Solid fuel boilers. Main Types and Differences

For many years, solid fuel boilers have been one of the main sources of supply of heating and hot water for apartment houses, industrial areas, administrative buildings. In most cases, this type of heating is used in remote areas where there is no possibility of using a central heat supply or a gas main.

Undeniable and one of the main advantages is the possibility of creating a completely autonomous heating system based on most solid fuel boilers. All combustion processes in such equipment are completely mechanized and do not require additional power connection. What also provides the possibility of their use in places with a faulty power supply.

Depending on the material of production, solid fuel boilers can be made in two versions: boilers with a cast-iron heat exchanger and boilers with a steel heat exchanger. Each species has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Cast-iron solid fuel boilers have a long service life and a long heat dissipation time, but they are very demanding for temperature differences inside the heating circuit. Steel boilers are resistant to even sharp temperature changes, but due to the frequent use of thin steel do not differ in a long period of service.

A comparatively new type of solid fuel boilers is gas-generating or pyrolysis boilers. First of all, they differ from traditional solid fuel boilers by the principle of burning fuel. Typically, such a boiler consists of two combustion chambers. In the first charging chamber in conditions of lack of oxygen, wood fuel decomposes into wood coke and the volatile part - pyrolysis gas. In the second chamber, after a special ceramic nozzle, subsequent combustion of the separated gas takes place when it interacts with the active carbon.

The main advantage of this type of boiler is the high efficiency of a solid fuel boiler (up to 85%) and the environmental friendliness of waste flue gases. But along with this, pyrolysis boilers have obvious drawbacks. A sufficiently high price of equipment and great attachment to fuel quality negatively affect consumer demand.

Thus, solid fuel boilers are one of the most effective and economical options for organizing the climate system of premises and hot water supply in the absence of a centralized heating system or gas main.