Hi,

I have an oil fired boiler with a balanced flue. It's in the kitchen
and all the valves, pump, etc are alongside it. "the boss" thought it
looked ugly and wanted it all hidden away, so I have made a box of
veneered chip around it.

The box is slightly higher than the boiler and about work top height.
I have made a lid from the same sheet of chipboard. The box has a
front and rightthand side but no back because I couldn't get behind
the boiler due to pipes etc.

There is no lefthand side as the lefthand side butts against the
kitchen units; these obviously have a gap under the plinth and behind
the units so heat can escape from the box into these spaces.

Now we've been running the boiler like this and everything has been
ok, but the manual states that if you run it in a "compartment" you
need to add a vent at the bottom and a vent at the top to allow air to
circulate so the boiler does not overheat.

The manual says each vent should have a free area of 232cm^2 or 36in^2
which seems absolutely massive! The area required to "feed" an open
flue boiler is half that!

Many catalogues I have looked at don't give you the free area, only
the overall size of the louvre, which is useless. I've found BES
states the free area but only sells large sizes in white; I would have
liked brass or as a second choice brown plastic (to match the wooden
finish of the box).

My worry is that by the time these are fitted, there will be more vent
than box! Any idea who sells big brass louvres or any idea what to do
next?

TIA