Wall mounted oil boilers

redlady_1

I need to pick some brains please. We are in the process of redesigning the kitchen and the ancient boiler needs replacing.

We are thinking of having a wall mounted oil boiler rather than floor, as it will take up less space. Now I appreciate it will need a tiger loop etc but I don't know anyone with one and the plumber said they can be a bit of a nightmare.

Does anyone have any experience of these, either using one or servicing please?

Also, is it possible to fit a boiler in a cupboard in the middle of a bungalow? Could the flue go up through the attic and roof?

Thanks

Silent_Dancer

They don't really save that much space as you've still got the same volume just mounted on a wall. Also they are heavy so need to be fixed to a good solid wall.

An increasing popular alternative to free up space internally is to install an external boiler.

Finally if you're intent on buying an internal boiler but don't go for a wall hung one, Worcester sell the smallest floor standing oil boilers.

suki1964

Ours is in the garage as most are here about, but terraced houses around here have them in a covered bit on an outside wall

ilikecookies

In terms of having the boiler wall-mounted I can't see why this would be a nightmare per se. I am guessing the only additional bit of kit you may need would be a pump to push the oil up to the boiler though I'm not sure.

In terms of whether it would be possible to fit the boiler in a cupboard in the middle of the house - of course it's possible but the cost to install the flue to the necessary standard will probably be high and of course you'll need to get a feed from the oil tank here too which could be tricky in such a central location.

I'd advise getting quotes for each option from some OFTEC registered engineers and go from there ...

uberalles

Our oil boiler is on the floor and around 6 feet higher and 20 feet away from the oil tank which is in the garden.

We had a tiger loop fitted 3 years back and experienced absolutely no problems with it.

One word of caution is that I understand from OFTEC that perspex tiger loops have to be fitted outside, not in the boiler room as our installer did.

malc_b

I have a wall mounted oil boiler. It's a HRM wallstar and I chose this as HRM came recommended on diynot.com. Mine is not condensing as I didn't want condensing (it vents towards next door so I reckoned smell wet fumes might not be welcome). Now you don't have a choice and a wallstar is only available in condensing.

I chose a wall mounted boiler because it was a retrofit in to an existing kitchen and was a replacement for a coal fire back boiler in the lounge. With wall mounting I could route the new pipes upwards into the ceiling and not disturb the lower cupboards (and dishwasher). I took off a double cupboard and put back a single. The boiler was a balanced flue type so no chimney needed (or vertical flue).

In case you're interested, the way I converted a back boiler to fully pumped oil boiler was to back feed down the gravity feed pipes and then cross link to the CH pipe work where the back boiler was. The airing cupboard was above the kitchen so I took down part of the kitchen ceiling to do the pipe work. Luckily the kitchen ceiling was a textured finish out of tub so it was possible to do an invisible repair once I have replaced the plasterboard I'd removed.

HRM wallstar doesn't need a tiger loop, it's built in, as is the fire valve. FYI my oil tank is at ground level (well 6in above for the concrete slab).

For the wallstar you have to carve a large hole through a solid wall. No lintel needed but it needs support. A metal box goes through the wall. Outside is the balanced flue. In the wall is the burner. Inside is the heat exchanger (hot water tank). Servicing is done from outside.