Solid Fuel Buyer's Guide: How to Choose, How Much You Need, How to Burn It
The articles follow the steps of a buying decision: first, which type of fuel suits your boiler; then which grade or class to buy, how much you need for the season and how to avoid losing heat in storage. Every article ends with a link to the category where you can buy that fuel.
Step 1. What to burn: pellets, coal or briquettes
Step 2. How to choose the fuel type
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How to choose pellets for your boiler: ENplus class, ash content, diameter, testing
Pellets all look the same but behave differently in a boiler: some burn cleanly for months, others clog the burner with …
- Agro pellets: which boilers they suit and which they don't Agro pellets cost 15-25% less than wood pellets with almost the same calorific value, and that is exactly why every year…
- Anthracite or long-flame coal: which to choose for a boiler or stove Anthracite gives more heat and burns longer; long-flame coal is easier to light and works in any stove. Which of the two…
- RUF, Pini-Kay and Nestro briquettes: the differences and which to choose for your boiler All three types of briquettes are pressed from the same sawdust, and their calorific value is almost identical. The diff…
- Peat briquettes: pros and cons, which boilers and stoves they suit Peat briquettes are the cheapest solid fuel per tonne and also the most underrated: people either praise them as "almost…
Step 3. Grade, class, certificate
- Coal grades AO, AM, AS, AK, DG explained: what the letters mean and which to choose A coal price list is full of letters: AO, AM, AS, DG. The first letter tells you what kind of coal it is, the second the…
- Which pellets for flame, retort and gravity burners "A flame burner is too fussy about pellets", "a retort burns anything", "a gravity burner has to be shaken every 4-8 hou…
Step 4. How much fuel you need per season
- Calorific value of solid fuels: table and cost per kWh calculation Calorific value is the one figure that lets you compare a tonne of anthracite with a tonne of pellets or a cubic metre o…
- How many pellets, how much coal or how many briquettes you need per heating season A season's stock is not calculated "the way the neighbours do it" but from the house's heat loss: floor area, insulation…
- Solid fuel benefit of 4,602 UAH and subsidy of 9,205 UAH in 2026: how to apply and how much to buy The Ukrainian state covers part of the cost of firewood, coal, pellets and briquettes in two ways: a benefit for certain…
Step 5. Storage and proper firing
- How to Store Wood Pellets, Coal and Briquettes: Shed, Pallets, Space per Tonne Buying fuel cheaper in summer is only half the job. The other half is getting it to winter in the same condition it was …
- How to Burn Coal in a Boiler or Stove: Lighting, Air, Overnight Loading The same tonne of anthracite lasts one boiler owner until spring, while another runs out in January, complaining about "…
- Why pellets cause clinker and "cakes" in the burner: 7 causes and what to do "Cakes", "clinker", "the pellets are coking", "I have to clear it every four hours" - the most common complaint from pel…
Step 6. How not to buy a fake
- How to check pellets at home in 5 minutes: 6 tests without a laboratory A laboratory will give you the exact ash content, but to decide "buy the pallet or not" a glass of water, kitchen scales…
- How to avoid scams when buying firewood, coal and pellets Every autumn the police receive hundreds of reports about "firewood that never arrived" and "coal paid for 12 thousand i…
- How to Spot Fake Wood Pellets: Counterfeit ENplus, "A1" Agro Pellets, Rebagging Home tests show whether the pellets in the bag are any good. But counterfeiting starts earlier: an ENplus logo without a…
Made your choice? Go to the catalog
Why this guide exists
Solid fuel is bought once a season and in large amounts, and a wrong choice costs you either extra tonnes or a damaged boiler. We have gathered here the questions our managers hear every day: how anthracite differs from long-flame coal, whether wood pellets can go into an ordinary boiler, how many bags you need for the winter. The figures in the articles are typical for each type of fuel; for the specifications of a particular batch, see the quality certificate we provide with the delivery note.