Compare complete wood pellet production line quotations by putting both proposals against the same material, finished-product requirement and supply boundary. Then record each supplier’s answer beside its document reference. A lower total does not explain whether the proposals cover the same equipment, controls, interfaces or site work.
Use the checklist below to identify differences that need clarification before selecting a configuration. The questions describe items to confirm for your project; they do not mean every line needs every stage or that every service is included.
Give both suppliers the same comparison basis
Prepare one dated project input sheet and send the same revision to both suppliers. Identify measured information, planning assumptions and missing data separately. Ask each supplier to list any different assumptions used in its proposal.
Confirm these points together:
- Material: wood type, incoming form, particle-size distribution and relevant contamination.
- Moisture: the condition at each quoted handover point, its variation and whether values use a wet or dry basis.
- Finished product: pellet dimensions, agreed quality requirements and the point where acceptable output will be measured.
- Operating plan: required daily quantity, scheduled hours and effective running hours, with interruptions already deducted clearly identified.
A proposal based on prepared sawdust cannot be compared directly with one that includes preparing larger wood pieces. Likewise, a daily production target is incomplete without its operating-time basis. Use the guide to size a pellet line from daily production targets to define the running-output requirement; the calculation alone does not establish equipment performance.
Separate feed rate, pelletizing output and acceptable finished output
Ask where each quoted capacity is measured and which material condition it describes. Keep the original description in your comparison record rather than changing every tonnage to “line output.”
| Quoted quantity | Question to resolve |
|---|---|
| Incoming feed | Is this wet incoming material, prepared feed or another defined stream? |
| Dryer discharge | Does the quantity include remaining water, and what is the moisture basis? |
| Pellet-mill discharge | What product condition and downstream treatment does this rating assume? |
| Acceptable finished pellets | Where is net pellet mass weighed, excluding packaging, and how are moisture, rejects and returned fines treated? |
Cooling, screening and final handling can create different measurement boundaries. Returned fines are an internal stream, not extra finished output each time they circulate. Agree how acceptable product is counted once and how material remaining in the system is treated during a test.
If either proposal quotes electricity use, ask for the covered equipment, measurement period and corresponding net acceptable production. Installed or motor-rated kW does not establish actual kWh/t. Keep dryer fuel or other thermal energy separate from electricity. The electricity-per-tonne guide provides the recording method; a figure from different conditions is not automatically a comparable performance promise.
Map both equipment lists to the same process stages
Compare functions, quantities and handover points, even when equipment names differ. For each row, identify the equipment reference and record whether the function is included, excluded, buyer-supplied, already provided by retained equipment or unconfirmed.
| Stage | Questions for each quotation |
|---|---|
| Drying | Is drying required for the stated feed, and what material flow and evaporation duty support its selection? |
| Grinding | What incoming particle condition is assumed, and which preparation equipment is supplied? |
| Conveying | Which transfers are included, and where does each supplied conveyor start and finish? |
| Buffering and feeding | Which storage or feed-control functions are included for the operating pattern? |
| Pelletizing | Which equipment and configuration are proposed for the agreed material and product? |
| Cooling | Is it required by the selected route, and what downstream condition is assumed? |
| Screening | Where are fines separated, and what is included in their handling? |
| Fines return | Is return included, where does it re-enter, and who supplies that connection? |
| Packing or bulk handling | What is the final handling and weighing boundary, and which equipment is supplied? |
Add any other project-specific preparation or auxiliary function to the same record. Do not automatically buy a duplicate stage that existing equipment can perform, or assume an unlisted transfer is covered. TCPEL’s pellet production line page explains the configurable route; the actual quotation must identify the proposed scope.
Define controls, interlocks, instruments and automation
Terms such as “PLC control” or “automatic line” leave important questions unanswered. Ask which supplied machines are controlled, which panels and drives are included, and which functions remain manual or outside the proposal.
Ask each supplier to identify:
- What is measured, displayed or recorded, and which instruments are supplied.
- Which start, stop, alarm and sequence functions are included.
- Which interlocks and signals cross equipment boundaries.
- Who provides the interface documents, integration work and checks of the combined operation.
Keep control hardware, programming and interface work as separate comparison entries when their scope differs. Required safeguards and interlocks need project-specific assessment by qualified people. A quotation checklist cannot approve wiring, select operating setpoints or establish that the complete installation meets site requirements.
Assign responsibility at existing-equipment interfaces
When retaining a dryer or other machinery, mark the old and new equipment on the same layout. Record the physical and material handover point, available space, connection arrangement and operating pattern. Ask who measures the existing equipment’s performance and resolves any mismatch.
For each interface, name the party responsible for supplying the connection, providing supporting information and checking the completed interface. Include electrical and control signals as well as mechanical transfer. An item described as “buyer-supplied” still needs a defined connection to the new supply.
Use the existing-dryer integration guide for the discharge and handover record. A nominal dryer rating does not by itself establish the acceptable output of the combined pellet line.
Compare services and acceptance conditions explicitly
Separate installation work from installation guidance. Ask what each proposal includes for assembly, site attendance, commissioning and operator training, together with the buyer’s required preparation. Record who supplies the relevant layout, interface and operating documents.
For spare and wear parts, ask for the item list, quantities, equipment compatibility and whether they form part of the quoted supply. A statement that support is available does not define the supplied parts or their service life.
Agree how performance will be assessed before treating a quoted output as an acceptance commitment. Ask for the material and moisture conditions, product specification, measurement point, test period, sampling or weighing method and responsibilities for keeping the records. Clarify the treatment of startup, interruptions, returned material and unacceptable product.
A factory test, dispatch check and test of the installed line answer different questions. Record which evidence is offered and what remains to be checked. The guide to verifying a pellet machine manufacturer helps assess supplier evidence alongside the technical comparison.
Keep a traceable two-quotation record
Use a separate entry for each question or scope item. The short template below can be copied repeatedly without building a wide spreadsheet. It contains no example project or assumed supplier answers.
| Record field | Quote A | Quote B |
|---|---|---|
| Document and revision | To complete | To complete |
| Item or question | To complete | To complete |
| Answer and scope status | To complete | To complete |
| Document page or item reference | To complete | To complete |
| Open clarification and responsible party | To complete | To complete |
| Revised answer and confirmation reference | To complete | To complete |
Use clear scope statuses: Included, Excluded, Buyer-supplied, Existing equipment, or Unconfirmed. “Unconfirmed” is useful when a proposal is silent; do not turn a blank into either an inclusion or a zero cost.
Keep three kinds of information separate: what the quotation states, the supporting evidence and a question still awaiting an answer. A brochure rating or verbal explanation should not silently replace a project-specific statement.
Close differences before comparing the totals
Work through each difference in a consistent order:
- Find the cause. Is it a different material or output basis, a scope difference, an interface responsibility or an unsupported statement?
- Ask one specific question. Identify the disputed item and request a written answer tied to the proposal.
- Update the comparison. Record the answer, responsible party and document revision. Retain the earlier version for traceability.
- Confirm the effect. Ask whether the answer changes equipment, controls, service scope, acceptance conditions or the quoted total.
- Close or retain the gap. Close an item only when the answer resolves it in the relevant revised documents. Keep unresolved items visible in the purchasing decision.
Ask each supplier to state who covers civil works, buildings, utility connections, permits and local labour. Record each item as included, excluded, buyer-supplied or unconfirmed, rather than assuming its scope follows from the words “complete line.”
Compare totals after the required scope and remaining differences are clear. Do not assign invented prices to missing equipment or assume that a lower amount includes the work needed to close a gap. Confirm the quotation’s validity and the exact supply boundary with its issuer.
To discuss a TCPEL configuration, send the shared project input sheet and unresolved technical questions through the TCPEL contact page. Identify any retained equipment and the required finished-product measurement point. This gives the discussion a common basis before the equipment and responsibilities are confirmed.
Return to Pellet Production Line Design or browse the TCPEL Technical Knowledge Center.