The Wels trade fair has become a regular appointment for us; like going back to the source, to the roots of solid, wood by-product and pellet fuels.

In fact, in Europe, it all started here, many years ago.

This town is smaller than Pordenone but it is orderly. It uses the sports centre, including the gym and the basketball courts, as well as a few collapsing tensile structures, as its fair grounds.

Nothing astronomical, just like most German or Italian trade fairs, but there is no waste of money: when Spring comes, from April onwards, the trade fairs stop and the young people go back to their sporting activities...

All this is very simple yet this is the throbbing heart of the wood by-products fuel culture that irradiates from here throughout Europe. 

A few years ago, on the opening day, I heard the President of the region (the equivalent of the president of the Friuli-Venezia-Giulia region, Mr. Tondo) make a speech (without reading it) on the quantity of calories that each square metre of land cultivated to grow trees is equivalent to and can produce year after year.  He also replied (without the help of any expert) to a multitude of questions asked by the Orf (the equivalent of the Italian RAI UNO state TV).

I sadly thought of how one of our Italian politicians would have replied to similar technical-scientific questions.  But this is another matter...

I met the usual snowfall on my way, and this is a good sign because it means that there are still some certainties in this changing world!
I’ve been trying to increase the surface of the stand for 10 years with no success: everything is always confirmed as it was again, year after year. It's very difficult to change something quickly in Austria.

In any case, the stand is very nice, above average: Christian Bayer and his wife look after it patiently, with their serene professionalism. They are kind, helpful, definitely not aggressive and very well qualified.
The supervisor is the incomparable Francesco: untidy, willing and as swift as ever...
Patrizio Palombi is on his way (the After-Sales Service centres are waiting for him anxiously). He is the "German gospel" of the Technical Assistance Service: very respected for his skill, reliability and perhaps, a little, for his size... our laboratory youths, our "detectives" will be with him, on the pursuit of novelties and of secrets to "steal" from the competition.

I know they are worried about the questions I'll ask them on the way home, if I manage to see something they didn't.

Things change slowly here in Austria but the scent in the air is of freshly sawn wood, wherever you go. We feel at home here.

The Hafnermeister (the stove repairers) change one after the other. They have all lifted the large door of the 3D "monoblocco" model at least 20 times to check that it slides properly. This is a great success for wengè wood, a material unknown to them, and that Rosita, a humble intruder in Palazzetti from Royal, is interested in. All this is carried out in a kind and friendly atmosphere without jolts and jerks...Things always change slowly here in Austria, but the scent in the air is always of freshly-sawn wood, wherever you go.

When you get off the plane you immediately feel that you are on the other side of the world and that everything is bigger; cars, roads, buildings, it is all exactly as you imagined it to be when watching famous American films and TV films.  You aren’t in America though, you are in Canada and you notice the difference, as is always the case, at the end of your journey.

Palazzetti landed here a few years ago, at first with a pellet-burning stove called Prima, a fully-hermetic stove designed for the North American market, and then with the various claddings designed for their line of Marquis by kingsman gas-fuelled fireboxes, the barbecues, ovens and our range of Ecomonoblocco wood-burning fireboxes that is already greatly requested but will be available on the market starting from next year.

In the past two years, trade fairs and training courses have reaped impressive results and, beginning with last year, a different atmosphere has started to be felt. We are talking about a climate of trust and collaboration between us and our importer NEE (National Equipment Energy) that, distributed over various areas of the territory such as  Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta, has put together a team of very professional and collaborative people who are acquainted with market requirements.

I have seen our products on the territory and, in some of the shops we visited last year to present Ecofire Prima, I have seen our "O Sole Mio" line of claddings on their operating gas-fuelled fireboxes.  I have noticed their desire to make our trademark grow bit-by-bit, even with different products of ours such as barbecues and ovens, given that a negative season is forecast for pellet consumption, i.e. 60% less than the positive season of two years ago and cold temperatures are late arriving this year.

Seeing our Prima model next to their stoves is a strange sight... In the first place because finding a familiar model amongst so many others in their showroom makes you feel a little at home and, in the second place, because from an aesthetic and technical viewpoint it is an altogether different world: the vertical structure, the smaller combustion chamber, the small panel, the cladding and the elegant design make it stand out from the other large, grey and square blocks.

But, as is always the case, there is a reverse side to the medal: consumers are used to a different type of product and it will take time for them to get acquainted with and appreciate ours. I am pleasantly surprised by their respect that becomes apparent when ordering a product; Mary pays when she orders and always wants a professional technician to install her stove.

I am dumbfounded by the people I meet, by their approach, by their easy attitude and by how often, at the other end of the world, sitting at a desk, things seem much more complicated while they become infinitely simpler when people meet.

Also this year it's Christmas!

In the streets of downtown there is an air of celebration, lights, colors and smells envelop the city.

The cityscape becomes from a gray place of passage a thick nest of shiny people. The environment comes alive and turns of vitality and the bitter cold is cut by the fervor of people who swarm through the city galvanizing the atmosphere.

During Christmas, every person is more relaxed, happy and in harmony with the system that surrounds it... Only the race to buy gifts for relatives and friends brokes the balance and quiet of the days preceding the holiday. Until the eve the shops are filled with people who strongly hope that the choice of Christmas gift can satisfy the preferences of their loved ones.
After the rush of Christmas Day searching for Christmas gifts it calms down and the city streets seem to sleep in an atmosphere of hushed stillness

I do not think, or at least I do not think that the frenzy of pre-Christmas gifts is a mere expression of a spirit of consumerism, I like to believe, but at least I act with this intent, that the exchange of gifts is a way of interacting that mask a feature material, but also provides a means to re-establish a real contact, real in a time when relations are only via the web.

Since several time in the Trobriand archipelago (Melanesia), east of New Guinea exists a ritual based on the exchange of jewelry made of shells. This tradition is a case of reciprocity based on the exchange of gifts known as the Kula Ring. Through this ceremony remain disinterested and friendly relations between distant populations. In addition to reciprocity thus ensures a continuous interaction and communication between population.

The exchange of gifts on an occasion like Christmas, can be seen as a moment of meeting, personal relations and not mediated by the web.

This is not to say that the Internet does not offer many suggestions and ideas, rather, is an inexhaustible source of inspiration, but need not be replaced in all methods of real relationship. For example, browsing, I encountered a site that allows you to send a Christmas card with a fun mode and I would say funny. The site is designed to adjust www.elfyourself.com and pictures of the faces of those who want the bodies of some elves who make different musical choreography with various bases.

After uploading of photos and videos and the choice of the choreography it can be downloaded (paid) or sent by mail (free). I thought it was a fun, unusual and funny way to wish giving a hearty laugh to the message recipients.

With these thoughts, hopefully not boring but curious, I wish you all a Christmas full of joy and serenity!

Thanks to the high quality and the elevate technological standard of our products due to more than 60 years of experience we were able to achieve MCS certification.

The Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) is an independent scheme that certifies microgeneration products and installers in accordance with consistent standards. It is designed to evaluate microgeneration products and installers against robust criteria providing greater protection for consumers.

The MCS is the only certification scheme to cover all microgeneration products and services, and has support from the Department of Energy and Climate Change, industry and non-governmental groups as a prime method for making a substantial contribution to cutting the UK's dependency on fossil fuels and carbon dioxide emissions.

UKCertification.pdf (851.63 kb)

Raise your hand whoever never at least once found all the furniture around a wood or pellet stove or fireplace covered by an extremely irritating thin coating of ashes...

maybe after having spent hours cleaning, and re-cleaning them and... just for a change, cleaning them again!

"Obviously" it the dreadful stove’s or fireplace’s fault which has no way of defending itself... Days on end are lost trying to understand where the heck these ashes are coming out, almost always with negative results... and what’s the solution???

Well, for just one moment, memorise what you do to clean the stove/fireplace and you’ll find the guilty party on your own.

If you haven’t figured it out on your own, I’ll give you a hand... It’s the vacuum cleaner (normally the drum-type). Why???

At the very time you clean the stove, the vacuum cleaner obviously suctions all the ashes inside the combustion chamber: the finer ones pass through the filters and then remain suspended in the room. When the operation is done, one doesn’t notice anything... but later on... when these ashes settle down...

So what should you do??? Either you accept the fact that you wear down your furniture keeping on cleaning them twice a day or... more simply, you buy a water vacuum cleaner or one studied for vacuuming ashes.
So at the end whose fault is it??? Man or the machine?? Who knows...

Valladolid (Spain) 27.10-29.10

The longed awaited appointment with Expobioenergìa has finally arrived!

Our stand (Pavilion 4, Stand 421) will be exhibiting the latest new products by Palazzetti on a 72 m² surface.

You will be able to admire Ecofire Scricciola, Clemy, Giulia and the hermetic Aida; all completely automatic and programmable pellet-burning stoves. In addition to these, there will also be Slimmy, a stove suitable for the restricted spaces typical of modern homes and Bianca Silent, the innovative pellet-burning stove that guarantees absolute acoustic comfort as its heats your home.
We will also be exhibiting the Royal stoves including Rosita, a brand new pellet-burning range cooker.

By participating in the trade fair you will become acquainted with the technology and innovative ideas of a company that has always put innovation and the use of wood by-products to the fore.
By choosing a Palazzetti product, quality, trust and durable reliability are guaranteed.

Take advantage of this opportunity to obtain information and useful suggestions on how to improve your heating system while making the smallest possible impact on the environment.
At our stand you will find people really willing to listen and skilled and professional staff capable of showing you all Palazzetti’s products.

Don’t miss this opportunity!
We look forward to meeting you at Expobioenergia!

Opening hours
Non-stop: from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

For further information on the event, please visit the website: www.expobioenergia.com

We who work in the company’s research and development laboratory are considered a bit like Doc in the film Return to the Future, a character with a thousand inventions in his head, even the oddest kinds and which he tries by every means possible to apply, in the midst of short circuits and explosions.
Sometimes, in order to guarantee a safe and durable product, we carry out tests which go well beyond the standards for which that same product was built.

A practical example is represented by the test we carried out a few weeks ago on Ecomonoblocco 25-9. We wanted to verify the resistance of its structure and the new opening system of the door by remote control since, due to its conformation and dimensions, there is a strong temptation of exaggerating in loading wood.

The nominal load of the firebox is 5.6 kg. For a few days this was the hourly load; we then increased it progressively until reaching 100%.

During the test, the door was opened and closed at the same time to check the performance constancy in all the phases.

Seeing that is all worked perfectly, Mac79 (our manager) gave us the go-ahead to "perform destructive tests", an expression abundantly obeyed to the letter. In particular my colleague Trinacria: once I saw that well-known sneer on his face, I had no doubts about what was going to happen!

That day we loaded ever more significant amounts of wood until reaching the last one, weighing 40 kg, which even for us experts at the job was quite impressive.
You can see the outcome of the test in the photo: 

You can imagine the tension and fear of having exaggerated with our optimism, when all that wood was burning, the silent sound of the fire really was scary, the hood and the first tract of the flue were cherry coloured, undeniable symptom of the abundance of heat it was developing.
When a half hour had passed by, the flames and temperature were going back to normal and in the end the structure had undergone no damage and the mechanism continued to work properly.
The result of the test was positive and the dose of adrenaline which every now and then runs in our veins was worth it.

I do wish to remember and specify that, though Palazzetti products are tested with greater loads, you must respect that written in the Use and maintenance booklet. Thus you can enjoy the heat and the view of the fire in total safety.

Often we hear customers, when having to do with wooden inserts (Ecopalex and air/water Insert 45), who ask where they have to make the hole for the combustion air vent.

Well for whoever doesn’t know, these specific wood fireplaces withdraw the air they need for combustion from the front, and therefore the hole, having an adequate diameter, can actually be made at any convenient place in the room where the insert has been placed. And obviously, it must communicate with the outside... We for example recommend doing it behind (of course if this is possible)... why is that???

The answer is simple and quickly found... Because cold air coming from outside, passing behind the insert, is inevitably heated by radiation and, thanks to the heat exhaust grid (which should be mounted on the hood) enters the inside environment hotter. In this way the amount of cold air entering the room is reduced, thus more greatly enhancing the practicality of the insert.

I remember a small department 12 years ago called MANUAL, where 2 workers produced with ability and passion cement pieces with all strange kinds of shapes.

ANTILLE TOPS, WILMA WALLS and FRED BASES (the name was a program, reminding me of the Flintstones).

In those times everything was unknown to me, having just become part of the establishment. They described them to me as special pieces which automatic machines were not able to produce.
In a short time I understood that those parts, fruit of a whole lot of precision and fatigue, made our barbecues original, making them extremely different from the rest of the market.
Even the price felt it, but the customer was willing to sustain it to have a product which distinguished itself from others.

All things considered, the trend of the market has not changed through the years.  And therefore someone thought well to send to the old manual department into retirement, after years of hard work, replacing it with a new liquid department. A new part of the establishment 100 times bigger than the previous one, where a group of persons, with state-of-the-art automation, combined with technologically-refined cement  mixtures, continue the tradition of the so-called liquid mixture.
This department is strategical without a doubt and greatly conditions the aesthetics of the barbecue.
Among the models that have made the history of Palazzetti I cannot forget at least these:

The barbecue therefore is not only vibro pressed!! It is also embellished by components which are almost hand-made, making it unique.

Just like all things, for a pellet stove to long remain "in perfect shape", it needs specific attention, small precautions and gestures that allow it to work indefinitely at the maximum performance.

But then, what must a user who has installed a solid combustion product in his home do?

One of the main factors that affects the optimal working of a stove is determined by its installation conditions. This is why the dimensional aspects, the path and insulation of the flue must not be neglected. Entrusting oneself to specialised personnel means being sure of a job well-done out and, why not, it also allows the attribution of specific liability in case of malfunctioning.

Another fundamental aspect is the pellet used, a topic already widely covered in some articles written by my colleagues, but which is worth mentioning. Humidity, residue, purity, are just some of the aspects that should never be overlooked when choosing the fuel that our stove is going to burn. This is because an unsuitable pellet inevitably means bad combustion, dirtying the firebox and flue, a low yield and in some cases blocking the auger and the entire loading system.

Moreover, for an optimal combustion, besides pellet quality, there must be the right ratio between the amount of fuel and the oxygen destined to its combustion, which is called combustion air.
Combustion air is recalled inside the firebox by the depression created by flue gas. This is a concept which can seem difficult to understand for those who are "profane" in this matter, but which is the working foundation of a firebox. The easier the combustion flue gas is expelled, the greater amount of oxygen which, through suitable ducts, ends up below the brazier to feed the flame.

It’s well understood therefore that cleaning these "passages" is fundamental for the perfect functioning of a pellet product. To maintain the efficiency of these ducts, the user must do a few little jobs.

Once a day, or else every two days, depending on how much it is used, the user should free the holes of the brazier from fuel residue using the metal brush provided, remove the ashes from the exhaust box, and once a week, remove the bottom plate inside the firebox and vacuum the passage holes of the flue gas circuit, so that it is always free and clean.

Once a year, or at the expiration of 2,000 hours (signalled on the hour meter) it is opportune to ask the intervention of an authorised technician who takes care of cleaning the flue, the fan, and the flue gas passage collector, checking of all gaskets, in order to prevent undesired and harmful parasite air from entering the firebox.

Small precautions, small attentions, some small "fatigue", but all to have a stove in perfect order and to enjoy its heat for many years to come.