Radiator ideas wanted

Kelly · Radiator ideas wanted

Is it possible to run radiators without electric???
ihave a large log burner that would easily run 2 or 3 radiators off it but understamd that I would need an electric pump to do this...is that right??? and how did people do it in the old days without electric???
any ideas ppl ?

Smooth Hound

yes you can, hot water travels up hill and cold down, so you inlet for your radiator needs to be a couple of inches higher, and the next the same again, you cant go up and down round doorways or under floors, in mine i drilled holes in the door frames and put the pipe through, you can use 10mm piping , and you will need a small expansion tank at a height higher than everything else, mine is on the shelf in a cupboard.
if you give me a rough run down on what your planning , ill give you an opinion.

Smooth Hound

i would recommend an electric pump though, if you want a few radiators in sensible places, but youll still need a header tank somewhere highr than your system, the dab pumps are quite cheap and very easy to fit

Ina

The house I'm staying in at the moment runs several radiators off the woodburner (including some upstairs) - I don't think they have an electric pump. Will try and remember to find out when they are back from their holiday.

lachlanandmarcus

We have radiators upstairs only and as well as the boiler we also have a gravity feed from the woodburning Esse range in the study kitchen. So the pipes from that go up on a slope to the radiators. cant have any flat or downhill, all has to be uphill even if just a bit.

Working well so far (couple of weeks!), no hubbly bubbly sounds or airlocks!

Kelly

I live in a single story croft

judging by what you guys have said I would have to teach my kids to step over all the pipes LOL

Smooth Hound

not if you use a pump, would it be heating the hot water tank too

Kelly

The point is I don't want to use a pump, yet another electric drain in the winter

Never mind....I'll spend the money on more insulation

terrier

hi kelly,
have you considered blowing warm air from your wood burner round your house to heat it like they did on " its not easy being green " ?
you could even use an ecofan which uses no electricity. not tried this myself but it seemed to work for dick strawbridge + co so it must be possible. what i do know though is that insulating as well as possible is a very very good idea.
terrier

Kelly

Was that a TV program terrier??
I don't have Tv

lachlanandmarcus

This is a link to the Its not easy forum discussion about the ecofan, might be useful......

http://www.itsnoteasybeinggreen.o....php?t=15871&highlight=ecofan

Ina

Well, it's all been said already - the upstairs radiators work without a pump, but not the downstairs ones... Same in my friend's house.

Kelly

Looked at the ecofan website...I think they are more suited to long boats (LOTS about them

) and houses where the heat source is at one end of the house.
Our log burner is in the middle of the house and heats up the living room very well, the two beds (off the living room, to either side of the log burner) comfortable enough for sleeping, but where I really need the heat is in the kitchen and bathroom , a crappy 1960's flat roof extension. we are having a shuffle about with the rooms in the next few months so may consider putting a 2nd smaller log burner out there as well as replacing the plasterboard and insulating the ceiling a little better :0
thanks for all the input though guys *hugs*

Smooth Hound

pumps dont take alot of power you know, and you could always run it off a transformer off a battery charged by a solar panel/windmill. just a thought, thats what i intend to do, when i can afford a solar panel, and with a generator for backup, ill be making that phone call to scottish gas,

and ill say , you can stop robbing me now

just switch me off, its a bit of an ambition

Kelly

We are builing a cabin in the garden for bedroom space and plan to make that "off grid", going to look into those solar lights, the bulbs that come with their own little solar panels, and a tiny log burner...trying to make our extra space as carbon nuetral as possible, pleantly of trees being planted down our bottom feild to replace the wood for the cabin

It will be an interesting experiment into off grid on a small scale.