Ok, bear with me this might be a strange one.
I have a father-in-law with mental health problems, part of his illness is that he thinks he’s always right but unable to think things through properly. He’s in his late 70s but won’t admit he should take it easy. He struggles to understand verbal arguments preferring things to be written down. His wife is at her wits end, but because he is very domineering she doesn’t know what to do, the house is in his name which he lets her know about all the time.
Couple of things,
He has a solid fuel burner, I think it’s about 8kw, which they had properly installed several years ago.
He has an unlimited free supply of wood, broken pallets which burn fast but it is free and only 10 mins away from home to collect with his trailer.
Just now his only source of heating is the fuel burner and 2 wall heaters for the other rooms.
He heats his water up with an older electric cylinder, which he uses as little as possible, preferring to boil a kettle to wash up.
He is eligible for a free new boiler and heating system, which he has refused for years to have but has agreed to now.
He is in the middle of building a house extension, but due to his illness making him think he can do most of it himself and knowing better than the building regulation and planning people and neighbours is now costing a lot more than it should and taking a lot longer.
Part of his illness seems to be that when he has an idea, where most of us would think thing through to see if it is sensible, he just starts it and stuff the consequences.
Ok now for what I need the advice on.
His latest idea is to heat water up with his solid fuel burner, with the view that he will get free hot water. He is intending to have a tank made to sit on top of the burner, then with two pipes, one in one out, now I’m not sure of intention after that, whether to send it to the tank upstairs or pump it out straight to the taps. He originally wanted to run radiators off it but I think that has changed.
This isn’t just an idea, he has already run the pipes to his burner, cutting holes in his chimney wall and then through the wall into the kitchen. In true bodged type DIY style these pipes are in full ugly view.
I have tried to point out to him how dangerous this idea is, pointing out that the tank will overheat and explode. His response is that he can regulate the water heat by how much fuel he burns and that it’s not a sealed system as there are pipes coming off it which the water can expand to.
As well as the danger pitfalls and regulations, which I know you guys can easily quote for me, I need some calculations of why even if it did work why this wouldn’t be economical. The tank alone will come to about £500, so I’ guessing his spend will be about £700. For example say he was able to heat up 2 gals a day, how much would it cost a new gas boiler to heat the same. Example- if it cost the gas boiler 20p to heat up the 2 gals then at gals a day £700 / 365 / £0.20 = 9.59 years, so it would take him 9.59 years just to get his money back. How would I put it onto words how to factor time, fuel and labour of getting the “free” fuel?
Ok, now you’ve finished scratching your heads and laughing, any thought or ideas? Before you say get him sectioned we’ve been there done that and got the tee-shirts a few times, he just plays the system and starts again.
I have a father-in-law with mental health problems, part of his illness is that he thinks he’s always right but unable to think things through properly. He’s in his late 70s but won’t admit he should take it easy. He struggles to understand verbal arguments preferring things to be written down. His wife is at her wits end, but because he is very domineering she doesn’t know what to do, the house is in his name which he lets her know about all the time.
Couple of things,
He has a solid fuel burner, I think it’s about 8kw, which they had properly installed several years ago.
He has an unlimited free supply of wood, broken pallets which burn fast but it is free and only 10 mins away from home to collect with his trailer.
Just now his only source of heating is the fuel burner and 2 wall heaters for the other rooms.
He heats his water up with an older electric cylinder, which he uses as little as possible, preferring to boil a kettle to wash up.
He is eligible for a free new boiler and heating system, which he has refused for years to have but has agreed to now.
He is in the middle of building a house extension, but due to his illness making him think he can do most of it himself and knowing better than the building regulation and planning people and neighbours is now costing a lot more than it should and taking a lot longer.
Part of his illness seems to be that when he has an idea, where most of us would think thing through to see if it is sensible, he just starts it and stuff the consequences.
Ok now for what I need the advice on.
His latest idea is to heat water up with his solid fuel burner, with the view that he will get free hot water. He is intending to have a tank made to sit on top of the burner, then with two pipes, one in one out, now I’m not sure of intention after that, whether to send it to the tank upstairs or pump it out straight to the taps. He originally wanted to run radiators off it but I think that has changed.
This isn’t just an idea, he has already run the pipes to his burner, cutting holes in his chimney wall and then through the wall into the kitchen. In true bodged type DIY style these pipes are in full ugly view.
I have tried to point out to him how dangerous this idea is, pointing out that the tank will overheat and explode. His response is that he can regulate the water heat by how much fuel he burns and that it’s not a sealed system as there are pipes coming off it which the water can expand to.
As well as the danger pitfalls and regulations, which I know you guys can easily quote for me, I need some calculations of why even if it did work why this wouldn’t be economical. The tank alone will come to about £500, so I’ guessing his spend will be about £700. For example say he was able to heat up 2 gals a day, how much would it cost a new gas boiler to heat the same. Example- if it cost the gas boiler 20p to heat up the 2 gals then at gals a day £700 / 365 / £0.20 = 9.59 years, so it would take him 9.59 years just to get his money back. How would I put it onto words how to factor time, fuel and labour of getting the “free” fuel?
Ok, now you’ve finished scratching your heads and laughing, any thought or ideas? Before you say get him sectioned we’ve been there done that and got the tee-shirts a few times, he just plays the system and starts again.
