New to Ireland - Oil fired boiler info.

wilhelm

Hello all.

I have moved to Ireland in the last year and a half (yes, I know;)) with my Irish born wife from abroad.

We have just bought a house down in Wexford which will need the oil fired central heating boiler replaced.

Having been born and lived in a warm country down in the Southern Hemisphere, I must admit that my knowledge of such things leaves a lot to be desired, even though I'm pretty good at DIY.

The house has a Ribe Jernindustri boiler in the garage that heats the radiators. I've done some research, and it appears to be a Scandinavian company that no longer does boilers.

The boiler itself looks in woeful condition, and the estate agent has said that it hasn't been used for at least 2 years as well, and will probably need to be replaced.

The boiler has 67100kcal/h on it, which I've worked out to be 266 000btu, or 78kW. The house itself is a bungalow of about 100m2, and dates from the 1970's, which I guess is the age of the boiler as well.

In replacing the boiler, would I need to find one that matches these output figures? Or would newer boilers be more efficient and therefor require a lower output?

What would be the cost of such a boiler, and would I be allowed to install it myself?

Thanks, and be gentle with me.:D

wilhelm

Anybody?

Gurgle

A boiler will set you back around €700 to €1200, you can install it yourself, you can use any one that's on the market here, you should match the heat output of the old one.

DoneDL

wilhelm, your best bet would be to get a oil fitter in to have a look. No I would not suggest doing it yourself as any warranty would be voided. I doubt very much that you would need anything like a 78kw boiler. There is also the oil tank to consider as the system is old and whether there is a fire valve installed properly. You could try the OFTEC website or ask your neighbours who they use as regards a fitter.

wilhelm

Thanks for the feedback.

I'll have a little look at that website.

Is there a way then to calculate the type of output I need from a boiler for a house that size?
10 single panel radiators in a 100m2 bungalow. Would I perhaps use the number of radiators as a guide? What would other similar setups use in terms of boiler output?

wilhelm

Went onto that OFTEC website, entered in the various permutations into their calculator, and got an ideal boiler size for the property of 18,4kW.

Does that sound right for a property of that size?

I note that the assumption on the calculation is 2kW for water heating or hot water. This house is oil fired central heating, with seperate electric water heating for domestic use.

So I assume that therefore that 18,4 kW boiler should be revised downwards to a 16,4kW boiler or thereabouts for the ideal?

Would anyone recommend where I'd go about pricing such a boiler? I'm on a budget in this current economic climate, to put it mildly.

DoneDL

wilhelm, ring around the local plumbing merchants and they will give you a price on the boiler and will probably check the calculations with you but I would still recommend getting someone in to advise you. It might be a case of you disconnecting and removing the existing boiler and then getting someone to commission the new or a similar arrangement.

brownacid

Before you pull the trigger, check out this site, you may be able to get a grant to up grade the boiler if its that old, I think the grant is about 500 quid or so.

JohnnieK

wilhelm wrote: »

Went onto that OFTEC website, entered in the various permutations into their calculator, and got an ideal boiler size for the property of 18,4kW.

Does that sound right for a property of that size?

I note that the assumption on the calculation is 2kW for water heating or hot water. This house is oil fired central heating, with seperate electric water heating for domestic use.

So I assume that therefore that 18,4 kW boiler should be revised downwards to a 16,4kW boiler or thereabouts for the ideal?

Would anyone recommend where I'd go about pricing such a boiler? I'm on a budget in this current economic climate, to put it mildly.

You also have to take into account how far the pipes travel from the boiler to the house and if they are insulated properly. You will have heat losses through these so this will up the kW out put needed. Does the boiler not heat the hot water cylinder too?

wilhelm

JohnnieK wrote: »

You also have to take into account how far the pipes travel from the boiler to the house and if they are insulated properly. You will have heat losses through these so this will up the kW out put needed. Does the boiler not heat the hot water cylinder too?

Johnnie, I'm aware of the importance of lagging those pipes, and it will be a priority of mine.

I'm unsure of the hot water cylinder, as I will only take ownership of the house next week. When I asked the estate agent, she told me that the cylinder is heated electrically, but of course she could be wrong. Where I come from, water is electrically heated in hot water cylinders rated at a certain kPa for pressure, as we have no need for central heating. This is new to me, and I'm feeling my way through it.
Would a seperate standalone electrically only heated cylinder be a rarity in Ireland? If so, then she could obviously be wrong.

The house was built in the late 1970's, and not a thing has been upgraded since.

wilhelm

Update.

I checked the oil tank, which, from my calculations, has approximately 200 litres of oil in it.

I then tried the boiler, and it fired up nicely, with the gauges giving readings, etc.

The problem is that the radiators are not warming. I noticed that there is an electric pump on the pipework, and this obviously is used for moving the heated water around the system.

This pump is just humming, and getting hot to the touch.

I assume this is the problem? I've seen a small screw that is labelled "vent", and I've undone that and get water coming out.

The pump I take it is seized? Is there a way of unseizing it?

heinbloed

If the pump is humming it is not seized.

Get a professional in for the anual maintenance of the CH system. As they do it abroad: get the entire heating system checked, all meassurements protocolled.

JohnnieK

wilhelm wrote: »

Update.

I checked the oil tank, which, from my calculations, has approximately 200 litres of oil in it.

I then tried the boiler, and it fired up nicely, with the gauges giving readings, etc.

The problem is that the radiators are not warming. I noticed that there is an electric pump on the pipework, and this obviously is used for moving the heated water around the system.

This pump is just humming, and getting hot to the touch.

I assume this is the problem? I've seen a small screw that is labelled "vent", and I've undone that and get water coming out.

The pump I take it is seized? Is there a way of unseizing it?

When you say hot to touch is it very hot compared to the pipes either side? If so and it's definitely humming then it's probably seized. First take the cap off the vent completely and observe when running if the spindle is turning. You can turn the power off, and using a screw driver rotate the spindle inside a couple of turns if it's not. Put the cap back on and try it. If no joy then the motor is burnt and a new pump is needed.

Are you sure there is no air locks present in the system?

wilhelm

heinbloed wrote: »

If the pump is humming it is not seized.

Get a professional in for the anual maintenance of the CH system. As they do it abroad: get the entire heating system checked, all meassurements protocolled.

Dankie Hein

Ek sal daroor dink as ek nie regkom.

wilhelm

JohnnieK wrote: »

When you say hot to touch is it very hot compared to the pipes either side? If so and it's definitely humming then it's probably seized. First take the cap off the vent completely and observe when running if the spindle is turning. You can turn the power off, and using a screw driver rotate the spindle inside a couple of turns if it's not. Put the cap back on and try it. If no joy then the motor is burnt and a new pump is needed.

Are you sure there is no air locks present in the system?

Thanks Johnnie.

That seems like clear and concise advice.

The pump gets very hot on the top, and hums, like a lawnmower that is on but the blades are not turning. That's why I suspect it's seized.

I'll give it a go this weekend when I'm down at the house and let you know how I got on.

wilhelm

Sorry to bring the old thread back, but could anyone recommend a supplier of oil fired boilers in County Wexford?