Stove query & back boiler

Renno123 · 13-08-2019 3:30pm #1

I am looking for some advise.
I currently have an open fire with back boiler & oil central heating.
the open fire and back boiler and inefficient and do not heat the rads very well.

I am looking at getting a stove however wondering would it be more cost effective to install a stove with back boiler or
have someone remove the back boiler and install a stove which just heats the room?

Thanks,

upupup · 13-08-2019 6:27pm

Renno123 wrote: »

I am looking for some advise.
I currently have an open fire with back boiler & oil central heating.
the open fire and back boiler and inefficient and do not heat the rads very well.

I am looking at getting a stove however wondering would it be more cost effective to install a stove with back boiler or
have someone remove the back boiler and install a stove which just heats the room?

Thanks,

It depends on what you want in terms of heat and how big your house is.
A stove without a boiler will heat the room very well.
If you are trying to heat a very big house with a boiler stove then its not worth the hassle..too much filling up the stove and too much cleaning next morning.

A smaller size house is ideal for a boiler stove

monseiur · 14-08-2019 3:28pm

If you already have a copper cylinder with a coil you should consider fitting a suitably sized stove with back boiler- the back boiler to be used to heat domestic hot water only as a direct cylinder system. Your oil boiler will, with the use of motorised valves etc., heat cylinder thru coil in summer or when stove is not in use.
Also, assuming that house is occupied during the day to do the stoking, you can use the stove for cooking etc. and save on gas/elect.

slystallone · 27-12-2022 11:25pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/110965962#Comment_110965962

I have moved into a house now with a stove with a back boiler but the stove itself doesnt radiate hardly any heat outwards into the room it feels like. Is this typically for stoves with a back boiler attached?

slystallone · 15-01-2023 12:03pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058006188/stove-query-back-boiler

....

slystallone · 15-01-2023 12:11pm

Can you convert a stove from being a back boiler stove to just a regular stove emitting heat out into the room?

pagan22 · 15-01-2023 12:11pm

stove all the way had an open fire with back boiler and found it useless,changed it to a stove[with a back boiler] and have never looked back

slystallone · 16-01-2023 11:11pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/110965962#Comment_110965962

Can a boiler stove be converted to just a regular stove that emits heat out into the room?

monseiur · 19-01-2023 11:14am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120110898#Comment_120110898

It can be done, have you easy access to pipes at back of stove ? Get your plumber to sort pipework out. Replace boiler with fire brick, should be available off the shelf.

eusap · 19-01-2023 11:23am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120039319#Comment_120039319

Stoves with boilers have dampers, there should be a number dial somewhere to control the water temperature. If the water gets hot enough the damper closes to make the fire last longer. All stoves have a rating to the Room and to the Boiler, if yours is 4kw to room and 12kw to water if the water shuts down with the damper the heat to room reduces in proportion

slystallone · 19-01-2023 11:46pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120128211#Comment_120128211

Where would the damper be located and what does it look like? Could this be the temperature dial you mean?

slystallone · 19-01-2023 11:51pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120128172#Comment_120128172

Yeah there is access just about

eusap · 23-01-2023 1:37pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120132192#Comment_120132192

No its built into the stove, you need to look up the manual of the stove and it will tell you the location. That picture shows a thermostat that probably triggers the pump to come on

kerryjack · 23-01-2023 9:47pm

Ya did this recently due to a leaking boiler stove never really worked great as was always sending too much heat to rads and not enough to room and you would need to be shovelling coal in to it . Now a big change great heat out to room and fire lasts a way longer. Plumber who plumbed it originally never put Valve's to turn off water to stove. had to use a quick freeze pack, 25 euro in local hardware, worked a treat stoped water long enough to put a plug in water supply to stove, pluged the pipe on the other side leaving the 2 pipes coming out of stove opened, you will be surprised how much water will come out of boiler easily 2 buckets and will be dirty so expect a big clean up lucky for us it's a tiled floor.

slystallone · 24-01-2023 11:06pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120148065#Comment_120148065

so you still have the boiler stove, just its not connected to the boiler anymore?

Lenar3556 · 26-01-2023 12:06am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120153497#Comment_120153497

I wouldn’t be overly enthused about running a boiler stove dry. The boiler (and potentially the stove structure) will be inclined to warp and split. It was never designed for use without being full of water.

slystallone · 26-01-2023 7:53pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120158749#Comment_120158749

I have an oil burner as well but when I turn that on, the hot water flows into the back boiler. Should that be the case? To me it should just circulate around the rads to be most efficient. Also how big are back boilers usually?

Lenar3556 · 26-01-2023 10:39pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120162048#Comment_120162048

You could fit a non-return valve to stop the oil boiler circulating water through the back boiler.

slystallone · 27-01-2023 12:11am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120162798#Comment_120162798

Would that improve the heat going to the rads as right now some are only warm , especially downstairs when the oil heating is on.

Lenar3556 · 27-01-2023 11:12pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120163211#Comment_120163211

It would likely help. But there may be other issues why the radiators are not heating correctly.

Circulation pump issues

Radiators need balancing

Build up of sludge in the system

kerryjack · 28-01-2023 10:13am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120158749#Comment_120158749

It could but the thing is you don't need the big roaring fire on anymore a few sods would keep it going,also seems to be running a lot cleaner glass not getting as black as it used to can't belive people are still connecting stoves to heating systems as with the price of coal at the minute and turf won't heat rads might in a small house with 3 or 4 rads.

C. Eastwood · 28-01-2023 10:32am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120162798#Comment_120162798

This is incorrect advice.

There must be no valves whatsoever on the primary supply and return pipes of a solid fuel boiler.

To prevent hot water from the Oil/ gas boiler entering a solid fuel boiler, there needs to be 4 pipes connected to the solid fuel boiler. The 2 pipes from the central heating boiler is fitted with a non-return valve to prevent the solid fuel boiler from acting as a Radiator.

Lenar3556 · 28-01-2023 12:10pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120168886#Comment_120168886

A swing type non return valve correctly fitted on the stove isn’t going to cause any real issue. The stove remains fully open vented and there is no safety impact.

What you describe is undoubtedly preferable, but this is an existing installation and would involve significant modifications to pipe work.

If it was me, I’d live with the boiler circulating through the stove. I don’t see it causing any great issue. When you choose to introduce solid fuel boilers to heating systems you have to accept that your ability to control the system will be significantly reduced.

C. Eastwood · 28-01-2023 12:27pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120169178#Comment_120169178

I have a Non-Return valve which is in a blocked position. It was removed from an old plumbing system.

If this was on a SFB - the boiler could have exploded.

Therefore, there should not be any valves fitted on the primary pipes of SFB’s

I understand what people and Plumbers are capable of doing.

There has been a number of explosions of SFB reported in Ireland.

A non- return valve on the 25 mm primary pipes of a SFB is not required on a properly plumbed system.

slystallone · 28-01-2023 9:48pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120169178#Comment_120169178

Yeah, as I am finding this to be the case now, some rads warmer than others, I am thinking of just getting rid of boiler and then its a case of is the boiler stove usable as a dry stove or do I need to go out and buy a new stove?

Lenar3556 · 29-01-2023 12:37am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120169234#Comment_120169234

I think you are over egging it a little. Non-return valves can and do become struck, but there will be no explosion.

The stove retains an unobstructed path directly to the expansion tank where it can vent. There would be little by way of pressure increase within the stove even with a blocked n/r valve.

To put it in perspective, pipework blocked over time with sludge, poor circulation and absence of a sufficient number of radiators turned on will all give rise to an similar scenario where excess heat is being produced in the stove vs demand.

A 3 bar PRV should also be installed close to the stove as an additional indemnity.

Lenar3556 · 29-01-2023 12:40am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120170962#Comment_120170962

The rads warmer than others can likely be solved with some balancing, and possibly a flush of the system if there is significant sludge buildup.

If it was me I would get rid of the boiler stove. Put in a room heater only model. You could then add some time and temperature controls to your oil system.