Fabricating a woodburner with a back bolier

[Darren]

I would like to fabricate my own woodburner with a back boiler so that I may heat domestic water and possibly the central heating water. I would appreciate any comments on designs, material choice, sizes, technical info, the plumbing reqirements etc.

I know that I will need a twin walled stainless steel flue liner for my existing brick chimmney flue, the rest of the stuff I could make an educated guess at but I would prefer to do things correctly.

I have tried to find drawings and designs on the web but I have been unsuccesful so any help on this subject would be realy appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Darren Jefferies (UK)

 

[roac]

Usually EBAY has a few different plans for sale. I could only find 1 today. Search "Wood Plans".

http://tinyurl.com/ajakc

 

[webbie]

I would like to fabricate my own woodburner with a back boiler so that I may heat domestic water and possibly the central heating water. I would appreciate any comments on designs, material choice, sizes, technical info, the plumbing reqirements etc.

I know that I will need a twin walled stainless steel flue liner for my existing brick chimmney flue, the rest of the stuff I could make an educated guess at but I would prefer to do things correctly.

I have tried to find drawings and designs on the web but I have been unsuccesful so any help on this subject would be realy appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Darren Jefferies (UK)

Darren,

Fabrication of something like this, unless you are a welding expert, will end up costing more and doing less than a model which you can buy. Think of it like a car or even a dishwasher - you could never build one for the same price that you can buy one for.

There are a number of issues and I doubt you will find answers online since this is very technical. The construction of any pressure vessel (back boiler) needs to be not only leak proof, but also very strong so that excess water pressure does not destroy it. I am not certain of building codes in Europe, but in the USA such a unit would not be approved for use. You must have certain welding approvals and certificates to even work at a factory producing boilers.

There is also the concern of the efficiency of the stove. It takes a lot of engineering to make a stove burn clean and efficiently.

So, to answer your question, if you wish to do it correctly you should shop around for a unit which is designed for that use. It is not a do it yourself type of product.

Craig

 

[Sundeep Arole]

Why do you want to fabricate one rather than get one off the shelf? Is it as a hobby? Or have you figured you can do it on the cheap?

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

I agree, buy one!
One other factor to consider (if you dont find plans) how will you know what size flue collar to make? the btu loss to the chimney will determine what size flue the appliance will need. You dont want to have too small a flue for the capacity that it may need to handle, and on the flip side you dont want one too big either. Seems risky to me. I think i would consider finding a used old stove that meets your needs before i would try to make one.

 

[Homefire]

http://www.hurstboiler.com/45series.htm

Darren,

Here is a link to get an idea of what it takes to design and build a boiler.
I think you will find that building a boiler will take much time and material. Here in the U.S. I know you could buy a used unit to monkey around with or even use.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to do it yourself. Just be sure you build it safe. This stuff could kill you or worse your family if it is not built correctly. After all, others have already paid the price of ignorance when it comes to boiler safety and we have learned and built on those.
Have fun and keep track of your cost. Don't be suprised if you spend as much or more than an off the shelf unit.

 

[wg_bent]

I would like to fabricate my own woodburner with a back boiler so that I may heat domestic water and possibly the central heating water. I would appreciate any comments on designs, material choice, sizes, technical info, the plumbing reqirements etc.

I know that I will need a twin walled stainless steel flue liner for my existing brick chimmney flue, the rest of the stuff I could make an educated guess at but I would prefer to do things correctly.

I have tried to find drawings and designs on the web but I have been unsuccesful so any help on this subject would be realy appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Darren Jefferies (UK)

I agree, that building a boiler would be real difficult. I have read some stuff on the masonry heater pages that show hotwater preheaters/heaters as part of the design, and maybe some of those could be built at home if you look at some of the books that are available. I think building a masonry heater would way be cool, BUT, it would clearly cost a lot, open me up to insurance issues, plus my wife would wonder what mental institution to commit me to. She's way to pragmatic. I do think a masonry heater is more doable (since I know people who have built them in their homes with very successful results) than trying to build a properly functioning metal stove. If you can follow plans for building lego's and can lay bricks, it seems like you can build a masonry heater. The Disclaimer: I personally have never built one, so take my opinion with a grain of salt



http://www.mha-net.org/html/bookstore.htm

 

[Darren]

Thanks to all of you guys that replied to my querie, don't worry about the welding issue I am a fully qualified welder working for the UK's No 1 welding research institute.

I will try out some of the links and suggestions, although if I fail to find a satisfactory plan of attack I may simply fit a two year old woodburner that I aquired (pity it has no back boiler), maybe I could alter this one by fitting some kind of heat exchager system?

Thanks again for the interest

Darren