Oil heating/stove combo - help!!!

Dave2018

Hi all, I know the issue of stoves has been discussed here endlessly so apologies for bringing it up AGAIN but hope that someone out there can point me in the right direction.

Ok so I have oil heating and an 18kw multi fuel stove with boiler. There are approx 12 rads in the House. The oil heating on its own works great - so far so good. The stove is a non brand cheaply made thing from donedeal so I don’t know if it’s truly 18kw etc. It wouldn’t heat the room it’s in let alone the rads even after endless top quality coal and seasoned wood burning. It does however give me a lot of hot water which is good as it’s close to the immersion tank.

I am replacing the stove soon for a Stanley model or similar. My problem is this: if I have the oil heating on for an hour or two say when heading home from work (I use climote) the House is nice and warm when I get home. However if I then decide to light the stove for the evening (oil is off at this stage) after a while the hot water tank sounds like it’s going to explode presumably because it’s already full of unused hot water from the oil heating and now the stove is sending a ton of hot water to it also - note the rads do not get warm.

I’d like the new stove to be a multi fuel with boiler as I like getting the benefit of a warm room plus warm rads and plenty of hot water thrown in. However I also like coming home to a warm house (especially in this weather) and stoves can take a while to warm things up hence using the oil heating on climote beforehand.

So.... is it possible to have these two systems working in tandem without causing problems? Or should I just choose a non boiler model and make life easier for myself?

Sorry for the long post, really appreciate any replies and advice you can give. It was expensive installing pumps and pipes etc for the current stove so hate to see all that go to waste if I have to choose a non boiler model!!!

agusta

What is the thermostat beside your stove set to.it sounds like the circulating pump for the stove is not working and the hot water cylinder is heating through the gravity circuit

Dave2018

agusta wrote: »

What is the thermostat beside your stove set to.it sounds like the circulating pump for the stove is not working and the hot water cylinder is heating through the gravity circuit

Thanks. it was set at 60 degrees originally so I have left it at that. I can hear the pump running but I guess it could still be faulty?? I have also tried different pump speed settings but no joy.

I should also mention the Rads are fitted with TRVs. The towel heaters in bathrooms do not have these and they do get hot as a result of stove been lit. Not sure if that's relevant to my problem or not though!!

Mickeroo

Dave2018 wrote: »

Thanks. it was set at 60 degrees originally so I have left it at that. I can hear the pump running but I guess it could still be faulty?? I have also tried different pump speed settings but no joy.

I should also mention the Rads are fitted with TRVs. The towel heaters in bathrooms do not have these and they do get hot as a result of stove been lit. Not sure if that's relevant to my problem or not though!!

We have a stratford inset boiler that works fine with our oil heating. 60 is what our thermostat by the stove is generally set to too and it pumps water to the rads without issue. I would maybe try waiting for the pipe with the stat to heat up a good bit then lower the thermostat to see if the pump kicks in and warm water reaches any of the rads.

Do you have the trvs set very low? It's possible the room is already heated up to whatever level you have them set to from the oil so the valves don't open when the stove is on, try turning them up and see.

I'm not a plumber or anything fyi, just have a similar set up in the house to yourself.

Dave2018

Mickeroo wrote: »

We have a stratford inset boiler that works fine with our oil heating. 60 is what our thermostat by the stove is generally set to too and it pumps water to the rads without issue. I would maybe try waiting for the pipe with the stat to heat up a good bit then lower the thermostat to see if the pump kicks in and warm water reaches any of the rads.

Do you have the trvs set very low? It's possible the room is already heated up to whatever level you have them set to from the oil so the valves don't open when the stove is on, try turning them up and see.

I'm not a plumber or anything fyi, just have a similar set up in the house to yourself.

Thanks for your message. I have tried lowering the stat as you suggest. Yes the pump kicks in but no luck heating Rads.

TRVs are set to high - still no luck

I went through a serious amount of fuel the other day and got very very slight heat out of Rads which just doesn't make sense. The hot water has to be going somewhere.

agusta

How many rads is the stove heating..,

agusta

Are the 12 rads doubles or singles,I have a stanley erin stove.Slightly bigger than yours..,It really only good when 4 double rads are on.The manual says it will heat more.you could test your stove with just 3 to 4 rads on and see what difference that makes

Dave2018

agusta wrote: »

Are the 12 rads doubles or singles,I have a stanley erin stove.Slightly bigger than yours..,It really only good when 4 double rads are on.The manual says it will heat more.you could test your stove with just 3 to 4 rads on and see what difference that makes

Thanks. They are doubles, I will try with a few rads as you suggest and see how it goes but assuming that I get heat going to maybe 4 rads etc which is better than none at present - will that stop the tank from sounding like it's going to explode or is that a separate issue altogether?

NRG Awareness

Is your system sealed or vented? I would run a heat leak rad off the stove circuit to vent the excess heat out into the house.
How is the stove connected to the main circuit?

Dave2018

NRG Awareness wrote: »

Is your system sealed or vented? I would run a heat leak rad off the stove circuit to vent the excess heat out into the house.
How is the stove connected to the main circuit?

Thanks for your message. It was originally a sealed system pre stove install but the expansion vessel was removed during install so I guess it's a vented system now? Therefore no need for a heat leak rad???

As for how the stove is connected I'm not sure, my level of plumbing knowledge is limited to turning the immersion on/off . I have had a plumber friend look it over, he seemed happy with how everything was connected but couldn't really give me an answer. I guess there are just too many variables so maybe it's best just to install the non boiler model and let the oil heating work in peace!!

Boards.ie: Niamh

NRG Awareness, I have asked you previously not to post until you have contacted us about posting as a business name - please check your private messages.

Thanks.