OK, question for all you Aga/Rayburn experts.

We have a barn in the middle of nowhere that is used infrequently throughout
the year as a living space for shorts periods (usually weekends). We'd like
to fit an Aga/Rayburn type stove to provide cooking facilities and also hot
water (and warmth, though probably not via radiators). The barn has no
services (electricity, water, gas etc), so that is a consideration - water
is currently provided by filling jerry cans at another location.

Questions:
1. Is this even slightly feasible?
2. Which would be better, an Aga or a Rayburn (or other?), and which model
would be best suited?
3. Best fuel? Propane, butane, or solid fuel?
4. What would be the best way of designing such a system?
5. Any websites that may be of any help?

TIA for any help you can provide.

--
/Slugsie

1. Is this even slightly feasible?

Yes, assuming you have a chimney or some other way of removing the
exhaust (obviously).

2. Which would be better, an Aga or a Rayburn (or other?), and which
model
would be best suited?

If you want HW, then it must be a Rayburn (and there are other makes).
See www.agarayburn.co.uk for options. Aga is cooking only.

3. Best fuel? Propane, butane, or solid fuel?

Well, solid fuel means the stove will cost is less, but needs much
tighter control to prevent hot water boiling (although some of the big
ones do have a kind of thermostat that restricts air flow). Butane is
more expensive to install (and it will be propane in winter - butane
doesn't work at close to 0C). But at least with Calor gas you can just
forget it - it will work just like a domestic system with a timer and a
thermostat.

4. What would be the best way of designing such a system?

Well, other than the fact it's a cooker, it's effectively a CH boiler,
so same rules apply. But note my comments re solid fuel.
Regards,

Paul.

In article , Slugsie wrote:
OK, question for all you Aga/Rayburn experts.

We have a barn in the middle of nowhere that is used infrequently throughout
the year as a living space for shorts periods (usually weekends). We'd like
to fit an Aga/Rayburn type stove to provide cooking facilities and also hot
water (and warmth, though probably not via radiators). The barn has no
services (electricity, water, gas etc), so that is a consideration - water
is currently provided by filling jerry cans at another location.

Questions:
1. Is this even slightly feasible?

Can't see why not ...

2. Which would be better, an Aga or a Rayburn (or other?), and which model
would be best suited?

Rayburn.

3. Best fuel? Propane, butane, or solid fuel?

Solid fuel - wood or coal.

4. What would be the best way of designing such a system?
5. Any websites that may be of any help?

The aga-rayburn web site would be a good start, but round here (Dartmoor)
there are plenty of shops who sell refurbished ones, and give you advice.

I used to own a coal-fired Rayburn - heated the water up a treat, although
it wasn't used for CH. It did boil the water on occasion, but it didn't
seem to do it much harm. It was all unvented. It was reasonably easy to
control, but these solid fuel ones did need someone at home for the 2-4
times a day you need to load it up with fuel. (And are messy to clean every
morning)

We got rid of it as it was 55 years old and we weren't at home at
predictable times, so coming in at 9pm to a cool cooker, then spending
an hour getting it back up to heat wasn't fun. We now have a (mains) gas-fired
Stanley range cooker.

With some clever design (but it's not rocket science) you can build a
gravity-fed HW and CH system, so no electrickery required...

Of-course you'll now get the anti heat store cooker brigade down your
throats, telling you how innefficient it will be and how worse stuff
tastes when you cook with it!!!

Gordon

Slugsie wrote, wanting cooking and heating for an
intermittently-occupied barn.

Have you thought about a woodburning stove instead? Plenty of places
will sell (and install, if you want) ones which put out a goodly amount
of heat, and have room for a pan (mayhap two) atop; some can be fitted
with water-heating derangements too, I believe. Fuel shouldn't be an
issue - chop-it-yourself or get loads delivered, and it looks prettier
while burning than an all-enclosed Rayburn lump.

But you may find the Guardian-reading, muesli-knitting, road-protesting
connotations more than you can stomach. Me, I'll be putting one in just
as soon as tuits accumulate. Possibly during this century...

Stefek Zaba typed:

Slugsie wrote, wanting cooking and heating for an
intermittently-occupied barn.

Have you thought about a woodburning stove instead? Plenty of places
will sell (and install, if you want)
snip

If wood is available that is what I would suggest, and cheaper then the arga
hype.
When we first bought our house it resembled an empty barn inside, in one of
the outbuilding we found still boxed a German Krupbrennholz woodburner
stove.
It was our only cocking/heating for the next 5 years.

--
Mark

On 31 Jan 2005 13:35:28 -0800, "Paul" wrote:


1. Is this even slightly feasible?

Yes, assuming you have a chimney or some other way of removing the
exhaust (obviously).

2. Which would be better, an Aga or a Rayburn (or other?), and which
model
would be best suited?

If you want HW, then it must be a Rayburn (and there are other makes).
See www.agarayburn.co.uk for options. Aga is cooking only.



You can do water heating as well with an Aga, but it is really meant
for continuous rather than intermittent operation so a Rayburn is a
better choice anyway....



--

..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

Slugsie wrote:

OK, question for all you Aga/Rayburn experts.

We have a barn in the middle of nowhere that is used infrequently throughout
the year as a living space for shorts periods (usually weekends). We'd like
to fit an Aga/Rayburn type stove to provide cooking facilities and also hot
water (and warmth, though probably not via radiators). The barn has no
services (electricity, water, gas etc), so that is a consideration - water
is currently provided by filling jerry cans at another location.

Questions:
1. Is this even slightly feasible?

Yes...ish.

2. Which would be better, an Aga or a Rayburn (or other?), and which model
would be best suited?

pays tyer money.

3. Best fuel? Propane, butane, or solid fuel?

Oil.

4. What would be the best way of designing such a system?

Ask the manufacturers.
5. Any websites that may be of any help?

TIA for any help you can provide.

On 31 Jan 2005 13:35:28 -0800, "Paul" wrote:

If you want HW, then it must be a Rayburn (and there are other makes).
See www.agarayburn.co.uk for options. Aga is cooking only.

********. Our Aga (oil fired) also heats the water. We have _never_ run
out of hot water!

--
Philip

[Don't top post. Quote selectively. Don't use HTML. Enjoy Usenet]

"My worry would be the problem with freezing whilst the prope=ADrty is
unoccupied, can corrosion inhibitor prevent this."

No, it just inhibits corrosion.

You'd need an antifreeze. Fernox do one. Don't use car antifreeze.
Ethylene glycol (cheap, usual car/industrial type antifreeze ) is very
toxic & it's not a good idea to use it in an indirect water heater. I
don't know what's in the Fernox stuff, probably propylene glycol
(non-toxic).


You should buy a testing kit to monitor it's condition. It turns more
acidic in use and once the reserve alkalinity is used up, it starts
severe corrosion.

"Slugsie" wrote in message
...
OK, question for all you Aga/Rayburn experts.


Thanks all for some useful advice.

To answer a couple points:

Oil isn't an option for various reasons, which I'm not going to go into. We
currently have a wood/coal burning stove at one end of the barn. It does a
great job of heating that end of the barn, and is fine for putting a kettle
on for small amounts of hot water, but wouldn't want to cook on it. On
occasion there is the need to cook for 25+ people, so the idea of a large
Aga/Rayburn just seems to fit.

Like I said, thanks for the ideas and advice, some thinking to do.

--
/Slugsie

To my mind this puts a wet system out of court

It's much the same technology as car cooling systems, which most of us
use routinely without any difficulty. I wouldn't think it's too
complex, but it's your choice.

Slugsie wrote:

"Slugsie" wrote in message
...

OK, question for all you Aga/Rayburn experts.



Thanks all for some useful advice.

To answer a couple points:

Oil isn't an option for various reasons, which I'm not going to go into.

Oh.


If you have plenty of time and wood, a woodburner is not bad, but they
are the highest labour input heating devices known to man.

We
currently have a wood/coal burning stove at one end of the barn. It does a
great job of heating that end of the barn, and is fine for putting a kettle
on for small amounts of hot water, but wouldn't want to cook on it. On
occasion there is the need to cook for 25+ people, so the idea of a large
Aga/Rayburn just seems to fit.

Your choice, They are good cookers - even the solid fuelled ones, but I
would not want to rely on one for heating totally in the winter.

With decent insulation ours (aga) heats a fairly big space adequately
for spring/autumn.

Gravity fed hot water should be OK, but realistically I wouldn't expect
much in the way of central heating out of one - hot towel rail maybe.
In your place I'd try and find a wood burning range, or if coal is a
option an old coal burning aga - should be OK secondhand - an hook up
gravity fed water to that, and then install extra wood burning or coal
buring stoves to get rooms warm on an as-needed basis.

If you can insulate to the hilt you will be cosy even in winter. I've
run with similar systems in the past. A lot of hassle feeding the aga
and you need to coal up well in advance of a big cook, as heaping coal
into them drops the temperature.

The little wood and coal burning stoves are magic too, and some may take
back boilers as well. With insuilated flues you can stick em anywhere -
don't need chimneys.







Like I said, thanks for the ideas and advice, some thinking to do.

The Natural Philosopher wrote:

Your choice, They are good cookers - even the solid fuelled ones, but I
would not want to rely on one for heating totally in the winter.

With decent insulation ours (aga) heats a fairly big space adequately
for spring/autumn.

Gravity fed hot water should be OK, but realistically I wouldn't expect
much in the way of central heating out of one - hot towel rail maybe.

My Rayburn handles cooking, hot water, and central heating. It was a
multifuel, but it's been converted to oil.
A cousin of mine had hers converted to gas - it had no trouble handling the
central heating and hot water, and her place is nearly twice the size of
mine.

Sheila

On 1 Feb 2005 13:05:19 -0800, "Aidan" wrote:

"My worry would be the problem with freezing whilst the prope*rty is
unoccupied, can corrosion inhibitor prevent this."

No, it just inhibits corrosion.

You'd need an antifreeze. Fernox do one. Don't use car antifreeze.
Ethylene glycol (cheap, usual car/industrial type antifreeze ) is very
toxic & it's not a good idea to use it in an indirect water heater. I
don't know what's in the Fernox stuff, probably propylene glycol
(non-toxic).


Yes it is, plus an inhibitor.




You should buy a testing kit to monitor it's condition. It turns more
acidic in use and once the reserve alkalinity is used up, it starts
severe corrosion.

Definitely


--

..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl