PowerSwitch

I am planning to replace my open fire (which we use a lot from October to April) with a solid fuel burning stove with back boiler that will heat our main sitting room, provide domestic hot water (DHW) and heat up to 12 radiators! This fire will burn wood, peat, coal, etc.

In conjunction with this I will be replacing my DHW tank (which is quite small and only insulated with a tank jacket) with one twice as big and foam insulated.

My house is fully double glazed and has had cavity wall insulation installed.

My existing oil central heating system will be left in place to be used as and when I choose to - possibly a morning blast in mid-winter prior to getting up - if oil is still affordable!

I have a ready supply of medium and small size logs from a few trees I have had to cut down over the last couple of years. I have more I can take out and plan to replace them with new trees.

I have a few questions.

My existing radiators are on a micro-bore connecting pipes - they seem to be about 1/4" pipes. Will this be a problem at all?

I am considering a Charnwood Country 15B stove which gives out 2.5KW to the room and 13KW to the DHW and radiators. Are there other models I should consider?

Is 2.5KW to the sitting room enough (room is 23' x 12')

What trees are best for planting in order to have a supply of new logs in a few years time?

What do you think re future home heating?

snow hope wrote: What trees are best for planting in order to have a supply of new logs in a few years time?

Willows and poplars, they take about 2-3 years (I think )

snow hope wrote:Is 2.5KW to the sitting room enough (room is 23' x 12')

I hope this will help you to compare. Our Stove is 5kW. With a back boiler 3kW goes to the room and 2kW to water heating and two small radiators. Our room is about 16'x14'x11' high and we usually have to open all the doors because we are roasting.

Although this does not do radiators, (hot water only) it is very efficient unlike the old Rayburns.

http://www.ouzledale.co.uk/cookers/cookerWood.asp

I think this, combined with the stove / back boiler / radiator set-up could be just the thing.

Make sure that your system is a 'gravity' hot water setup, if the radiators rely on a pump you may still have problems in a power cut.

I have a Morso Dove Cleanheat 1630, which is a 12kW stove, and very comfortably runs 6 radiators and heats my living room and DHW:-

http://www.stovesonline.co.uk/wood_burn ... Stove.html

I think that more than 6 radiators might be stretching it a bit. You might be better off with the Dove running the DHW and a few radiators, and then fit smaller stoves in other rooms. The Squirrel Cleaheat is a nice little stove, and can run a 8000btu back boiler - enough for a DHW cylinder, say for a bedroom with ensuite bathroom, for example.

http://www.stovesonline.co.uk/wood_burn ... Stove.html

My radiators have microbore 10mm pipes too - not a problem, although the pipes from the back of the stove to my DHW cylinder are 24mm (non-standard and relatively expensive).

The most difficult part of my installation was balancing the radiators after installation. That being done though, my system works a treat!

Don't forget that if you have a radiator in your living room, you will have 2 sources of heat, so the stove's output to the room needn't be that great.

Hope this helps.

Non expert advice which needs checking but my experience 20 years ago when I put in wood burning heating was that there were basically two types of stove (we were putting it in the kitchen as a combined cooker, DHW, and CH system). You either go for something with relatively low thermal mass which heats up (and cools down) quickly so that you stoke it up when (or shortly before) you want heat (whether for cooking or hot water/heating) - then there were several German makes of stove like this. This is good if you are out at work all day. The alternative is something with a larger thermal mass like the traditional cast iron stoves - Rayburns and especially Agas - which are designed to be on all the time providing background heat in the farmhouse kitchen where people are coming and going all day. With these you really have to plan ahead when you want to bake/heating because it takes longer to come up to temperature, but they are ideal for the classic farmhouse lifestyle. They are also less good for CH unless you are living in an environment where you need heating 24/7 through several months of winter. We went for the first type cos it fitted better with our lifestyle and we didn't really light it much in summer but used cheap night rate electric for DHW then. Was excellent for the other 8 months of the year though.
The make we used was Wamsler (not sure if they still around).
You must have gravity feed not pump to the DHW tank and also at least one rad which is permanently on (in bathroom?) to vent excess heat when using it for cooking so that you don't boil the system (v.dangerous). Not sure about microbore for the rest of the system - the danger is there is no way of shutting the boiler off quickly if it does overheat the water (unlike gas/oil boilers)

Being from backwoods Arkansas USA, and working most of the time in rivers and swamps the way most people are trying to prepare worries me due to the fact you may simply go broke.

As for a stove any barrel will due nicely, one winter I used a metal 5 gallon bucket simply cut a hole for the size of the pipe(at least 3 inches dia) you have on the side at the back from there go forward 3 inches and cut a square hole for fuel then set it up laying on its side at the bottom front cut yourself a vent hole. If you can find a can without a removable lid they are best. Yes you can do the same with a 55 gallon drum also.
I know this is simple, but I put it here because poor guy who has never been out of the city may not have known.

riverplow wrote:Being from backwoods Arkansas USA, and working most of the time in rivers and swamps the way most people are trying to prepare worries me due to the fact you may simply go broke.

As for a stove any barrel will due nicely, one winter I used a metal 5 gallon bucket simply cut a hole for the size of the pipe(at least 3 inches dia) you have on the side at the back from there go forward 3 inches and cut a square hole for fuel then set it up laying on its side at the bottom front cut yourself a vent hole. If you can find a can without a removable lid they are best. Yes you can do the same with a 55 gallon drum also.
I know this is simple, but I put it here because poor guy who has never been out of the city may not have known.

Thanks for contributing, riverplow. We are not a huge community here at powerswitch and tend to lack input from people with real practical experience. I'm certainly a 'citygirl' who is painfully aware of her lack of ability to survive without the local convenience store and almost-free energy supply.

isenhand wrote:

snow hope wrote: What trees are best for planting in order to have a supply of new logs in a few years time?

Willows and poplars, they take about 2-3 years (I think )

You're not going to get anything of substance in a few years - more like 10-15. Think about hazel too as it has other uses (bean sticks, hurdles, charcoal)

A quick source of wood might come from overstood coppice - it's certainly resource in many country areas as it's been uneconomical to cut for over 40 years. You could try advertising or word-of-mouth. Farmers who shoot will be grateful if you offer as the regrowth provide better cover for pheasants.

Another easy source I've found is the local council works dept. -just ask the workmen cutting at the side of the road and you can usually get a free bootful.

Remember too that landscape people have to pay to recycle green stuff and may let you have their thinner stuff foc.

How about grass?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4220790.stm

Has anyone built a Winiarski Rocket Stove?
I'm about to start having a go at making one with some tincans and vermiculite as insulation. I like the idea about being able to boil water and cook with a few twigs for fuel. Any tips woud be most welcome.

Magnus wrote:Has anyone built a Winiarski Rocket Stove?
I'm about to start having a go at making one with some tincans and vermiculite as insulation. I like the idea about being able to boil water and cook with a few twigs for fuel. Any tips woud be most welcome.

Have you built this yet, if so how did it go?

I've found some instructions on how to make one and I'm going to give it a go as soon as I can find two 1 gallon cans.

What's the deal with these stoves being used in cities? What fuel can you legally use, or can you just chuck anything in?

DamianB wrote:

isenhand wrote:

snow hope wrote: What trees are best for planting in order to have a supply of new logs in a few years time?

Willows and poplars, they take about 2-3 years (I think )

You're not going to get anything of substance in a few years - more like 10-15. Think about hazel too as it has other uses (bean sticks, hurdles, charcoal)

From the exeriencs of having one grow outside my bedroom window,(in London) Eucalyptus grows to a quite unbelievable size in just 10 years from quite a small sapling ( as it was when I moved in) . No idea how good it iis for burning. Fragrant flames at least, I'd imagine.


addendum
Fresh Eucalyptus leaves make an excellent inhallation if you have a chest cold. grab a handfull off the tree and dump into a bowl of really hot water. Cover your head in a tea towl, lean over the bowl and inhale for as long as you can stand it.

skeptik wrote: From the exeriencs of having one grow outside my bedroom window,(in London) Eucalyptus grows to a quite unbelievable size in just 10 years from quite a small sapling ( as it was when I moved in) . No idea how good it iis for burning. Fragrant flames at least, I'd imagine.

We have one outside, and I must agree with you that it does grow pretty large. From my experience it's not a brilliant burner, but it still goes up in flames if you've let it dry for long enough.
If you get most of the bark off the smell isn't noticable