Quote:
Originally Posted by vtec-e
10/10!! Thats an impressive saving.
I had a similar experience with my boiler last winter. I have an oil fired boiler heating the house and water. I installed a stove in the living room and plumbed it into the heating system to assist the boiler and reduce or eliminate the use of oil. I had it set up so it would heat the return water to the oil boiler and therefore reduce it's oil consumption and still heat the house. It worked well but i found i was losing 7 celsius across the boiler when the stove was doing the heating. The boiler felt warm on the outside so i had to retain this heat. Some leftover attic lagging was duly put to good use and i reduced the loss to 3 celsius. I know i should eliminate the oil boiler when the stove is heating but it just wasnt practical. I wanted one pump doing the circuit as two pumps were opposing each other and radiators were not getting hot due to the system being balanced while on the oil boiler. Anyway, it works well and is heating my house nice and toasty as i type.....with my beer in hand....
ollie
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Yeah, good insulation works wonders with most heating gear.
We still have a wood stove in the living room.. But it has not been
used in about 20 years..
Back in the 70s, I put three hot water solar collectors on my roof.
I had an 84 gallon tank and heat exchanger in the basement.
The system preheated the cold water input the the Tarm boiler
to a year-round average of 120 deg F. (180 on hot days).
The heat exchanger lasted about 15 years before it started to leak.
The storage tank (an electric HW heater, without the power connections)
started leaking around the same time. After a while, it became too much trouble.
I'm kicking myself now, for not repairing or replacing the bad parts.
The Novan collectors (I gave away) had another 30 years on their warranty.
I was lucky, the typical life span on that stuff around here is about 10 years.
Now, I need to get new shingles on the roof.. So, I'm already thinking about a new set of panels.. Maybe PV this time..?..
