opinions on back boiler in an open fireplace

daithi55

hi i bought a house last august planning was obtained in 2006
the only way of heating the rads is with oil
you can also heat the cylinder with either the emersion or oil

i noticed its costing a fortune for the oil have had it serviced and the print out said it 85% efficent if i remember
i buy a plot of turf every year anyway so i was looking to put a back boiler in the open fire
its a warm house once theres some heating in it

i was just wondering if theres much heat for the back boiler
ive had a plumber in and said he can do the job no bother
but wasnt sure of the heat ya got from the back boiler as hes only done two before

id really appreciate some good info on this
i no some people say ya should get a stove but it doesnt
suit the layout of our house

headmaster

I know plenty will differ with my opinion, but the back boilers are only a waste of time and are trouble down the road.

daithi55

headmaster wrote: »

I know plenty will differ with my opinion, but the back boilers are only a waste of time and are trouble down the road.

trouble in what way

Avns1s

headmaster wrote: »

I know plenty will differ with my opinion, but the back boilers are only a waste of time and are trouble down the road.

I agree. Highly inefficient, take the heat out of the room they are in, and can spring a leak after a long time.

I had two of them in a house and would never install them again or recommend that they be installed.

I know you mentioned it in your original post, but you really should consider a boiler stove unless it is totally un-doable.

cavan4sam

i'm wondering the same daithi , not gone on stoves myself and my room is very easily heated so may as well have some use of the fire , can it be switched to either zone ie. upstairs or downstairs or is it strictly one zone , ? hearing all sorts of stories here but i lived in a house with only back boiler and range growing up and it seemed to work well

Carlow52

IMO mixing a closed oil fired system with an open solid fuel system is just 2 much hassle.

I would put a standalone multi fuel stove in and burn the turf, however ash content from turf is higher than from well dried timber..

An open fireplace is a source of significant heat loss 24/7

daithi55

cavan4sam wrote: »

i'm wondering the same daithi , not gone on stoves myself and my room is very easily heated so may as well have some use of the fire , can it be switched to either zone ie. upstairs or downstairs or is it strictly one zone , ? hearing all sorts of stories here but i lived in a house with only back boiler and range growing up and it seemed to work well

best option is to get in a plumber for a look the guy i got gave some good tips
i asked him about zoning and said it can be done alright but i never asked about upstairs but zoning is a bit tricky as the oil is connected to
was talking to someone today and they said they get lots of hot water for 8 rads off an open fire
and when they want a bath they just turn off heating for a half hour to let the tank heat up

Stove Fan

Personaly I like back boilers but not in an open fire. Too much heat lost up the chimney and no real control. I like backboiler stoves though and find them great and quite economical.

We have a stove with wraparound back boiler as our main source of heating in our extended 2 bed bungalow. We have no oil or gas boiler etc.

If you don't have the space for a stove an inset boiler stove is an option:)

Stove Fan:)

Daisy M

We have ano open fire with a back boiler and it has been remarked on by quiet a few how the room is still warm even with back boiler which makes me think we are in the minority. I regret not putting in a stove though as any one I know who has one seems to use a lot less fuel and rads are much warmer. Our back boiler warms the rads but they are never roasting even with a coal fire on all day. I have stat set in hotpress at around 50/55 and we are never short of hot water. We dont use that room much and are going to rely on a gas stove and oil for the winter, I dont think it will cost much more as we were spending between 25/30e each week on coal during the really cold periods.
Just out of curiosity how much do you pay for the turf all in between buying the plot and having it cut? I ask as I dont see that much real savings as my dad pays 300e just to have his own bog cut and then has to save it and sometimes pay for help with it. 300e is approx 25 bags of coal which would do a long time and would be easier than turf.

daithi55

i pay 380 for the turf
and the bog is only 5 minutes from me
i dont mind footing and bringing it home either as im well used to the bog
used to make all my money there as a young fella

rhonin

We got a back boiler put in our open fire about a month ago. We were looking into stoves but it was out of our price range. Very happy so far with the back boiler. We also put in a larger hot water cylinder (250 litres) and it has no problem heating it and the radiators.

daithi55

rhonin wrote: »

We got a back boiler put in our open fire about a month ago. We were looking into stoves but it was out of our price range. Very happy so far with the back boiler. We also put in a larger hot water cylinder (250 litres) and it has no problem heating it and the radiators.

how many rads are ye heating

rhonin

daithi55 wrote: »

how many rads are ye heating

7 large rads and 2 smaller rads in the ensuite and bathroom.

daithi55

rhonin wrote: »

7 large rads and 2 smaller rads in the ensuite and bathroom.

same amount as myself

slave1

I'll not talk of that godforsaken bog place, too many rows in my youth about that whole turf battle.

Anyhow, had a back boiler put into c1900 semi when I moved in 10 years or so, heating for 9/10 rads fine but the room it was in was never toasty.
Not aware of or maybe I could not afford a stove at the time.

Replaced the back boiler (which gave me no problems and I even sold it on) this time last year for a Stanly Erin and best move ever.
Sitting room is now toasty warm, have the two rads in it turned off, one fire is enough to keep the nip out of the air on some of the cooler evenings recently and what folks sometimes forget is that you also improve safety e.g. spitting or spilling coal and the whole 'do I put on a big fire when I'm not in the house/late at night during the bad spell' etc.
Just spent €900 on coal last week and that will do me until next summer no hassle, fire on from around 3 mid-week and noon weekends/holidays.

boski522

daithi55 wrote: »

how many rads are ye heating

hi,
i wonna buy a back boiler-have 7 rads and the hot water tank.was already talking to a plumber,he says is take 2-3 days time 2 do it and is not 2 expencive.
I'm originaly from germany and my parents their has a house in germany and have the same system,my father never complaining about it.so this is why i do it now here.
from year to year oil becomes more expensive and with a back boiler i dont worry,u can get alawys some cheap bloks or what ever;)

daithi55

ive bought a second hand boiler and dual coil cylinder on adverts for 150 euro
pipes fittings pumps etc coming in at 350
so altogether its going to cost at most 800
not bad considering the price of oil

daithi55

just to let ye all no ive had this system installed
altogether it cost 1050 euro
it heats my radiators and as much hot water as we want
thermosat set at 50
the rads arent boiling but generates good heat around the house
of about 20 to 21 degrees
i bought a new cylinder after as this was something i didnt want to change after if it leaked

a breakdown on the price was
150 for back boiler and cylinder secondhand
220 for a dual coil cylinder new
350 for pipes valves electric cable thermostat pump etc
and 380 for the labour

ive yet to scrap my two cylinders that will fetch 50 quid in scrap yard

take in mind i cut the flooring myself and notched the joists in the attic which was a days work in itself for me two
but id a long way to go back to cylinder
so you may need to add this to the cost if looking to get it done
the plumber lent me the tools to do it

DoneDL

daithi55, its a good idea to heat the system with the oil and use the back boiler to maintain it.

daithi55

DoneDL wrote: »

daithi55, its a good idea to heat the system with the oil and use the back boiler to maintain it.

thats a good idea alright
but ive a plot of turf
and dont fancy using the oil that often as its expensive will only use it if theres another cold spell like last year

goat2

where do ye all put your stats, i had mine around the tank, until someone told me that the return pipe to the boiler from tank was the proper place, and it made a big difference, radiators hotter, and coming on more often for longer, a huge difference, like winter to summer over night, stat is at forty

daithi55

mine is on the hot water in pipe to the cylinder

goat2

daithi55 wrote: »

mine is on the hot water in pipe to the cylinder

one plumber put it on the tank for me, then the other said that if i were using oceans of hot water that would be ok, but i dont use oceans of hot water, family use electric shower, so it is only general cleaning a normal family home i need hot water for, so he put it on the pipe and turned the house into a very comfortable easy to heat place, i would not mind but the first fellow skimmed back a piece that good insulation from tank half way down tank to put on the stat, which meant the tank had to hit sixty degrees before radiators got warm and it took about an hour and a half with a good roaring fire, not radiators are hotter than before in half an hour and keeping hot all the time, how a small shift make a big difference.

Stargate

Just wondering , have an open fireplace . Also have Oil tank outside .
Have 3 X 55inch rads and 3 X 33inch rads .

House system as far as i know has a back-boiler in fireplace , but was disconnected during the celtic tiger and put on the oil system.

Assuming the back-boiler is still there , how difficult a job and how expensive would it be to return / make it a DUAL Oil /Fire system ?

Or do you have to have one OR the other ?

Thanks in advance !

Stinicker

You might as well burn the money in the fire, if the back boiler was removed then it was removed for a reason and they are incredibly inefficient. I have just spent the guts of €5k on an entire brand new heating system for my house which involved disconnecting our back boiler in our fireplace in our sitting room.

This back boiler was incredibly inefficient and sucked the heat out of the fire and room and put very little heat into the sitting room. Since the boiler was removed and drilled the open fire actually gives heat to the sitting room now.

I replaced our Stanley Super 80 oil converted range to a Henley stove and installed an outside firebird boiler and for the first time I have the house properly heated ever with each all radiators roasting. The solid fuel wasted in the open fire now drives the Henley stove which means the new oil burner is only really a back up.

Stargate

Stinicker wrote: »

You might as well burn the money in the fire, if the back boiler was removed then it was removed for a reason and they are incredibly inefficient. I have just spent the guts of €5k on an entire brand new heating system for my house which involved disconnecting our back boiler in our fireplace in our sitting room.

This back boiler was incredibly inefficient and sucked the heat out of the fire and room and put very little heat into the sitting room. Since the boiler was removed and drilled the open fire actually gives heat to the sitting room now.

I replaced our Stanley Super 80 oil converted range to a Henley stove and installed an outside firebird boiler and for the first time I have the house properly heated ever with each all radiators roasting. The solid fuel wasted in the open fire now drives the Henley stove which means the new oil burner is only really a back up.

Think the back boiler is still there , just disconnected from the system ( if that makes sense ) . Then the rads etc were connected to an oil burning system . Understand what people are saying re fireplace not being efficient in heating the room . I much prefer an open fire so want to go with that option to use the back boiler to heat the rads in the house and when not using the fire, throw the switch and use the oil heating . Is that Possible ??