Advice on a log burning boiler stove please...

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Advice on a log burning boiler stove please...

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TeaMan

Joined: 28 May 2013
Posts: 1

Posted: Tue May 28, 13 7:27 pm Post subject: Advice on a log burning boiler stove please...

Hi,

I'm thinking of fitting a log burning boiler stove in my 2 bedroom bungalow which currently relies on storage heaters for the heating and solar panels for hot water.

I guess I'll probably need a Heat accumulator / heat storage tank for the solar panels and log burner to run the hot water and will need the log burner to run 5 rads.

I haven't got a chimney so will need the flue to go straight through the roof, which is no problem but I am just wondering about how much all this would cost.

Would really appreciate some advice on cost to fit a system like this or any recommendations of a better system for the central heating bearing in mind I have no access to mains gas.

Thanks!

Nick

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford

Posted: Tue May 28, 13 7:53 pm Post subject:
A wood burning flue can go out through an outside wall if that helps.

Lloyd

Joined: 24 Jan 2005
Posts: 2699

Posted: Tue May 28, 13 8:14 pm Post subject:

Teaman, we fitted ours about five years ago, and a 5kw unit will heat a three bed semi running on pine pallets and any other wood you can find, right through a cold winter, quite comfortably. So you don't need that size if just for heating, but I don't know about if it's heating water as well. Because of the length of time ago, the prices I paid are probably no longer relevant, and I also had to have the flue lined, which you almost certainly wouldn't as Nick points out.

Ongoing costs definitely include chimney sweeping at about £50 or so a time (based on a three bed semi).

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15632

Posted: Wed May 29, 13 6:57 am Post subject:

Wood does sound the best option, and I would suggest speaking to several companies about ways and means to start with. You will need some sort of distributer for the solar/woodfire, but there are at least two ways of dealing with it. In one you have the inputs going into one tank, and with the other there is a relatively small tank, whose name escapes me that sorts it out. Sorry, can't remember details, but we looked into it some time ago now.

Once you have decided, and got rough ideas of pricing, of the method you are going to use, get a more detailed price from the companies you like. Unfortunately with the legislation about flues, the price of these has gone up a lot over the last few years. You can do it yourself, but you have to follow the regulations and have it inspected. Not recommended unless you know what you are doing.

oldish chris

Joined: 14 Jun 2006
Posts: 4148
Location: Comfortably Wet Southport

Posted: Wed May 29, 13 8:28 am Post subject:

Nick wrote:

A wood burning flue can go out through an outside wall if that helps.

which makes chimney sweeping easier.

I used to have one, I also had access to the skip outside a joiner's workshop. I reckoned that I spent about 6 hours a week collecting, chopping and sawing wood.

Working at minimum pay (£6 x 6 x 4 = £144 per month) was more efficient.

john of wessex

Joined: 18 Jun 2007
Posts: 2130

Posted: Wed May 29, 13 1:38 pm Post subject:
Firstly, where are you based? If it's the South West then I can reccomend an installer. Secondly go back & talk to your solar installer, I am sure that they can help with the plumbing Finally, go for a heatstore, (AKA Indirect Cylinder) I've got one its great

roobarb

Joined: 15 Apr 2008
Posts: 139
Location: Carmarthenshire

Posted: Wed May 29, 13 1:48 pm Post subject:

We have a similar set-up with a wood-burning stove with back boiler and solar hot water panels. Off the top of my head it probably cost us around £2k (4 years ago now), which included a 14kw stove enough to heat a 3 bed house and provide all the hot water (Clearview stove), a new hot water tank and a small amount of plumbing. We were replacing an undersized wood-burning stove so already had the plumbing, radiators, flue etc. in place, so I guess if you need to put in the central heating system it is going to cost you quite a bit more. However, it sounds like you wouldn't need such as big stove, so some savings there.

We also have a slightly abnormal set-up in that we have a hot water tank for the solar panels and a separate one for the woodburner (usually you would have an accumalator tank). However, this does work well as it means our solar water tank acts as our header tank for the woodburner tank, pre-warming the water before it enters, saving on a bit of fuel.

There are plenty of other options these days if you don't want to go down the gas/oil route, including log burners with a heat store tank, ground/air source heat pumps etc, all ranging in costs and efficiency.

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