living things on earth. (from Wikipedia)

The capacity to endure!!

Sustainability from Two Perspectives

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland was established during the "Celtic Tiger" years. The focus of that over funded "Authority" was towards promoting projects in sustainable energy by means of grants and education.

The grant and education schemes however tended to focus on GRAND projects which only the better off could afford, such as geo-thermal heating systems. They forgot things like simple and efficient stoves at €400 each and using wood briquettes with the 13.5% VAT removed and even perhaps subsidised in price. Damn it!!! - that would have been too simple and unsophisticated to warrant considering. Instead they went wood pellet stoves at €6,000 or more. They did not even check the availability of the fuel before embarking on a nation-wide promotion.

In that light I have been thinking about what sustainability means when viewed from both ends of the social scale.

TOP END:On the top end the professional, the legal, the judicial, and the government earners on €100,000 to €300,000 a year. That is €1,923 per week to €5,769 a week.

BOTTOM END:On the bottom of the pile those who are living - is "living" the right word to use here? - on €188 per week.

What does Sustainable Energy mean?

(A) SUSTAINABLE ENERGY for the well-off among us is represented by thinking about things such as, geo-thermal heating systems at €15,000+, or solar panels on the roof at €4,000, or a fancy heating control system costing several thousands of Euro, etc. etc. Those with the money got generous grants of up to €7,000 of tax payers money to install these systems.

(B) SUSTAINABLE ENERGY for the less well-off like those living on €188 per week, is represented by thinking about how much heating oil can I afford to put in the tank this month maybe 30 Litres or even 40 Litres, can I buy one bag of coal or maybe two bags, or can I afford to switch on the immersion heater for a bath.

Carbon Tax + VAT of 13.5% on fuel and Sustainability

Carbon tax in not a fair tax. Neither is the 13.5% VAT on essential heating fuel. The latest increases in carbon tax for those on €100,000+ a year hardly makes a difference, and anyway many of those already have geo-thermal, solar, and wood pellet heating systems. Carbon tax will perhaps impinge on the income by at most 0.20%.. - On the other side of the fence, for those subsisting on €10,00 - €12,000 a year these "TAXES" could affect the household income by as much as 5%. The taxes could also take food from the table, or heat from the home - depriving the family.

I would call that "taxing the poor more than the rich". This is to my limited understanding, inequitable, immoral, and unsustainable.

As the social, fiscal and governmental systems are currently operating in Ireland, they are IMHO not providing for sustainability. Sustainability requires equitable balance, that balance requires unity of purpose governed by sharply defined moral principles and ethics.

The current imbalance is leading to an increasing potential between the haves and the have-nots which is widening daily.

It is like static building in a thunder cloud, and at some stage, that build-up of potential will flash-over and break down, perhaps violently, unless the huge and immoral imbalances are rapidly and seriously redressed.

The storm clouds are gathering and the sky is getting blacker!!

Smokeless Calco Coal and Stove Warranties

2011-12-03T19:22:00.001Z

Stop the Panic

about

Calco Coal

There is a degree of paranoia spreading out there regarding the use of Calco and other blended smokeless coals containing Petro-Coke. The reason for this anxiety is that some manufacturers state a caveat in their warranty to the effect that use of coals containing "Petro-Coke" will invalidate their warranty.

The Solid Fuel Technology Institute define "Petro-Coke" as follows:

Petroleum Coke: A solid fuel made from petroleum residues. High in sulphur and low in protective ash it burns with intense heat, but can damage appliances and cause high levels of atmospheric sulphuric acid unless used mixed with another material (such as an alkaline stone or coke).

Most commercial coals which contain perto-coke come blended with other fuels in order to balance out the burning characteristics, I am not aware of a retail coal which contains only petro-coke.

Petro Coke some facts

(1) Petro-Coke has a lower ash level of (<;0.5%),
(2) a lower moisture content of (8-10%) and
(3) is lower in volatiles (8-10%) than regular coal,
(4) this results in very much higher heat output.

The extra heat is in the order of 32,565 kJ/kg - regular coal gives about 24,000 kJ/kg, That means petro-coke delivers about 30% more heat than your average coal does - same as saying when you buy a bag of coal here is an extra 30% free.

The Negative Stuff

Petro Coke has a highish sulphur and other - not so nice stuff - in it - this means that apart from not smelling great when burned, it pollutes the atmosphere - like all coals and oils do - only a bit more.

Because Petro-Coke can give such a high heat output, and because it is capable of burning at a high temperature, and because it develops so little ash, it is possible for it to overheat the grates and baffles in a stove. That is if it is allowed to burn at a high rate.

But you DO NOT have to have a stove burning white hot - you can simply turn down the air control and keep it ticking over at perfectly acceptable temperatures.

Also, by mixing it with other fuels, the burn can be regulated. Most coal merchants already sell Petro-Coke as mix with other solid fuels.

Several stove manufacturers will not guarantee the life of grates and baffles where petro-coke is regularly burned. You would need to take this into account. If however your stove is out of guarantee, and you are careful not to allow it to overheat, and if you mix the fuel - you have no fear in using Calco or other mixes of coal with petro-coke.

Bottom Line

By using coal mixes with Petro-Coke in them, we are not talking danger or extreme damage to a stove, the worst that can happen is you can shorten the life of the grates and baffles through overheating them.

Balance that against the savings on a coal that is some 30+% cheaper to begin with, and on top of that gives some 30+% more heat output. I would think that that saving, over a couple of years, would more than pay for a set of grates! But don't take my word for it.

New Inset Multi Fuel Stove from Hamco

2011-12-03T11:00:00.002Z

Hamco Co. Offaly

Have a New

Inset Stove

Street Price under €600

I was talking again yesterday to Brian Mc Mahon of Hamco - no - he is not related to the Listowel writer - he tells me their inset stove is now in the showrooms.

There is a limited supply out there so you will have to hunt around if you are looking for one. Yea - I know the photo is lousy - this is because there is no brochure printed yet for the new stove - it will be called "The Glen" - and that picture above came from Brian's phone, taken with the stove - still on the darn pallet. Nothing like good presentation Brian!!

PRICE

Anyone thinking of an inset would do well to take a look at the Hamco. If budget is an issue - this stove is almost 30% cheaper than the Blacksmith inset stove, and it is over 40% cheaper than the Mulberry inset stove.

QUALITY

Quality? - the castings of the metal in contact with the fire are in 17% high-chromium metal - this is the industry standard. The look is plain clean lines and a bit retro. The primary air intake control is a slide knob - I have found this type to be a bit more difficult to accurately adjust. That lot said, this looks like a very good value-for-money stove.

As soon as I get to examine a working model, I shall write up my observations here on this blog.

My Experimental Custom Fireplace Door

2011-12-02T19:00:00.001Z

Lots of People Asking

Where did I get my

Fireplace Door

I have clearly indicated several times on this blog - that this is a ONE-OFF - custom, self-designed - experimental door.

A good friend made it for me. It is made in stainless steel sheet metal, but could equally be made in ordinary carbon steel sheeting and painted with a heat proof paint.

No - - I do not know where you can have one made. What would it cost to have a custom door made? - I do not know. the answer to that either.

If you had a design, set of basic drawings, and exact dimensions, and you asked a sheet metal works to produce it, I guess you could be talking €500 or more - custom stuff is not worth considering unless you have the facilities.

I believe there are a number of ready made fireplace doors now available - but remember these will be to standard size fittings only most likely a 16". I do NOT KNOW who makes them or how much they cost. If someone has specific information, I would be glad to publish it.

My experimental fireplace door has proved - in my case - to be hugely successful. The success is in no small part due to there being a back boiler insitu. I don't think I would recommend a fireplace door where there is not a wrap round back boiler.

An inset stove is the obvious answer where there is no back boiler. There are several more makes of inset stove becoming available and the price is also coming down on some of them.

I will post further on inset stoves soon.

Wood Pellets can Emit Toxic Gasses

2011-12-02T17:19:00.002Z

DANGER WARNING

Wood Pellets can

Emit Poisonous Gas

The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has issued a general alert regarding the danger of Carbon Monoxide poisoning in wood pellets hoppers and storage areas.

This warning came after a fatal accident where a householder died after being overcome by an accumulation of CARBON MONOXIDE in a storage hopper for wood pellets. Carbon monoxide is a colourless, odourless and tasteless gas you won't ven notice it killing you. It is a highly toxic gas and easily kills.

Wood Pellet Boilers are commonly used in homes and businesses as an alternative to the oil or gas fired boilers. Wood pellets, the fuel source for these units are normally housed in a large sealed hopper/tank that is either fitted with screw feeder (auger) connected to the boiler, or the hopper/tank is mounted over the boiler for gravity feeding. Due to the enclosed nature of these hoppers/tanks the atmosphere inside can become oxygen depleted and a toxic atmosphere can accumulate. The HSA is asking all operators, maintenance personnel and users of this equipment to do the following:

1.    DO NOT ENTER or place your head into the wood pellet hopper under any circumstances. The unit can contain toxic gases.
2.    Ensure that your wood pellet hopper/tank and boiler has been installed and commissioned by a competent person. If in doubt, contact the supplier and/or manufacturer and request assistance.
3.    Ensure that the boiler is cleaned and serviced by a competent person at the frequency required by the manufacturers’ instructions.
4.    If any problems are encountered with the unit, such as, system not heating correctly, flue gas is flowing into boiler room, turn unit off and seek assistance immediately.
5.    No personnel should enter the hopper/tank unless fully trained and competent in confined space entry procedures. The hopper/tank should be fully ventilated and controls put in place to ensure safe entry as per the HSA Code of Practice “Safe Work in Confined Spaces”
6.    Ensure boiler room is well ventilated at all times to ensure no inadvertent build up of toxic gases.
7.    I would add to this BE ESPECIALLY VIGILANT WHERE YOUR CHILDREN MIGHT PLAY!!

Calco Smokless Coal Problem in some stoves

2011-12-02T15:24:00.002Z

CALCO Coal

May Invalidate Guarantee

on Some Multi-Fuel Stoves

I have just learned - so I am passing the information on my readers - that the use of CALCO smokeless coal may invalidate the guarantee on some makes of stove.

The reason for this is because the Calco Blend contains "Petro Coke" which is blended with Union Briquettes.

Petro Coke is a by product of the petroleum industry and is a very good solid fuel in terms of heat output. The problem arises because this petro coke actually burns very hot, too hot for some stoves and can therefore damage the appliance.

I have been using Calco for a month in my modified fireplace which has a back-boiler and a fireplace door. I am very happy with the results indeed. The fuel burns down to quite a fine ash and gives excellent heat output. I have not noticed any excess in the combustion, no more than I get with "CosyGlo" smokeless ovoids. At €14 a 40Kg bag and higher heat output Calco is a real bargain - pity there is a question about its use in stoves.

I have not used Calco in my stove as yet so I can give no feedback there. If you are worried you might damage a stove by using the much lower priced Calco, I would suggest contacting the stove manufacturer and checking it out.

I have no problem in continuing to use Calco in my fireplace as the results so far have been excellent.

Calco is distributed in Ireland by National Coal Company Belfast, Tel: 04890 - 611167

Tackling Chimney and Fireplace Heat Loss

2011-12-01T21:58:00.005Z

Tackling Heat Loss

from Open Fireplaces

Got this letter today, from Gavin Harkness, asking about how to deal with heat loss and draughts caused by an open fireplace chimney, and I think it is timely to deal with this subject here and now.

Hi,
I've been following your blog for a couple of months now, as I try to get a handle on all the various Energy Efficiency technologies and how I can adapt them to the house that I'm renting.

Being from tropical Australia, heating wasn't really a problem, so it's been hard to get real answers about what works and what is available. I live in a very efficient, modern house, with an outdoor oil heater and an open fireplace (no back boiler). With it's underfloor heating and good insulation, the house is maintained at a constant 20C.

What has been irritating me is the open fireplace, sucking valuable warm air straight up the chimney. We only light the fire for mere aesthetics purposes. No one, including a couple of BER assessors could give me a solution. I've been reading your insert fireplace reviews, but I could (not) see myself paying €1000, nor my landlord (either). But today, I found (a website by) these guys (who offer a kind of chimney trapdoor that shuts off the flue when not in use - costing 250 Euro fitted). It would be interesting to hear your thoughts on these sorts of products. Gavin Harkness.

Chimneys act like HUGE Vacuum Cleaners

Think of a chimney on an open fireplace as the hose of a GIANT VACUUM CLEANER. It is constantly sucking huge amounts of air out of the room. That is fine in summertime, but in the winter, it is sucking out the heat and causing draughts to come in under the doors and through every possible crack and cranny.

My preferred method of dealing with this problem is as I have already extensively outlined in previous posts to this blog - with fireplace doors or with inset stoves.

Gavin's problem is that he is in rented accommodation and does not want to invest big money in another persons house.

A Few Possible Solutions

The cheapest and simplest solutions would be:

(a) To stick something up the chimney when not in use. Problem is forgetting it was there and lighting a fire would create a bit of a disaster. If, additionally, the chimney stopper was flammable that would compound the problem. A perhaps safer way of doing it would be a heavy duty balloon - which is mostly air - there are proprietary chimney blocking devices which are essentially blow-up plastic bags. All of these methods are messy, especially when you go to take the thing out of the chimney.

(b) SAFEER CHEAPER and SIMPLE - Make a temporary screen, ideally of metal for safety, that fits fairly tightly into the fireplace opening. This will effectively block the air flow up the chimney, and it can simply and easily be removed when you want to light a fire.

More Permanent but FUSSY Solutions

There are a number of permanent fitted solutions on the market, but these are fussy at best and bloody expensive for what you get. Above pictured is a neat cast iron chimney throat damper. The damper itself is about €200 and then there is the cost of fitting. That is perhaps something akin to the idea mentioned in Gavin's letter above.

Above is a drawing of a chimney top damper. This type of damper is operated by a chain from below. Again it can be costly enough and there remains the danger of forgetting to open it when lighting a fire.

Conclusion

As a temporary solution I would personally go with a fitted screen into the fireplace opening. A nice piece of aluminium sheet cut and basically formed to fit.

(1) Cost would not be more than about €20 to €40. You could even do it DIY if you are any way handy.

(2) You could NOT possibly forget to remove it when lighting a fire, and

(3) There would be no associated difficulties or dangers involved.

So Much for the SEAI and its spawn - BER Assessors

SEAI (Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland) would never come up with simple and inexpensive answers to energy efficiency - neither evidently can their offspring the BER Assessors!!

So - Gavin have I answered your questions? About my fee - - - - - -

Wood Briquettes Eco and Eco-nomic Solution

2011-11-30T21:53:00.004Z

Heat or Eat

The Cost of Heating
An Ecological Solution?

A large part of the Irish population still relies on open fires and stoves as the main heat source. It is generally the more vulnerable and elderly that fall into this category and will be the ones most adversely affected by the Carbon Tax increases.

The Irish government really needs to think this one out a bit more carefully. At the very least, they could drop the 13.5% VAT on wood and biomass heating products. They would also need to promote their use as most people do not know much about them or how to properly use them.

Coal and peat products, including peat briquettes, will go up in price by about 10% in the New Year when the government imposes an extra carbon tax. The carbon tax with have the 13.5% VAT placed on top of it, so that is how the 10% comes about.

An €18.50 Euro bag of smokeless coal will become a €20.35 bag of coal, and a €3.99 bale of peat briquettes will be priced at €4.39.

Wood the answer?

Wood is carbon neutral and a 100% renewable source it does not have a carbon tax placed on it. Eco friendly wood products do however have a 13.50% VAT placed on them.

Lump wood, like logs and blocks, is not the most convenient fuel to use. Also, the wood blocks that are touted door to door in fertiliser bags are VERY poor value for money. That is because of two things:

(1) They are generally soft wood - which has low heat output.
(2) Those block are not kiln dried and carry up to 30% moisture in them.

Wood that has more than 20% moisture uses a lot of the heat just to get rid of the moisture, and some very damp wood hardly gives any heat output at all!!

Wood Briquettes, on the other hand, are VERY LOW moisture only about 5%. This is especially true of the baked / cooked dark ones.

Wood briquettes are 100% wood and therefore DO NOT carry any carbon tax and will not be going up in price in the New Year. The price increase in fossil fuels will mean that the Eco friendly fuels like wood briquettes will become much more price competitive.

Peat and Wood Briquettes similar heat output

Kilogram for kilogram Peat Briquettes and Eco Wood Briquettes give about the same heat output. The differences are:

1.    Eco Briquettes burn better.
2.    Eco Briquettes leave much less ash.
3.    Eco Briquette ash is clean and a great garden fertiliser.
4.    Eco Briquettes do not cause the destruction of the last few bogs in Ireland.

Good quality coal has perhaps a 20% higher heat output to wood briquettes. However, coal leaves a lot of ash and clinker, which is partially toxic to nature, try sticking it on you garden! Coal is a dirty substance and the smell of burning coal is horrible. Burning wood smells really nice.

There are a number of suppliers for the good quality wood briquettes in Ireland. If you want a price that competes with coal on a heat value per Euro basis, you will need to purchase a large quantity.

Different Types and Qualities of Wood Briquette

These are the good type - They come in several shapes but all have a similar look

In my last post I discussed wood briquettes briefly and said that I would avoid the type that looks like a block of sawdust or a lump of chipboard.

This is the not-so-good chipboard block type of briquette

The chipboard type of sawdust block does not burn very well when compared to the highly compressed and heat treated type. Buy them only if you get a very very very good price!!

The good type above has a dark colour and fine texture - not like chipboard

The type of wood briquette to look for are the 100% hardwood briquettes which are dark in colour because they have been "Cooked". They are very hard and burn very well. The give way more heat than any type of logs you care to mention. The do not spark or spit. They burn fully down to a very fine ash.

Eco Wood Briquettes as cheap as coal

As you can see, I have been doing a bit of basic research on wood briquettes. In so doing, I came upon a supplier in Ennis County Clare who sells the high quality 100% hardwood heat treated briquette at really good prices. As it stands, these wood briquettes are close enough to the price of coal on a ton for ton basis. When coal goes up next year, these briquettes will be ahead in terms of value.

If you are lucky enough to live in Clare you can collect them directly from the supplier. If you don't live in Ennis, there is a delivery charge, and it really only makes economical sense if you buy in bulk.

The best value is for a One Tonne 1000Kg pallet at €346 inc. 13.50% VAT but plus delivery. You might be able to split a load with friends or family if you don't have space to store a tonne. Wood briquettes need to be stored in a dry place.

Prima EcoFuels - Wood briquettes

37 Bramble lane, Ennis, Co. Clare, Ireland

Talk to Michael and get a deal
Phone him on 065 684 3669

Eco Fuel Briquettes is a small company in Ennis Co. Clare run by Michael who I spoke to at some length. Talk to him yourself, he is very informative and helpful.

http://www.ecofuelbriquettes.com/buy-wood-briquettes

Solid Fuels Prices and Types

2011-11-27T22:01:00.000Z

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.

Hamco Multi-Fuel Stoves and Insets

2011-11-27T11:38:00.001Z

Hamco Multi-Fuel Stoves

and Insets

I have been looking around for different makes of solid fuel stoves sold in Ireland, and the latest I have come across is a range marketed under the brand name of Hamco.

Hamco Enterprises Ltd. operate from Tullamore County Offaly. Hamco sell an extensive range of their own branded stoves and in addition carry the Franco Belge range of stoves.

My readers may have noticed that I have been looking closely at two particular types of stove. (1) Inexpensive small freestanding 6 to 7Kw stoves, and (2) Inset Stoves that can be easily fitted into an existing fireplace with a minimum of work.

Better than many Fancy SEAI Schemes

I believe that fitting stoves like these in the 100,000 or more open fires in Ireland, would do more for sustainability than all the fancy-schmancy and expensive schemes put together by SEAI (The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland).

New Hamco Inset Stove due Soon

I had a nice conversation with Hamco’s Brian McMahon who was most informative and well versed in his subject. Brian told me that Hamco are about to release an inset stove, and here is the good part, the recommended retail price will be only €620 inc. VAT. That means It should be completely feasible to purchase one of these stoves at around €550.

Hamco have their castings done in China the same as Blacksmith and Mulberry. The grates are in the same quality of high chromium iron 17% chromium, giving them longer life.

Next time a closer look at some Hamco Stoves.

Savings on Smokless Coal

2011-11-24T23:27:00.002Z

€13 per 40Kg bag

Oil Prices have Gone Crazy

More Gov. Tax to be added soon

I've gone to Coal Heating this Winter

With a fill of heating oil now at €840 - I have had enough - - and have decided to forgo entirely on oil this winter. I am breaking with sustainability principles BECAUSE I cannot afford to be green. if the Government want people to be green, then they need to make the green alternative affordable - not tax the daylights out of the people.

Stoves a great saving

Many hundreds of people are installing stoves. The best fuel to maximise a stoves output and extend the burning period to perhaps 9 hours on a single fill, is smokeless coals.

There are some wood based green alternatives BUT these are very expensive to use. If the Irish Government were well advised, they might subsidise and make tax free these wood based fuels - but that would be hoping for much too much.

Coals

The semi monopoly on solid fuel in Ireland is Bord na Mona, a semi-state company. Bord na Mona (The Peat Board) has its prices pitched well above other sources. It charges almost €19 for a 40Kg bag of cosyglo smokeless.

It is possible to get smokeless coals as cheap as €13 per 40Kg bag. One supplier in Co. Kerry offers "Super Heat" smokeless mix, a small sized mixture, 1" to 2" nuggets, of several smokeless fuels at €39 for 3 bags. see the above photo, I have included a ruler in the picture to give you an idea of the size of the fuel.

Not the best smokless coal

This is not the best smokeless fuel I have used, but it is perfectly adequate for use in a stove. It gives excellent heat output, but it is harder to light initially, and there is a fair amount of small pieces in the mix which does not promote the burn as well as a fuel with larger sized pieces. This coal would be best used mixed with say Calco or similar. At the price though, it represents nothing short of a bargain. Calco is a better product at a slightly higher price.

Don't pay inflated prices for your coal this winter - ask around and shop around and you WILL find cheaper. When you find a cheaper source please do let others know, that way the word will spread quickly and the price gougers will be squeezed out.

This is where I got a bag of "Super Heat" smokeless (singles).

Econ Fuels
Monavalley Industrial Estate
(just off the "Fat Mile" and
opposite DPL builders suppliers)
Tralee
086-8320050
066-4011099

Smokless Coal Prices in RipOff Ireland

2011-11-24T00:03:00.002Z

Ireland Leading Again

in the

Rip-Off Stakes

This came in as a comment from Una Castle in Navan:

Unacastle has left a new comment on your post "Saving on Winter Fuels Smokeless Coal":

Hi. I'm in Navan and we have a Waterford Stanley stove. We find this Calco great ( I didn't realise it was smokeless, I thought it was called 'anthracite' -don't know where I got that idea) Anyway, we are paying 21.80 per bag so your price of 14 per bag is terrific. Such a pity so far away. If you hear of such a good deal else where would be great to know. Thanks Oonagh

COMMENT

What can I say Oonagh - the Gombeen Men, they have been breeding in dark holes since the Famine, they are at it again.

The price you are being charged is nothing short of daylight robbery. The guys I am buying my coal from are still making a profit at €14 per bag. Granted this is a promotional price and may increase by a bit later on. But cowboys selling the stuff at €22 a bag - no way!

Bord na Mona CosyGlo is €18.50 and is a slightly better coal. Tell your local Calco supplier to go get lost. Try making a list of all fuel suppliers in your locality, ask around, and some weekend ring around and ask the prices - there has to be some honest dealers out there. If you find some honest ones let me know and I will give them a plug here.

Ireland is Sick

2011-11-19T19:19:00.006Z

What I Believe is

VERY SICK

with Ireland

(ya this is a rant - I need to let it out before I burst)

1. Ireland has a HUGE ELEPHANTINE public service system. Paying for the upkeep of this top-heavy monster places an unacceptable burden on taxes. Ireland has a public service system which is:

(a) Highly inefficient - compared to the private sector.
(b) In places perhaps 50% overstaffed - compared to private enterprise, and
(c) Is overpaid by at least 25% compared to the private sector.
(d) Pays pensions which for the most part can only be dreamed of by the private sector.

Just go, for instance, and sit in any HSE office and watch the ant like movements of the masses of paper shufflers.

2.    There are simply way too many self-serving and wasteful governmental institutions, agencies, bodies, authorities, committees etc. etc. etc. Fás is a typical example of gross misconduct.

3.    We have had a much less than squeaky-clean government and parliament that bends to vested interests - and that over-pays itself handsomely. On a weighted comparison - perhaps the highest paid in the entire world. Salaries are paid - irrespective of attendance or of work performed - great job if you can get it!!

4.    Crazy, vastly inflated, and grossly disrespectful to the poorer people, ministerial and government pensions for life. Life-long pensions for some that have served only a few years. Potentially, you could have hundreds on €150,000 a year.

5.    Private and public sector professions that are out of control. Ireland has the highest paid medical, dental, legal, public service executives, and members of parliament - in the world. This represents a gross imbalance.

Any large imbalance in nature will cause an eventual and inevitable collapse of the potential differences. The Irish government needs to put an immediate and effective stop to the protectionism being practiced by many professional bodies in Ireland that effectively prevent non-nationals setting up their profession in Ireland. In fact they need to take steps to encourage doctors, dentists etc. to relocate to Ireland.

Essentially, the public have already cast their vote, with their feet, in this respect - as many thousands travel to Northern Ireland and to other EU countries for medical and dental treatment at half the Irish cost.

End of rant -for now!!

A Return to a Black Economy

2011-11-19T11:56:00.003Z

Are We Heading

downhill at SPEED

into an even Blacker

Black Economy?

The leaked government papers from Germany show that we Irish are heading for more and more and more, and even more taxation. A general VAT rate of 23% will encourage not only cross-border trade, but will fuel a very healthy growth in the already thriving black economy.

The crazy Irish taxes on home heating oil, making it some 20+% more expensive than a few miles up the road in the north of Ireland, has prompted me this winter to forgo on oil heating altogether, and instead go for the dirtier, more carbon intensive but cheaper option of coal to heat my home.

Dr Sam Vaknin

In July last, I re-published, with kind permission, a very interesting piece by Sam Vaknin on Black Economy called "The Blessings of the Black Economy". I recommend it to my readers.

http://wood-pellet-ireland.blogspot.com/2011/07/black-economy-blessing.html

Depression, Substance Abuse and Suicide

It would be far too easy for individuals to fall into a state of depression and anxiety given what we are facing economically. And all that economic and psychological suffering simply to pay for the robbery, the cheating, the greedy mishandling by bankers, the despicable speculators, and the corrupt elements of government.

Economic depression is intrinsically linked to psychological depression, which in turn is linked to substance abuse, social disorder, mental depression, and suicide.

Sam Vaknin shines a ray of hope on what I believe is an inevitable outcome of the unjustness of the economic situation.

Roll on The Black Economy

A great way of avoiding VAT is to establish bartering systems. This can work very well with services - I do some work for you, as a favour, and you return the favour in some other fashion.

Cross border day trips will boom so there is great hope for the traders North of the border. Repair and maintenance services will boom, as people will not be in a hurry to scrap older equipment.

With the extensive penetration of social media, all good ideas will very quickly spread, and people will find a way around draconian taxation.

I did not benefit in any way from the Celtic Tiger, I did not cause any losses in the banking system or the economy, I therefore do not see that I should be asked to pay for the cheaters and speculators mistakes. I will be doing all I can to avoid paying high taxes to bale-out the banks.

An Economic Famine

As Sam Vaknin points out in his thesis, a healthy Black Economy might be our only hope of preventing the country going completely and irretrievably into the red and everlasting debt. An economic Famine that could crush the very life from our economy and our people, depleting the population and denigrating our people just as effectively as our historic famines.

Moral Leadership

If the government had any notion of how to lead people, they would lead from the FRONT. This they could simply do by taking a token 50% cut in the enormous salaries and capping all expenses to members of the Irish Parliament. But have they even talked in this direction - - - ??

Fireplace Doors Stoves and Kachelovens

2011-11-18T20:18:00.001Z

Further Update

on my

Experimental Fireplace Door

A Kacheloven

Above is a photo of a modern stone faced "Kacheloven". A "kacheloven" is a masonry stove, sometimes beautifully tiled with ceramic art, which is generally associated with Germany and Austria. They are highly efficient stoves and the brick / clay fabric retains heat like a storage heater.

The main features are the sealed and air controlled fire box giving controlled burn, and the heat absorbing brickwork.

Have I created a Kacheloven by accident?

When I installed my experimental fire front door, I did so with a warning from an SEAI "official" that it might lead to cracked masonry in the chimney due to overheating.

I basically figured that this would not occur, as I had a back-boiler installed which, I believed, would absorb much of the extra heat generated.

This was in fact the situation as it has emerged over a good time of constant use. What I did not expect from the installation, was the positive storage heater effect. The fire door and air control has slowed down the air rising up the chimney, allowing the chimney to absorb more of the heat.

When I eventually got the air control and sealing fully and efficiently operating, the overall efficiency of the fire was greatly increased. The fire can now slow-burn for up to 10 hours on a single fill of fuel.

The Results

The stonework facing takes up a lot of heat and can reach a peak of 70 degrees C. The chimney breast does not get this hot but can reach a maximum of about 45 degrees. The entire chimney warms up - heating the kitchen behind the wall and the bedrooms overhead.

It takes several hours for this heat to build up, and when the fire is kept going 24 - 7 it maintains a lovely heat in the whole house. Some of this heat is transferred by means of the back boiler which transfers perhaps between 2 to 5 kW to radiators depending on the state of burn of the fire.

The winter so far this year has been mild and we have kept the fire more or less on minimum burn all of the time. The only heat source in the 12 foot by 18 foot living room is from the fire. That room stays almost a constant 22 to 23 degrees.

The rooms heated by radiator on the far end of the house tend to drop a little overnight but generally stay above 19 degrees. The house has never felt so constantly comfortable.

Above is a picture of my living room stone-fronted fireplace with the experimental fireplace door. The stone fronting is about 12cm deep and made of a very dense stone called Achill stone which is a sparkling amathystine quartz with a warm yellow tinge. The stone takes heat very well and retains it for hours.

So far this winter the stove is redundant

Our kitchen / dining room has a Blacksmith Anvil stove fitted. So far this winter, it has been redundant, as the heat from the shared chimney breast and some heat from a radiator has kept the room above 20 degrees. I am sure in the colder weather this will not be maintained.

Bottom line, so far this winter - the house is at 22 degrees 24 -7 and:

(1) We have not used the oil fired central heating at all.

(2) We have not yet lit the stove in the kitchen.

(3) We have the electric immersion water heater turned off.

One single fire in the living room has kept the house toasty warm and supplied all the hot water needed as well.

What does it cost to run?

At the moment, mid November and mild, running the system 24 - 7, we are using about 50 to 60 Kgs of smokeless coal per week. This "Calco" coal is costing us just €14 per 40 Kg bag delivered - see my recent post:

http://wood-pellet-ireland.blogspot.com/2011/11/saving-on-winter-fuels-smokeless-coal.html

So the heating and hot water is currently costing us between €17.50 and €21 a week. When you deduct the immersion heater electricity costs of roughly €1 per day (the immersion has been switched off for weeks), you get a space heating cost of between €10.50 and €14 per week for a toasty warm 24 -7 heated 4 bedroom house. I would say that is not bad at all.

Mulberry Stoker Inset Stove

2011-11-10T22:51:00.004Z

A First Look at

The Mulberry Stoker

Inset Stove

INTRO

I had a long and very interesting conversation recently with Peter Hughes of Mulberry Stoves Ireland. Peter really knows his stuff and answered my many questions regarding the design principles, operation, materials, installation, efficiency, fuel, and maintenance of solid fuel inset stoves.

Why am I telling you this? The reason I mention it is because it gives me confidence to know that there is an individual in a company who is a competent engineer, and who fully understands the scientific design and operating principles involved in their subject.

The Stoker Inset

The Mulberry Stoker is a bit different in its basic shape from the many run of the mill inset stoves on the market. It presents an unfussy look with modern simple clean lines.

I am looking here, in this posting, at the non-boiler version of the Mulberry Stoker. There is also a stove available with a built-in boiler.

One very different feature of the Stoker is the fire box, which appears to project outwards into the room in a unique "Bay Window" formation. This feature allows a very wide angle view of the fire, but it also presents a larger surface area to the room thus allowing more heat to radiate and convect to the room space.

This would appear to be reflected in the higher rated output of 6.5kW. A figure of between 5 and 6kW is about average. The Mulberry also has a notably higher efficiency of 76%. A certified efficiency of 76% is unusual in an inset stove. Efficiency of 70% would be considered good, 76% is closer to the efficiency of a free standing stove and is excellent for an inset.

Note the Dormer fronted Fire box

Castings

All of the castings which come into contact with the fire, such as grates, baffles etc., are done in 17%.hi-chrome iron. This makes them resistant to burning out and therefore longer lasting.

The Convection Airflow Pattern

Price

The Stoker inset is a bit more expensive than the Blacksmith Anvil. The list price is just over €1000 but it can be purchased a deal cheaper than this. Walsh Bros. Tullamore currently have it on a special offer at €795.

http://www.superstore.ie/product-eng-1434-Mulberry-Stoker-Inset-Non-Boiler-Stove-6-5kw.html

Manufacturer Specifications

• Maximum output 6.5kW
• Maximum fuel consumption 0.93kg per hour
• Efficiency of 76%
• Clean burning with low emissions - O.26% CO (at 13% O2)
• Long lasting 17% Hi-Chrome castings in grate and firebox
• Unique bay window gives wide view of fire
• Window air wash for clean glass
• Provides both Convection and Radiant heat
• Will burn overnight
• Easily installed – DIY fitting in 15 minutes
• Works perfectly in normal chimney
• Can be used with or without flexible flue liner
• Guaranteed Irish – manufactured in Ireland
• Certified to EN 13240 and CE approved
• Manufactured by company certified to ISO 9001
and ISO 14001

I have not had a chance to see this stove working as yet, so I can give no assessment of its actual performance. When I get to examine one close up I will inform the blog with an update.

Economic and Social Order Sustainability

2011-11-09T12:46:00.000Z

No one will deny that there is a multi-faceted world-wide crisis happening. The financial situation is generally the focus of blame. However I believe it is far deeper than mere economic problems.

Belief, trust, a positive outlook, and a willingness to co-operate and share are, IMHO, at the very core of the problems.

Politicians and bankers head the list of the least trusted people on the planet. Yet, they are the ones controlling the situation. What does that tell you? Jungle laws apply - the big and the powerful take it all and only the scraps are fought over by the rest.

In Ireland, it seems that when things get tough and the people lose hope - the Irish get pissed. Reports just out indicate that there has been a 42% increase in alcohol and substance abuse in just 5 years since the last figures in 2005.

That is just frightening, especially when the fall-out implication are considered. Family life and children will take the biggest hit, leading to increased social problems in the future. But the Irish economy will also suffer through lost work days and increased medical and social service requirements. And of course the Irish reputation as a nation of drunks will suffer yet further.

What is this post about? I am just airing my ruminations and worries for the immediate future. Interesting, highly volatile, and scary times we are living in!!

Inset Stove Design and Some Tests Part 3

2011-11-05T23:08:00.002Z

SPECIFIC SIMPLE TEST

FOR CONVECTION

IN AN INSET STOVE

Here is a very basic but effective test to show if you are getting a proper outward and upward flow of convection hot air. It involves nothing more than a strip of lightweight tissue paper placed across the length of the convection grill.

The Basis of the Test

Think about this for a moment - if you were to place a narrow strip of lightweight tissue paper across the top of just about any operating convector heater, what would you expect might happen to the tissue?

(a) Would it be wafted upward by a current of hot air?
(b) Or, would it be sucked down onto the top of the heater?

Think “hot air balloon” - think why does smoke go up a chimney.

So on an inset stove you will find a grill or grills at the very top of the stove above the glass door. The grill is the convection grill.

IF THE STOVE IS OPERATING CORRECTLY there will be an outflow of hot air from this top grill.

FACT: Most of the heat from an inset stove has to come by way of the convection system. If the convection system is not operating properly, the stove efficiency will be severely reduced. If the convection system is completely dysfunctional, the stove may be some 60% less efficient than it should be.

TO TEST

CAUTION: Before attempting any tests you should be fully satisfied that there is no danger of an accident occurring. If you don't feel confident - then don't do the test.

A piece of lightweight tissue paper about 35 x 7cm is simply gently placed on top of the grill/s for a few seconds. If there is any reasonable convection process taking place, the tissue paper will be wafted upwards - maybe not a lot - but there should be some lifting of the tissue.

If it is not being wafted upwards in the hot airflow - or indeed if the opposite happens to be the case - and it is being sucked down onto the grill, you have a problem.

TWO POSSIBLE PROBLEMS

1. No upward current of hot air = no convection taking place. This could be a blockage in the convection channels - or it might be bad design.
2. The tissue being sucked down onto the grill = a negative air current which mean not only do you NOT have convection, BUT ALSO any heat in the convection chamber is being vacuumed up the chimney. You have a faulty inset stove. This could be a cracked stove or it could be bad design causing this to happen.

HOW ABOUT THE BLACKSMITH ARTISAN?

The number (2) of the above problems is what is happening with a Blacksmith "Artisan" stove I have encountered. I am wondering if this is a singular problem, or are there perhaps other Artisan owners out there who might be experiencing the same problem?

If you own a Blacksmith Artisan, I would like to hear from you how well you find the convection system operating.

Q1 - Do you get a good blast of hot air from the top grill?
Q2 - Or if you decide to do the tissue test - did you find the tissue being sucked down onto the grill?

Saving on Winter Fuels Smokeless Coal

2011-11-02T15:29:00.004Z

Calco Smokeless Coal

Smokeless Coal

at a really GOOD price

I have decided this winter to hold off on buying Heating Oil because the price is just horrific - 20% dearer that up the North - due to Irish taxes.

Instead, I am using smokeless coal in my stove and in my back boiler and fire door fireplace. So far, I am very pleased with the results.

Bord na Mona is charging €18.50 per 40Kg bag for the "Cozy Glow" smokeless. This is a good quality non-flame type of smokeless "briquette" type coal, but the price is very high indeed.

So I went on the hunt for an alternative and I eventually found a coal that works well in my stove and modified fireplace. The supplier I found is in Tralee. This smokeless coal is almost 25% cheaper than the Bord na Mona coal and it gives me results just about as good as the Cozyglo.

I have kept my fire burning overnight and the house toasty warm on this coal. The coal burns really well in stoves and is not too difficult to light. It is called Calco Smokeless and is a mixture of briquettes and nuggets. (see the photo above taken in my back yard)

If you buy three bags or more at a time you will get it for just €14 per 40Kg bag. So are you are asking me where is this bargain to be had??

The small privately owned business is located in Tralee. They will deliver in the Tralee area free of charge. If you are outside the town you will have to collect. I am all for small enterprises and therefore very happy to give these guys a go.

Here are the contact details.

Econ Fuels
Monavalley Industrial Estate
(just off the "Fat Mile" and
opposite DPL builders suppliers)
Tralee
086-8320050
066-4011099

Inset Stove Design and Testing Part 2

2011-10-31T19:52:00.008Z

Insert Stove

Design Factors and Testing

Part 2


An Inset Stove called Firewarm

So to recap -

STANDARD TYPE STOVE:

A standard stove is simply a single sealed box. It can be made of iron - steel -or other fireproof material. Let us simply call this:

BOX ONE.

A controllable amount of air comes in one end to feed oxygen to the fire - and hot gasses and smoke goes out the other end and up the chimney. The heat from the fire is dispersed both by radiant and convection means from all sides of the stove.

INSET STOVE:

An Inset or Insert stove, by contrast, is stuck into the wall or chimney breast and therefore it cannot radiate or convect heat - except from the front. That leaves 5 other surfaces which cannot give out any heat

An Inset Stove has TWO BOXES, one inside the other. The inside box is a complete stove in and by itself.

The outer box is there for ONE PURPOSE ONLY. It is there to create convection air channels to take the heat from the sides, back, and top of the fire box, and GET THAT HEAT OUT INTO THE ROOM. This box let us call it:

BOX TWO.

BASIC TESTS FOR INSET STOVES

Apart from getting the fire to burn well and fully controllably in BOX NUMBER ONE, an inset stove needs to have a convection air current established in BOX NUMBER TWO (the outer box, in order to take the heat from the back -sides and top of the stove out and into the room.

TEST NUMBER ONE

What we are testing:

Is the burn rate of the fire fully controllable? This is a basic test for any type of solid fuel stove.

This test is really easy to establish. When the fire is fully lighted and burning really hot, simply turn down both the primary and secondary air controls fully.

The fire should immediately begin to dim down and within five minutes or so should be burning a dim red. After an hour or so - if the stove is in very good airtight condition, the fire should go out completely.

Most stoves are not completely airtight - so the fire may not completely die down but may continue to burn. However, it should only burn at a really very low rate!!

If it continues to burn at a faster rate, you have a faulty stove. The problem could be one of several things. Here are a few to think about:

(a)    Poor door seals.
(b)    Poorly fitting air vents.
(c)    Joints in the stove sections not properly sealed.
(d)    A crack or break in the stove wall. This could happen in manufacture, shipping or fitting.
(e)    And - of course, the possibility of bad design!!

In the next post I will publish a simple test that is very easy to do, and is specific to inset stoves.

Blacksmith Artisan and Inset Stove Design Part 1

2011-10-30T23:32:00.008Z

How an Inset Stove

Should Work - part 1

Some concern about the functioning of a friends Blacksmith Artisan inset stove has sparked this series of posts concerning the design, efficiency, and function of inset stoves generally.

Above is a diagram of a typical inset stove. An inset stove is essentially two boxes - one inside the other.

TWO BOXES

(1) THE INNER OR FIRE BOX

The inner box is the "Fire Box" in which the fire burns. It usually has two air supplies, a primary air supply which allows air to come in underneath the fire, and a secondary air supply which allows air in above the fire. In some designs the secondary air is arranged so as it acts as an air wash to keep the door glass cleaner by wafting the combustion fumes away from the glass.

(2) THE OUTER BOX

The outer casing forms the "Convection Heating System". It is absolutely vital that the air in the "Convection System" DOES NOT MIX IN ANY WAY with the air used for combustion. If it does mix, at the least it will cause the stove to be very inefficient, and at the worst, it may allow noxious fumes into the room.

Possible causes which might allow the two air flows to mix are:

(1) a crack in the casing, or

(2) poorly sealed joints, or

(3) bad design.

WARNING

COMBUSTION AIR AND CONVECTION AIR

SHOULD NOT MIX

The Vital and Distinguishing Part of an Inset Stove

The distinguishing and vital part of an inset stove - and clearly different from a free-standing stove, is the outer "Box" or "convection airway" which causes air to circulate in and around the back, sides, and top of the inner box or "Fire Box" - thus carrying the heat from these surfaces out into the room..

Without a properly functioning convection system, an inset stove would be no better than a simple door on a fireplace, as the heat from the back, sides and top of the stove would simply be lost up the chimney..

TWO SEPERATE AIR SYSTEMS

How should the air flow systems work in an "Inset Stove"?

First point to remember is that there are - 2 - TWO DISTINCT AIR FLOW SYSTEMS to consider. The FIRST rule is that these two air flows should not mix.

I will write further on this very soon. Look out for the next post on this subject.

Heat or Eat - Screw the Environment

2011-10-29T22:17:00.003+01:00

By next year

the Irish Government

will have almost 20% tax

on Home Heating Oil

Heating oil prices are currently pushing towards €900 per fill. Last time I checked the quote was €835 per 1000L. The Irish government is soon going to add another hunk of tax onto to this price - in the next couple of months in fact.

They will add a further 8.40% Carbon Tax - on top of which will be loaded VAT at 13.50% that adds up to 9.534%. The current cost of a fill at €835 will increase to €914.60.

Most households use a fill and a half over the winter months. The yearly heating cost will rise to €1371.90. Plus of course add in your electrical usage and any stoves or fires you use.

What is my answer?

Well I have decided to go more with coal as the main heating method. Yes - - I full well know that it is more carbon intensive - and that by using it - it goes against environmental policy and the government’s policy.

Reduce Carbon or Stay Warm

Buy hey - it is cheaper a lot cheaper - and if the government used some joined-up-thinking, they might figure that people - at least ones like me - who have to watch their money carefully, will go with the cheaper way of heating regardless. Efficient stoves and using smokeless coal at €14 per 40Kg bag.

The carrot will always work better than the stick - not rocket science!! If poorer people are expected to go "Green" and "Environmentally Friendly" then there will have to be financial inducements to do so. Like, may I suggest, cost-price and government subsidised carbon fuel alternatives like biomass and wood briquettes etc. at really attractive prices. Instead of the price inflated and highly taxed current situation.

In the next post I will discuss the use of coal in stoves and give some pointers on coal price and availability.

Sustainability Stresses our Poorer Citizens

So am I going against the Sustainable Energy ethic? You bet ya - as long as the "Green" movement penalises the less well-off!! As it stands, sustainable energy is a luxury for the rich.

Blacksmith Stove Review Part 4 - Alert -

2011-10-28T22:35:00.017+01:00

Possible Problems with the

Blacksmith Artisan

I have been doing some close up checking of an installed Blacksmith “Artisan” inset stove. I recon that there are fundamental problems with the level of heat output, and with the hot air convection from the back and sides of the stove

There would appear to be no convection of heat from anything other than the exposed front of the stove. How do I come to that conclusion?

In a normal freestanding stove, heat is dispersed from the back, the sides, and the top of the stove. In the Artisan inset, there are no sides, back or top. The only exposed surface is the front.

If the heat from the sides, back and top of the stove is to be used in the house and not dispersed up the chimney, it would have to be gathered, by air convection, from the hot surfaces of the fire box.

One of the Convection Air intake vents seen on the right side

Looking at the stove, it would appear to have the necessary features for this convection air flow to happen. It has two air intake slots at floor level either side of the frame which roughly 8 x 4 cm.

Hot Air exit grill on top?? - The Air-Wash damper knob on the right?

It has a large grill, in the frame above the door, which runs the full width of the stove. I would assume that this grill is an exit grill for the hot convection air to get into the room.

Here is the dilemma:

Air is drawn into both of the intake slots - I checked this with a sheet of paper held near the slots, and sure enough, there is a good flow of air which sucks the paper onto the opening.

In the course of things, you would expect this air flow to be heated around the sides and back of the stove and then to exit as hot air through the slotted vent at the top, wouldn’t you?

But here lies the core of the problem. Instead of an outflow of hot air from the upper grills, air is being sucked in causing a cooling effect. I checked this simply by placing a length of tissue across the top of the grill - it is clearly being sucked in - instead of being gently blown out by the hot air convection.

The airwash damper does not affect the air flow - nor should it - it should have a seperate air way. So where is all of this air from the room going? What is this telling us?

What appears to be happening is that air is being sucked in both at the top grill, where hot air should be coming out, and at the bottom air intake slots. This air is effectively cooling the front of the stove and reducing the heat from the one radiant surface.

Poor Heat Output from this stove

The manufacturer rates the stove output at 5 Kw. I have no means of measuring this in any scientific way - but let me say this much, it is well under 3 Kw of heat when compared to a 3 Kw electric heater.

Now, I am hoping that this case might be just a one off problem, and hopefully it does not represent a problem of poor design.

Contacted Blacksmith Stoves

I contacted Blacksmith and had a callback from one of their senior reps. however, he could not directly answer the technical questions, did not seem to understand the principle of the convection process, or of the need for the combustion air and convection air to be completely separate. I was left no wiser by the call.

I have asked for some technical diagrams of the Artisan stove which might clearly show the layout of the airways. I am hoping to have these early next week, and that they will clarify things a bit.

If the convection airways are incorrectly designed and unable to gather heat properly from the back and sides of the firebox, the efficiency of this stove could be no greater than 30% to 40% rather than the 70% claimed. The heat output to the room based on what I experienced is no-where remotely close to the 5 Kw quoted.

I will also request a copy of the independent labs test results, especially the details of the criteria used to determining mean output and fuel to room transfer efficiency.

Best Wait and See

We, that is myself and the owners of the Artisan stoves, will await some technical clarification and assistance, and detailed diagrams and instructions, and I will inform this blog of the outcome.

In the meantime - Caveat Emptor (buyer beware) applies. Personally, if I were considering a purchase or installation of the Blacksmith “Artisan” stove, I would postpone until the design, heat output, and efficiency can be fully assessed.

I will post information as it becomes available.

ADDENDUM:
Added 11th January 2012

I have since received a copy of the standards certification cert of the Artisan stove along with a set of technical drawings showing an exploded view of the stove from the people at Blacksmith. It all looks 100% kosher. As far as I can tell from the drawings, all the bits are there and in the right places.

I acknowledge that I have only closely observed one installation and that any inefficiencies may well be associated only with this one stove and installation.

The bottom line however, as far as this one installation goes, is that the output of this stove is substantially less than a similar size of stove, the Blacksmith "Anvil", which I have no hesitation in recommending. I would however put the output of heat from the inset "Artisan" as somewhat disappointing.

I would also point out that I have not so far been able to compare the Artisan inset against similar stoves by different manufacturers.

Multi-Fuel Stove Tips & Tricks part 1 of 4

2011-10-26T19:12:00.002+01:00

Multi-Fuel Stove

Tips & Tricks

for economy and efficiency

part 1 of 4

1. The Stove Itself.

If you don’t have a well-designed stove in good condition - you simply won’t get good heat output or fuel efficiency.

Apart from superficially looking nice and pretty, a stove must have certain well-designed and properly functioning technical features in order to work efficiently and have a reasonable working life.

Fire Grates.

The fire grate/s should be cast in high chromium iron in order to sustain high temperatures without burning out and warping. Check this carefully before you buy any stove, or you could find yourself replacing the grates after a couple of years, this is especially true if you use smokeless coals which can burn at very high temperatures. The grates are quite an expensive part of a stove. They are complex in shape and come in several parts. This is because they are usually remotely activated by an external lever to move them in order to shake down excess ash from the fire.

The Importance of Air.

Any stove should essentially be an airtight box, so having good door seals and well-jointed sections etc. is of the essence. A stove should have precise controls on both the primary and secondary air inlets. It is the mixture of fuel and air that causes combustion. Control the air and you control the level of combustion.

The Primary Air Inlet.

The primary air inlet or control is the one underneath the firebox that allows air to come up under and permeate through the burning fuel. This is the most important control to regulate the rate of burn. It should be capable of controlling the air supply to the fire in a quick and accurate way.

With some fuels, especially smokeless coals, it can be almost closed down completely. This will give slow burn and will keep the stove going for up to 9 hours or so over night or while you are at work. Slow constant heat 24 - 7 will keep a house very comfortable and stop fluctuations in temperature. When a house cools down, it can take up to half a day or more to get it fully warm again.

It takes a bit of practice to get the right settings. Basically, open the primary air right up when lighting a fire, as the fire gets going, begin to turn down the air. When the fire is good and hot further reduce the air until the fire starts to dim down. At that point gradually - over a few minutes - open the valve a fraction at a time, until you reach a point of burn that you require.

Secondary Air Inlet.

The secondary air inlet allows an air supply in above the burning fuel in order to allow burn-off of the gasses released from the fuel. I personally do not ever open this inlet, as I use mainly smokeless coal which tends to glow rather than create a flame. Opening the secondary air supply, where gasses don’t need to be flame burned, can reduce the efficiency of the burn. When wood is burned, the secondary air supply needs to be opened a crack in order to get full and proper combustion of the gasses released.

Subsequent posts on this subject will be spaced out over a few weeks - so keep a look out for them.

Batteries Super Capacitors Obsolete

2011-10-24T11:41:00.004+01:00

This Might just be

the BIGGEST Thing

in Energy Storage History

Researchers from the National University of Singapore Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Initiative are developing what might turn out to be a world first in energy storage - a fabric like foldable energy-storage membrane.

The basis of the discovery is a polystyrene-based polymer soft, foldable membrane. This membrane does not hold gel or liquid electrolytes which are less stable. It behaves the same as an electrolyte in a capacitor.

The material, converted from organic waste and sandwiched between two graphite plates, can store charge at 0.2 farads per square centimetre. This is an extraordinary amount of charge if the quoted figures are accurate. Ordinary capacitors typically store a maximum of 1 microfarad 1/1,000,000 of a Farad per square centimetre.Than means this discovery - if true - has a capacity 200,000 greater than a standard capacitor WOW!!!!!

In fact this announcement, if fully verified, is ground breaking, Volta and Faraday would be envious, BUT I am holding back my excitement - because I have been disappointed so many times in the past, by EEstor, Ecolocap, Fluidic Energy etc.

Mr Wang Yuzhan, Dr Xie and Ms Wang Qian the inventor

The key inventor on the team is a young woman called Wang Qian, seen on the right above, who actually devised the breakthrough. But as usual, the head guys and the men crowd-in and take most of the lime-light - oh hell - when will it ever be different!! Will Ms Wang Qian's name go into the history books?

Ultra Low Cost - Ultra Stable - Ultra Capacitors?

If this research effort holds true to the finished commercial product, the cost of high-capacity energy storage will be dramatically reduced. Currently, ball-park costs are about $7 US to store a one farad charge using gel or liquid electrolytes. The research team estimate their membrane to cost no more than about $0.62 sixty two cents per farad.

Added to the financial advantages are: (1) Very High energy density and capacity, (2) Long term and mechanical stability, (3) Safety.

The cost - performance ratio of this capacitor membrane would appear to way surpasses those of lithium ion batteries and even the latest supercapacitors.

The team have successfully filed a US patent for this extraordinary membrane energy storage technology.

I wish the team and the project every success. I really hope this one gets to the finishing line - but I have learned, from past experience, not to hold my breath in anticipation of the outcome.

LINK: http://blog.nus.edu.sg/digital2011/2011/10/02/national-university-of-singapore-researchers-have-devised-the-worlds-first-energy-storage-membrane/#comments

Fuel Poverty Ireland

2011-10-19T20:50:00.006+01:00

Minister for Energy Pat Rabbitte

FUEL POVERTY
this winter

Could Kill 10 Times
the Number of Road Deaths

A killer will stalk the Irish countryside this winter. He will kill perhaps ten times more people than traffic accidents will kill in a full year. What is the nature of this rapacious killer? What are we doing to prevent this mass destruction of human life?

Many of our most vulnerable citizens are faced this winter with the stark choice of EAT or HEAT. Several published estimates indicate that the sad outcome could run to several THOUSANDS of deaths.

STOP - Think about it for a moment please - - - - - TEN TIMES x10 the number of people killed on the roads. This many people could perish miserably - simply because of the cost of fuel.

Resources?

Road traffic deaths draw a huge investment from the government in the form of

(1) Police input into prevention.

(2) speed cameras.

(3) Speed vans.

(4) Massive advertising budget.

Hypothermia and cold related deaths on the other hand draw just about NO INVESTMENT. In fact, the government see fit to make the situation worse by taxation, and by lack of price control on essential home heating fuels.

Taxation is a Massive Factor

A massive contributory factor is the higher Irish cost of fuel, heavy added Republic of Ireland taxation burdens. These include an 8.40% carbon tax, on top of which is added a 13.50% VAT rate.

Just up the road in the North of Ireland the VAT rate is 5% and no carbon tax. Additionally the oil retailers are some 10% cheaper up North than in the Rip-Off Republic. Are the Government doing anything to control the rip-off merchants when a semi-state company, Bord na Mona, is leading the wolf pack?

The man you see above could substantially change this situation, if the will to make any REAL changes existed, and bring the cost of heating oil down by some 20+% - thereby greatly easing the burden.

Don't have the death of thousands on your conscience Minister - when you can now easily mitigate the situation. Please act swiftly.

Callous Helping Hand for the Fuel Poor

2011-10-04T19:32:00.003+01:00

Sutton Oils

aka Bord na Mona

Callous in their Assistance

for Fuel Poverty

Sutton Oils have installed a self service Home Heating Oil pump to assist those who cannot afford to order a delivery. Ahhhh - ain't that nice of them - you might say.

HELL NO - it is not one bloody bit nice at all - because they are charging roughly a 15% premium on their already high price for the privilege of self-serving and self-delivering your own oil, and up front payment into the bargain.

They are skimming from the very people they say they are helping. Shame on you and bad move Sutton Oils aka Bord na Mona!!!

Ireland's Heating Scandal

2011-10-04T14:04:00.002+01:00

High Fuel Poverty Rate in Ireland

Oh go on add to it

Tax it some more!!

A couple of posts back I asked on heating oil prices, "who is ripping the public off in the Rip-Off Republic". I have been trying to answer my own question since. So far I have come up with the following:

The biggest contributor 

to the Fuel Poverty Crisis 

in the Republic of Ireland

 is the Irish Government. 

The oil companies are certainly NOT BLAMELESS. But, they are the lesser offenders.

Here is how it breaks down:

Gallagher Fuels N. Irl. £560 for 1000L or €652 inc 5%VAT
Cheaper Oil (Oh Yea) N. Irl. £587 for 1000L or €694 inc. 5% VAT

Take away the 5% UK VAT:

Gallagher Fuels you get €621
Cheaper Oil (Oh Yea) you now get €661

Add the HEAVY 8.40% Irish Carbon Tax:

Gallagher Fuels beomes €673
Cheaper Oil (Oh Yea) goes up to €716

Then add the very special Rip-off Republic VAT at 13.5% icing on top of the Carbon Tax Cake:

Gallagher Fuels peaks at €764
Cheaper Oil (Oh Yea) rises to €812

So after being robbed by our own government the prices still should be lower in the Republic. Somewhere between €764 at the cheapest to €812 at the dearest.

God bless the Rip-Off Republic. It is about time the Irish Government taxed the rich and not burdened the poor with their Tax on essential fuels.

Mind you - the Irish Government are doing a lot to encourage Cross-Border trade - especially in Home Heating Oil!!

Heating Oil Price Rip-Off Scandal

2011-10-04T11:22:00.005+01:00

Heating-Oil Price Scandal

The Plot Thickens

I have been doing a bit more digging on prices of Home Heating Oil and another obvious scandal appears to be emerging.

Prices from lowest to highest quoted on the Internet in Irish Republic per 1000 litres:

Jones Oil - - €815
Emo Oil - - €820
Sutton Oil (Bord na Mona) - - €827

Do you notice anything about these prices? Can you observe any pattern? Well - there is less than 1.50% variation in the quoted price from lowest to highest.

But does that 1.50% maximum variation in the prices quoted say anything to you????? Does that start any alarm bell ringing in you head??

The big red light that is flashing in my head says: "PRICE FIXING CARTELS" and "BEWARE RIP-OFF SCENE"

By comparison the lowest and highest price I found in Northern Ireland per 1000l:

Gallagher Fuels £560 for 1000L or €652
Cheaper Oil (Oh Yea) £587 for 1000L or €694

Republic Price is 27% higher
than N. Ireland price

Apart from the GLARING - SICKENING - IMMORAL price difference with the Republic - do you notice any other factor in these prices?

The difference between the lowest and the highest is a healthy and good-for-business 6.50%. While in the Rip-Off Republic there has to be price fixing going on when the greatest price difference to be found is a insignificant and piddling 1.50%.

Ireland - you never lost it - you are still the king of the Rip-Off.

Please write - phone, or email your representatives - Government Offices - The Competition Authority - The News Papers and Radio - and get this Rip-Off story out there and dealt with.

Oil Companies or Government Robbery?

2011-10-04T00:14:00.001+01:00

QUESTION

Home Heating Oil Prices

Who is Robbing the Irish Householders?

The Oil Companies?
or the
Irish Government?
or maybe
BOTH OF THEM

I have just been checking out the price of Home Heating Oil in Northern Ireland against that in the Republic of Ireland. And do you know what???

There is a mighty big rip-off going on.

In Northern Ireland 1000 litres of Home Heating oil will cost you somewhere between the cheapest at £563, and the dearest at £587.

Put that into Euro and you get:

Cheapest €659 per 1000 Litres and the
Dearest at €688 per 1000 Litres.

Jones Oil is quoting €815 just now per 1000 Litres of Kerosene.

http://www.jonesoil.ie/home-heating/

EMO Oil is quoting €820.04 per 1000 Litres of Kerosene.

http://www.emo.ie/default.aspx

The cheaper Republic price above is over 18.50% DEARER

than the HIGHEST Northern Ireland price.

The dearer Republic price is just under 19.50% DEARER

than the HIGHEST Northern price.

are

being

Ripped-Off

again!!

What

NEW?

Question is WHO is doing the most ripping-off?

Please write or phone the Competition Authority and complain about this major rip-off.
http://www.tca.ie/ContactUs.aspx

The Competition Authority
14 Parnell Square
Dublin 1
Tel: 01 8045400 (intl: +353-1-8045400)
Fax: 01 8045401 (intl: +353-1-8045401)
LoCall: 1890 220 224

The Cost of Attic Insulation Grants 2

2011-09-30T10:44:00.000+01:00

SEAI Attic Insulation Grants

May end up costing more than

the saving offered!!

I had a couple of enquiries regarding my DIY attic insulation project. To answer the questions: The insulation I used is called "Space Blanket", see the above picture. It is essentially pretty standard fibreglass - but it is inside a plastic tube. One side of the plastic is a silvery heat reflecting foil.

The fact that the stuff is enclosed in plastic stops air passing through the fibreglass and thus limits heat loss. The reflective foil acts as a thermal reflector and also increases the overall efficiency.

I found the "Space Blanker" insulation very easy to handle, it rolled out effortlessly and "inflated" to the proper thickness very quickly.

I purchased it at HomeBase in Killarney. At the time I bought it, there was a special offer running and I got it at a substantial discount. Keep and eye on HomeBase as they run promotions from time to time.

Attic Insulation Cost Grants SEAI

2011-09-29T22:14:00.004+01:00

SEAI Attic Insulation Grants

Worth the Hassle?

Two years ago I wrote that the SEAI Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland's grant for attic insulation was simply not worth the trouble and the hoops you have to jump through to get it.

Do I still hold that point of view? Is it worth you while doing a lot of form filling and having to have a BER assessment done to get the now reduced attic grant of €200?

Sure they give you a bit towards the BER assessment - but if you were charging for your time by the hour - bustin' your ass form filling and chasing down the grant, it would not pay you to go the SEAI route - especially if all you need to do is insulate your attic. Now, if you were contemplating a much bigger insulation job it would pay to chase down the grants.

Not Worth the Bother

IMHO it is still not worth the bother of going the SEAI route to add a bit of insulation to you attic. The "approved" installers can fairly charge for time and then you have the cost of materials on the top of it. If you are able to do DIY - putting down an extra layer in the attic is a simple job.

This is especially true if you use the newer type of roll-out fibreglass insulation which is enclosed in a plastic tube, and has a silvered foil on one side. It is called "Space Blanket". Some of the advantages it make the job a LOT easier, (a) you don't get covered in prickly fibreglass particles, (b) it is very easy to roll out. - other benefits (c) it also has higher insulation qualities.

So would I go the SEAI route for attic insulation - NO - NO - NO I most certainly would not. But then I did a DIY job and got the insulation at reduced price and did the job for less than the value of the grant!!

Irish Health Service Sick

2011-09-29T17:45:00.005+01:00

SICK - SICK

Irish Health Service

Truly sick Health Service Executive is more like it. Our paper shuffling monster is eating the good out of the economy. Absenteeism in the Western branch of HSE alone is costing €15 taken out of the pocket of every man, woman, and child in the country - or €60,000,000 a year to pay for HSE hangovers, monday morning-itis, and snotty noses of the pampered workers.

When will Ireland get its act together - and treat the Public Servants just the same as those working in the private sector - introduce them to the REAL WORLD.

I for one am completely pissed off with the high pay, the pensions, the time off and a dozen other benefits that the rest of us can only dream of. We are being taxed to pay for these perks for public servants.

This madness has got to end - and soon!!!

LED Lamps Comparison of 6 watt types

2011-09-28T14:55:00.003+01:00

A Quick Check-back

on some 6 Watt LED Lamps

These 6watt LEDS have very poor light output -

Less than a 5 watt of similar design

The above type of 6watt lamps are IMHO to be avoided. The light output for a 6watt LED is very poor. In fact, they give less light than a 5watt LED of similar design.

The gold coloured one on the left above is by far the poorest light output - I wouldn't bother with any more of these ever! The silver ones on the right, give a little better output - one advantage is the price is very low on these - I guess the Chinese acknowledge they have a loser and have priced it accordingly. They seem OK for holding output and none of mine have fried as yet. They might be worth looking at on economic grounds. At $5 for a GU10 LED that works but not as bright as a 6 watt should be - yea - good value enough if you are happy with the lower light output.

This is the star performer of the bunch - light output similar to 35Watt Halogen

The above type of 6 watt LED bulb I have found to be the best of the current bunch for light output. It is recognisable by the three separate small lenses rather than the other design which has all the LED under one large lens.

It matches a 35watt12 volt halogen MR16. problem is here - the Chinese recognise they have a winner and have bumped up the already higher price in recent weeks by about 20%. I am sure that the high level pricing will not hold, I for one will not be buying anymore at the higher price.

Fireplace Doors and Stoves Some Suggestions

2011-09-27T18:14:00.000+01:00


Introducing my Custom-made Fireplace Door to the opening

Some Suggestions

on Fireplace Doors

1. I would really only recommend a simple type fireplace door where there is a wrap-round "Firebird" or other make of back-boiler fitted. The reason for this is because the radiant heat to the room is greatly reduced by the glass door. Instead, the heat stays inside the chimney breast. With a wrap-round back boiler it can effectively transfer this extra heat to radiators, one of which should be fitted in the same room as the fire. The room then will be very adequately heated.

2. Where a chimney is on a gable or outside wall, you are going to lose out on some of the conserved heat, because part of that heat in the chimney will simply be warming the wall cavity and the outside of the house. You might need to consider this factor.

3. The answer to the above situations is to fit a stove rather than a fireplace door. This could either be a regular free-standing stove or an inset type stove. The inset stove is great where space is a problem or where there may be a lot of building work involved in fitting a regular stove. An inset stove however is less efficient than a regular free-standing stove and is a lot more expensive.

4. As with all solid fuel fires, it will take a bit of learning as to how best to operate the fire. What types of fuel and their mixture will take a bit of learning. A blazing fire will create too much heat and might lead to damage to the chimney breast. Draught too is very important and being able to properly control the air going through the fire is vital.

5. On the question of draught generally and of draughts in the room, a fireplace door will massively reduce draughts in the room, as it will limit the amount of air being drawn by the chimney. A open fire chimney is the same as a huge vacuum cleaner sucking air out of the room - it will cause draughts from every door and crack. The fireplace door will 95% stop this happening - and even when there is no fire going, the room will be cozier because of the lack of draughts.

Solid Fuel Stove Insert Review part 3

2011-09-25T23:28:00.005+01:00


Blacksmith Artisan stove - showing air intake vent bottom right

Blacksmith "Artisan"

Insert Stove

part 3

This is the 3rd part of a look at an interesting stove insert which has been designed to fit directly into a fireplace opening without too many modifications to the fireplace or surround.

The insert stove gathers heat from the sides and back of the firebox by way of air channels. Cold air is taken in through two vents at the bottom of the frame, one either side, close to the ground. The air is heated in the space between the outer casing and the firebox, and the hot air escapes out through a slotted vent at the top edge of the frame. The air moves only by way of convection, no fan assist, through quite narrow airways.

Top Slots are the warm air exit vents - The knob is a damper

Damper Function and Operation not clearly outlined

The air heated in and around the firebox is vented through the slots at the top of the casing. The silvery knob operates a damper. The function and use of the damper is not properly explained in the somewhat inadequate user instruction manual. The damper knob pulls in or out about an inch or so. There is, however, no clear indication in the instructions as to which is OPEN and which is CLOSED. For an item costing the best part of a grand, the instructions looks more like it came with goods bought in a pound shop. Blacksmith could really do a lot better here.

A Question of Efficiency?

The efficiency of an insert stove of this type is in no way comparable to a regular stove. My guess is that this stove is perhaps 20%- 30% less efficient than a free standing stove with air circulating freely all around it. That said, it is an elegant solution to, fairly effortlessly, making an open fire 200% more efficient, and, at the same time, making it safer, cleaner, and longer burning.

Price and Effectiveness

At the list price of €870 is is quite expensive as stoves go. Its stated output is 5Kw and 72% efficiency. The Anvil stove, by way of comparison, sells at €450 has a stated output of 6Kw and efficiency of 80%. The Anvil has a stated 20% higher output - and a stated 11% higher efficient, although I would think the difference is perhaps greater than this.

Next post on this subject - I will round up with some more details and a bit of feedback from the actual use of the stove.

ADDENDUM:
Added 11th January 2012

I have received a copy of the certification certificate of the Artisan stove along with a set of technical drawings showing an exploded view of the stove from Blacksmith. It all looks 100% kosher. As far as I can tell from the drawings, all the bits are in the right places.

I acknowledge that I have only closely observed one installation and that any inefficiencies may well be associated only with this one stove and installation.

The bottom line however, as far as this one installation goes, is that the output of this stove is substantially less than a similar size of stove, the Blacksmith "Anvil", which I have no hesitation in recommending. I would however put the output of heat from the inset "Artisan" as somewhat disappointing.

Fireplace Door Report part 2

2011-09-22T22:52:00.002+01:00

Experimental Fireplace Door

Report

part 2

Measuring the Temperature of the Stonework just above the Door

After some time into using the fireplace door, it became obvious that it was drawing too much air from the underfloor inlet, and thus causing the fire to burn too brightly and without sufficient control. The problem; the Baxi air inlet control valve was only a very loose fitting butterfly "flap".

The answer to the problem required that the butterfly valve, in the Baxi underfloor unit, be modified, because, in its present form, it was incapable of sufficient control of the now much higher pressure of air being drawn through the vent.

To do this I cut two "washers" from some thin silicone rubber sheet, and sandwiched these with a circular piece of aluminium to the back of the butterfly flap. This required a good bit of careful cutting and trimming, as the end result needed to be more or less airtight.

Silicone Rubber sheet and a circle of Aluminium to make an airtight valve

When I eventually got the valve to fit properly, I found it was very tight to turn and not at all easy to adjust. The answer to this problem, was to lubricate the affected part of the inside of the air supply tube along with the edges of the rubber washers with some silicone grease. Now the adjustment was smooth!!

Now, at long last, I had an airtight (more or less) butterfly air intake valve. Which was capable of fairly precise control of the primary air supply and thereby gave me.precise control of the burn rate.

The Next Problem

Silicone Compound completely sealing around the edges

The next problem to present itself, was air leakage around the door frame. The only answer to this was to completely seal all around the door frame edges with some silicone filler.

The Gained Advantages

These above modifications gave me the degree of air control I needed in order to get a fully controlled burn. One fill of the fire with smokeless coal now will keep it burning now for 6+ hours, and it is even possible to get overnight burn.

Another major advantage was the noticable increase of heat transferred to the radiators via my County Kerry made "Firebird" high efficiency back boiler.

1.50m up the chimney 5hrs after the fire had gone out 28 deg C

Yet another advantage of the air tightness was the heat transferred to the fabric of the chimney breast.

Initially, I was a little worried that there might be too much heat accumulate in the brick and stonework. In fact a SEAI official stated to me in a phone conversation that this was a prime reason for their not promoting fireplace doors.

This worry however has proved so far not to be a problem. The heat does build up, over several hours, to about 40+ degrees, and it is retained for many hours after the fire has gone out. The chimney become a sort of storage heater!!

A bucket of coal now delivers me exceedingly good return in terms of heat output. I am most pleased with the experiment thus far.

Experimental Fireplace Door Report

2011-09-21T23:49:00.001+01:00

My Experimental Fireplace Door

Update on my Experimental

Fireplace Door

Some seventeen months ago I installed a custom-made fireplace door in my 18"+ fireplace opening. The door was made by a very kind friend who is a skilled engineering researcher and designer. It is basically a very simple fire resistant glass door with a controllable air inlet and a good degree of air-tightness.

I have used the fireplace fairly extensively in the intervening period. I found it necessary to make a number of modifications to the set-up.

The set-up

At the time of fitting the fireplace door, I had an existing 18" "Firebird" back-boiler fitted over a "Baxi" under-floor draught unit. The Baxi draught unit had served very well over the years to produce good burning.

The new door, which had been made to measure fitted into the existing opening flawlessly and immediate results were obvious.

1. Draughts in the room, which had been created by the chimney, were completely eliminated.
2. There was much better heat to the back-boiler - heating the radiators better.
3. The radiant heat from the fire into the room was greatly reduced - perhaps by 50+%
4. The chimney breast got hotter.

Further Findings

After using the door over an extended period I made several more observations which ultimately lead to making a couple of modifications to the set-up.

In the next post I will detail these modifications and the results - about which I am very pleased.

Stove Review - Blacksmith Artisan part 2

2011-09-21T17:37:00.001+01:00

The Manufacturers dimensions for the "Artisan" inset stove

The Blacksmith Artisan

a closer look

part 2

Some Specifications Examined

Dimensions and Sizing

The manufacturers specifications state that the "Artisan" inset stove is good for both 16" and 18" fireplace openings. I would be inclined to dispute that statement.as the total width of the stove is 488mm or 19.2 inches. Assuming you have an exact 18" fireplace opening, that only gives you a fraction over half an inch both sides to get an air tight seal against the edges. I really think that this is not enough of a flange width to do a proper job. If your opening is anything at all over the 18 inches wide - then forget it altogether.

I am inclined to think that this stove is good only for 16" openings. Before considering it you would need to very carefully measure your existing fireplace opening for height, width and depth.

A Section from the Blacksmith brochure

Fitting the Stove

The specifications in the brochure say that this inset stove can be fitted - "without removing fireback".

Here again, I would have to disagree. In the case I observed, the fireback had to be partly chiseled out to accommodate the stove properly into the opening. Additionally, some of the tiles above the stove had to be cut with an angle grinder in order to fit in the stove.

A Typical Fireback found in open fires

All that said - the work involved was not extensive or very difficult to achieve - but it certainly was not as simple as the brochure would have you believe.

Again, in this case, you would need to consider the possible work entailed before deciding on this stove.

I will write some further posts on the Blacksmith Artisan over the next week or so - keep and eye out for them.

Blacksmith Fireplace Inserts

2011-09-19T21:12:00.004+01:00

A Preliminary Look at

The Blacksmith Stove Insert
part 1

Just installed today in my friends house the Blacksmith Artisan inset stove

As my regular readers will know, I have been strongly advocating the getting rid of open fires throughout Ireland because:

1. They are very inefficient - only one fifth of the heat stays in the house, the rest goes straight up the chimney.
2. They cause draughts by sucking air up the chimney - like a great big vacuum cleaner, thus pulling cold air in every little crack and door frame etc.
3. They cause accidents and house-fires.
4. They allow smell and smoke to permeate the room.

Instead I believed it would benefit both ecologically and financially, the individual and the Irish economy in general, to install either stoves or fireplace doors.

Another Fireplace Option

I am presenting and examining, in the next few related Blog posts, a 3rd possible option. This option is a complete stove, called the "Blacksmith Artisan" which is made in the form of an insert, that fits straight into a fireplace opening with the minimum of building work.The manufacturer says it fits both 16 inch and 18 inch openings.

A friend has just installed this option and has been kind enough to allow me to both photograph the stove and to closely examine it while functioning.

Manufacturers Technical Specification

Output: 5 KW (17,000 BTU)

Efficiency: Up to 72%

Weight: 91 Kgs.

Flue Diameter: 125mm (5”) Nominal -

Top outlet only

• Fits standard 16” and 18” fireplaces without removing fireback

• Primary and Secondary air controls

• Convection and Radiant heat

• Improves home energy rating (BER)

• Suitable for overnight burning

• Certified High Chrome internal castings

• Cast Iron internal back and side bricks

• Large glass door

Blacksmith Stoves,
H-Tec Limited,
City Enterprise Centre,
Waterford Business Park,
Cork Road, Waterford.
Tel: +353 51 845454
Fax: +353 51 845424
www.blacksmithstoves.ie

I will be writing up further details, over the coming weeks or so, on this stove, its price, its performance, and its installation details.

Solar Lights from Empty Bottles

2011-09-16T18:10:00.001+01:00

Solar Lighting from empty Bottles!

Necessity is the

Mother of Invention

A friend posted a link to this YouTube video showing how very poor people in the Philippines are making use of recycled plastic bottles to bring some light into their dim and dark homes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOl4vwhwkW8&feature=youtu.be

The empty bottles are filled with water and a few drops of bleach to keep it from clouding, and are set into a piece of corrugated iron. This is then fixed into the roof. The water-filled bottles act as efficient light conduits and produce up to the equivalent of 55 watts incandescent light inside the otherwise dark homes. The effect has improved the lives of hundreds of people.

The video created an immediate resonance with me. I find it so heart-warming to see such inventiveness under very difficult and deprived conditions.

We all can learn from these wonderful people.

Ultra Capacitors & Nano-Technology Batteries?

2011-09-15T22:42:00.001+01:00

What has happened to the Greatly Hyped

Super Capacitors and Mega Batteries?

Answer - NOTHING!! I have been writing about several companies for several years who have hyped on about the way they are going to change energy usage - cars, trucks and buses - computers - wind generating stations etc. - with their fantastic super batteries and their UltraCapacitors of mega capacity.

EEstor, Ecolocap, NextAlternative, and Fluidic Energy, to drop just three names - four actually - out of a long enough list - into the bag, have all produced NOTHING for the consumer, other than rumours and hearsay.

When will we see an electric car with a 300 mile per charge capacity, a laptop with a 20 hour charge etc?. - I would not hold my breath.

Ecolocap appeared to have produce hard scientific proof of such capacity in a battery over 16 months ago, there was talk of production units in India and elsewhere - but - for such an astounding product with a potentially massive market, and a world waiting with bated breath - NOTHING on the shelves as yet - NOTHING concrete so to speak.

EEstor have been keeping us holding our breath for many time longer than Ecolocap - they have produced by way of a commercial product: NOTHING.

O Arse - why do I get my hopes up??

GEC New 15Mw Wind Turbine

2011-09-12T10:20:00.000+01:00

GEC's Massive new Wind Turbine

With MRI type

Super-ConductingTechnology

GEC are developing a huge new turbine which it says can generate a nominal 15 MegaWatts of power. That is about five times as much as the largest current designs.

The technology will include a completely new approach to the generator. The basic design will use a gear less annular approach similar to the Enercon.

But unlike Enercon's design, the GEC generator will employ cryogenic cooled MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) technology as used in hospital scanners.

It would seem that this represents the next generation of horizontal axis wind turbine offering a greater level of efficiency and increased power to size ratio.

7pm Bedtime Fuel Poverty in Ireland

2011-09-08T22:59:00.001+01:00

Bed at 7pm to save fuel

Recent SVP Report

The Irish charity SVP has issued a report which highlights the tragedy which haunts many elderly in Ireland. Loneliness is the single greatest issue outlined, it is something which does not need money to rectify.

Another issue it again raises is "Fuel Poverty". The SVP report shows that many elderly people have to go to bed at 7pm to save on fuel costs.

Bord na Mona and Fuel Poverty

I recently raised the issue of fuel costs for the elderly with a senior manager at Bord na Mona, the Irish Semi-State body which controls most of the solid fuel sales in the country. The problems lie in the fact that many elderly people rely entirely on open fires or stoves for heat. The price of coal and other fuels varies a great deal throughout the country but ultimately is controlled by the near monopoly situation which is Bord na Mona.

Bord na Mona distributes solid fuels but also has some retail outlets. It therefore sets a price for coal, wood and peat products which is not necessarily based on the base cost of materials. This is especially true of coal products. The bulk shipped cost of coal and the end product price are two very different things.

Bord na Mona, like all Irish Semi-State bodies is fat and lazy. It pays it's employees very well, maybe not quite as well as the other Semi-State energy company the ESB which has an average wage of €75,000 which is perhaps 40% higher than the general average. Add to the fat and lazy problems - the problem of near monopoly in the marketplace, and you have a real danger that the public may not be best served.

What I refer to by "Fat and Lazy" is a phenomenon in which Ireland proudly holds the world lead, has set the standards, and has massively and adequately demonstrated it to the planet, the phenomenon of the "Self-Serving Institution".

What should be done with Bord na Mona?

If Bord na Mona actually served the people, as a Semi-State body should do,

(1) It's first priority should be to give the best possible value for money to the people, this is not the case.
(2) Secondly, it should make provisions for those who are seriously compromised by age or poverty.

In my, not so humble, opinion, Bord na Mona, like its sister, the ESB does neither of the above. When the phone business and the electricity business was properly opened to hard nosed market forces in Ireland, we saw the prices come down substantially and the service improve. Ergo: Business', which simply wants to turn a profit, can give much better value and return than Semi-State bodies.

Maybe it is time to scrap Bord na Mona and open the solid fuel business up so that the people can get better value for money.

A Government with Deaths on it's hands?

Also the Irish Government, in light of the severe winters we are experiencing, and the poor value returned by the Semi-State energy bodies, needs to take a serious look at fuel poverty, or they will have increasing numbers of deaths on their hands from hypothermia among the poor and elderly.

Only 20% will pay extra for Sustainable Products

2011-09-08T14:07:00.001+01:00

Can't Afford

to be

Eco Friendly?

A recent survey in Malaysia has shown that only 20% are willing to pay extra for sustainable products. Gee - that is something I could have told them without the need for a survey!!! In fact, I would have thought the figure was even smaller.

I might be willing to pay a small amount extra for sustainable fuel but no more than say 5%. If governments want to get the people over to sustainable products and fuels, they will have to do better that the current poor efforts at persuading the people to invest.

SEAI got it totally and completely wrong with wood-pellet heating. They made huge grants available for installing the equipment but neglected to deal with the fuel supply issues.

1. They did not check the availability of fuel. - Not even a phone call to the main supplier.
2. They did not check the quality of available fuels.
3. They didn't even think of grant aiding the fuels as a means of promoting the method.
4. They made no attempt to quality control the supply or installation of equipment.
5. They made no attempt to ensure fair pricing. You could buy equipment at half the price elsewhere.

If you ask someone to invest say €8,000 in a project - you will first have to convince them that they can expect a reasonable return on their money. There are a great deal of unhappy wood-pellet users out there.

Any future efforts at promoting alternative and sustainable power and heating, will have to carry with it a long term guarantee of some sort on the returns in terms of fuel and equipment reliability.

I am just very happy I stuck with my solid fuel stove and oil heating. I have just bought a ton of smokeless coal as it represents much better value than the more eco-friendly alternatives.

.

Does SEAI Assist Dishonest Traders?

2011-08-24T00:06:00.001+01:00

Does SEAI
(Sustainable Energy Authority Ireland)

Assist Dishonest Traders?

Hi Tony

I have read your blog with interest because I have been caught out by a building company registered with the SEI. They did a really bad external insulation job on my home and I have the photos to prove it. I now have a judgement against them and, of course, they say they are going into liquidation!!! The thing is that they are still trading and I was wondering if you have any tips on getting the word out there as I just couldn't bear to see anyone else in my situation. This has cost me thousands to rectify so far and things are still not finished as I have run out of money. Regards.

COMMENT:

I believe that some cowboys benefit by being able to state on their literature that they are SEAI registered. SEAI therefore bears at least some of the blame for poor, dangerous, or dishonest work done by those bearing their apparent seal of approval.

I believe that it is SEAI's responsibility to warn the public where poor workmanship or dishonest trading is carried out by dealers bearing their apparent seal of approval or in other words their registration.

Custom Made Fireplace Doors

2011-08-22T16:32:00.000+01:00

Custom Made

Fireplace Doors

I got another letter requesting specific information or the name of a manufacturer doing custom made fireplace doors.

As far as I know there is no company in the Irish Republic doing custom work of this nature. It would not be in any way cost effective having one-off units made to specific measure and design. I would only guess, but I would suspect a figure of €300 - €500 for a one-off unit would not be out of the way. The only way it would prove economical is to go with standard units. If you check with your heating hardware suppliers they may be able to help you there.

Here is the letter:

Fireplace Doors - Dampers

I desperately need a glass fireplace door with dampers - do you know of anyone, in Co. Mayo or anywhere in the Republic, who can make custom tempered glass fireplace doors (with locks) and adjustable damper?

Thank you.

19 August 2011

LED bulbs an update short Review

2011-08-12T12:27:00.000+01:00

LED Lamps

Short Review and Update

I have been trying a variety of different cheap Chinese LED bulbs over recent months. The quality and quantity of the light output from these lamps has improved a great deal over earlier samples of say two years ago. The reliability has however been a bit haphazard and I have written about some of the shortcomings and how I have overcome them by tweaking the lamps before use.

Some of the latest examples of these MR16 and GU10 type LED lamps have been the latest 6 watt bulbs. In a recent post I reviewed two different types of 6watt, made up of 3 x 2watt emitters with GU10 fitting. I found that the light output from these 6watt bulbs was no better than from a 5watt lamp.

I have recently bought another type of MR16 3 x 2watt LED, seen in the above photo, which has exceeded my expectations with regard to light output and light colour. I will make some attempt at a comparative analysis of the performance of this lamp in the near future. Suffice it to say for the moment, I would not waste my time and money on the other types of 6watt LEDs!

Celtic Tiger Sleeping Tiger

2011-08-03T13:05:00.005+01:00

Sleeping Tiger

Do NOT DISTURB

(A Sustainability Issue - but nevertheless a rant! -
Sorry for two rants in a row - I cannot contain my frustration)

In my last post I was marking just a few of the many gross social imbalances that exist in Ireland. The news today carries yet another revelation.

It emerged that FÁS the National Training Agency gives 70 days holidays, which is 44 extra to already generous regular holidays, to those nearing retirement to "Ease the Retirement Process". OMG - my stomach is churning - talk about milking the system for the last possible drop.

Self-serving Institutions

What strikes me as way worse than the crazy over-generous self-serving by the institution, is the reaction by the Trades Unions and the Fás employees scrambling to retain this utterly crazy benefit.

I would be completely mortified and ashamed to be the recipient of such a - system milking perk - at the best of times, but in these times of real hardship, the Trades Unions should do a little soul searching before supporting this sort of craziness.

The Sleeping Tiger of the Celtic People does not want to be awakened. This sort of effrontery by the privileged public service is not too far distanced from Tsarist Russia's disregard for the starving masses. Little wonder that Russia had a revolution.

Ireland is certainly heading for some sort of a revolution, hopefully it will be a political and not a bloody one.

Dam Burst Coming in Ireland

2011-08-01T15:23:00.009+01:00

Over-Load or Serious Imbalance

May Lead to a Dam Burst

Ireland is facing some very serious Non-Environmental Sustainability Issues

Ireland has a very serious social imbalance. This imbalance worsened during the Celtic Tiger years, and now in the recession it has been even further stretched.

So serious is this social imbalance, that it may lead to dire consequences, some consequences I can think of such as:

(1) Big increase in psychological depression and it's many consequences,
(2) Disaffection, dissatisfaction, and social unrest,
(3) Massive growth in the black economy,
(4) Increase in money leaving the country, and
(5) Emigration on a biblical scale.

Latest figures show that 1 in 4 Irish people are surviving solely on part-time work, while some 300,000 people, close enough to 20% of the Irish workforce AFAIK, have seen their incomes cut by a massive 50%.

Social Tension Building like Water behind a Dam

The social tension, like water building up behind a dam, is created when the hard pressed coping class are forced to look on in disbelief at a public sector where, for a large part, wages are some 10 - 20% higher than in the private sector, and additionally public employees enjoy pensions and job security unseen in the private sector.

Top that off with the fact that Ireland is paying the many public servants and in particular the judiciary some of the highest salaries in the entire world. And the cherry on the top of all that are members of Parliament and government ministers who are paying themselves more than their US and German equivalents.

Professional services in Ireland are another factor in the imbalance. Many professions in Ireland are some of the highest paid in the world, the feeding frenzy is driven in large part by the medical and legal professions expecting to earn €200,000 as a ballpark figure. This in turn leads to very expensive medical treatment and other services.

Ireland needs to take serious and immediate steps to re-balance the dangerously high level of the waters of imbalance, or prepare for a catastrophic flood

Quote of the Month Enda Kenny

2011-07-26T11:04:00.005+01:00

This is a Gimlet (G - as in get)

" ... the Vatican’s reaction

was to parse and analyse it

with the gimlet eye

of a canon lawyer"

Irish Prime Minister, Enda Kenny

Smaller Better Wind Farms

2011-07-25T23:31:00.006+01:00

A Different Approach to

Farming the Wind

Most current types of wind farm utilise horizontal-axis wind turbines. These turbines need a lot of space to operate in because of wind turbulence etc. - the spacing between the towers has to be very large indeed.

This means that turbines have to be made larger and taller and built in high places in order to catch more of the wind. All this adds to the cost and it impacts heavily on the visual landscape.

The New Approach

This very clever study has looked at other ways of harvesting the wind. It used a 100% physical and practical study - rather than a load of old computer generated figures. The ideas, like most great ideas, are very simple.

The experiment worked with various configurations of a “matrix” of counter-rotating Vertical Axis Wind Turbines. The idea uses the turbine created turbulence or vortexes to advantage.

In the experiment, they measured the various parameters including the most important one - how much power the configuration could collect - and do you know what?? They found a configuration that returned twice as much power per acre as with the Horizontal Axis Turbines.

Installation costs could be substantially reduced because these vertical turbines did not need to be massive and vastly expensive giants.

Test Wind-Farm with 10 meter turbines

100M mark shows current typical size turbines

An additional advantage was the visual impact was very greatly reduced. So half the land needed - half the installation costs - and twice the generated power sound good?

Prof. John O. Dabiri

The guy with the brains and the drive is John O. Dabiri Graduate Aeronautical Laboratories and Bioengineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA. (I suspect that might just be John in the bottom right corner of the top photo above)

Thank you Professor Dabiri - this looks like really promising work - good luck with the development stages.

Here is the link to the original publication:

http://jrse.aip.org/resource/1/jrsebh/v3/i4/p043104_s1?view=fulltext

LED bulbs and Repairing PART 3

2011-07-22T14:13:00.001+01:00

Two New

6 Watt LED Bulbs

Two New 6 watt GU10 LEDs Left one is more expensive and less light output

Got my new LED bulbs in the post this morning. Two flavours - if you like - of the same type of bulb. Both types are 3 x 2 watt diodes giving 6 watts in total, fitted into a GU10 package.

Externally, the only real difference is in the Heatsink design, the golden one on the left has a somewhat prettier shape about it in my opinion.

1st observation - the silver coloured LED has the lens retaining ring loose on it. This is the circular piece of metal holding the plastic lens against the LED diodes, and in turn it holds the Star or LED diode mounting plate firmly against the heatsink. If the ring is loose, (1) The lens will not be efficiently held in place, and (2) The mounting disc can come away for full contact with the heatsink and thus lead to overheating of the LED diodes. And as discussed, heat is the great enemy of LEDs.

Simple comparison of Light Output

New 6 watt (Gold) LED on the left - An older 5 watt on right

In the above photo, I have put the two LEDs shining on a mat white wall. The window below has morning sunlight showing - so you get a fair colour comparison to the "warm white" light of these LEDs.

On the left side is the new 6 watt gold coloured and more expensive of the two types of LED, and on the right you have the light from a 5 watt LED I have had for some time. I would say the 5 watt LED wins out in terms of brightness - not by a lot but it definitely has a tad more light output.

The 2 New 6watt LEDs compared Left the Golden one and Right silver

Next we have a direct comparison between the two types of 6 watt LED bulbs. The same "gold coloured" and more expensive LED is still on the left, while on the right we have the other 6 watt LED silver coloured and less expensive.

What would you say? The silver LED has a much more yellow light closer to incandescent bulbs - AND it has IMHO a bit more light output as well. So if you are thinking of buying these LED bulbs, save yourself a few dollars and get the silver coloured ones - BUT be sure to tighten up the lens retaining rings BEFORE you use them.

More on LEDs and repairing them to come soon.

Repairing LED Lamps Part 2

2011-07-20T09:09:00.001+01:00

More Bits of a LED Bulb

Part 2 in the
Repairing LED Bulbs Series

What you are looking at in the above photo is a close up of a "star" or mounting disc for the LED diodes. You can see on the top right where I removed a faulty LED diode. You can see also where I have started to scrape away the old thermal paste from the mounting area . The old paste comes away quite easily by gently scraping with the tip of a small penknife.

I have un-soldered the power leads which come up through the square hole in the middle, and I have clearly marked the contacts in pencil with the + and - so I don't get them wrong when I re-solder. The reason I have un-soldered the "star" input leads is twofold, one is so I can check the driver circuit, and two is it allows me to work on the star more effectively.

The above picture shows the heatsink. It is really quite a pretty piece of aluminium. It's sole purpose is to radiate away the heat generated by the LED diodes. The same type of heatsink moulding is used in both the GU10 and MR16 bulbs. The base has regular screw threading but the outer rim has a threading but into the leading edges of the fins.

There - you have a good view of the threads on the fin edges. This is where the ring that retains the main lens is screwed onto. It is very important not to cross-thread these guys - needless to say! It is also important that the retaining ring is fully tightened, as this presses the lens against the star, and in turn presses that star against the flange of the heatsink. If the lens retaining ring gets loose, the star will not have good thermal conduction to the heatsink - and the LEDs will either blow or go off colour and dim.

What you are looking at in the above photo is the base of a GU10 lamp with the driver circuit, which is usually pushed down into the tube, pulled out for inspection.

And here is the driver circuit board with it's little transformer and capacitors visible. The red and black leads are the positive and negative DC voltage going to the LED diodes.

That's it for this post. Keep a look out for more posts in this series. They may not be posted in one chain but are more likely to be interspersed with other material. Also, I am waiting for some spare parts to arrive from the Far East, and this might delay the series a bit.

Repairing LED Bulbs Part 1

2011-07-18T23:12:00.001+01:00

What makes up a LED Bulb?

It is possible to repair several types of LED bulb - so don't immediately bin your duds. Over a number of posts I hope to outline the procedure of disassembling and repairing two type of LED lamps, the MR16 12 volt type and the GU10 high voltage type.

To start the series off, I will introduce the pieces that make up a bulb and show how they are fitted. At the core of most current LED lamps are little LED diodes like the one shown in the above photo. The above unit is a 1 watt warm white LED diode. Similar units come in 2 watts - 3 watts - 5watts - 10 watts etc.

The actual diode itself is very tiny and is encapsulated in a plastic housing with a little lens fitted on top to focus the light. It has a metal backing with which to be bonded to a heatsink. A heatsink is essentially a chunk of metal the purpose of which is to carry away the heat being generated. Heat is the great enemy of LEDs.

LED diode units have a + positive and a - negative lead or wire. They have to have the correct polarity and the correct voltage applied, otherwise they blow very rapidly. In the above example, the negative connector has an elongated slot in it to represent the negative symbol.

Above is a faulty LED diode that I removed from it's "star" or mounting disc. You can see the connectors have been cut through. The diodes are both electrically soldered into place by the two contacts, and also are glued to the disc by a special heat carrying cement.

Above you can see the "star" or mounting plate and the empty place where I prised off the faulty diode. The diode is to the right with the underside or bottom metal contact plate upward and showing. You can also see the remains of the thermal paste on the mounting plate.

The "star" or mounting plate above is common to both the 12 volt MR16 type of bulb and to the GU10 high voltage type. The difference between the two types is in the type of driver circuit used in the bulb.

I will be continuing with this series over the next couple of weeks.

Blog Comments

2011-07-16T23:01:00.000+01:00

Embedded Links

Indeed any external Links

Are Banned from this Blog

I have been getting a numbers of comments to this blog recently which contain links. Some of the comments are worthy of publication but because there have embedded links, they are immediately sent to the trash can.

I have made it clear, on several occasions, that I will not publish comments or any other material that contains links. I have worked very hard to keep this blog 100% non-commercial, non-political, and otherwise free and independent. So please if you have a comment or a piece you would like published, do not embed any links.

Thank you.

Smoking costs Ireland €365million every year

2011-07-16T14:34:00.009+01:00

Smokers are costing Ireland

€1million a Day

(And YES this is a Sustainability and Environmental Issue and not just a rant!)

If you smoke, you are not just injuring yourself and your family, you are also a part of the €365million a year of extra burden on the economy - through lost working days, medical costs, and related costs.

So what can we do about this? My wife and I learned some very good principles in our study of psychology which we applied to rearing our children. One of these principles from Alfred Adler states; "the more responsible I become - the less responsible you become".

If we apply that principle to this situation you get; "the more the state takes responsibility for smokers and the consequence of their actions, the less will smokers feel the need to take responsibility".

By making all smokers feel fully responsible for all the consequences of their actions, it will do far more than any advertising campaigns to get across the message. But how do we apply consequences in this situation?

A few suggestions:

1, Smokers have to pay more for medical services for any condition affected by smoking. Already many surgeons will not operate on smokers because of the risks involved. What if smokers were charged say 30% extra by way of a special tax to cover the extra burden and risks, do you not think that it would get the message across in a very powerful and perhaps painful way?

2. Tax on environmental pollution. Smoking caused a lot of rubbish on our streets etc. It poisons the air we breath, it wastes natural resources. Place separate taxes on the manufacturers, the retailers, and the users.

3. Make it legal for prospective employers to turn down an applicant on the basis they smoke.

4. Refuse sick pay to smokers who are out of work with related illnesses.

Sounds Harsh?

Yes it sounds very harsh - but this is reality. What is NOT reality or realistic is the current situation where I can abuse myself in any way I want and you have to pick up the bill for my behaviour. As it stands our society is placing a safety net under this abuse. Take away the safety net, and the tight-rope walkers will have to be more careful.

To be perfectly honest, I believe the the same set of rules should also apply to all those that abuse drink or drugs. I would go one further regarding hospital A and E wards full of drunks on the weekend, IMHO there should be a minimum charge for drunken individuals of €500. This would help cover the cost of security for the hard-pressed staff, it would cover the cleaning up of vomit and other fouling, and it might even lessen the numbers of self-abused individuals taking up scarce resources needed by those more deserving of them.

So what are your feelings on this? Is Ireland starting to think more realistically? I would be happy to hear some realistic comments.

Low Cost LED Bulbs Update

2011-07-15T14:45:00.000+01:00

An Update

on my LED Lamps

I have written fairly extensively on my experience with cheap Chinese LED bulbs. My first experiences were all very disappointing, to the point where I had given up on that avenue. More recently, call me a sucker if you want, I was tempted to try again.

This time I was very pleased with the quality and quantity of light from the newer GU10 and MR16 type bulbs on offer. However, about 1 in 4 of the bulbs blew.

With a bit of poking and experimenting, I found that many of the bulbs did not have the LED "star" properly mounted to the heat sink fins - they were lacking heat sink compound. Therefore, these LEDs tended to overheat and burn out.

I then, sucker that I am, bought some more of these bulbs, and this time checked every one of them for heatsink bonding before I used them.

Now the good news, all of this batch of LEDs are still working 100% and I have them burning every day from 8.30 am till midnight or later. They have been burning like this for over 4 months now., so they have 2000+ hours up and all is well so far!!

Repairing LED bulbs

I have been having some fun lately in my efforts to repair some of the dud LEDs I have accumulated. I will write this one up soon.

The Latest 6 watt LEDs

I have also just ordered some of the very latest 6watt MR16 and GU10 LEDs with a rating of 490 lumen. I will be looking at these and giving them a rating of sorts in the next month or so.

If you are interested in LED lighting, keep a look out here.

Island of Saints and Scholars

2011-07-14T22:16:00.002+01:00

In my last post, I satirically referred to the Moody downgrading of Ireland’s credit rating to “Junk” level. I suggested by the graphic that the “credibility” of our pillars of society were also at junk level.

On receiving some feedback, I want to make clear my position in a more serious way. I believe the low state in which Ireland finds itself is essentially because of a nurtured culture of greed, graft and gross-mismanagement which overtook the population to the point of inducing collective blindness. A blindness to see that the bubble had to burst, that the gap between the fat-cats and the less-well-off was wider than what was sustainable, and especially a moral and ethical blindness which extended right to the top levels of our society including professionals, and even the judiciary.

How could a small country like ours justify paying our politicians and judges more than twice that of Germany, a secure and rich country?

IMHO Ireland is now in a form of “Receivership”. The new government have been given a massive mandate to try and rectify the damage done by the years of greed and mismanagement. The IMF has an interest in this “Receivership”, and the EU Banks have an interest if only motivated by expedience.

“Receivership” is a legal device by which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver, a person or persons charged with the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights.”

Whenever one heard of a business going “into” receivership, there almost inevitably followed the winding-up of that enterprise.

I believe that current government is trying very hard to steady the ship and bring her ‘round from a course towards the rocks. There is a hope, a glimmer, palpable from the ardent efforts at honesty and openness in their attempts to correct the gross imbalances.

I have always maintained that the economic problems besetting Ireland have their root and branch firmly planted in soil that is totally lacking in the essential nutrients of morality and ethics.

We have now reached a “turning point” - and even though there is dread for the immediate possible fallout, there is also hope. A little glimmer of hope for a new spring that brings fresh growth in which spirituality and right living will again fuel the engine of our endeavours, as it did in a glorious past - earning Ireland the title of “the Island of Saints and Scholars”.

Apologies if this post sounds a little bit "schmaltzy"

Ireland is JUNK

2011-07-14T11:00:00.000+01:00

Algae Pre-historic and Furure Oil Source

2011-07-13T14:45:00.001+01:00

Algae Pre-historic

and

Future Source of Oil

The Oil and Coal of our planet was made some 500 million years ago. One tiny micro-organism was mainly responsible for this and consequently for our industrial revolution. That organism is a type of algae called Botryococcus Braunii.

Now that all that hard work of Botrycoccus Braunii 500 million years ago is all but used up, scientists are again putting hope in this little algae cell to provide oil for the future.

The idea of oil from algae is anything but a new notion. I have written several times of various efforts, mostly unsuccessful, to harness natures little oil factory.

Why am I writing again? Well, the latest efforts are based on sequencing the DNA of the ancient little organism. It is hoped that with the information thus gleaned, scientists can construct synthetic methods to synthesise oil all based directly on the original oil manufacturing techniques of Botrycoccus Braunii.

Electricity from thin Air?

2011-07-10T23:05:00.005+01:00

Free Energy Receiver

Echoes of Nikola Tesla

I have written here about passive energy gathering devices using tiny printed antennae and rectifiers that can capture electrical waves including those from sunlight.

http://wood-pellet-ireland.blogspot.com/2008/09/solar-cell-breakthrough.html

Here is another related story about energy capturing devices, only this time, it is about a method of capturing power from the myriads of radio waves which surround and penetrate through us all of the time.

A research team from Georgia-Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering led by Prof. Manos Tentzeris have found a way of using industrial type inkjet printers to print antennas and energy-scavenging capabilities onto paper or flexible plastic sheets.

Currents tests made at TV transmission frequencies have been shown to give some fractions of a milliwatt - one thousand of a watt.

The research team have operated a temperature sensor using the radio waves from a television station half a kilometer away. They are preparing another demonstration in which a microprocessor-based microcontroller would be activated simply by holding it in the air.

Not a New Idea.

Tesla (above) and his patent for a Free Energy Receiver

This idea is so not new. Tesla was grappling with energy gathering on a mega scale, while others were looking at it on a less ambitious level.

Some 40 years ago I remember visiting the Radio Eireann, the Irish National Broadcaster's medium wave transmitter in Athlone in the Irish midlands. A friend and I were keen ham radio operators at the time. The engineer in charge of the transmitter was very kind to these two visiting young men, and gave us a tour of the facility. He told us many things about high powered transmitters including that he once had a light on his bicycle that ran from the power of the transmitter using a tuned circuit and the frame of the bike as an antenna. That would have been generating at least 250 milliwatts.

Broad Spectrum Energy Gathering.

The Georgia-Tech team are working on more advanced systems that can suck up a broad spectrum of transmission frequencies and they hope to generate more than a milliwatt! - sounds very small to me. Even that tiny amount of power is sufficient to run many small electronic devices, including a variety of sensors and microprocessors. By adding high quality capacitors to the micro antenna and energy circuits, the team hope to be able to power devices requiring over 50 milliwatts. In this approach, energy builds up in a battery-like supercapacitor and is utilized when the required power level is reached.

The energy gathering technology can presently use frequencies from FM radio to radar, a range spanning 100 megahertz (MHz) to 15 gigahertz (GHz) or higher.

One practical use of these little energy sucking devices will be to power remote sensors such as security devices, monitoring sensors etc. This could save the environment by reducing the use of batteries worldwide by many millions. It would also save on maintenance in replacing batteries.

Prof. Tentzeris with an inkjet-printed rectifying antenna

Prototype energy-scavenging device

Original article press released by Research News & Publications Office, Georgia Institute of Technology, 75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 314. Atlanta, Georgia 30308 USA

http://gtresearchnews.gatech.edu/device-captures-ambient-energy/

"Black Economy" A Blessing?

2011-07-06T15:38:00.007+01:00

The Black Economy

A Blessing?

My regular readers will know that I have very strong feelings about the way the Irish Economy has been handled. My feelings have been heightened by the culture of graft and cronyism, and the obvious “Gravy Train” mentality of professional and business fat-cats, politicians, and many employees of government agencies, including the judiciary.

Dr Sam Vaknin PhD

I wrote a small piece on my take of the Irish “Black Economy”, and while searching Google to see if the piece had been picked up, I came upon this excellent article by Sam Vaknin. Among the professional hats that Sam wears are the following: He is a columnist in "Central Europe Review", United Press International (UPI) and ebookweb.org Very importantly in this context, until recently, he served as an Economic Advisor to the Government of Macedonia. He was born in Haifa Israel and later emigrated to Macedonia where he married and settled. He has a PhD in Philosophy, is trained in psychotherapy, and has published several books on a variety of subjects.

Sam Vaknin has written about the “Black Economy” from a refreshingly different angle of view. I contacted Sam and he has given me permission to quote or re-publish this excellent thesis of his. Following are extracts, large extracts, from his article; The Blessings of the Black Economy.

The Blessings of the Black Economy (extracts)
By: Sam Vaknin, Ph.D.

Some call it the "unofficial" or "informal" economy, others call it the "grey economy" but the old name fits it best: the "black economy". In the USA "black" means "profitable, healthy" and this is what the black economy is. Macedonia should count its blessings for having had a black economy so strong and thriving to see it through the transition. If Macedonia had to rely only on its official economy it would have gone bankrupt long ago.

(The “Black Economy” or by the Irish so called “under the counter” business, accounts for some 15% of GDP in the USA, 19% of GDP in Spain, and anything up to 60% in Russia. In Macedonia, where Sam writes from, it is estimated to be some 40% of GDP. Sam states that money earned on the “Black Economy” is usually squirrelled away in foreign accounts but eventually... )

People will bring their money back (into the official system) to open businesses, to support family members and just to consume it. It all depends on the mood and on the atmosphere and on how much these people feel that they can rely on the political stability and rational management.

Such enormous flows of capital happened before: in Argentina after the Generals and their corrupt regime were ousted by civilians, in Israel when the peace process started and in Mexico following the signature of NAFTA, to mention but three cases. These reserves can be lured back and transform the economy.

But the black economy has many more important functions.

1.    The black economy is a cash economy.
2.    It is liquid and fast. It increases the velocity of money.
3.    It injects much needed foreign exchange to the economy and inadvertently increases the effective money supply and the resulting money aggregates. In this sense, it defies the dictates of "we know better" institutions such as the IMF.
4.    It fosters economic activity and employs people.
5.    It encourages labour mobility and international trade.

Black economy, in short, is very positive. With the exception of illegal activities, it does everything that the official economy does – and, usually, more efficiently.

So, what is morally wrong with the black economy? The answer, in brief: it is exploitative. - - - operators of the black economy enjoy these (social -educational -medical etc.) services without paying for them. (The burden falls on those paying taxes)

Bureaucracies tend to misuse and abuse resources.

... Unfortunately, we all live in societies which are regulated by bureaucracies which are controlled (in theory, rarely in practice) by politicians. These elites have a tendency to misuse and to abuse resources and to allocate them in an inefficient manner. Even economic theory admits that any dollar left in the hands of the private sector is much more efficiently used than the same dollar in the hands of the most honest and well meaning and well planning civil servant. Governments all over the world distort economic decisions and mis-allocate scarce economic resources.

Thus, if the goals are to encourage employment and economic growth – the black economy should be welcomed. This is precisely what it does and, by definition, it does so more efficiently than the government. The less tax dollars a government has – the less damage it does. This is an opinion shares by most economists in the world today. Lower tax rates are an admission of this fact and a legalization of parts of the black economy.

The black economy is especially important in times of economic hardships.

It (The Black Economy) enhances exports (and competitiveness through imports), it encourages technology transfers, it employs people, it invests in legitimate businesses (or is practised by them), it adds to the wealth of the nation (black marketeers are big spenders, good consumers and build real estate), it injects liquidity to an otherwise dehydrated market. Mercifully, the black economy is out of the reach of zealous missionaries such as the IMF. It goes its own way, unnoticed, unreported, unbeknownst, untamed.

Without the black economy, the population of Macedonia would not have survived. This lesson must be remembered as the government prepares to crack down on the only sector of the economy which is still alive and kicking.

Thank you again Sam for allowing me to use your article!
The original article can be seen on: http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/nm043.html
Sam Vaknin’s web site: http://samvak.tripod.com

Ireland's Ship of State

2011-07-05T00:23:00.000+01:00

Ireland's Ships of State

a painting by

Shame-us O'Con-men