Search the Community

Only my second post here. Oak Frame SIP panel house now erected but a lot of construction work still to do including plumbing and heating systems. House is entirely off grid so no mains gas or electricity. We will have a large PV solar array on adjacent modern barn, with large battery storage. Thermal Store of 300 litres with inputs from Immersion ( which detailed calculations show will be sufficient for 8 months of the year), small LPG boiler and a wood burning back boiler. Outputs will be for DHW and UFH. The issue is with the wood burning back boiler which unfortunately is as far away from the TS as is possible- a full 17metres and on the same ground floor. It may be possible to move the TS to the 1st Floor, but house not desiigned for this, so weight may be an issue, in any case it would still be 17metres from the back boiler. From everything I have read back boliers are inherently dangerous due to boiling / explosion risks and reliance must not be placed on an electric circulating pump as it could breakdown. There will be an upstairs radiator / towel rail or two to act as a heat sink - but is that enough ? My suggested solution is to install a small ( maybe 100 litres) secondary HW tank upstairs very close above the log burner and have the log burner heat the water in that tank ( which would be open vented with a header tank in the loft) then pipe the water in that tank to the TS using an electric pump. That HW would in turn heat the TS via a heat exchanger (or directly). I realise that there would be some losses in the system and the pipe work from the secondary tank to the TS would need to be very highly insulated and relevant valves and stats would need to be incorporated to ensure that the secondary tank didn't inadvertantly cool the TS when the log burner not in use. Thoughts welcome? Andrew ( PS actually this is my daughters house and I'm not convinced that she and her husband or their plumber fully appreciate the dangers or complexity of their project)

Hi all, we’re looking at a multi fuel burner installation with this set up as the starting point: The bungalow was built in the 80’s, the fire is vented underfloor straight to the bottom of the deep box which holds the ash fallout. The actual fire is not large enough to take a burner, but there is room in front of it. My thoughts were to block the front of the fire place, run a flue through the plate and a little way up the chimney. The fire is a 8kw, to go in a large living room. I’m thinking new legislation may make this idea obsolete so I’m asking for suggestions. thanks in advance

My lounge is roughly 14sqm and I'm looking into having my chimney lined and a log burner installed. What KW burner would be sufficient? Or is there a website I could enter details on? Also anyone have any recommendations on burner brands i dont want a really modern style as it's a late 1800's cottage

The building regs for a log burner hearth J, page 37, section 2.24b: Constructional hearths should be made of solid, non-combustible material such as concrete or masonry, at least 125mm thick, including the thickness of af any non-combustible floor and/or decorative surface. Is PIR foam 'solid, non-combustible' ? Sure I know it is not like concrete but my stove is stated as not heating the hearth beyond 100degC so the manual states a 12mm only hearth is needed (though I fear that is for a non-recessed fireplace according to BR) and I'll have a 55mm screed and a 70mm decorative slate hearth above the PIR foam anyway. Otherwise I'll need to remove 100mm of the 200mm sub-floor PIR foam, add in a 100mm constructional hearth, top that with 55mm screed and a Xmm decorative hearth with a 90kg (empty) stove on top - that is quite a lot of weight on 100mm of PIR foam - will 100mm PIR foam cope with all weight that? Paul

Yes I know from ebuild threads that many people have installed log burners fired them up once, cooked themselves and never used them again in super insulated houses. As my house will be well insulated but not super insulated and I have a free source of wood, I've tried and failed to find a log burner BOILER stove that limits the heat to the room, is direct air, room sealed, found one but SWMBO rejected it. So I'm now looking for a DRY stove that is: low output (sub 5kW say) square black "traditional looking" - what ever that is direct air feed Question: does it have to be 'room sealed' to be allowed by building control in a property with no trickle vents and a MVHR? Or can the 'secondary air' be taken from the room? A local guy in a well insulated house with a MVHR, just uses the MVHR fresh air to feed his log burner and seems quite happy with that!