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Hi all, as my username suggests I ain't very smart when it comes to DIY and such so please excuse any idiocy that dribbles from my mouth. I recently moved into a house that has an open fire with a back boiler that heats 5 radiators through an electric pump.
Sure it looks pretty, but it's a lot of work for something that most people take for granted. Y'know, they set a timer and they have heat, I wake up freezing my bahooky off, empty the ash tray, start the fire and then have to wait a couple of hours before the radiators start to heat up.
I've got a couple oil filled radiators set on timers to keep the chill off the house in the morning. I also set them to come on a couple hours before we get home when we're out for the day. Anyways, you get the picture.
The main issue I guess is the time it takes to heat the radiators. Does anyone know of any tricks or tips to speed things up? I've tried fire logs which help when I've been out as I can just throw one on to get the fire started quickly when I've got other things to attend to, but they're a bit pricy to use on a regular basis. I use the smokeless fuel rounds which seem to hold the heat longer and burn hotter. Regular coal can be a bit random and messy.
I had a particularly stupid idea the other day, but perhaps it's a step in the right direction or maybe I'll just end up blowing myself up. I thought, I have a camping stove, maybe I can just stick the camping stove in the fireplace to heat the back boiler which would be like an instant fire. I guess I was thinking about gas boilers where it's just a wee pilot light, not really knowing how it works, but I'm guessing there just wouldn't be enough heat from a camping stove nor would it be very safe to use indoors. Okay okay, I know really stupid.
I'm new to this kind of thing and would have opted for something else, but it's not my house so I can't change anything.
Any ideas, tips or tricks for an open fire back boiler would be greatly appreciated.
Sure it looks pretty, but it's a lot of work for something that most people take for granted. Y'know, they set a timer and they have heat, I wake up freezing my bahooky off, empty the ash tray, start the fire and then have to wait a couple of hours before the radiators start to heat up.
I've got a couple oil filled radiators set on timers to keep the chill off the house in the morning. I also set them to come on a couple hours before we get home when we're out for the day. Anyways, you get the picture.
The main issue I guess is the time it takes to heat the radiators. Does anyone know of any tricks or tips to speed things up? I've tried fire logs which help when I've been out as I can just throw one on to get the fire started quickly when I've got other things to attend to, but they're a bit pricy to use on a regular basis. I use the smokeless fuel rounds which seem to hold the heat longer and burn hotter. Regular coal can be a bit random and messy.
I had a particularly stupid idea the other day, but perhaps it's a step in the right direction or maybe I'll just end up blowing myself up. I thought, I have a camping stove, maybe I can just stick the camping stove in the fireplace to heat the back boiler which would be like an instant fire. I guess I was thinking about gas boilers where it's just a wee pilot light, not really knowing how it works, but I'm guessing there just wouldn't be enough heat from a camping stove nor would it be very safe to use indoors. Okay okay, I know really stupid.
I'm new to this kind of thing and would have opted for something else, but it's not my house so I can't change anything.
Any ideas, tips or tricks for an open fire back boiler would be greatly appreciated.