Dual boiler wet CH system?

[Andy Hunt]

Hello all -

I live in Manchester, UK, and my home heating system is currently a wet
central heating system running off a natural gas non-condensing combi
boiler.

I'm planning on re-jigging the house to reduce my dependency on
non-renewable resources, which will include a solar thermal system (which I
hope will give me around 70% of my hot water annually) and a domestic wind
turbine (giving me 15% of my electricity, enough for lights and a couple of
appliances).

I have a gas fire in my living room, but I'm considering removing it,
getting the chimney sorted out, and replacing it with some sort of solid
fuel fire. The chimney goes up through my bedroom upstairs, so some heat
would reach that room if I had a fire downstairs.

I'm considering what I would need in the way of a solid fuel fire if, for
example, my gas supply got cut off. It would be nice to be able to cook with
the solid fuel fire, maybe with iron "ovens" either side of it, and also it
would be nice to have a "back boiler" fitted so that I would be able to
connect it to my wet central heating system (hot water taken care of by
solar thermal system).

I suppose my question is, (along with what solid fuel fire would be best),
would it be possible to connect a back boiler up to my wet CH system to run
in tandem with my gas boiler, so that I could easily switch between the two?

I was thinking of using wood (carbon neutral) or pellets or something for
the solid fuel fire, or possibly just smokeless fuel as I'm in a town. I'd
rather use something that was carbon neutral.

Any suggestions appreciated!!!

Andrew

 

[SQLit]

Hello all -

I live in Manchester, UK, and my home heating system is currently a wet
central heating system running off a natural gas non-condensing combi
boiler.

I'm planning on re-jigging the house to reduce my dependency on
non-renewable resources, which will include a solar thermal system (which I
hope will give me around 70% of my hot water annually) and a domestic wind
turbine (giving me 15% of my electricity, enough for lights and a couple of
appliances).

I have a gas fire in my living room, but I'm considering removing it,
getting the chimney sorted out, and replacing it with some sort of solid
fuel fire. The chimney goes up through my bedroom upstairs, so some heat
would reach that room if I had a fire downstairs.

I'm considering what I would need in the way of a solid fuel fire if, for
example, my gas supply got cut off. It would be nice to be able to cook with
the solid fuel fire, maybe with iron "ovens" either side of it, and also it
would be nice to have a "back boiler" fitted so that I would be able to
connect it to my wet central heating system (hot water taken care of by
solar thermal system).

I suppose my question is, (along with what solid fuel fire would be best),
would it be possible to connect a back boiler up to my wet CH system to run
in tandem with my gas boiler, so that I could easily switch between the two?

I was thinking of using wood (carbon neutral) or pellets or something for
the solid fuel fire, or possibly just smokeless fuel as I'm in a town. I'd
rather use something that was carbon neutral.

Any suggestions appreciated!!!

Andrew

I do not know about Britton but here in the states we have no wood burn
days. I have a natural gas fireplace and the regulations do not apply to me.
I would do some checking and find out. Your source of pellets and or carbon
neutral wood might be hard to find in the future.

 

[Andy Hunt]

I'm not sure what a "back boiler" is, or how closely it is coupled to the
heat inside the stove. I had a "Holly Hydro" - a stainless box about 7"
high by 14" long by 1" thick with 3/4" pipe connections top and bottom -
which fit inside the firebox of my cookstove. It worked too well. If the
water tank it was connected to was cool, you could build a maximum roaring
fire and not be able to fry an egg on the stovetop, or feel much heat in
the room.

Ah, right - I think that "back boilers" (are you in USA? It must be a
British term) are just connected onto the full height of the back of a solid
fuel fire or stove, and thence to the water tank, so there isn't actually
anything in the firebox, just behind it, wich would make it less efficient
but radiate a lot of heat into the room from the fire.

I think we are talking about very similar set-ups, but I was thinking of
using mine to heat my radiators in my wet central heating system rather than
the DHW, but then I suppose I'd still need a pump to pump it round the
system. I'd also have to connect it up in tandem with my gas boiler, but it
would be nice to be able to choose which system I used. My DHW is currently
provided by my gas boiler, but I'm hoping to get solar thermal so I can
dispense with that boiler completely, if necessary.

Your "Holly Hydro" sounds good, but as you say, a little *too* efficient!
It's definitely the sort of thing I'm after, though . . .

Andrew