Back burner heating.

[johnstonsenior]

Hi....we recently replaced our motorised valve for our boiler after it being stuck on the central heating setting for years.We can now choose to switch between central heating,water or both as you would expect.
Due to the recent drops in temperature we have stocked up on wood and made frequent use of our fireplace.After a couple of hours of fireplace use we have been blessed with a tank full of hot water and a hot radiator in our bathroom.Whilst we are most grateful for the free hot water as opposed to using up our oil,we are slightly concerned about safety issues.This didn't happen with the malfunctioning valve.Has an old back burner type contraption kicked into life now that the valve is fixed?There seems to be some piping half way up the chimney stack but i can't see it clearly until we get it swept.I wouldn't know what to look for anyway...what does a backburner consist of?We just had a fireplace as far as we knew!! Many thanks for any ideas you may have.

 

[kevplumb]

sounds like a dual fuel system

may well be a twin coil cylinder

 

[expertgasman]

I don't do solid fuel, but are alarm bells ringing for anyone. If a valve has been replaced AND the householder has only just started using solid fuel, might there be a chance of the back boiler being heated with valves off, leading to an incident. A long call maybe, but can you see where I'm coming from (or going to)

 

[johnstonsenior]

Thanks for the replies guys...i've had our ceiling down now and it has revealed two pipes leading down from our water boiler to the fireplace...my neighbour has confirmed that he has a back burner too...they were a fairly standard feature on the former council houses in our road and elsewhere that were built in the 1950's i'm told....i'll get the plumber back to check that all valves are open as they should be and good and safe....cheers.