Refilling a Backboiler.

Yi Harr

Hi, the house I am currently living in had the backboiler in the fireplace drained when oil fired central heating was installed.

I am hoping to use the fireplace this coming winter and have been told that in order to use the fireplace I would need to either get the backboiler refilled or get it taken out altogether.

I am just wondering:

What I could expect to pay (if no hitches are encountered) if I was to get the backboiler refilled?

What potential hitches could arise?

Would it be better to get the backboiler taken out altogether?

Is it possible to have the radiators run off both the backboiler and ofch?

Thanks.

Master and commander

when you mean drain, do you just mean drained or was is disconnected from the system. if it was just drained, it should be at least partially refilled when the rest of the system was filled with water. Generally when a system is refilled the boilers refill themselves - just gravity. To make sure its full, there should be a blow off valve located somewhere near it, maybe in a cupport beside the fire. this will have a knob or lever or similar on top. give it a turn or lift it and air or water should come out. When water comes out the boiler is full. If ther is no valve to be found there probably isnt one so the boiler should be full anway,

if the boilers disconnected, well yes you either have to reconnect it or remove it.

who told you this? if some guy is being cute and saying he will do it and charging big money for twisting a lever then he's trying to play you for a fool.

in my experience, back boilers dont need manual filling or bleeding, they just automatically refill by gravity when the system fills up at commissioning. he may be trying to con you for money. He sounds suspicious, i've never heard of that before now, and i'm at building a long time.

can't think of any hitches involved in bleeding/filling. faily simple systems. even ones that have no vent pipe will have two automatic bleed valves (for failure redundancy).

to get it removed and a new fireback installed you'd be looking at around 500 ish, depending on who you get.

there is no problem in using the back boiler and central heating systems together. i have it at home. just make sure there is a non return valve on the back boiler so the oil boiler won't be heating it with resultant wasteful heat losses through chimney. there should also be a pump there to ensure circulation to downstairs rads when using the back boiler only.

Yi Harr

Now that you say it I think it may have possibly been disconnected. I'll have to double check that this evening.

Master and commander

aye, you'd need to reconnect it or get rid of it then. probably cost more or less the same to do either. personally, i'd go for reconnecting it as you'll get better value for money as a result of the extra energy captured by the boiler that will otherwise be wasted up the chimney. make sure to install a non return valve at least and maybe a pump though. thats important.

Wyldwood

firstly I'm not a plumber but I had a back boiler disconnected a few years ago because it was useless and absorbed all the heat from the room while eating fuel. When the plumber disconnected it, apart from cutting off the supply of water to and from the boiler, he also drilled holes at the bottom of the back boiler itself so be aware, if you are thinking of refilling it, that you might have a flood!!

Master and commander

drilling holes in a back boiler when disconnecting? that sounds like a cowboy you got there. you should have had it removed and a fireback installed.

a back boiler is good. see the room doesn't heat as mcuh but what you lose and more goes intothe hot water/rads so you don't need immersion heater as much.

guaratee if i did the calcs you spend less on heating with a BB than with standard fire and immersion. Gaurantee it.

back boilers are 65% efficient but a standard fire is only about 30%. no brainer.

Yi Harr

So if at all possible I should be looking at getting the backboiler reconnected (with a non-return valve) rather than getting it removed.

I stuck up a query on onlinetradesmen so will see what kind of prices I get back from that.

Yi Harr

Wyldwood wrote: »

he also drilled holes at the bottom of the back boiler itself so be aware

Just came across this article on my search for info.

Woman's death in boiler explosion highlights back boiler risk

Christine Goodall died of multiple injuries when the cast iron boiler behind her fireplace burst, causing burning wood and shrapnel to rain down on her, an inquest into her death heard.

The 65 year-old woman had been told the open fire in her Twyning home was safe to use when the boiler was put out of service in 1999. However, after lighting her fireplace on November 11, 2007 for the first time since the boiler was put out of service, the boiler heated up and exploded.

The boiler had not been fitted with a venting valve and the residual water expanded to bursting point, the coroner at the inquest heard. The back boiler was decommissioned by Matthew Lee in 1999, for a contract from Severn Vale Housing.

Probably best to get a professional to have a look at first before I have a go at anything myself.

Wyldwood

Master and commander wrote: »

drilling holes in a back boiler when disconnecting? that sounds like a cowboy you got there. you should have had it removed and a fireback installed.

Wasn't done by a cowboy but my regular plumber who's top notch. I didn't want the boiler removed because it would have involved taking out fireplace & this wasn't a runner. Don't use fireplace much now and have had a cowl with a spring fitted so can be closed in winter to keep heat in. Very pleased with it.

DoneDL

It was considered best practise to drill out a back boiler and leave it uncapped at the pipework connections. You would be best advised to get a plumber who understands solid fuel heating as putting a check valve in the wrong place can have dangerous consequences.

sullzz

Master and commander wrote: »

drilling holes in a back boiler when disconnecting? that sounds like a cowboy you got there..

Any plumber you talk to will tell you that the y leave the backboilers uncapped and drill holes in the bottom , this is common practice and not being a cowboy

Outkast_IRE

Agree its common practice to drill holes in a back bolier when its disconnected from the system

gdavis

Mr.Cowboy was most likely acting in a safe manner when drilling holes,so as not to create what is more or less a bomb in ur backboiler if water left in and heated in sealed box!