A bit o/t. Stratification in Thermal Stores

[cornish wood burner]

As an Esse cooker dealer I (and Esse) consider it vital to install a Laddomat or the boiler control unit from Esse which does pretty much the same thing. Not fitting one does not allow the firebox to get hot enough to ignite the creosote given off by all woods, this then gets into the flue ways where it condenses and lines the cooker flue ways and the flue with tar which of course is combustible.

 

The W23 has from memory around 17kw max of heat to the water, its was replaced by the W35 with bigger boiler at least 5 years ago.

 

I am not a plumber so cant really comment on the plumbing aspects of the job, however 200L is not a big tank as a bulk energy store. The one I saw in the Esse training school recently linked up to a 990 CHQ cooker is I would think twice that size

 

A

That size tank should be bouncing in an hour with anything like 17 kw. There is something very wrong with that system. One cause could be a drain/leak so the hot water is running out an overflow or underground. The tank is too small to be any use as a store, but running

for 3 hours and not enough water for a shower. Crazy.

How much wood is burnt per hour? We can work out the approximate heat input from that. Weight in kg would be ideal. The stove spend doesn't spend all its time shut down I presume.

[hardtop110]

Laddomat (or esse clone) with the correct stat in the valve plus a flue stat to control the pump is definitely worth a try.

 

I have a 18 kW Stratford boiler stove heating a 330l store and I can boil it from room temp in less than 3 hrs.

 

Good luck.

[Justme]

You have something wrong. I am guessing that a, you dont burn for long enough & b, you dont burn hot enough.

 

We have the smallest Rayburn that has a 2kW boiler. We heat a 260L thermal store. From that we get our hot water & run the rads for 4 hours per day. In winter its running 24/7. The residual heat from the Rayburn heats the main living area & the rads do the bedrooms. The rads are small & only total 2.5kW output. Our TS heats up to 85c+.

[Stereo]

Thanks all. We have underfloor heating which is multiple circuits controlled by room stats. This uses the body of water in the store and the store is kept at 50 degrees min by a gas combi which was in place before we got the store. This means that the water in the store is always hot enough to run the heating and provide DHW on demand.

 

The Esse runs through the store as well and is supposed to heat it but to be honest the store never gets near 80 unless there is zero demand for heat. In the winter we run the Esse 24/7 as far as possible with good dry wood. But once the weather draws in, it stops working as a cooker, never gets hot enough and also doesn't seem to help with the heating either.

 

I think the answer is a Laddomat or similar. The constant cool water coming back from the bottom of the store is stealing all the heat from the boiler in the Esse and making it run cold. I suspect also that the gravity effect is causing water to cycle through the store when it shouldn't be. I am putting in water which is not up to temp.

 

I think I'll have to get that sorted first.

[sandspider]

Get back to your installer?

[Stereo]

I would rather not, they made a hash of it in the first place and having spoken to others, I'm not their first victim. Big local firm too.

[cornish wood burner]

I would rather not, they made a hash of it in the first place and having spoken to others, I'm not their first victim. Big local firm too.

 

Same old story I have had to sort the controls and some mechanical work on two large commercial boilers. New industry over here. If you want some direction what to do next some more info would help. I have asked some questions yesterday if you look back. Also is your stove piped direct or indirect. I can do some calculations for you but I need the information to work with.

[sandspider]

I would rather not, they made a hash of it in the first place and having spoken to others, I'm not their first victim. Big local firm too.

 

If I'd paid money for something to be done and it hadn't been done right, I'd be back on to them to sort it out free of charge, or / and refund. Of course, it might not be worth the hassle... Good luck.

[Stereo]

If I'd paid money for something to be done and it hadn't been done right, I'd be back on to them to sort it out free of charge, or / and refund. Of course, it might not be worth the hassle... Good luck.

 

Too long ago probably. I don't want them back so I have to get someone else to rectify, then go after them for damages. It's a long shot and a big risk of costs to me. Plus all the aggro. I've been burnt but I guess I've learned.

[sandspider]

Fair play. Sometimes I find myself chasing companies / people for small amounts of money - where the principle is worth more than the time / money involved. I just don't like them to get away with it - maybe they'll think twice next time... Or maybe I'm just a petty bastard!