Solid fuel stove setup

fiestaman

Hi i have a stanley erin withback boiler. i have a 3zone heating system fired by oil. Zone 1 living area x6 double rads, Zone 2 bedroom area x6 double rads Zone 3 Hot water. My plumber put a tap on each zone so i can open whichever zone i want and the stove will only heat that zone because it is not able to heat all the rads together. My problem is when the stove gets going it heats up the water in boiler and then pump kicks in then the boiler cools down and the cycle begins. I think the pump is pulling from the other zone as i cannot see any non return valves. Has anybody done this before or can my system just not work the way its set up. Plumber is in Austrailia now:mad:

Jazzmaster

It's hard to visualise exactly what's happening with your system but it's very common to see dual systems installed incorrectly. You need a non return valve to isolate the two boilers from each other but the valves may not necessarily be located beside the boilers. I've fitted systems to the spec you wanted quite a few times and it's no problem to have the stove heating one zone while the oil does another at the same time. If I was in your position I'd ask a couple of different plumbers to have a look at the system and go with the one that seems to know what he's talking about. I've been plumbing since '95 and been self employed since 2000. Still busy so I must be doing something right.

fiestaman

Jazzmaster wrote: »

It's hard to visualise exactly what's happening with your system but it's very common to see dual systems installed incorrectly. You need a non return valve to isolate the two boilers from each other but the valves may not necessarily be located beside the boilers. I've fitted systems to the spec you wanted quite a few times and it's no problem to have the stove heating one zone while the oil does another at the same time. If I was in your position I'd ask a couple of different plumbers to have a look at the system and go with the one that seems to know what he's talking about. I've been plumbing since '95 and been self employed since 2000. Still busy so I must be doing something right.

Fair enough. it seems to be done right but missing none return valves. basicially what i do is oil on for an hour while the stove is lighting up, then oils off and i turn tap off for living area and turn on bedrooms so stove itself heats living area and boiler heats rads and water but when my pump kicks in it pulls cool water from rads (normal) and it seems to be pulling from manifold for living area too (vice virsa) so all the water is cool again going into boiler. i thought it was supposed to get up to temp and then pump would stay on circulating the water until fire dies off.

Jazzmaster

It's still hard to visualise. There are so many variations in how it could be piped and wired. There's no substitute for someone actually looking at it. When the oil is turned on does the stove get hot even if there's no fire in it and vice versa? That definitely means there are no non return valves.
Also when the stove is lighting it won't necessarily keep the pump running full time. It can only give out so much heat so the pump will cut in and out as the thermostat heats up and cools down.

fiestaman

Jazzmaster wrote: »

It's still hard to visualise. There are so many variations in how it could be piped and wired. There's no substitute for someone actually looking at it. When the oil is turned on does the stove get hot even if there's no fire in it and vice versa? That definitely means there are no non return valves.
Also when the stove is lighting it won't necessarily keep the pump running full time. It can only give out so much heat so the pump will cut in and out as the thermostat heats up and cools down.

yes i understand fair enough. no the stove dosent get hot im positive theres none returns on these. il have to get someone to look at it.
its heating my rads now but not my HW. Plumbing is annoying:mad:

Jazzmaster

Yeah it sure is. You wanna try dealing with it every day.... Still, all these lads with the ten gallon hats keep me in business :-).

fiestaman

How is it possible for the stove to stop heating hot water in cylinder all of a sudden. it was doing it until sunday night, now its just heating rads and not water in tank. Would thermostat for pump be faulty,could this do it?

Jazzmaster

Possibly the stat but unlikely if it's still heating rads. Check that the ballcock in the small tank hasn't got stuck in the closed position. If your cylinder is the highest point it'll be the first to stop heating from lack of water.

fiestaman

Jazzmaster wrote: »

Possibly the stat but unlikely if it's still heating rads. Check that the ballcock in the small tank hasn't got stuck in the closed position. If your cylinder is the highest point it'll be the first to stop heating from lack of water.

Il check that thisevening. Thanks

Markcheese

Jazzmaster wrote: »

Yeah it sure is. You wanna try dealing with it every day.... Still, all these lads with the ten gallon hats keep me in business :-).

There was a part time plumber/nurse/cowboy in this area in late 70's early 80's and I swear he put me and my brother and sisters through school.. The repair and patch up jobs kept my dad going through the bad times of the 80's 90's....

fiestaman

Lit the stove again,checked ballcock all ok. Rads hot but nout in the tank.Is there an injector tee in these first two photos or are they nomal fittings?





This is the rest of the set up.







If the 2nd pic is an injector tee on the return pipe and it was faulty could this give priority then to the rads only?

fiestaman

Bump