Where to find a heat engineer?

Caitriona

I'm going around in circles trying to work out what to do about our heating requirements - do we get a stove, do we get a back boiler, do we upgrade our oil boiler with a grant - I'm not qualified to answer any of these questions properly and I'm starting to think it might be better to get a professional in to sort the thing out once and for all.

Is this generally a good way to go, and if so, where do I find a reputable one?

Outkast_IRE

Caitriona wrote: »

I'm going around in circles trying to work out what to do about our heating requirements - do we get a stove, do we get a back boiler, do we upgrade our oil boiler with a grant - I'm not qualified to answer any of these questions properly and I'm starting to think it might be better to get a professional in to sort the thing out once and for all.

Is this generally a good way to go, and if so, where do I find a reputable one?

I can give you some basic advice if you have any questions , im a qualified plumber and currently in college studying to become a building services engineer.

In my opinion Stove is always a better option than a back boiler as you lose a lot of heat through a open fire place via drafts when not in use , and the stove just makes more efficent use of fuel.

How old is your current boiler ?
Is it gas or oil?
Has it needed many repairs or is it reliable?

DoneDL

Caitriona wrote: »

I'm going around in circles trying to work out what to do about our heating requirements - do we get a stove, do we get a back boiler, do we upgrade our oil boiler with a grant - I'm not qualified to answer any of these questions properly and I'm starting to think it might be better to get a professional in to sort the thing out once and for all.

Is this generally a good way to go, and if so, where do I find a reputable one?

I would use the internet and research as much as you possibly can. To me the fundamentals are
1. Insulate as much as well as you can.
2. Upgrade your heating controls.
3. Have your boiler serviced regularly.

Ater this it all depends on the property and the occupants. Have you a young family which will increase hot water usage through baths and showers then definitely consider solar. Are you fit enough to have a solid fuel system long term and have you access to cheap fuel. There are so many variables that it`s hard to give a clear answer. So come up with a plan and ask advice if you are unsure, most posters on this forum seem genuinely to care even if we disagree on the finer points.

Katz83

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

I can give you some basic advice if you have any questions , im a qualified plumber and currently in college studying to become a building services engineer.

In my opinion Stove is always a better option than a back boiler as you lose a lot of heat through a open fire place via drafts when not in use , and the stove just makes more efficent use of fuel.

How old is your current boiler ?
Is it gas or oil?
Has it needed many repairs or is it reliable?

Hi i was just wondering if you would be able to give me some advise. i am in the same predicament. At the stage of pulling my hair out.

Have spent months trying to decide on back boiler stove or just a room heating stove and cant come to decision.

its a new build. Good insolation value prob have a B2 rated house. going to have solar panels. Zoned heating with trv fitted. Hotpress about 20 feet from stove. Room the stove will be in is pretty big 9m by 5m. Would you recommend a back boiler stove or a room heating stove.

Would be delighted for your opinion.

Outkast_IRE

Katz83 wrote: »

Hi i was just wondering if you would be able to give me some advise. i am in the same predicament. At the stage of pulling my hair out.

Have spent months trying to decide on back boiler stove or just a room heating stove and cant come to decision.

its a new build. Good insolation value prob have a B2 rated house. going to have solar panels. Zoned heating with trv fitted. Hotpress about 20 feet from stove. Room the stove will be in is pretty big 9m by 5m. Would you recommend a back boiler stove or a room heating stove.

Would be delighted for your opinion.

And is the hotpress on the same floor as the stove or upstairs this can make a big difference when connecting as somtimes a piperun can be too long to work for the stove if its on the same floor especially.

You need to ask yourself what type of user are you i find if you have a large room heating stove and you are the type of person to leave doors open the heat tends to creep around the house anyway out to the halls etc which can help , but if keep doors shut and arent concerned with leaving the doors open to help stoves heat move about then perhaps a back boiler would be a good use , as if the stoves are only heating a single room a good stove can contribute to the hot water aswell .

As your connecting solar to the cylinder anyway i wouldnt be in as much of a rush to connect a stove unless its a easy practical job to do. As i said manufactuers data must be consulted on the length of pipe run allowed etc.

heinbloed

Since Katz83 is still in the planning phase ( http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=71298233) - what about a proper planning ?

The engineer and architect would be able to detail an efficient heating system. Including heat load and supply and distribution.

Who decided to put in

Zoned heating with trv fitted.

?

Either or. Go for TRVs and an intelligent circulation pump. Forget the " zoned heating ", that's RTE/SEAI style of consumer advise, absolute nonsense. It suits the incompetent installer's pocket but not the consumer's interest.

The heating engineer is able to help but needs the drawings from the architect, incl. details and material choice, U-values and ventilation equipment etc...

A manufacturer of a stove or boiler can't give advise on pipe length/run, only numbers on his equipment.
That a thermal storage tank/buffer tank is to be calculated differently with a pumped circulation when positioned on the ground floor or the first floor is nonsense.

Katz83

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

And is the hotpress on the same floor as the stove or upstairs this can make a big difference when connecting as somtimes a piperun can be too long to work for the stove if its on the same floor especially.

You need to ask yourself what type of user are you i find if you have a large room heating stove and you are the type of person to leave doors open the heat tends to creep around the house anyway out to the halls etc which can help , but if keep doors shut and arent concerned with leaving the doors open to help stoves heat move about then perhaps a back boiler would be a good use , as if the stoves are only heating a single room a good stove can contribute to the hot water aswell .

As your connecting solar to the cylinder anyway i wouldnt be in as much of a rush to connect a stove unless its a easy practical job to do. As i said manufactuers data must be consulted on the length of pipe run allowed etc.

Thanks for reply

We have all the initial pipe work done for back boiler. The stove is on the same floor as tank. We seem to get alot of different opinions on it. Some say definately go with back boiler others say because of how far it is from hotpress and the size of our room it is a waste of time. We have also been told that solid fuel heating can cause huge damage to radiators and showers over time. That showers are now set at a certain tempature say 80degrees and that the hot water with the stove can surpass this. Has anyone heard of this before.

Starting second fix pumbing in about two weeks so its nearly decision time for us.

heinbloed

heinbloed wrote: »

Either or. Go for TRVs and an intelligent circulation pump. Forget the " zoned heating ", that's RTE/SEAI style of consumer advise, absolute nonsense. It suits the incompetent installer's pocket but not the consumer's interest.
.

It works very well and is simplistic, it's silly to say otherwise.

heinbloed

Adresses of heating engineers can be found in the golden/yellow pages.

@ Katz83:

From what I read in your posts you certainly need a heating engineer on-site.
Most of what you have posted so far (being based on hear-say) is simply not true.
Spend a few Euros on a proper planning.Send the cowboy plumbers back into the field.

jinghong

Katz83 wrote: »

Hi i was just wondering if you would be able to give me some advise. i am in the same predicament. At the stage of pulling my hair out.

Have spent months trying to decide on back boiler stove or just a room heating stove and cant come to decision.

its a new build. Good insolation value prob have a B2 rated house. going to have solar panels. Zoned heating with trv fitted. Hotpress about 20 feet from stove. Room the stove will be in is pretty big 9m by 5m. Would you recommend a back boiler stove or a room heating stove.

Would be delighted for your opinion.

the problem with a back boiler stove is you will be bringing a lot of fuel in to heat the house. If it's in the kitchen, it's probably not so bad. Another option is to consider a log boiler. That way you don't have to bring so much fuel into the house. If I was building, my preference would be to build a large furnace like this except with with outside feeding so you dont bring fuel into the house, the furnace door is flush with the outside wall, and you can put in 1 metre long logs, so less cutting

since this is not for everyone, my second choice would be a log boiler

this is probably not your sup of tea, but just to add some options..

Outkast_IRE

Katz83 wrote: »

Thanks for reply

We have all the initial pipe work done for back boiler. The stove is on the same floor as tank. We seem to get alot of different opinions on it. Some say definately go with back boiler others say because of how far it is from hotpress and the size of our room it is a waste of time. We have also been told that solid fuel heating can cause huge damage to radiators and showers over time. That showers are now set at a certain tempature say 80degrees and that the hot water with the stove can surpass this. Has anyone heard of this before.

Starting second fix pumbing in about two weeks so its nearly decision time for us.

I would reccomend connecting the stove to the cylinder if it is practical , you would need to get info from stove manufacturers to see if the pipe runs would be ok , if its going to cause too much trouble or its borderline on the length of pipe run i wouldnt worry about it .
As for the comments about showers certain temp , if your installing solar or a stove to the cylinder it would be necessary to have a mixing valve on the hot to ensure that the hot water leaving the hotpress is at a certain set temperature , ensure a mixing valve on the hot is part of the installation.

good logs...

if like me and you like to light the fire in the siting room i would get a back boiler in. Its some thing i should have done.:(

Outkast_IRE

good logs... wrote: »

if like me and you like to light the fire in the siting room i would get a back boiler in. Its some thing i should have done.:(

Yes but you cant do it in every situation you need to be no further than a certain distance from stove to cylinder this is even more important when they are both on ground floor .