Parkray heater problems!

Can anyone help?

We have recently bought a house with a parkray heater (the G- range I think); I lit the fire for the first time this weekend and have a few questions I wondered if someone might know the answers too.

Last night we were woken to a lot of noise in the loft, after inspection I realised that the hot water tank was actually boiling and steam was coming out of the top. The problem I have been having is that the fire seems to be running very hot and burning the fuel very quickly. I am using anthracite on the fire (which is what the previous family used for 30 years), the fire is on its lowest settings of 0 and I have made sure no fuel is keeping the flap open on the side. Is there anything else that could be causing this?

Also on its lowest setting it is burning though three coal scuttles of anthracite in 24 hrs, is this excessive?

What maintenance do you recommend on these types of fires, I know that it had new bars put in this year and I have had the chimney cleaned what else needs doing?

Lastly, how long should the fire last between fuelling? Currently it’s not lasting the night.

If the thermostat is closing correctly does the fire die down and "slumber??

Is the ash pit door sealing correctly?
How much is the hole in the front of the ashpit door open?

Another common problem is warping of the front frame causing excessive gaps between it and the door!!

The door should grip a piece of paper all way round when closed!!

You need to check all of these as overheating is invariably caused by too much air entering the stove!!

Even though the chimney has been swept, if you've inherited it you must have it serviced (HETAS regd. is recommended but not required). If you are burning too much fuel the throat plate and or dampers could need attention as well as the control stat.

As for boiling tank, the appliance is most likely to be installed where it needs a contant heat leak so check there are no blockages to the cylinder flow/return and that any radiators used as heat leaks are fully open (you can close any but not all on the pumped circuit).

You can burn any smokeless coal it doesn't have to be anthracite which is mostly used in hopper fed boilers, consult your merchant.

When the thermostat is closed the fire does die down to just a glow, rather than flames when it is on a higher setting.

The ash pit door seems to be a good fit but i have nothing to compare it with.

Should i have the CH pump running all of the time? as this would stop it from overheating but i think it will be too hot in the house at night.

Ah the joys of solid fuel with limited control on the heat output!

It can be difficult to come to a sensible balance on fire output and what to do with the surplus heat.

I am wondering if you are using the fire to heat the room where its installed rather than starting by using up the heat by pumping to the radiators?

tony

Tony,

The problem is at night when the fire needs to be ticking-over and we don't want the rads on. Where can the heat go?

The heat is supposed to go through your cylinder and or a heat leak (or fully opened, un-controlled rad) such as a towel rail. The majority of heating is on pumped circuit which can be turned off. The dhw will get hot but you can install a thermostatic blending valve to give comfortable temps at the tap.

Ah the joys of solid fuel with limited control on the heat output!

Click to expand...

This is true (though not so much with today's wood gassification & pellet versions). However with gas you get full control over the heat ouput but no control over the sh**bags that run the industry.