Solid Multi fuel boilers

paul303

Thinking of putting in a multi fuel boiler into the garage to reduce amount of oil I'm burning. I'm looking at a Turkish model with automated controls for burn rate. Two questions
Will it work on an unvented system?
Will I need a buffer tank?
Any advise out there????

catastrophy

To benefit from the possible efficiencies you'll need a buffer tank. What is the make/model your looking at?

paul303

cetik is the make, I was thinking of having it slightly underpowered, 24KW so that it burns at 100% but another guy is recommending oversizing .What do you think?

catastrophy

I've heard both arguments (for over and under powering) and tbh I have never seen any figures to back up either. Personally I'd rather have a slightly overpowered boiler or system.

keithk81

Have you installed your boiler yet , ?? Whats it like, getting one myself and would like a bit of advice, have been looking at various types and models and they all just seem the same

brownswiss

Hi I lit the furnace and went about my chores . ESB shut off power for emergency repairs I presume . Did not realise for about 30 minutes that power was off, by which time the fire was probably burning about 45 minutes.
The Boiler/ Furnace is in a shed near the Dwelling house. Some sort of pressure release above a pressure clock blew off steam but the main pressure release on the furnace did not blow. The heat got so intense that the wiring/ computer on furnace melted and the steam from the furnace blew a pipe in the house.
I do not have any plumbing knowledge. Is there any expert that I can call to look at the system to see if it was installed in a safely.

Could the boiler have exploded ?

Thanks for any info

Dtp1979

brownswiss wrote: »

Hi I lit the furnace and went about my chores . ESB shut off power for emergency repairs I presume . Did not realise for about 30 minutes that power was off, by which time the fire was probably burning about 45 minutes.
The Boiler/ Furnace is in a shed near the Dwelling house. Some sort of pressure release above a pressure clock blew off steam but the main pressure release on the furnace did not blow. The heat got so intense that the wiring/ computer on furnace melted and the steam from the furnace blew a pipe in the house.
I do not have any plumbing knowledge. Is there any expert that I can call to look at the system to see if it was installed in a safely.

Could the boiler have exploded ?

Thanks for any info

Worst case scenario the boiler will explode and if something like that explodes it will take half your house with it. DO NOT LIGHT IT AGAIN until you have an expert look at it

brownswiss

Until the power failure I thought my plumber who supplied and installed the system was an expert. Now I think we are very lucky that we did not have a major explosion.
Where will I get a Genuine expert/ plumber/ Engineer ?

Dtp1979

brownswiss wrote: »

Until the power failure I thought my plumber who supplied and installed the system was an expert. Now I think we are very lucky that we did not have a major explosion.
Where will I get a Genuine expert/ plumber/ Engineer ?

What part of the country are you in?

brownswiss

Sligo

Dtp1979

brownswiss wrote: »

Sligo

sorry I know nobody that side of the country

brownswiss

Dtp1979 wrote: »

sorry I know nobody that side of the country

..

Thanks anyway. Maybe there is no expert in Sligo and that is why i'm in trouble now

shane0007

brownswiss wrote: »

Hi I lit the furnace and went about my chores . ESB shut off power for emergency repairs I presume . Did not realise for about 30 minutes that power was off, by which time the fire was probably burning about 45 minutes.
The Boiler/ Furnace is in a shed near the Dwelling house. Some sort of pressure release above a pressure clock blew off steam but the main pressure release on the furnace did not blow. The heat got so intense that the wiring/ computer on furnace melted and the steam from the furnace blew a pipe in the house.
I do not have any plumbing knowledge. Is there any expert that I can call to look at the system to see if it was installed in a safely.

Could the boiler have exploded ?

Thanks for any info

Your post alone should be made a "sticky".
These systems are never a problem until there is a problem.

Ensure measurements are taken on all sides of the furnace, including diagonals to see if any buckling occurred.

Dtp1979

Just out of curiosity OP could you take pics of the installation and show us

brownswiss

Dtp1979 wrote: »

Just out of curiosity OP could you take pics of the installation and show us

...

I really appreciate your input. I will take pics in the morning.

brownswiss

http://www.flickr.com/photos/113000098@N06/

brownswiss

Plumber has replaced melted wire and computer on furnace. He said furnace construction is very strong and that we were not in any danger.
Still not Sure
why some sort of pressure release did not solve the problem before the furnace blew a pipe in the house which is across the yard from the furnace. One suggestion from a friend is that the steam from the furnace made its way to the house while the power was off and blew the pipe.
Plumber claims the pipe blew after the power came back on and pumped the boiling water into the house

Dtp1979

brownswiss wrote: »

Plumber has replaced melted wire and computer on furnace. He said furnace construction is very strong and that we were not in any danger.
Still not Sure
why some sort of pressure release did not solve the problem before the furnace blew a pipe in the house which is across the yard from the furnace. One suggestion from a friend is that the steam from the furnace made its way to the house while the power was off and blew the pipe.
Plumber claims the pipe blew after the power came back on and pumped the boiling water into the house

I'd get a second opinion on that if I were you. Expanding steam is stronger than any steel casing on a boiler. If pipes are blowing off I'd be seriously worried. Is there any pressure gauges anywhere? And if so what do they read when the system is both hot and cold

toshsmith

Hi i bought a defro 25kw multi fuel boiler - double wall flue and all the bells etc.

Good points - it is certainley capable of heating a 2-3000 2foot home.
no ash in the house which is great , no co2 in th house which is great.

Bad points
The smoke from them is terrible.
And before anyone asks the fuel i was burning was as follows
Timber = moisture content 18-22%
Turf = moisture content 20-25%
coal = perfect condtion.

They smoke all the time - my temps were set to 55-65 with a fan speed of 50%. Even when it reached its setpoint - this is where the fan goes to sleep the smoke got worse.

Heavy on fuel - you will be told you will get 4-10 hours from a fill - to be honnest you were doing well at 3 hours.

My advice is ber very careful with these lads going around selling them

Jack180570

Question. .. how are you determining moisture content of the fuels?

toshsmith wrote: »

Hi i bought a defro 25kw multi fuel boiler - double wall flue and all the bells etc.

Good points - it is certainley capable of heating a 2-3000 2foot home.
no ash in the house which is great , no co2 in th house which is great.

Bad points
The smoke from them is terrible.
And before anyone asks the fuel i was burning was as follows
Timber = moisture content 18-22%
Turf = moisture content 20-25%
coal = perfect condtion.

They smoke all the time - my temps were set to 55-65 with a fan speed of 50%. Even when it reached its setpoint - this is where the fan goes to sleep the smoke got worse.

Heavy on fuel - you will be told you will get 4-10 hours from a fill - to be honnest you were doing well at 3 hours.

My advice is ber very careful with these lads going around selling them

nophd08

toshsmith wrote: »

Hi i bought a defro 25kw multi fuel boiler - double wall flue and all the bells etc.

Good points - it is certainley capable of heating a 2-3000 2foot home.
no ash in the house which is great , no co2 in th house which is great.

Bad points
The smoke from them is terrible.
And before anyone asks the fuel i was burning was as follows
Timber = moisture content 18-22%
Turf = moisture content 20-25%
coal = perfect condtion.

They smoke all the time - my temps were set to 55-65 with a fan speed of 50%. Even when it reached its setpoint - this is where the fan goes to sleep the smoke got worse.

Heavy on fuel - you will be told you will get 4-10 hours from a fill - to be honnest you were doing well at 3 hours.

My advice is ber very careful with these lads going around selling them

I installed a 25kw auto feed defro 2.5 yrs ago and it is a revelation. Installation is key. Only smoke I have is on start up and then it runs almost clear. I only burn pea coal.

Dtp1979

nophd08 wrote: »

I installed a 25kw auto feed defro 2.5 yrs ago and it is a revelation. Installation is key. Only smoke I have is on start up and then it runs almost clear. I only burn pea coal.

What size house you got and what's the running cost of fuel per year?

nophd08

Dtp1979 wrote: »

What size house you got and what's the running cost of fuel per year?

2000sq ft bungalow and so far this heating season about €300 of coal. (End Sept til now) heat on almost constant.