How to keep the stove from boiling during power cut??

ltdslipdiff

Hi y'all, just a quickie. I have a solid fuel stove plumbed to all rads using thermostat/hot water pump switch to circulate. Had power cut during the roaring Northerlys there a few weeks ago and had a stove full of coal and wood. Managed to quench the fire using old ash ,closed all the vents and opened up all the rads to their max setting. Luckily power cut was short-lived and had power back just in time before water started to boil in stove. I'd love to be able to set up an emergency pump for such occasions? Was thinking a 12v battery and inverter... Any ideas folks? The present pump is located in the hotpress and easily accessible.....

On another note, house was completed late 2006. I noticed while attending a leak in the attic that all the rad pipes upstairs weren't insulated (the plastic type) so I insulated all visible pipes.. Should this have been done by builder originally? I would imagine they would have frozen in the cold winter we had as they were not in use upstairs?

Thank you !

heinbloed

If the pipes are in an unheated place they should certainly be insulated.
Esp. if your heating system is relying on a tank to privide a min. pressure, usually the hopper tank. If this pipe piece between the tank and the rest of the plumbing freezes you'll have no working connection anymore, the two wouldn't communicate anymore.
And this in turn causes two risks: first the system might run dry and second: the pressure build-up can't go anywhere. The hopper tank works like a pressure valve, unless the is a no-return valve put between the tank and the rest of the heating system.
(A no-return valve is recommended to avoid heat from the heating system escaping upwards into the hopper tank and heating the attic. Warm water goes automatically upwards, so without the no-return valve you'll be keeping a tank of water warm and this is a wastage.)

There are small emergency battery sets available, you might have found one already. Make sure the electrics are right, the correct current ect..
It might make sense to check if the existing pump is equipped with a permanent magnetic motor, these are very low in energy usage. So a battery will run these A-rated pumps for much longer than a standard B or C rated pump.
If the battery is supposed to be on permanent standby then it would have to be charged automatically as soon as a the stored energy drops. But on the other hand it can't be charged all the time, this would put to much stress onto the battery and kill it soon. So there are small devices available to protect the battery, as soon a certain charge is achieved they turn off the charging process. Switching on only if a low charge is detected. These small devices can be got for as little as a tenner, depending on made and purpose.

Check anyhow if your heating system has an over-pressure release, to avoid an explosion in case the electric power fails again. There should come one at least with the stove/boiler. Make sure the outlet of this steam valve doesn't show into potential risk zones.

Red Alert

A computer-style UPS would probably do the trick if you wired it in correctly.