Buy Back Boilers When Needs Must

Buy back boilers is a mantra for any installer having to think about installing what is these days a comparatively unconventional heating device.

But for anyone uttering the words buy back boilers, they need to understand just what a back boiler is.

The clue of course is in the name. A back boiler is a heating unit which was sited behind an open fire which was traditionally powered by solid fuel: coal, or wood, or both.

First came the open fire, then came the idea that the heat being generated should not all escape up the chimney, but should be used to heat water. Thus, back boilers were sited behind the fire, made from a material like cast iron and contained water which when heated, could be used as hot water for the tap, or radiators.

The problem with old back boilers is that most were very inefficient. After hours of heat, the water might only be lukewarm and then had to be fed to the kitchen, or the radiators. Most of the heat still went up the chimney.

Also, back boilers had to be situated adjacent to the fire; in effect, within the chimney and often between two walls. This had a great many disadvantages, not least because the space was usually so small, that the boiler could only accommodate limited pipework and controls. And that meant that the boiler was basically inert; a lump of metal which sat behind an open fire, trying to catch as much as heat as possible and then doing its best to distribute around the house. But, again, with limited space, it wasn’t easy to incorporate a pump which could get the hot water where it was needed: in the radiators, or to the taps.

Things became a little easy when fires became enclosed units and therefore things could be controlled to a greater degree, but still, having a boiler effectively in the middle of a house was one of the worst places it could sit.

And then came along condensing technology. This is what makes modern boilers so efficient, because it allows the boiler to take two grabs at the heat produced by the combustion process: at the point of the ‘burn’ and then from the exhaust gases. The main downside of this greater efficiency is that a liquid – condensate – is produced as a by product and although its effectively water and therefore harmless, it still needs to be drained away. Thus, the siting of a condensing boiler is a major issue. The boiler ideally has to be placed on an outside wall, so that the condensate drain has easy access to the outside. This rules out most back boiler situations, unless a drain system can be installed.

So, yes, think buy back boilers, but also think drains – it could be crucial.

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