Can You Connect a Wood Burner to Central Heating?

Heat Hero High Efficiency Solid Fuel Heating System
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Heat Hero is a High Efficiency open vented Solid Fuel Heating System that can save you up to 50% of your heating bills.
It gives you more heat to all of your radiators, more hot water and you will burn less fuel.
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#HeatHero #woodburner #logburner
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[@aprildangelo7457]

Been doing it last 45yrs, moved into a bungalow 13yrs ago, 1st thing rip out the combi boiler, bought a free standing 12kw wood burner with back boiler, converted to a gravity system pumped by a basic central heating pump, running all radiators, constant hot water, 12months running total cost just under £200, and we roast the chestnut's in the ash pan and wrap spuds in tin foil chuck into fire for baked potato's, what's not to like.

[@cupoftea-sb1re]

You must have a cheap supply of logs

[@kevindehinkelai7464]

200 quid yeah right, where you nicking all your logs and wood from

[@markatchison9974]

Good man. It's a very easy system & it works.

[@neilrafferty2097]

Nonsense .

[@andrewrudge5652]

@@kevindehinkelai7464 You don't fit these systems unless you have access to free wood, and a lot of it. I've never paid for wood in 30 years, but I'm surrounded by it.

[@cc2681]

I fitted a Heating Innovations H2 Panel about 20 years ago in my previous house in Scotland. This linked the oil boiler to the stove and was fantastic - so much so that we ended up using more oil in summer as the oil boiler was used to heat the hot water. During winter the hot water and radiators were heated by the stove with the oil boiler "topping up" the heat when we forgot to top up the stove

[@tonywebb9909]

We were doing a version this twenty years ago here in Southern Ireland. Using a timed electrical system with zone valves isolating the boiler and water coils. Header tank would of course get warm. Customers in the courtly side would say it's a different kind of heat, "luke warm for hours rather than piping hot". Of course in the city the people want the efficiency of a pressurised system more.

[@chris-non-voter]

In our 3 bed terrace house I had a Parkray 95 connected to hot water and central heating systen with a gas boiler as back-up. The gas boiler only came on if the coal fire went out or wasnt providing enough heat but it hardly ever needed to. A Ton of coal lasted all winter. Fire was kept in 24/7 with some slack added at night to keep it in until morning. This system worked really well unlimited boiling water and cosy well ventilated home. Air vents for the fire drew air from the void under floor each side of the chimney breast.

[@ayjazahmedhanif]

hello sir please can you help me with somenof your wonderful advice on my home please to save money on gas

[@ohdfghjkcvbnm2545]

i cannot believe this, I have been looking at heat hero and was about to call heat hero tomorrow and yes confused amazing timing thank you so much

[@thejimbo42]

I have installed gas, oil and solid fuel link ups for years. Qualified in all. Tried them all. H2 panel from heating Innovations only thing that meets building regs in England. Only solution that works. Most modern engineers don't understand the mix of old and new technologies required to make this type of link up work.

[@richardoakley8800]

My grans house had two heating systems.. one was a gas boiler and one was a log burner with a back boiler. Looked silly but it worked fine for over 40 years. The idea was simple.. gas for a quick fix but when she could aquire logs /wood she had free heating and free hot water.

[@frankw9836]

i have one of this but it doesnt really work

[@james6401]

Dual system in several of my relatives houses here in Ireland - oil boiler + stove/Stanley range with back boiler, both on the same radiator circuit. The lack of gravity and reliance on an electric pump is the biggest drawback

[@frankw9836]

@@james6401 i have one of those, the house was built in 1930 back boiler heats the water and some radiators getting luke warm

[@mariotommadich4685]

@@frankw9836 Flush your radiators and make sure your circulation pump is still doing its job. The heat hero comes with a new circulation pump, so if you need a new pump, you might as well install a heat hero. I've not used my kerosene boiler in 2 years and am running everything of the solid fuel. It makes such a difference.

[@robertas25]

@@mariotommadich4685 what you do when you dont need heat but you want hot water?

[@ADRASTEIA03]

This fire pit is one of a few covered pits that is on the list kzbin.infoUgkxAU9pOCSV9Y5JprooHvfxTpOrt4hx8uRM of approved products for Disney Fort Wilderness. The product served its purpose well and provided excellent fires throughout the evening. We were able to open the door and do s'mores, but I had to be careful because the handle was a bit hot on occasions. Additionally, I wish they had replaced some of the standard nuts with lock nuts in some places. We lost the door handle after just a couple of days of usage. Not a deal breaker, just a recommendation. I still give it 5 stars.

[@danieldurnin959]

Great stuff lads. Was looking at this a couple of years ago and was thinking of getting it in. I think I get it now. Good stuff.

[@seamusleddy2933]

Hi Roger , only last month i connected a multi fuel boiler stove to my OFCH system using the Heat Hero i am a mechanic by trade and after taking time to understand the drawings included with the kit i was able to install the new boiler stove in less than 2 days i had to run some new pipe work along with the Heat Hero , system is working fine i have piping hot rads throughout the house , Art Mc Ardle was happy to give advice and help where needed i am delighted with the Heat Hero system , p.s i enjoy your vids 👍👍

[@SkillBuilder]

Where do you live? We would love to see it

[@Snugggg]

when you say "piping hot" how hot are we talking? hotter than on oil?

[@theoddjobcentre6686]

@@SkillBuilder to be fair we had a parkray fire that heated the hot water and radiators and it was fine probably the best heating system until 2012 when air source was installed but honestly thinking about it as the heating is awful

[@seamusleddy2933]

@@Snugggg with a good fire in the stove using seasoned Ash and a few coal nuggets i saw 48°C at all the rads also note i used an 8mtr circulating pump i never saw this kind of heat in the rads using Kerosene burner , my house is single storey with 8 double sided rads .

[@seamusleddy2933]

@@SkillBuilder I live 1 hour from Dublin , i used Heat Hero direct this unit allowed me to connect the boiler stove without digging up floors to run gravity pipes and allowed me to keep the single coil cylinder 😁 ,very happy with the results

[@398paul]

20 years back I designed and fitted a multifuel stove & CH system which the plumber I asked to quote for said couldnt be done. Basically, the water was heated by the back boiler and through convection went up to an indirect cylinder which acted as a heat store. This had a simple thermostat linked to the pump which would kick in either when the temp was high enough or when the timer told it too, so you still had heating coming on in the morning.

[@shaunglendinning]

Excellent video Roger! Big thanks to Art for explaining it so well. Cheers.

[@SkillBuilder]

Glad it was helpful!

[@lilsdon]

In the 80s I had this system, really liked it, and lashings of hot water, but fuel was on the expensive side, if you can get free logs, then it’s nice and viable.

[@geronimo4511]

I used a 'load valve' on my stove which is a thermostat which is normally closed preventing cold water from your system circulating through the stove boiler and cooling the fire box. As it reaches temp it opens gradually, maintaining the set temperature in the firebox in the same manner as the radiator thermostat on a car engine

[@EliteHydronics.]

Essental biomass component

[@stewartw99]

Hey Roger, thanks very much for yet another great video. Also some interesting comments on the 'H2 Panel' product. I am currently trying very hard to choose a new heating solution for our home in Cheshire, and it's very difficult finding any independent information on any solutions, and sadly forced to rely mainly on the supplier/reseller sales pitches. I don't have the land or the budget for a ground-source heat pump, and very hesitant about air-source, so currently favouring a thermal store and wet underfloor heating (and hopefully a log burner) to complement a new gas boiler. Currently very keen on the 'HeatBank' solutions from Thermal Integration, but so far failing to find an experienced heating engineer to design and install the whole solution. Could you please try and get an expert on to discuss thermal stores? cheers

[@Winter_Of_Civilisation]

Very educational! Glad to see someone who knows their craft!

[@oddball7483]

He definitely does not work for British gas. Love the accent and explanation.

[@No-timeforimbeciles]

We have a wood fired cooking range with back boiler that heats 9 1.5mtr double radiators, it is not connected to a water heater, it heats the rads very well, rads can get almost too hot to touch, if range is kept stacked well. 25w 3 speed pump installed on cold inlet to the range. We have a normal woodburner in living room, these are our only source of heating, & gets around minus 20c here in winter

[@nicolas_poli]

Most modern wood boiler on closed loop have a thermal discharge coil that runs into the water tank and is linked to the mains pressure. At a given temperature the valve opens on its own and cools the water instantly

[@denty32]

Brilliant Rodger, I found this very informative

[@mariotommadich4685]

Roger, at 12:42 you ask "Why does this pump not suck air into the system through the vent pipe?" It actually does suck air if the repressurisation tank is installed too low. Some background - I had massive problems with my solid fuel/kerosene boiler (constant airlocks, radiators not getting hot despite hot water pitching into the overflow, pipes with pinholes burried in the screed etc.) in my home which I bought in early 2018. I wasn't able to find a plumber who wanted to touch my house in the surrounding area and got Art to actually come down to Kildare and install the heat hero unit himself. During commissioning we noticed that one of the radiators kept collecting air and it turned out that we had to raise the height of my repressurisation tank in the loft by around 1m to stop air being sucked through the vent pipe. It was an extra effort that made the installation take most of the day, but I can tell you it has made a massive difference to my heating system and I'm very happy now with the way it works.

[@effervescence5664]

Not a bad way of doing it though I'd have to study the diagram more as the dual coil seems rather inefficient at first look but makes perfect sense from an installer pov overall. Some times the best ideas are ideas that already existed, after all it was old maths that was already invented which got us to the moon.

[@pierceferris]

This is exactly what I wanted to learn about! Thank you…

[@MrFlatroofer]

Glad you mentioned a "Neutralizer" Roger. My ( 210L) tank works as a neutraliser. ( a la Dunsley). It contains "Dirty water". You can even drink the hot water. which is heated by an exterior heat exchanger. All water heated ,OIL, Gas, wood burners, solar panels, thermodynamic panels is fed into the tank.

[@SkillBuilder]

Brilliant, that is what I want to talk about. I would like to see it Send us some pictures or drawings if you will. www.skill-builder.uk/send

[@DeanJuvenal]

How do I get the ‘plans’ for your type of system, plz?

[@mrflatroofer4089]

@@DeanJuvenal Sorry, I am not a heating engineer as Roger is, so I would not give advice. I leave that to the experts. I can tell you though the tank I have is a Thermal Store designed and made by Telford Tanks. A brilliant system.

[@DeanJuvenal]

@flatroofer Many thanks for your prompt response and the details you were ‘able’ to supply. I did ask for plans of your TYPE of setup. So, if any one has a generic type plan which has been supplied by an authorised Coy . . . .

[@mrp9187]

Great video Love seeing different ways of linking these systems up I been modifying my system for the last 3 years now got a morso DB15 solid fuel wood burner linked up to a modified 300L megaflo tank that I use as a thermal store that's then linked up to the solar panels with a solar iboost then I'm running a Worcester combi boiler through a heat exchanger. The hot water side also goes through a heat exchanger so that the thermal store can do the hot water and the radiators all-in-one I find this works better and more efficient than trying to heat a hot water tank with the boiler if the fire or solar hasn't heated thermal store enough and much better than having a separate hot water cylinder.

[@SkillBuilder]

Sounds good, send us a drawing. www.skill-builder.uk/send

[@MiracleManMatt]

Would love to know more about this. Is the stove heating the water in the tank directly, or through a coil?

[@Rizsta]

I am new to all this, your system sounds very interesting

[@junglie]

I have had a dunsley highlander 10 for over 10 years now, with a heavy duty variable speed pump, it runs up to 10 rads & heats our hot water. I've just used logs at night in the summer to heat the water, solid fuel in the winter with some logs when i get them too.

[@junglie]

Dunsley do an equalizer to link two heating systems too.

[@PeterJavea]

Great talk by two men who obviously know their stuff !

[@therealdojj]

Although I'm not quite up to speed on what goes on in the heating system, that chap songs like he knows what he's talking about I might need to rewatch several times in order to fully understand the process but it's something I'll be doing 👍

[@airspike1]

Hi Roger, if you use a thermal store instead, you can have the store being gravity fed from the woodburner (which acts as a neutral zone) and then pump the hot water in the store through the radiators. The same thermal store is also fed by the oil boiler and also from solar thermal (via a seperate coil in the thermal store). By allowing the store to be gravity fed, the woodburner is running at a decent temperature to avoid condensation. My system uses a Dunsley Yorkshire which can pump around 9.5Kw into the system and it will happily run the central heating system.

[@SkillBuilder]

This is all the subject of follow up videos. Thermal store, neutraliser, plate heat exchanger.

[@DeanJuvenal]

@@SkillBuilder How do I find this video presentation, plz?

[@Rocketsblazed2thesky]

Hi Roger. I bought and fitted Art's heat heroes on my open vented hot water system after watching your video. Plumbed it in the other day and absolutely amazed at the difference it's made to the radiators! I built an extension on the house and even with the wood burning stove going at full blast it could only heat the radiators to a lukewarm temperature. After fitting the heat hero they are easily 50% + warmer and the best thing is, I'm only a fraction of the timber needed to heat the radiators. My oil boiler gave up the ghost about 2 months ago and with the price of oil and the ban on fossil fuels I was searching for a way to make the wood burner more efficient. I was never too keen on the heat pumps and the other the solar alternatives that have been retrofitted into older houses. Don't get me wrong solar great but in the winter months and constantly repairing vacuum tubes it's not a good option given where we live. Heat Hero has been the a life saver! and in some cases I mean that literally given the price and ban coal, turf in Ireland. We are lucky because we have our own supply of timber but until now I didn't think timber alone would be sufficient to heat the house properly until now! I phoned Art today and thanked him personally for his invention and thank you for all the great information you have provided over the years.

[@TimCassidy]

Can i ask what kind of money it is to get this installed. Bought a new stove with back boiler today to replace the old open fire back boiler. Never heard of this until looking about on KZbin tonight

[@Rocketsblazed2thesky]

@@TimCassidy I live in Ireland so I paid €280 for the heat hero. I'm a tradesman so plumbed it in myself I had to replace some of the my pipe work, fittings, etc. which cost €180. I'm not sure how much a plumber would charge to fit it. I was going to replace the oil boiler too but now the weather is colder I don't see the need. I've a 25kw wood stove attached to six double radiators in our home, with the heat hero now attached it's made such a difference I'd say easily 50% more efficient than before. I would definitely recommend.

[@mariotommadich4685]

@@TimCassidy I paid close to 500€ for the heat hero (there are different flavours of it depending on your existing system) and another 600€ to get it plumbed in, but it has transformed my home.

[@ayjazahmedhanif]

hello please can you help through your process which you achieved please

[@stephenmcshane1432]

I have a dual heating system open fire and oil heating which works 7 radiators. After I clean the ash from the back boiler the radiators that are on works fine, 3 -5 days later and the sitting room radiator is extremely hard to heat and I could have 2 other radiators off would this system be of benefit ?.

[@GuildF40]

Doing a new build right now and getting wet UFH with Air source heat pump and am on a borehole only but love a real fire so having a log burner. Will be going heavy on insulation but this vid has me very interested. 170 m2 down and same on First floor, just concerned I may be burning more wood and £ to get the same effect as just paying the electric bill for the thermostat in the Air source heat pump if it cuts in on a cold night..... Everyday is a school day.

[@romeupb5110]

We have one here in The Netherlands. Theyre not common but it works like a charm. Its just amazing to have a regular stove in the living room and heat the rest of the house with floor heating. You have to like to handle wood and clean the unavoidable little mess. You need to ensure a min water temp at the stove and you need a large enough buffer. We use a regular basic central heating pump to make the water move, and a couple of other safety things.

[@SkillBuilder]

Good to know!

[@Senna-xi1gr]

Cheers guys, great idea.

[@cocospops9351]

Our sole heating source is a boiler stove. I have a ton of wood (about 30 tons actually 😅). Very interested in this. Im also only 20 mins from Carrickmacross!

[@qomerhussain8176]

Hi there, Great videos. Question, open vented wood burner with back boiler. Why not have a pressure realise valve (say 5 bar) on the highest point before it ends up in expansion tank. That way the pump on the cold feed into the boiler would create enough pressure for the water to circulate to all the rads etc etc. If the pump fails then the steam could be realised via the pressure realise valve. Please let me know if this is possible. Many thanks in advance.

[@fenixfp40]

It sounds great, but I didn’t understand a word of it.

[@danharte6645]

Me neither and I'm a plumber/heating engineer 😅

[@raymondclark1785]

My parents home in 1959 had a. woodstove insert installed in the downstairs fireplace plumbed to the central oil burner. When a fire was going the heater drew hot water from it and sent it to whichever floor needed it. Each floor had its own pump. When the fire died the oil heater kicked on.

[@ayjazahmedhanif]

please can you help me as well

[@basedbuilds8776]

Roger mate, good video as always. I've been researching heat hero and similar systems, but about to pull the trigger on the H2 system (DIY install), you may find that system interesting. A similar video with Mick from Heating Innovations would be great. Thanks.

[@SkillBuilder]

We are really interested in all this now so we will follow up your lead.

[@electro9480]

Yes, the H2 system board is easy to fix Diy, and what's more, it's very quiet when operating. I believe since I put mine in 20-odd years ago there have been mods added and different designs added, I love it.

[@pauln7422]

Art certainly knows his stuff.

[@barbaraisaacs1400]

Dunsley Neutraliser fitted 20 or so over the years uncomplicated and works well.

[@TundeEszlari]

You are a very good videographer.👌🏻❤

[@roystonvehicles9129]

I've got an esse range cooker with a boiler, use wood, anthracite and ovoids, collect free wood over the summer, works well, had the gas taken out and the engineer couldn't understand how the stove worked.

[@chelps6411]

Would be great to link this with a rocket stove..they are super efficient stoves which produce almost zero smoke

[@liammulligan1279]

I got this done 5 years ago . I have a up down switch to divert the heat from the back boiler upstairs or down stairs . The back boiler stat pulls in a contactor breaking the swich feed to the oil burner / pump and put power to the back boiler pump . Depending on the position of the up down switch there will be one motorised valve open . In my case its not intended to replace the oil burner when stove is lit .it does assist the oil burner greatly. The savings increase when you have access to your own fire wood

[@shaw4020]

ive been looking into moving away from gas and looking into a aga oven with back boiler and a wood stove with a back boiler as back up how wood this work with this system thanks

[@pauljeurissen2752]

I am missing the room thermostat to control the temperature in the main living room/space in case the stove is in the cellar..... Or do you just keep on heating???

[@markatchison9974]

Art McArdle appears heavily edited. This may be for time reasons. To cut a long story very short: Fit a stainless steel water tank to the back or (more efficiently) top of your multi-fuel stove & incorporate chimney heat where possible. Then use a standard central heating pump (electric) to pump the hot water through your existing central heating (flow & return). That's it. A warm house from one central source. Exactly the same as ANY other source, be that gas, electric or "eco-friendly" sources. A wood stove IS a boiler (it boils water) & 'that' water can be circulated simply.

[@jigsey.]

Think I have this system on a non vented circuit... A polish plumper installed and it's commonly used in eastern Europe...my only concern when we have a power cut...no electric to pump

[@christophernunn943]

What happens when the power fails?

[@jigsey.]

@@christophernunn943 on mine the boiler will blow if we don't damped the stove

[@xg5zm]

I was wondering all the time, why vented?

[@christophernunn943]

@@jigsey. yep, everything hunky dory until power off and fire still roaring.

[@HighWealder]

Installed a wood stove with a back boiler and connected to two dedicated radiators. Works OK, but seems to suck a lot of heat out of the stove itself .

[@leeyo5494]

Fit a load valve

[@neal-stewart834]

awsome design !! then an add solar option cool

[@kennethbarr6842]

In The Sumber You Would A SoLer PV And SW System Ie DUELD System Work With What You Have?

[@tonysargeson6866]

heating innovations H2 panel is the absolute complete answer, ours in for 9+ years worked perfectly 10/10

[@stevenolivero5207]

I am a builder, not a plumber, but I researched and then fitted a log burner in a separate building to my house it is a 4 pipe system. The underfloor heating and hot water cylinder run on the 38mm copper pipe circuit with an indirect pump with an injector so if the pump somehow blocks or stops, the circulation will not be affected as the flow will work around the pump and no overheating or explode. The 2 towel rails run on a 22mm copper pipe system with a 120kw heat exchanger with a filter that joins on the combi boiler system that heats the main house, I had to put an extra pump on the combi boiler side but it works well, the temp is low in the main house as its quite demanding on the log burner .but my house is well insulated too so its OK and if I need more heat will run the comby for 1 hour at no more than 62 degree's and the log burner will keep a hotter temp for the rest of the time . the 38mm and 22mm pipe circuits are on a ground-floor building with a low-pitched roof I have quite a good circulation and nothing coming out of the vent pipe even if I put all the pumps on full speed. Very cheap to run. as I'm always on the lookout for free logs in the summertime.

[@gavinferguson]

ive kept a small cottage warm for many years my sytem is fully pumped i got great advice from a site called euroheat now closed, pump on outlet from stoves wit vent and cold feed just at pump pipe stats on flow and return with a clever box to run it the hardest but its the source the fuel now thats getting silly prices once you use all the stuff easy to get. its even possibleto use pellets in a wood stove just needs a high air basket.

[@Clip7heApex]

On the systems I've seen having problems heating the furthest rads. It's not a flow issue it's just that by the time a massive glug of cold from the radiators has been shot into the boiler it's knocked the pump off because the stat has dropped too low. Only having been on long enough to heat the closest set of rads. By the time it's got hot enough to turn the pump on again the rads have dissipated most of the heat and you're back to square one again.

[@potluckfishing]

This is It in a nutshell

[@kelvinsparks4651]

This ,from a complete amateur layman view is very interesting and informative, thank you. I have a multi fuel stove with no boiler. I was wondering if it's possible to install a coil heat exchanger on the flue with a secondary shroud around the outside to retain the heat. What would your views be on that ? Any information would be greatly appreciated.

[@SkillBuilder]

If you cool the flue too much it won't draw so flue heat recovery is really only for fanned flues

[@kelvinsparks4651]

@@SkillBuilder that's as i thought but i wanted an expert opinion. Many thanks for the reply.

[@DeanJuvenal]

@@SkillBuilder Also a danger of a build up of ignitable, tarry deposits in the flue pipe = chimney fires?

[@ricardopelc-wesoly3483]

What size radiator pipes will work with this setup as we have part 15mm and 10mm throughout.

[@FredsRandomFinds]

An old school Aga of course used to often be linked to the central heating.

[@SkillBuilder]

More the Rayburns but any solid fuel boiler with four tappings is easy to hook up. It is the two pipe back boilers on wood burners that are difficult

[@casperrahr6543]

Had a stovax Hb 8 Supposedly 8kw of heat in hot water Going to a thermal store however the 3kw immersion was similar a time to heat without drawing of any water to ufh or dhw. Originally it was pumped but it tar build up was terrible for making it less efficient.It turned out that it did operate on gravity I put up with it for 9 years and burnt so much wood.3 years ago I changed to a morso also around 8kw it's not quite as hungry for the wood the fire box is a lot smaller. I fitted a laddomat but it's bypassed mainly because it's noisy & once it's hot gravity does the job . But as Roger was saying to much cold water will cause condensation and tar .If you have a smallish stove I wouldn't bother with anything pumped as the output stated may not stay like that for long. Heat hero looks good for getting rid of the pumping over issues though .

[@pgbricks911]

Great video but my problem is you cannot buy boiler stoves anymore would love to replace my wood burner with boiler stove but all retailers say they stopped making boiler stoves about 3 years ago

[@dj0men666]

H2 panel all the way. They also have other panels for linking up a multitude of other heat sources such as ashp and solar collectors as well. Mines worked great for 12 years and just required the motorised valve motors replacing now and then which is fairly straight forward.

[@electro9480]

We have been using the H2 panel for some 20 years and have had no trouble with our system at all. the system is the H2 panel linked to the gas boiler and solid fuel fire, the system supplies all our hot water and will give us heat for up to 10 rads, not that we use them all. there are no electronics involved as such, just mostly mechanical. Of course, my thanks must go to Mike Smith a clever man for this product.

[@dj0men666]

@@electro9480 ive had 2 or three of the syncos fail. They tend to go when its been off for summer and gets fired back up for winter. The bad one to go is what controls the release for the log burner. That was stuck and was a steaming fountain from the overflow! This winter it was the main ch feed and the hot water got to 90 degrees as it wasnt letting the heat into the system. Easily changed though and not too expensive.

[@robertas25]

@@electro9480 my i ask what hot water tank you have? thanks

[@electro9480]

@@robertas25 Hi, my cylinder is indirect.

[@electro9480]

I may also add it has only a single coil

[@bcpbrennan]

Proper Irish man, from the sticks, 😂👍👍👍.

[@sircoynie]

Is there a solution like this for a combi boiler setup?

[@grizzly292]

I have a boiler system in my house. The water is heated by electric box. I have a open fireplace in my house also. Is there anyway I can heat the water with my fireplace rather then my electric? Thanks.

[@trisrush9155]

I think you need to explain the regs that govern uncontrolled heat sources, to help this make sense to those who are not so familiar with this. A multi coil thermal store with a DHW coil, is another, less complicated way of achieving the same outcome.

[@SkillBuilder]

There are a number of ways to do the job, this is one of them. We will be back

[@TechOne7671]

Yes well said, I worked fitting solid fuel appliances back in the early 90s. 4 pipes, gravity and pumped circuits. When I got my house 15 years ago it had a parkray 99 fitted and fully operational. I fitted an oil combi with the view of adding a wood burner with boiler later on. I connected the the solid fuel to the sealed system with its own pump and stats for a proof of concept test while the house was a building site. There was a 3kw radiator in the loft on gravity circuit. The system would start as soon as heat was available at the fire, it all worked as intended. However I should point out that I would always be present during the fire and could take action to correct it, I had a bucket of sand to kill the fire in an emergency like a power cut or pump failure. Therefore the system needs constant supervision and cannot be left alone and not suitable for the masses which is why they are open vented to allow the excess heat to be removed from the system. Anyway the parkray was removed and the pipework capped, we never got round to fitting a wood fired boiler stove. I believe they allow sealed systems in Denmark and Sweden, might be worth a look.

[@martinbyrne6643]

On an open system to stop the water being pushed up the expansion pipe and overflowing into the water tank in your attic when the circulation pump comes on is to raise the expansion pipe as high as possible and this will solve the overflowing problem when the circulation pump cuts in , that’s how I solved the problem.

[@SkillBuilder]

It depends on the pump head.

[@Lonewanderer30]

I've a 17kW Stanley Cara insert stove, installed last summer. It heats the whole house and uses no more fuel then the open fire it replaced, which could barely heat the one room it was in.

[@andrewadam9544]

the problem as i encountered here in the uk when wanting to install a new stove with a back boiler is that no new models are licensed as eco and none are available, and the older models that were certified as clean/efficient are all sold out

[@SkillBuilder]

Yes they are Defra approved stoves and they are the only ones you are allowed to fit in smoke control zones. I think we are going to smell a lot of wood smoke this winter.

[@supershooter49]

As someone who runs my house on wood I can give you an alternative which I have found to be very practical and economical . The system on your video to me seems very complex and maybe and a lot of components that might give you problems. The system I have in my 1871 Victorian house is quite simple. I have an open vented thermal store tank which has a solar thermal coil in the bottom of the tank fed by 2 roof panel’s for hot water in the summer when my wood burner is not on mainly from May to September. .The Scottish government currently gives you 75% towards the cost .I should tell you I live on the southern outskirts of Aberdeen so not the warmest place in the country.The 25 kw boiler wood stove heats the water in the tank not by a coil. The water in the tank is the water that goes through the radiators .the hot water to the taps is fed by mains pressure through a coil in the tank . When the tank needs to dump heat it dumps it through the radiators by a thermostat in the tank even though the tank has a external vent where the water if the tank say in the case of a power cut were to seriously over heat would go to an insulated expansion v and then be discharged to the outside . The thermal store ctank also has a coil fed by a gas combi boiler in the centre of the tank which if the temperature in the tank was low would turn the gas boiler on controlled by a thermostat on the tank ,as my old boiler is not compatible with this type of system I operate this part of my system manually. My system would not be for every one it would be ideal for remote or country areas or even some city areas . I installed the same system in my sons house it is a very good simple easy to understand system and as at 30th September my gas bills were 23 to £27 a month. I understand your confusion with this type of heating as I couldn’t find hardly anyone that really gave me confidence that they new what they were taking about. As a retired mechanic this system is a piece of cake to install . With the 2 solar thermal panels it means I get hot water nearly free during the summer and it even supplements the water going to the wood stove in that the water can be 50 degrees going to the stove so the stove heats the water quicker.

[@molliekat2075]

Am I correct in saying the 75% is only if you are over a certain age or on some sort of benefits etc. I was only offered a Loan via the Home Energy Scotland. But your info is interesting although I don't live near mains gas.

[@leeplaskett8944]

I have a Hunter multifuel stove with a back boiler connected to a 300 litre thermal store tank. I have 10 radiators connected and it works well.

[@SkillBuilder]

It would be good to see your setup

[@leeplaskett8944]

@@SkillBuilder Hi Roger, happy to send you more info about the system I have installed. Your also welcome to visit if in Devon?

[@mattridler377]

I have a hunter herald 8 multi fuel stove which was installed before we moved in to our house 7years ago. No oil or gas boiler so our house is heater purely using the stove. We have always struggled to get our radiators to a decent heat and go through approx 13 builders bags of well seasoned wood a year. I’m sure we should b3 getting better efficiency from our stove than we do.

[@MrFlatroofer]

Good to know you can heat 300L tank.

[@charliebuttocks2400]

I’ve got mine running the radiators and integrated with oil so if the temperature drops with the wood burner the oil kicks in or I can run them independently toasty and no massive bills…run the oil for a couple of hrs on cold mornings to heat the system up then light the wood burner go all day with out using the oil if the temperature of the water drops below 95 the thermostat on the pipe kicks in the boiler

[@frankw9836]

i moved into an old house with an open fireplace. I've been told there is a "back boiler" which heats the water and radiators when the fire is lit . There is a switch which apparently pumps the hot water into the radiators ? The fire is lit i switch on the pump (i can hear bubbling noise) but no warm radiators or hot water . Can someone explain, why not ?

[@alandaines3723]

You can also connect a wood burning stove to a pressurised system via a heat exchanger. I have a Hunter multifuel stove connected via a firebird heat exchanger to a pressurised, oil fired system.

[@SkillBuilder]

There are lots of ways of doing this but the open vent is a key requirement on the solid fuel side

[@MrJFoster1984]

Hello Roger, long time no speak mate. Hope you are well. An interesting video as I have a wood stove which has an option for what they call over here a wet back. I am interested in this product once I get the stove up and running. Lucky for us we purchased 55 acres in Tasmania so timber is in abundance. Stay safe mate all the best to you and the family👍

[@SkillBuilder]

Good to hear from you again. There is a lot to look at with linking up stoves so we will try and cover it in more detail

[@MrJFoster1984]

@@SkillBuilder That would be great. Cheers 👍

[@TheTimutube]

I had a 13 kw wood stove years ago.I used it just as a stove for two years then through in a back boiler.wood use literally tripled overnight.ran it like this on free wood foe 4 further years but defo think stoves are much better suited without a back boiler.

[@SkillBuilder]

Hi Tim, that is exactly what I found through several years of fitting them.

[@stephengreen6338]

I have a multi fuel stove running 10 rad, and gravity hot water, we burn both coal, and pallet wood, which we can get from a local portacabin builder, I get the attic rad to run by balancing the system, if the pump fails, as you know Roger the heat runs quickly up the vent, and the banging of the pipework starts untill you turn the hot taps on to cool the boiler, and its run like that for 15yrs plus. This looks interesting, and maybe more efficient, but I are nt going to fix something that aint broke, but thanks for bringing it to us

[@SkillBuilder]

That boiling over into the F&E is very scarey in the early hours when the wind gets up and the stove roars into life.

[@stephengreen6338]

@@SkillBuilder can be ha, I did fit a heat loss rad, and towel rail, which works to alleviate the excess heat, cheers Roger

[@sam249344]

Hi Roger, I have been looking at this system for a while. We went to solid fuel about 10 years ago, installing a Dunsley Highlander boiler stove. It was done with the help of a neighbour who was very old school. It has no controls as such apart from the pump which runs permanently when the stove is on. We have no other form of heating so it's not linked into anything. The system is vented and we have a 3 way port which is open and we therefore don't have the means to heat just water and inevitably have to top up heat with the immersion. I realise it's very Heath Robinson but it works and we have never had an issue. Obviously, it would be ideal if I could get it working so we could bring the hot water up to temperature without using the immersion but not many plumbers have the "can do" attitude you seem to have. Looking forward to the other videos.

[@peterconnolly4089]

Hi, assuming you have gravity hot water, and pumped heating, and the pump running when ever the boiler gets up to temperature, if that’s the case, if this then sends the hot water to the whole system (c/h and h/w), you could fit a cylinder stat that gives priority to the hot water circuit, ie. the gravity hot water circuit would not switch the pump on until satisfied, with a zone vale fitted to the return pipe (to stop the water circulation to the cylinder) , you still have an open vent ,

[@wotnoturbo]

Definetly gonna have to re watch a few times before this sinks in ...

[@youthussful]

I run a 30kw wood burner piped into my mains gas boiler using the neutraliser method .. I don't rely on the pipe stats .. if the fire is lit I have pump running ..7 years in ..it wouldn't pay if you had to buy your timber I burn loads and loads of the stuff

[@oldhippie8774]

I have 3 compartments in the wood stove that heat the water and the pump brings the heated water to the central heating, I have central heating throughout the house and I burn about 500 euros a winter and the winters are cold here in Hungary, I live on a farm in an open area. There is no cheaper than this method if you want to heat your central heating system on wood.

[@stalker1567]

Can i add a woodburner boiler into my combiboiler gas system?

[@martweaver9233]

Does anybody know if it’s possible to join 2 or even 3 wood burners to this system? Thanks Marty

[@mattridler377]

I have a hunter herald 14 multi fuel stove which was installed before we moved in to our house 7years ago. No oil or gas boiler so our house is heater purely using the stove. We have always struggled to get our radiators to a decent heat and go through approx 13 builders bags of well seasoned wood a year. I’m sure we should b3 getting better efficiency from our stove than we do.

[@twiglet2214]

I've stopped buying logs now - used to have a mix of logs and Homefire smokeless briquettes but realized the logs don't burn for long and if the damper is closed too far then logs will go out whereas the Homefire ( or similar ) once the stove is established burns much hotter and can be kept in over night on a slow burn and doesn't need so much attention as logs.Also there's the storage and handling issue, as well as moisture content to consider which can't be guaranteed with logs.Toward the end of winter logs can be hard to come by whereas the smokeless fuel is readily available also the tar content will be less meaning a cleaner flue for longer.

[@martinbyrne6643]

The problem with multi fuel stoves is the small boilers in them or small heating area , the fire just goes straight out the chimney and doesn’t hit the boiler because of its vertical nature , the reason the fire goes out overnight is because of the grate , burning wood in a grate won’t allow the fire to form a heart , in the old days wood fires were burned on the heart , no grate so the burning wood embers were insulated in the wood ash and burned much longer , logs need to burn from end to end in a horizontal position, in the modern wood stoves the wood burns in a vertical position , what I am saying is the boiler needs to be horizontal or barrel shaped with no grate so the fire runs along the roof it the boiler before it escapes out the chimney, hence the more efficiency.

[@barryflanagan7502]

How many radiators are you heating? I have 6 big double rads and a small single, had a 14kw stove and had it roaring all day but just wouldn't get the rads hot enough. I changed the stove for a 21kw and it did the job.

[@mattridler377]

@@barryflanagan7502 I have 3 largeish 4 medium and a couple of small rads. What stove did you go for? Do you find your going through a crazy amount of wood though to keep them nice and hot?

[@barryflanagan7502]

@@mattridler377 I got an Olymberyl Aidan. I burn timber and coal. I was burning more in the 14kw trying to get the place warm enough. With the 21kw, once the place is warm I slow the burn down.

[@mickeyP369]

This system looks amazing for a wood burning stove , I have spoken to Art and he is so helpful and very knowledgeable, but I just need a plumber to fit it , no one around to understand it ..

[@IanPritchard]

Move your house to Wiltshire and I'll do it for you. I'm chomping at the bit to start offering this to my customers.

[@tamz2tamz2]

1st 2 minutes i thought it was pish then 5 minutes in i'm thinking ik can learn a bit from this and then it went on to stuff everyone should know. I enjoyed it but wgaf i'm retiring in the next while. As the bride says when are you selling the van. Well.............i like my van and you like the £ notes ;)

[@5th_decile]

I was wondering whether there is a kind of product like the following on the market: a steel ring with radiator fins on the outside to attach around your wood burner's steel chimney (has a hinge on either end of the ring to accomplish the task of getting it around). Does it exist? Is it a good idea/worthwhile?

[@pumpkinhead456]

You need to keep flues quite hot to ensure efficient burning and to stop a build up of creosote

[@SkillBuilder]

You are dead right. I said to Art that pumping too much water through the stove can lead to problems and flue deposits is one of them

[@5th_decile]

@@SkillBuilder Ok, but I'm a bit skeptical about your skepticism. If one takes care that the fire quickly transitions into a powerful burn (using well-dried wood as suggested in the video) the draft will be strong enough anyway to deal with that problem. You think maybe problems arise during the burnout-phase? In my experience glowing coal doesn't emit a lot of smoke? To summarize: this sounds a bit like problem which can and should be dealt with by having a good fire-making discpline.

[@Kiran_UK]

Is there a method to connect into an unvented system or is a thermal store the only option?

[@SkillBuilder]

Unvented and solid fuel is a very bad idea. Thermal store is a good bet

[@wyvernlambi1892]

Thanks Gents, very informative, even if most of this went over my head. If it is possible, could you explain in lay mans terms how one could add this system to a property which presently only has a combi boiler set up? I have unlimited access to wood and have wanted to switch to a back boiler/log burner set up for years but I need to convince the wife this can work better then the ‘central heating’ for it to stand a chance. Thanks in advance. G

[@SkillBuilder]

It won't be better because it takes a huge amount of wood and you still have to cut, store and load it into the stove. It will be cheaper. You will also notice more ash dust from a stove and some say this is harmful. If you want to cut your fuel bills the hook up is worthwhile but you could use a stove as a room heater as I do. It heats the whole ground floor and the heat drifts up.

[@wyvernlambi1892]

@@SkillBuilder Thank you for the advice.

[@petercumiskey3188]

Can you install a woodstove with back boiler on a Hight Pressure installation

[@SkillBuilder]

No

[@TnStrading]

Do you think this would work with a external rocket burner water heater? my mother is elderly and having a burner in the house wouldn't be wise with her Alzheimer's

[@joebrennan.4389]

Is it now possible to run a mains gas heating system in conjunction with a solid fuel stove..?

[@SkillBuilder]

Yes I talk about this at the end of the video

[@tigerskinpants]

@@SkillBuilder My gas system is running at 1.5bar, I don't get how you incorporate and open system log burner in to this. I was planning to use a plate type heat exchanger with high pressure on one side and low on the other so the stove could add heat to already working gas loop, leave the log burner unpressurised and capable of dealing with a power cut the old fashioned way.

[@michaelfraser5723]

IOI YES, did it years ago

[@42RHD]

How in the world do you have flow and return in opposite directions on the same heat converter in your open vented cylinder from the boiler stove? At 7.17/2957 That's two hot flows into one heat converting coil in the cylinder which should eventually equate to one big bang? I'll watch it agin but I'm so not understanding it. And if it does work it's a really useful set up! I really want to understand this system, so I'll watch it again a few times and hope it all comes together in my head!

[@SkillBuilder]

I think we need to do another video with a more detailed explanation. I think I have enough information now to explain it but there are many other ways of doing this

[@42RHD]

@@SkillBuilder Oh Thank you! I watched it through a couple of times but still came out a bit baffled. I get the idea of a thermostat off the solid fuel heat source powering a pump to vary the flow rate through the back boiler... I think... but the rest muddled me. I'll have another go.

[@pauls826]

Gravity returns got an arrow pointing to it 😂

[@anthonymellor174]

Wow need fitters so we can have it fitted with my combi boiler Get the basic idea need to get uk based

[@stevenwatkins8872]

Any idea how much this would cost?

[@jigsey.]

I've got a stove with a back boiler heating 16 rads on a pressure system...works perfect until a get a powercut...then I have to down the fire

[@jigsey.]

@daz374 I've connected a plug to the pump and I've an backup ups battery hopefully that will be enough to power the 70w pump

[@davidliston5002]

I have just done away with gas boiler and bought a AGA to do cooking hot water and heating haven't looked back all in law kilned dry wood .

[@DiyBug-ib8vd]

All good, but how do I find someone who can install me one, not a single person my local area is doing this.

[@TontosVotanPaSocialistas]

Yes. It can. Very eady to install everything.

[@shogun666able]

Of course, it can be done, but to what boiler or controls are you adding it too may not make it wise. If it is a add on for effect to the system, it just becomes another radiator with a heat source. The downside of that a wood burner is fairly un-controllable heat wise and can bring its water content to a boil if the heating pump is shut down by the present system controls / boiler controls. If the boiler is a combi I wouldn't advice it as all the controlling internals or only made to control that boiler as the only heat source, if a condensing boiler I would suggest you don't. As they work on a controlled output temperature against a monitored return temperature to condensate through pickup thermistors in the boiler. Open vented system (open vent to a F&E tank) should be OK as long as your control the boiling facture. Heat leak pipework can be fitting and controlled wired to take care of that if needs be. So, anything other than an open vented system I wouldn't advise it or be guided by a good knowledgeable heating engineer (old school) as to what can or cannot be done safely.