Craig Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 I have poured over all of the posts this evening and think I have a fair grasp of what is needed with regard to the heating / hotwater system I intend to install soon. I have however a few questions which hopefully some of the more experienced / experts on the forum may be able to answer for me.I had intended installing an open gravity system initially as I was concerned what would happen if I lost power to the pumps whilst the boiler was stocked up with wood. The boiler has no automatic control as such therefore it will continue to output large amounts of heat after the pump has ceased to circulate water around the heating circuit and hot water tank. After reading the posts on the forum and considering that all French heating systems are sealed and presumeably there are installations of wood boilers with little or no control in place already I am re-evaluating my plans.Is is therefore possible to have a sealed system using an solid fuel boiler to heat and generate hot water for our house? What happens if the pump fails (could I install two) or the power fails whilst the boiler is fully stoked. I assume the pressure in the system will rise sharply and the relief valve will lift in the system thus venting the excess pressure to the outside of the building. This will avoild the boiler from exploding or the pipework exploding but will this not damage the boiler or the heat exchanger part of the boiler following this event.One other question does it matter how far the hot water tank is from the boiler, I intend siting it about six to eight meters away.I would be grateful if someone could give me their opinion on this please.Many thanksCraig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LesFlamands Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 You should use an open vented system with your non-thermostatically control boiler with header tank and gravity circuit as you describe. The hot water cylinder need to be higher than the boiler for the gravity circulation to work but it doesn't matter how far away it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jc Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 As long as most of the distance is vertical;long horizontal runs and too many bends stop it working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonrev Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 I have a 12v to 240v inverter run from my lawn tractor to my fuse board, if I lose power I just plug the central heating pump into that. I have a gravity fed system. John Reeves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Posted February 13, 2006 Author Share Posted February 13, 2006 The invertor is a good idea, I even considerd a UPS system but what worries me is when I am out or at work and my wife is home alone and the electricity goes off. I could empty the fire and switch to alternative electricity supplies if I were there without too much difficulty.I could install a header tank some metres above the boiler but the hot water tank really needs tto be on the ground floor level of the house.Thanks for the replies so far.CheersCraig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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