Back boiler on log burner

[Donnie]

Currently have a log burner and I am looking to hook it up to my radiators and still use the central heating if possible for hot water in taps and showers. 
 

Any suggestions for doing something like this and suggestions for a new stove would be grand. 
 

i will be paying a fully qualified heating engineer to do this and not doing it myself as i dont want to turn my living room into a bomb

[Squaredy]

1 hour ago, JDon said:

Currently have a log burner and I am looking to hook it up to my radiators and still use the central heating if possible for hot water in taps and showers. 
 

Any suggestions for doing something like this and suggestions for a new stove would be grand. 
 

i will be paying a fully qualified heating engineer to do this and not doing it myself as i dont want to turn my living room into a bomb

You need a suitably qualified person to advise you what is possible and does it work out for you.  Assuming your existing central heating is a combi boiler then the way to link the two is by using a thermal store, which is a significant investment itself.  Otherwise you have two incompatible systems - combi boiler system is high pressure closed loop; wood burner with boiler will be gravity fed with a header tank.

 

 It is worth thinking long and hard if it is really worth it or if you can make the log burner heat lots of your house by opening doors etc!

[Donnie]

9 minutes ago, Squaredy said:

You need a suitably qualified person to advise you what is possible and does it work out for you.  Assuming your existing central heating is a combi boiler then the way to link the two is by using a thermal store, which is a significant investment itself.  Otherwise you have two incompatible systems - combi boiler system is high pressure closed loop; wood burner with boiler will be gravity fed with a header tank.

 

 It is worth thinking long and hard if it is really worth it or if you can make the log burner heat lots of your house by opening doors etc!

My log burner is upstairs so only heats half and the downstairs is freezing in the winter so yes. 
 

How much money are we talking?

 

Yes it is a combi boiler. 
 

I have unlimited access to free wood as I am a cutter in forestry so would be grand. 

[Squaredy]

2 minutes ago, JDon said:

My log burner is upstairs so only heats half and the downstairs is freezing in the winter so yes. 
 

How much money are we talking?

 

Yes it is a combi boiler. 
 

I have unlimited access to free wood as I am a cutter in forestry so would be grand. 

I know someone who did this about ten years ago and it was over ten grand, but I assume this included the new log burner.

 

 Is it not feasible to fit a second log burner downstairs?

[Donnie]

Is there a way to only have the combi boiler just to solely heat the water in the tap/shower/bath? I'm not really clued up on how this all works. 

[Squaredy]

1 minute ago, JDon said:

Is there a way to only have the combi boiler just to solely heat the water in the tap/shower/bath? I'm not really clued up on how this all works. 

I guess you could have two totally separate systems - use the combi boiler for hot water only and have all the rads plumbed in to the back boiler on the wood burner.  But then you wouldn’t even be able to use the combi in the morning before work.

 

 Also you need to search old threads as I think there was one recently about woodburners with back boilers.  It seems there are very few available these days.

[GarethM]

Before we all go down rabbit hole and warrens of discussions, maybe find a model of fireplace with a backboiler.

 

From what I remember they are a bit few and far between especially if they meet the current smoke regulations and modern eco design requirements.

[Donnie]

Quick google search here and found one (maybe). 

[GarethM]

I'll put this politely, that's far too large without a huge 1500 litre buffer tank and expansion tank.

 

It's not like a gas boiler system that can cycle on and off. Whilst that might be 30kw, a stove needs to be able to run without overheating or exploding as it needs to dissipate heat somewhere.

 

If you also read the listing, it doesn't meet current regulations.

 

Anything that large is going to eat wood like it's going out of fashion, I run a 25kw Angus and it'll eat a wheelie bin a day.

 

Best say 10kw max and just supplement the existing system.

[Donnie]

12 minutes ago, GarethM said:

I'll put this politely, that's far too large without a huge 1500 litre buffer tank and expansion tank.

 

It's not like a gas boiler system that can cycle on and off. Whilst that might be 30kw, a stove needs to be able to run without overheating or exploding as it needs to dissipate heat somewhere.

 

If you also read the listing, it doesn't meet current regulations.

 

Anything that large is going to eat wood like it's going out of fashion, I run a 25kw Angus and it'll eat a wheelie bin a day.

 

Best say 10kw max and just supplement the existing system.

Aye to be fair I did think for 30kw that'd be a beast. I've a 5kw log burner or so in right now that'll heat my whole top floor, kitchen living room bathroom and hall way to 28/30 degrees which is absolutely roasting. Was only a quick google search. 
 

All I'm looking for is to heat downstairs as well upstairs evenly.