Changing coal fire heating to electric boiler - can it be done?

alyth

Been meaning to post this for ages and wonder if anyone can give me any advice. I live in a 3 bed cottage that has a coal fire with a back boiler that powers the radiators. Now once the fire is up and running the house is lovely and warm, and I always have tons of hot water, but up here in the wilds of Scotland it's a real pain having to clean out the fire and light it at 6pm every night.

This has been in my mind for ages, hence just posting now! Is is possible to convert my system somehow and install an electric combi boiler, or something similar, get rid of the back boiler on my fire, and still keep the coal fire? My radiators are fairly new so don't need replaced, and I imagine that all the pipework is there. I have a cupboard in my sitting room that the boiler could be put into, which at the moment has the hot water tank in that is heated from the back boiler from the coal fire.

I'd be grateful for any advice, it's a rented cottage but I'm never going to get kicked out, and if it was only going to cost something like a couple of grand to do this then I would seriously consider it later in the year. I would like to keep the fire, but from the limited information I've been given it would seem I'd have to disconnect the back boiler somehow, but I've no idea whether it would be possible to do what I'd like to do!

Anyone any knowledge or experience of this?

Thanks. Alyth

Cardew

It is possible but it will mean quite lot of work.

The problem is that your back boiler will be filled with water. You will have to get the pipes disconncted and the back boiler drained. Water boiling with nowhere to go = explosion.

As you are in the wilds of Scotland, I assume you don't have mains gas?

If no gas I would think very carefully about an Electric Combi boiler - the cost of running it will shock you.

alyth

Cheers Cardew, your theory about the boiler exploding is what someone was trying to explain to me and I didn't understand, now I get it.

I am totally in the wilds, no gas in the village apart from LPG, or oil which I hadn't really considered until you mentioned the cost of the electricity, I lived in another part of the village until I seperated and we had oil heating there, guess there's no way of converting what I've got into an oil boiler? is it easy to get the pipes disconnected - I have a concrete floor in my sitting room and again someone said that could cause problems.

It's partly sheer laziness as I've lived like this for 7 months now and it's just a pain coming home to a freezing cold house, I've got the fire down to a fine art now and can get it cleaned and lit within about 15 mins, it's just it's messy, mind you it's easier to budget for coal and logs than gas and electricity I guess!

Cardew

Although I have CH I have an electric firelighter that is absolutely amazing.

You just throw coal on the fire and point the nozzle at the coal and it lights - no mess, no fuss. Read about it here

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=811289&highlight=electric+firelighter

To save coming home to a cold house why not buy a cheap oil filled radiator and a timed plug to set it to come on an hour before you get home?

Some radiators even have their own timer.

munchings-n-crunchings

Hello Alyth,

I have recently changed my heating system from an open coal fire with a back boiler, to an LPG Combi boiler. The boiler went in my airing cupboard in the space vacated by the immersion tank, and the feed and expansion tank went from the adjacent bedroom.

I decided as the new system was pressurised, to have all my pipework replaced, a good job really as some of the joints were a little suspect.

My installer applied for a grant through Npower, and in my case, I received a grant of £1500.

http://www.a1-boilers.co.uk

The pipes were removed, and the back boiler was drilled to drain the last of the water, and this left the back boiler in situ, but it will not work again as a boiler.
But, my fireplace will still work purely as a fire for extra room heat.

I decided to have the 47 kg lpg bottles, as opposed to the bulk storage tank, and 2 bottles costing £75 for the pair is lasting me 5 weeks, with heating on for 3 hours in the morning and 6 hours in the evening, to heat a 3 bed house.
At this time of year, my open fire would guzzle it's way through between 2 and 3 50kg bags of coal a week and at current prices that would cost me £220, and so lpg is a far cheaper option.

I have been really pleased with the change, and so has my pocket. I know everyone has their opinion on lpg, but I knew I didn't want oil, and I like the flexiblity to shop around for botttle prices,

Good luck

Munchie:D

mardatha

if you're to spend that kind of money Alyth, get a multi fuel stove, that's what we have . Its linked to our existing back boiler, the council put it in and radiators. We live in a place like you, and our fire stays lit most of the year. Every 24 hours you empty the ash and shove on more coal, and you can turn it down to 0 overnight and while you're out. I would sooner get rid of the OH than my fire !

barrymung

Yes. Perfectly possible to do and quite simple (In theory)

The complicated bit will be making it all look tidy.

The back boiler will need draining, as someone else has already said. Not a particularly complicated task.

Last time I checked (Which was a few years ago) an electric boiler cost around 15-20% more to run than the gas equivalent.

You should be able to pick up an electric boiler for around £400, installation would bring this to around £1000, I'd imagine.

scotty026

Hi barrymung,

Any more updates on your electric combi boiler findings ??

I have the same issue as you a coal fire with back boiler that eats £120 a month

I have looked for suppliers that does the fitting but I have had no luck

Thanks

richardc1983

Heat pumps all the way to provide your hot water and heating.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1464827

Long winded and lots of info to take in but check out the 2nd post and some links to the same system but by different manufacturers.

Igol

As has been said, get a mulitfuel stove with a back boiler.

Your pipework is there already so you'll save there, they're far more efficient than open fires, its a lot cleaner too as its contained and you can easily get it banked up for a slow burn.

And if you want to get creative you can add a HWC and a timeswitch and have a nice thermal store that'll heat the house just before you get up or home from work.

alyth

Thanks for all your replies - as you can imagine it's about minus 10 up here at the moment (okay, slight exageration!) so I'm looking into whether I can get any kind of grant for a heating system.