Replacing storage heater insulation

worlestone

Our semi detached house has 4 older dimplex storage heaters each on a single supply, because of the design of house/electrics it's going to be cost prohibitive to fit Lot 20 Quantums. I know that the insulation in the heaters is cracked in parts and as they are 30+ years old I wondered whether replacing the insulation with something like ceramic fibre blanket material might help better insulate them and hence control the output?

Anyone else experience of doing this?

No an ASHP is not an option, been there, tried that!

Albermarle

The old insulation may well contain asbestos. Have you checked?

ThisIsWeird

As Albe says, first check your heaters against Dimplex's register, to be 100% certain the insulation doesn't contain asbestos.

Then, what is the actual issue you are trying to improve? Do you find it releases too much heat when you don't want it? If so, is this down to a lack of insulation, or a faulty output control? 

Does the output control work ok - can you hear the shutter flap open and closed when you turn the control?

Tbh, I suspect that upgrading the insulation won't help much - unless your heater body is clearly far too hot due to failed insulation - and it'll certainly be a fraught and messy task. 

I have one 2nd-hand Dimplex S-H connected up to a PV controller so it gets charged up from excess generation, and whilst it isn't remotely a new model, it ain't 'old' either. I know the insulation inside is intact, as I had it apart when I collected it, but heat does still come through the front panel when it's nicely charged, so they just aren't all that good at keeping heat in! Having said that, when you consider that the inside core will be very hot - hundreds of oC - then the outside cover being 'nicely warm' does suggest that the insulation is actually 'ok'.

So, how hot does your S-H casing become?

If you really think they are suffering from a lack of insulation, then keep an eye on Facebook Marketplace and see if there are any newer ones available in your 'hood. You can often pick up replacements for a fraction of their new price, and can then do a direct swap for yours, one at a time - the wiring is simple, provided you know what you are doing...

But - asbestos check first.

FreeBear

Cracks in the insulation will not affect heat loss to any extent that you would be able to measure. It is only when you have large chunks missing that you should start to worry.

worlestone

Albermarle said:

The old insulation may well contain asbestos. Have you checked?

It doesn't, I've checked on the NSH database, but thanks for the reminder

worlestone

Thanks for the replies. They work fine, we're home all the time, so leakage not a huge problem, and they are run with the output flap closed all the time. I'm thinking that insulation has probably improved a lot over the years, as the Quantum HHSH are cool to touch compared to our olde XLN's. I wondered whether another layer of insulation would allow more control - heat through the output flap rather than leaking through the front.

Fitting Lot20 heaters is problematic, I was just considering whether it's possible to improve the older ones?

ThisIsWeird

worlestone said:

Thanks for the replies. They work fine, we're home all the time, so leakage not a huge problem, and they are run with the output flap closed all the time. I'm thinking that insulation has probably improved a lot over the years, as the Quantum HHSH are cool to touch compared to our olde XLN's. I wondered whether another layer of insulation would allow more control - heat through the output flap rather than leaking through the front.

Fitting Lot20 heaters is problematic, I was just considering whether it's possible to improve the older ones?

See the way they say, "Do not cover"? Horse-poo - I pile towels and alsorts over ours.

If you were to add an extra blanket around them - say like a cylinder jacket - there should be no risk. Just keep the top output vent free.

I don't know what you mean by 'Lot20' - have you looked on Marketplace for more modern heaters?

worlestone

ThisIsWeird said:

worlestone said:

Thanks for the replies. They work fine, we're home all the time, so leakage not a huge problem, and they are run with the output flap closed all the time. I'm thinking that insulation has probably improved a lot over the years, as the Quantum HHSH are cool to touch compared to our olde XLN's. I wondered whether another layer of insulation would allow more control - heat through the output flap rather than leaking through the front.

Fitting Lot20 heaters is problematic, I was just considering whether it's possible to improve the older ones?

See the way they say, "Do not cover"? Horse-poo - I pile towels and assorts over ours.

If you were to add an extra blanket around them - say like a cylinder jacket - there should be no risk. Just keep the top output vent free.

I don't know what you mean by 'Lot20' - have you looked on Marketplace for more modern heaters?

Lot 20 is the new spec for the modern fan assisted heaters which need (usually) a 24hr supply as well as the off peak

ThisIsWeird

worlestone said:

ThisIsWeird said:

worlestone said:

Thanks for the replies. They work fine, we're home all the time, so leakage not a huge problem, and they are run with the output flap closed all the time. I'm thinking that insulation has probably improved a lot over the years, as the Quantum HHSH are cool to touch compared to our olde XLN's. I wondered whether another layer of insulation would allow more control - heat through the output flap rather than leaking through the front.

Fitting Lot20 heaters is problematic, I was just considering whether it's possible to improve the older ones?

See the way they say, "Do not cover"? Horse-poo - I pile towels and assorts over ours.

If you were to add an extra blanket around them - say like a cylinder jacket - there should be no risk. Just keep the top output vent free.

I don't know what you mean by 'Lot20' - have you looked on Marketplace for more modern heaters?

Lot 20 is the new spec for the modern fan assisted heaters which need (usually) a 24hr supply as well as the off peak

Complete overkill.
If your current heaters are a few model-generations old, have a gander on FB and see if you can pick up more modern equivalents. Almost certainly a cheaper option than trying to sort what you have.

danrv

I think fan assisted would be best.
Probably not much to be gained by replacing the current ones with non fan assisted.
Maybe try some kind of insulation jacket as suggested to retain the heat but I wouldn't bother modifying them internally.
Quote from the older XLS series manual:

'During the following day the heat stored in the brick core is gradually transmitted through the insulation and out of the heater case. 
In the morning, when the core is at its hottest, the amount of heat being transmitted through the insulation and emitted as radiant heat is at its greatest and the heater feels hot over most of its upper outer surfaces.'

Risteard

ThisIsWeird said:

worlestone said:

ThisIsWeird said:

worlestone said:

Thanks for the replies. They work fine, we're home all the time, so leakage not a huge problem, and they are run with the output flap closed all the time. I'm thinking that insulation has probably improved a lot over the years, as the Quantum HHSH are cool to touch compared to our olde XLN's. I wondered whether another layer of insulation would allow more control - heat through the output flap rather than leaking through the front.

Fitting Lot20 heaters is problematic, I was just considering whether it's possible to improve the older ones?

See the way they say, "Do not cover"? Horse-poo - I pile towels and assorts over ours.

If you were to add an extra blanket around them - say like a cylinder jacket - there should be no risk. Just keep the top output vent free.

I don't know what you mean by 'Lot20' - have you looked on Marketplace for more modern heaters?

Lot 20 is the new spec for the modern fan assisted heaters which need (usually) a 24hr supply as well as the off peak

Complete overkill.
If your current heaters are a few model-generations old, have a gander on FB and see if you can pick up more modern equivalents. Almost certainly a cheaper option than trying to sort what you have.

Lot20 compliance is law.