Wood Fired Rayburn

[Madgirl151]

thats what i was thinking, multifuel gives more options for fuel but iv been reading a bit about woodburners too

[Highlander]

Our multi fueled fire is less than a week old,.. by [ probably ] tomorrow it will be running seven radiators, but now we are making sure we have no leaks before linking them.

The whole system will be linked to an oil fired system, so that we can have both options,... for instance when the fire has been closed down all night, we can have the oil system on for an hour from 6.30am to bring the house up to the right temp,.. before building up the new stove

[Tarrel]

(17 November 2012, 22:46)Highlander Wrote: Our multi fueled fire is less than a week old,.. by [ probably ] tomorrow it will be running seven radiators, but now we are making sure we have no leaks before linking them.

The whole system will be linked to an oil fired system, so that we can have both options,... for instance when the fire has been closed down all night, we can have the oil system on for an hour from 6.30am to bring the house up to the right temp,.. before building up the new stove

That's how we're set up with the Rayburn. The objective in fitting it was twofold; become better prepped for a possible interruption in oil supply and electricity, and to save money. I'm aiming to reduce our oil consumption by two-thirds, but reducing it by one-third will still give us a better return on the capital investment compared to sticking the money in the bank.

Today the boiler came on for it's "morning boost" and gave us a warm house to get up to. We were out nearly all day, so we didn't bother lighting the Rayburn until we got back at around 4.30. We set the boiler to give us another short boost at 4.00, so the house was warm when we got back. Lit the Rayburn and I was doing lamb curry on it by 6.00.

In short, happy to continue to use the oil-fired system for comfort, knowing we're using a lot less of it, and the option to go Rayburn-only is there if we need it.

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Regarding wood vs. multifuel, we did consider both, purely from a flexibility point of view. At the end of the day, we couldn't really see us using anything other than wood, and the wood-only stove cost less because you only pay 5% VAT (including on the installation costs).

[Highlander]

We have also put in 4kw solar power system, so we also have that option, it means that we can heat the water by the solar system when its light enough.

This is the final part of a three years plan, the first year we got the cavity wall insulation and doubled the insulation in the loft, the second year we add the solar system, and this system rounds off our plans,... its not just a prepers moment,... its also the fact that retirement is looming, money will be tighter, and power more costly.............just another thing to prepare for

[Madgirl151]

well i got the solar panels done earlier this year and the cavity wall etc has already been done but at the mo the heating is gas ran and if theres any interruption in the gas we are screwed, not so much the electric as i think the solar can switch to not sending the excess to the grid but i dont want to not be able to heat at least one room. so i am contemplating getting probably a multifuel stove asap.

[Highlander]

What makes you think you can keep all you produce from the solar, and not have to send it to the grid?,...I didnt think you could do that,..or have I missed something,... certainly while your system is producing your electric is free,.. but what you dont use has to go to the grid,... I didnt think you can switch that off

[Madgirl151]

im sure someone on here said that theres a switch to switch it into the house, il have a quick look

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http://forum.survivaluk.net/showthread.p...8#pid27878

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i asked that a while ago, and i dont mind sending it back to the grid while it affects my bills just now but if the prices start going up more or there are power cuts then il hitting that switch

[NorthernRaider]

(17 November 2012, 23:57)Highlander Wrote: What makes you think you can keep all you produce from the solar, and not have to send it to the grid?,...I didnt think you could do that,..or have I missed something,... certainly while your system is producing your electric is free,.. but what you dont use has to go to the grid,... I didnt think you can switch that off

It depends mate theres new Grid systems available including LOCAL grid, SMART rid etc, You can in many cases sell your excess power back to the grid via a feed in tariff agreement, equally you can just have a system that provides power ONLY to your house when the grid fails.
Selling to the grid isnt straight forward, first your local 11KV system must have the capacity, second it must not destabilise the established 11KV system, then you have to ensure your local sub station can take the extra supply and do it without causing " waves or ripples" in the system. A domestic solar array can indeed be set up only to supply your own needs and the excess gets used to recharge your battery bank.
If you get one of these deals where a company puts FREE panels on your roof you get the power to your house for nowt, but any excess gets sent back into the grid and the instalation company gets the feed in tsariff money.

[Tarrel]

If you've got a grid connected system it will shut down completely in the event of a power cut. The inverter that turns your solar power into mains electricity will have an "Islanding" device fitted. This si to prevent you feeding power into the grid while technicians are working on the cause of the failure.

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If you want back-up power in the event of a power cut, you'll need a battery-bank charged from the mains via a battery charger, which you can connect an inverter to, to provide power for your essentials when the power goes down. This is why I'm going for a DIY grid-connected system, so I can configure it so it could easily be re-wired to run a separate inverter during a prolonged power-outage.

[NorthernRaider]

I'm on an ultra tight budget so my plans are to get two or three 80 or 100 watt panels, charge controlling doofah, and a few 100 AH leisure batteries to make up a self contained back up system based around 12VDC kit, rather than fannying around converting it to 220vac. That should power some low energy LED lights, water pump, micro wave, modem, PC, recharging batts type things.