Stove query & back boiler

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,

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?

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

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

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

Yeah there is access just about

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

I comply with health and safety regulations with solid fuel boilers.

1. Solid Fuel Boiler exploding, could cause Injury or death.
2. Scalding by escape of boiling water.

https://www.thesun.ie/news/7890346/mayo-home-wood-burner-exploded-destroyed/amp/