A couple of years ago I put oil central heating in my house. I live in
a single story cottage and have run all the piping up and through the
loft as the hot water tank was there and the cottage floor is made from
cement. However as we have a coal fire going nearly everyday in winter
I thought that if I fitted a wrap around back boiler into the hearth,
then it would save me a fortune in oil costs. I now have a good 2nd
hand back boiler but have been told it won't be as easy as I thought to
plumb it into my existing system. I have an open system, ie not
pressurised, My flow and return pipes are 22mm with 15mm pipes being
used to supply all the radiators. Some people say it will work fine if
I just attach the back boiler to the flow and return others say I will
have major problems regulating and dissapating the heat. Will I still
need the circulating pump when the backboiler is being used or can I
rely on purely convection to circulate the water.

Am I making a big mistake or is it a feasable idea......any comments or
tips would be greatly appreciated

Thanks in advance

Andy

"dsnd_medic" wrote in message
ups.com...
A couple of years ago I put oil central heating in my house. I live in
a single story cottage and have run all the piping up and through the
loft as the hot water tank was there and the cottage floor is made from
cement. However as we have a coal fire going nearly everyday in winter
I thought that if I fitted a wrap around back boiler into the hearth,
then it would save me a fortune in oil costs. I now have a good 2nd
hand back boiler but have been told it won't be as easy as I thought to
plumb it into my existing system. I have an open system, ie not
pressurised, My flow and return pipes are 22mm with 15mm pipes being
used to supply all the radiators. Some people say it will work fine if
I just attach the back boiler to the flow and return others say I will
have major problems regulating and dissapating the heat. Will I still
need the circulating pump when the backboiler is being used or can I
rely on purely convection to circulate the water.

Am I making a big mistake or is it a feasable idea......any comments or
tips would be greatly appreciated

Thanks in advance

Andy


google Dunsley Neutraliser

"John" wrote in message
...

"dsnd_medic" wrote in message
ups.com...
A couple of years ago I put oil central heating in my house. I live in
a single story cottage and have run all the piping up and through the
loft as the hot water tank was there and the cottage floor is made from
cement. However as we have a coal fire going nearly everyday in winter
I thought that if I fitted a wrap around back boiler into the hearth,
then it would save me a fortune in oil costs. I now have a good 2nd
hand back boiler but have been told it won't be as easy as I thought to
plumb it into my existing system. I have an open system, ie not
pressurised, My flow and return pipes are 22mm with 15mm pipes being
used to supply all the radiators. Some people say it will work fine if
I just attach the back boiler to the flow and return others say I will
have major problems regulating and dissapating the heat. Will I still
need the circulating pump when the backboiler is being used or can I
rely on purely convection to circulate the water.

Am I making a big mistake or is it a feasable idea......any comments or
tips would be greatly appreciated

Thanks in advance

Andy


google Dunsley Neutraliser

Best use a thermal store. Look at http://www.heatweb.conm for explanation.

On 14 Oct 2005 15:01:55 -0700, "dsnd_medic"
wrote:

A couple of years ago I put oil central heating in my house. I live in
a single story cottage and have run all the piping up and through the
loft as the hot water tank was there and the cottage floor is made from
cement. However as we have a coal fire going nearly everyday in winter
I thought that if I fitted a wrap around back boiler into the hearth,
then it would save me a fortune in oil costs. I now have a good 2nd
hand back boiler but have been told it won't be as easy as I thought to
plumb it into my existing system. I have an open system, ie not
pressurised, My flow and return pipes are 22mm with 15mm pipes being
used to supply all the radiators. Some people say it will work fine if
I just attach the back boiler to the flow and return others say I will
have major problems regulating and dissapating the heat. Will I still
need the circulating pump when the backboiler is being used or can I
rely on purely convection to circulate the water.

Am I making a big mistake or is it a feasable idea......any comments or
tips would be greatly appreciated

Thanks in advance

Andy

Andy

If you boil the water in the back boiler you are in big trouble, you
will have lots of gas to get out of the system, and it has to get
throught the pipes and out of the expansion pipe at the top. Boliing
the water makes a terrbile racket.

We joined our back boiler in with a dunsly baxter neutraliser. When
the fire was on, we flick a switch that pumps the fire water into the
neutraliser, and then the rads / hot water take the heat away. I have
since junked this thing. When the fire is on, the gas boiler goes off.
I made a box of tricks with some relays from maplins.

My new house, will have no gas / oil boiler, and two wood fires. I
have since learnt that it can be done with gravity, but thats hard in
a bungalow. I then learnt that the pumps really need a UPS system -
you don't want that water boiling. if you have no UPS, a bucket of
water on the fire when the leccie fails is just as good.

One idea is to use a thermal store, so you heat that with the fire,
and its so big it will take all the heat you can make in 8 hours of
wood burning. You then take the heat out for rads hot water etc. The
oil or electric can be used as top up, as can solar etc ...... This is
what I will do.

So it is feasable, but is not obviously simple.

Rick