Max rads on a multi-fuel stove

Heighway61

Got a quote for a inset stove and back boiler. I have 24 radiators, 12 up, 12 down. Installer has said that the maximum number of radiators his biggest output boiler will heat is 10.

Would that be standard or should I look elsewhere?

Forge83

Heighway61 wrote: »

Got a quote for a inset stove and back boiler. I have 24 radiators, 12 up, 12 down. Installer has said that the maximum number of radiators his biggest output boiler will heat is 10.

Would that be standard or should I look elsewhere?

Zone the system into 2 parts.
Biggest inset boiler stove is the Stratford EB16 inset boiler. Would heat approx 12/13 single radiators.

After that you are looking at a massive cassette boiler like below.

https://stoneandstoves.ie/product-category/stoves/stoves-kratki/boiler-firepalces/30kw-boiler-inserts/

Heighway61

Forge83 wrote: »

Zone the system into 2 parts.
Biggest inset boiler stove is the Stratford EB16 inset boiler. Would heat approx 12/13 single radiators.

After that you are looking at a massive cassette boiler like below.

https://stoneandstoves.ie/product-category/stoves/stoves-kratki/boiler-firepalces/30kw-boiler-inserts/

It's zoned for oil. There is a mix of large and small, single and double.

The Continental Op

OP, have you worked out the logistics of this?

Coal and wood don't run down a pipe into a stove. You have to order and stack your fuel and move it through the house then get rid of the ash. Not something that bothers us in an old house, with a supply of free wood, the time to cut and stack it along with plenty of storage space.

Neighbors have just got rid of a massive cassette stove that could heat a 5 bed house but the logistics of keeping it burning weren't for a couple with full time jobs and kids.

Heighway61

The Continental Op wrote: »

OP, have you worked out the logistics of this?

Coal and wood don't run down a pipe into a stove. You have to order and stack your fuel and move it through the house then get rid of the ash. Not something that bothers us in an old house, with a supply of free wood, the time to cut and stack it along with plenty of storage space.

Neighbors have just got rid of a massive cassette stove that could heat a 5 bed house but the logistics of keeping it burning weren't for a couple with full time jobs and kids.

Have the wood in for the winter. Have two stoves but no boiler, so just wanted to put one in.

Heighway61

What's the story with the radiator limit? Can you go 11 or 12 with a 10-limit boiler? Switch anything over 10 off? Could you get over the 10 with some turned down?

upupup

Heighway61 wrote: »

What's the story with the radiator limit? Can you go 11 or 12 with a 10-limit boiler? Switch anything over 10 off? Could you get over the 10 with some turned down?

There is no limit.You can hook it up to 20 rads if you want but all the heat will be gone from the water after 10 rads.Yes, you can turn some down and turn some off and mix it up.If you have the wood and are used to stoves then go for it

screamer

have a massive stove that heats 16 rads or so they told us. its not able to heat the last rad in the system at all, so we have a 100k oil range which works great and when the incinerator is lit as i call it, it circulates the water long after the oil range is off. i wouldn't rely on a stove to heat that many rads, and being honest we find oil more economical and less work.

monseiur

Heighway61 wrote: »

Got a quote for a inset stove and back boiler. I have 24 radiators, 12 up, 12 down. Installer has said that the maximum number of radiators his biggest output boiler will heat is 10.

Would that be standard or should I look elsewhere?

An uncle of mine was in similar position to you, had ample supply of turf & timber - fitted stove with biggest output boiler available etc. etc.
Had plenty of heat once stove was going full blast ...which needed a full time stoker ! But after just one winter he had to put in an oil boiler as a back up as with the back boiler alone he had no heat in the cold mornings and sometimes not up to 10 or 11 am. Same applied if he was out for the day, he was returning to a cold house, whereas with the oil he can set the time clock to kick in as required 24/7 and the house is always warm.
Just something to think about.

Wearb

With an oil boiler, if its too much undersized (or underfired) it can cause backend rot. This is where the return temperature is too low for too long. This causes the boiler to rust out. I assume the same applies to a solid fuel boiler.

So if too many rads (all on at the same time) for the rated output of the boiler, it will cause too low of a return temperature to the boiler.

Heighway61

Begining to sound like a non-runner. Would running the back boiler alongside the oil do the job? As you can see, I know very little about this.

Wearb

Heighway61 wrote: »

Begining to sound like a non-runner. Would running the back boiler alongside the oil do the job? As you can see, I know very little about this.

A low return temperature with an oil boiler can be overcome with a bypass. Not sure about it's use with a boiler stove. An installer would/should know. You could always phone the technical dept of the manufacturer/supplier.