Anyone got tips or tricks for an open fire back boiler?

[notthesharpestpencil]

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.

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

With any open fire, it takes time to build sufficient heat up before you can actually feel any benefit from the fire. Some heat goes up the chimney/flue, some is absorbed by the fireback/surround etc. You've also got a large lump of cast iron there that will absorb a large amount of heat before any real effect is felt in the water contained within.

You may as well light the camping stove outside for all the effect that'll have on putting any heat into the back boiler.The pilot light on a gas boiler is purely there to provide a naked flame to ignite the burners when heat is called for. (Modern boilers have spark ignition, thus no pilot.)

I have an open fire, usually burn wood and 'Homefire Ovals' at a 70/30 ratio. I find putting a fresh bed of ovals on top of the glowing embers last thing at night will kept fire going until next morning. Rake through to remove ash, and put some wood on and it usually comes back into life pretty swiftly, and may keep your boiler 'ticking over' overnight, although the system will have to be left running to dissipate any heat produced. May help, as the colder you allow it to get the longer it'll take to reheat.

 

[notthesharpestpencil]

Thanks for that, you've certainly helped me understand how some of this stuff works. I only recently started on the ovals, I don't think they're the homefire brand, but I'm sure they are similar. While I've not managed to get them to last until morning, I've probably just been too cheap with them at night, I'll make a point of being more generous tonight. Appreciate your help

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

I'd try the genuine article http://www.coals2u.co.uk/homefire-ovals-25kg-prepacked I tried the cheaper version, found it difficult to light, poor burning and didn't seem to give out as much heat. Will take about 8hrs to burn down completely, so usually some embers left by morning to get the next days fire going fairly swiftly. The more heat you can retain in the fireplace the quicker it'll warm up the next day.

 

[notthesharpestpencil]

Thanks. I'll see if I get my paws on some of those next time I'm in the city, the website you linked sadly doesn't deliver to my area and my local coal guy doesn't stock them

 

[Nige F]

an open fire with 5 rads they must be small rads - I actually did a system like that way back in the 70`s and the boiler output was allegedly 40k btu`s . if your house is near a pub called the Alma Arms , that`s my job . A parkray would be a much better option .Edit - it was the Parkrays that were 40k - the back boiler was less , maybe 20 something

 

[dcawkwell]

LPG combi and 47kg propane bottle.
It can heat the house when you want and then fall back to
the fire when you want. It can be integrated together quite easily.