Great Rural MoneySaving Hunt

citroennut

Hi Nyk,

I don't think you need a HETAS installer in Scotland, though I maybe wrong. We certainly didn't when we installed ours. We installed ours ourselves and it really isn't as big a deal as some make out.

Our chimney is already lined with clay liners and we have never had any problems with it. If your house has already had some kind of stove previously then your chimney will probably be okay. We found the very best person to give us advice was our chimney sweep. He can check the condition of your chimney for you and is impartial.

The only other piece of advice I have is, if possible have the flu coming out of the back of the stove, leaving the top surface free for kettles, etc!

citroennut

Sorry Nyk, have just noticed that you hope to have a back boiler installed as well. I'm sure that is much more complicated to fit. Hopefully your plumber will be able to advise on that aspect. Apologies.

harryhound

Nothing very complicated about joining up the traditional hot water tank and expansion tank in the loft.
The bumph that comes with the stove probably specifies what is needed.

BTW electric immersion heaters have to have a thermal cut out fitted now, so if the immersion does not work at the end of the winter, it could well be that the back boiler has "over" heated the hot water tank and triggered the cut out.

annie123

try this Nyk

http://www.stovesonline.co.uk/services/stove-installers.html

and whilst the one below is a diy forum, I have posted many questions over the years and always got helpful replies

http://www.diynot.com/


hth

Frugaldom

harryhound wrote: »

BTW electric immersion heaters have to have a thermal cut out fitted now, so if the immersion does not work at the end of the winter, it could well be that the back boiler has "over" heated the hot water tank and triggered the cut out.

I was hoping not to have to use the immersion switch once we had a back boiler. It would only be used during summer months when the stove wasn't lit. This worked very well for us in a previous house where it was open fire with back boiler. My main concern is that I need hot water without relying on electricity 365 days of the year, as it's just so expensive.

Yes, I am aiming to have a stove top with space enough for a pan & kettle. The gap where it will go is where the original multifuel Rayburn stove stood until just a few years ago. The amount of rent we pay reflects the inadequare provision for heating & hot water, so I guess the choice would be to pay more rent for a more modern system or pay cheapish rent and do whatever repairs we can ourselves within our own budget. Not everyone can afford to buy a house of their own and not everyone lives in housing association or council properties. But we all need a place to call home where we have the right to some home comforts

Thanks for all the comments, I am doing the figures as I go along and, if it turns out not to be a viable option in a rented house, it won't be getting done. The agreement would be that we have tenure long enough to warrant such a huge expense on our part or else the landlords reimburse us if they end the tenancy agreement. Seems perfectly fair to me. I'm looking at a saving of at least £300 per year on my electricity costs, I live rurally and I need to save money for a house to retire into within 20 years. The way I see it, I'm as well using savings whilst interest rates on savings accounts are pretty worthless.

mardatha

Of course it's a good investment Nyk, it doenst matter if its rented or not its' still HOME. I am wondering if it would be better to have one with a stainless steel flu/chimney thing that goes up outside the house ? Then there would more chance of taking it with you if you ever moved ?
Ours came from Pearsons in Duns I think, & there's a place in Melrose. Somebody somewhere will be able to fit it. Ours is on 24/7 all year round. The walls are all warm now and we don't get frozen pipes. In summer you can turn it right down so it just gives you water without being fried..

Frugaldom

Thanks for that, Mardatha. The way I see it, it would cost me an extra £1,500 a year to rent a similar house that already has some form of heating in it and about here, it tends to be oil, as there's no mains gas. Our landlords have had these houses rented out for years and we're expecting to be here for a long time, so it's an investment in our own future here.

Hoping to get a basic set up that will give me heat in the kitchen, at least one hot plate and constant hot water whilst the stove is lit. I've seen a small pot-bellied stove with a hot plate that's really cheap and have even considered installing one of these into the existing fireplace in the livingroom, where we currently use an open fire.

mardatha

My neighbours did that, they had to get the flue sealed to the chimney or something and that was all. Be worth it for sure.:D

choille

We put a wood burner in a house that we rented with the LL permission.
We put all pipework external - didn't hide it, but had to drill through the walls.

We had a pump that we had to switch on when the stove got up to temp & ran a couple of radiators off it - it also heated the water & I could have a kettle & pan on it. We did it ourselves & when we left removed the sove & Heath Robinsonesque pipe work & made good any damage. We did it into an existing fire place. But it was an old cottage & was all wood lining & was probably a bit risky.
If you have an open fire with a back boiler could you keep that as is & put in a stove into another opening & would that be sufficient to heat the house?

Lotus-eater

nykmedia wrote: »

I am not stupid, I do realise that such a huge job needs to be undertaken by a professional,

(It isn't close enough for any potential sparks to reach, before anyone suggests further stupidity.)

Who called you, or anything stupid, anyway ??