Back boilers a good idea?

Section62

Bendy_House said:

Not sure how you can have a back boiler without a water reservoir of some kind? There has to be some way of coping should, say, the pump fail and it starts to overheat. LOTS of boiling water...

I think I would stick with a heat-only, and you can allow some to escape out t'door and upstairs.

For this reason solid fuel back boilers should have been installed so they have (at least part of) their flow operating on a thermosyphon basis and into a large heat sink like a hot water cylinder.

Personally, I wouldn't have a solid fuel back boiler in my house unless it had some form of alarm on the flow pipe to warn of over-temperature.

Another back boiler issue is that when decommissioned they need to be made safe.  I've got a horrible feeling that people getting inventive to avoid the costs of mains gas/electric is going to result in some people starting to use old fires/fireplaces without knowing that there is an abandoned back boiler present.

The HSE put out an alert earlier this year, but the issue deserves a lot more publicity -

https://www.hse.gov.uk/services/localgovernment/boilers.htm

Apodemus

Woolsery said:

You can't get owt fer nowt. We inherited an 8-9kW stove when we came here. It ran some radiators very badly and devoured logs like the beast it was. In essence it exported a lot of the heat we should have felt in our living room.

We replaced said stove with a 5kW Woodwarm and suddenly felt cosy. We also used far fewer logs in an evening. OK we did a lot of work on the house too, but the stove near the middle of the building heats several rooms in average conditions and we have the option to close doors or use the oil boiler at more extreme times.

Another thing for the OP to consider is that if they happen to be in Scotland (a tenement with cornicing suggests that they might be) then they can DIY install a woodburner up to 5kW into an existing chimney without HETAS or Building Regs approval.

Woolsery

Apodemus said:

Woolsery said:

You can't get owt fer nowt. We inherited an 8-9kW stove when we came here. It ran some radiators very badly and devoured logs like the beast it was. In essence it exported a lot of the heat we should have felt in our living room.

We replaced said stove with a 5kW Woodwarm and suddenly felt cosy. We also used far fewer logs in an evening. OK we did a lot of work on the house too, but the stove near the middle of the building heats several rooms in average conditions and we have the option to close doors or use the oil boiler at more extreme times.

Another thing for the OP to consider is that if they happen to be in Scotland (a tenement with cornicing suggests that they might be) then they can DIY install a woodburner up to 5kW into an existing chimney without HETAS or Building Regs approval.

Gosh, wee Krankie certainly gives you a fair bit of freedom up there!

I would add our installation was a combined fitting effort between us and a local firm, able to certify  the finished job. We saved time and money by altering the builders' opening, installing the metal box surround and setting up the hearth. The hardest thing was finding the bespoke galvanised box which was left kerbside for us in a nearby town (Yes, I know, but it's like that here!) We drove up and down, searching in vain, until my passenger suddenly realised the 'telecoms box' standing against a terraced house was what we were looking for!

Apodemus

Woolsery said:

Apodemus said:

Woolsery said:

You can't get owt fer nowt. We inherited an 8-9kW stove when we came here. It ran some radiators very badly and devoured logs like the beast it was. In essence it exported a lot of the heat we should have felt in our living room.

We replaced said stove with a 5kW Woodwarm and suddenly felt cosy. We also used far fewer logs in an evening. OK we did a lot of work on the house too, but the stove near the middle of the building heats several rooms in average conditions and we have the option to close doors or use the oil boiler at more extreme times.

Another thing for the OP to consider is that if they happen to be in Scotland (a tenement with cornicing suggests that they might be) then they can DIY install a woodburner up to 5kW into an existing chimney without HETAS or Building Regs approval.

Gosh, wee Krankie certainly gives you a fair bit of freedom up there!

Of course, the whole Wallace, Bruce & Bannockburn thing was all about our woodburners!

akira181

FreeBear said:

akira181 said: I was looking at the Parkray-Hunter Aspect 14 boiler stove or something along those lines. Nominal heat output 10.3kw, 4.8kw to water, 5.5km to room.

Unless the stove is room sealed, you will need quite a large vent put in an outside wall - This is going to let a lot of cold air in along with a fair bit of noise. If you are in a town, the noise might be a problem.

One more thing to add - Do you like spiders ?

Bringing in logs from outside will introduce spiders in to your home, and possibly a few other bugs overwintering under bark.

My flat was built in the 1900s, almost certain the permeability of my flat is enough that I wouldn't need a vent put in but I imagine the installer would check and advise at the time. This isn't something I'd attempt to DIY.

I grew up in the country, I got no issues with picking up spiders and tossing them out the window

Eldi_Dos said:

@ akira181

Are you allowed a wood burning stove in a tenement?
Does the Clean Air Act allow it in your area.

Defra approved smokeless stoves comply with the clean air act, my neighbour has one.

I guess the back-boiler idea is canned then. Too complex an install for marginal gains. Now to find a plasterer to sort the wall and see if I can get this fireplace opened up.

thanks for the advice!