Anyone have any experience of a Green 30 Back-boiler/stove???

Twiggy69

Hello all,
I have been reading a number of threads on here regarding the choice & the selection of a solid - fuel back boiler stove. Long story short, I need approximately 8Kw to heat my open plan Living room/Dining room. I will also need the balance (22W) to heat up to 24 radiators. Most have Thermostatic Rad valves fitted, so I just need the stove to push out enough heat to get these to kick - in, at setting approx 1 or 2 out of possible 5.

Anyway, I have compared several large stoves with a Back Boiler, but most use the heat to heat the rads, rather than heat the room. On paper, this unit meets all my requirements. However, reviews are non-existent on the trawls that I have done on the Web

So any pointers or reviews god, bad or indifferent would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Conor

Stove Fan

24 rads is a lot of rads:)

I think you would need quite a large boiler stove. Less so if you only want warmish rads.

I presume there are radiators already in your open plan room. I would say an 8kw would be enough to heat the room but the stove total output needed would be considerably more.

You could always leave a few radiators on in the same room as the stove if the stove heat output is not enough to heat the room.

The largest boiler stoves I know of are the stratford boiler stoves. I have no experience of them though. We have a 8 kw villager berkley stove but only a 7kw back boiler. It heats 6 rads. The largest villager is the 14-16kw ALI/AHI with 13kw back boiler. This would run about 7 600 by 1000 double radiators. This gave us up to 5kw to the room at full blast. You really need a heating engineer to visit and work out exactly what kw stove you need. We bought ours in the UK as it was 400 euro cheaper even including the delivery charge. All I would say is buy the best stove you can. Do a search on google UK for multifuel stoves and search through the stoves and companys and see if one matches your requirements. I always buy a brand I have heard of. I am very happy with my villager Berkley for £830.00 delivered. Have a look at whatstove for stove reviews by owners. http://www.whatstove.co.uk/

Stove Fan:)

Twiggy69

Hi Stove Fan,
Thank you for your very detailed and informative contribution. Yes, 24 rads are a lot, but we are currently beefing up our attic insulation by 200% giving us a 300mm depth all over, I may even exceed this. I am hoping to compliment this Back - boiler stove with Solar Collectors & a 300 ltr stainless steel cylinder to heat our Domestic Hot Water. Between the enhanced insulation and attention to air-tightness, we should be getting good heat retention in the house, hence the low requirements of the rads, that of an evening, the family will mainly be in the Sitting Room & Dining Room area, if the stove pushes out the required 8kw to the room we should be toasty. If it becomes too hot we can up the setting on the TRV's or open the double doors into the Sitting Room. The stairs is outside, so the excess heat will rise to heat the upstairs.... that's the theory anyway.

I have looked up various sites including U.K. websites but there is little comment on this Green 30kw unit (8kw to Room & 22kw to the Rads) I suppose a beast that size is not required for most homes. I'm just afraid of over/under specing the unit. Once fitted, I can't very well return it if it's too much for the job. Incidentally, I am planning to purchase it here in Ireland for €1,100, which is several hundred cheaper than units with considerably less output... The search continues.

Stove Fan

Hi,

I had a look at the stove you mentioned and I have to say the dimensions of it are very small for the stated heat output. The stove is tested to EN regs but the boiler output seems not to have been certified/verified. Hetas give boiler outputs of different stoves.

I would be suspicious on the boiler output claims. I would say it's made in china?

It may be excellent but it would be an expensive mistake if it does not heat what you need.

Keep looking and if possible up your budget or just buy a non boiler stove and leave all doors open.

Stove Fan:)

Twiggy69

Hi Stove Fan,
As I stated previously, I know my heating requirements i.e. 8kw to Room & 22 to Rads and this is the only stove (on paper) that meets these requirements. Hence my reason for this thread, to get feedback from anyone with a "Green" stove/back-boiler, ideally the 30kw model. I will certainly check the Hetas figures to validate the "salesman's figures". Thank you for that most helpful suggestion.

As stated above, I started this search knowing my heating requirements, and to date this is the only unit that meets the spec required. The price is secondary, but even by significantly increasing my budget, I have not come across another 30KW boiler stove to produce the output I require.

Stove Fan

Twiggy69 wrote: »

Hi Stove Fan,
As I stated previously, I know my heating requirements i.e. 8kw to Room & 22 to Rads and this is the only stove (on paper) that meets these requirements. Hence my reason for this thread, to get feedback from anyone with a "Green" stove/back-boiler, ideally the 30kw model. I will certainly check the Hetas figures to validate the "salesman's figures". Thank you for that most helpful suggestion.

As stated above, I started this search knowing my heating requirements, and to date this is the only unit that meets the spec required. The price is secondary, but even by significantly increasing my budget, I have not come across another 30KW boiler stove to produce the output I require.

The only one I know is this one, stratford Tf90b, although I have not owned one. http://www.stratfordboilerstoves.co.uk/which_boiler_stove.php?s=1297816636744
Good luck in your quest, Stove Fan:)

Cantrell

Hi there Twiggy,Just wanted to know if you went ahead with the green stove as I have a chance to buy one and need to know anything about them??Thanxs for any help.

Twiggy69

Cantrell wrote: »

Hi there Twiggy,Just wanted to know if you went ahead with the green stove as I have a chance to buy one and need to know anything about them??Thanxs for any help.

Hi Cantrell,
I ended up getting a wood burning stove to heat the Living/Dining Room, but the best bang for my buck was fitting a wood pellet boiler, works a dream and only costs between €4~8 per day for all our domestic hot water & heating a 3200sq ft house. Water is so hot we rarely use the dishwasher saving further in energy costs & further reducing our carbon footprint Win, Win

EHP

What make of pellet boiler did you get?

sdunne

Hi there I have just had a green 30kw stove installed this week (having originally got a Boru carrig mor 20kw in June that was absolutely useless as was their customer service). So far I find it fantastic. We have a 2000 sq foot house with approx 16/17 rads and all of them are hot to touch. The only issue I have had so far is the airwash (glass is a bit dirty looking) but we have no maual and I am sure I will figure it out and I would recommend getting a heat proof glove as the handles get v hot and the tool thing is a bit fiddly.. I also looked at the Stratford T90 and the new Eco Boiler model but this one was much cheaper and I am delighted so far. Hope that helps.

elle81

Any further update on the green 30kW stove.
Hope to purchase at weekend
thanks

leitrim1

Hi All

I am loking for help in the worst possible way and at my wits end over a Green 30KW stove. It was installed less than 6 months ago. Initially it seemed fine but then that was summer. I have been on to the supplier and the distributor without much assistance. Our home and our clothes reek of smoke. We have no hot water and the rads barely heat up. It is absolutely eating fuel at an enormous rate. The back plate in the unit is warped from the heat already but the heat is not coming through the system. The Green stove unit itself gets hot but that is all. It was fitted by a plumber that was recommended by the supplier. Its a disaster.

Any help or advice really appreciated.

Senan

Hi

Any news on these Green 30 KW boilers, I'm thinking of getting one but just a bit wary about the amount of fuel it would use in a day? Is it a monster capable of consuming a small forest during the day?

Anyone with any real world figures I would really appreciate, i have about 20 rads 10 doubles 10 singles, think of getting the Olymberyl Aidan and just using my zones to heat downstairs or upstairs at any one time as it may be more efficient on the fuel doing it this way anyone any ideas?

Really don't want to make an expensive mistake.

Thanks in advance

Senan

leitrim1

The first Green 30KW stove that I got was an animal on fuel. It was faulty/incorrect and was replaced free of charge a few of months ago. The new one works perfectly. The new stove is not that hard on fuel. I think its all about getting the fire going, then packing it up and turning the damper down.

The company never gave me an explanation as to what was wrong with the old one even though I contacted them a couple of times to ask. My plumber thinks they boxed a 20KW or a 25KW stove in to a 30KW box by mistake. There is not much of a difference in the measurements of a 25 and a 30.

The new one works well so fingers crossed.

Cobman

Hey Leitrim 31/Anyone else, any more to say on the Green 30kw stove, do you give it full reccomendation are not.

Are Green stoves trustworthy in relation to other more expensive brands.

Cheers.

leitrim1

Cobman wrote: »

Hey Leitrim 31/Anyone else, any more to say on the Green 30kw stove, do you give it full reccomendation are not.

Are Green stoves trustworthy in relation to other more expensive brands.

Cheers.

I can't honestly answer you. The first one we got was dreadful. We burned so much fuel and got really poor performance from it. The replacement one we got was not working long enough as The mild weather came in soon after. It was fitted and we have not used it much since. On a positive side I know some other people that have them and they swear by them. It was the importers staff that refitted ours and the new one did not fit in exactly so they had to break out some tiles from the fireplace. The shop said we would get this put right or get compensation. To date it has not been repaired or we did not get any explanation from them regarding what was wrong with the one they took out. When the importers guys came to replace the unit I had to go to the hardware to buy basic stuff for them that one one have thought they should of had with them in the van. So the whole thing a bit hap hazard.

We probably won't know till this winter but as I said people I know have them and say they are great.

leitrim1

Cobman wrote: »

Hey Leitrim 31/Anyone else, any more to say on the Green 30kw stove, do you give it full reccomendation are not.

Are Green stoves trustworthy in relation to other more expensive brands.

Cheers.

I am happy to report that the Green 30 is working really well so far this year. Rads are boiling and lots of hot water. This is the way it should have been from the beginning. Happy to report that the shop/ importer has also compensated us for all the sh1t that we went through last year.

Bigrennie

Hi, wondered if anyone can help. Been reading this thread with interest. I bought a 25kw freestanding green stove last November. It works great, heats rads etc but from day 1 every time I open it to restock there is smoke belching out. I have to open doors and windows constantly and it's just awful to live with. The chimney was built new to accommodate the stove, a friend installed it with the help of a plumber. Both have fitted this stove in several other houses and no problems. We've tried a spinner cowl thing to no avail, I've had two builders out to look at it, chimney sweeps and another plumber. No one can see anything obvious. I contacted green stoves and they can send someone out but if it's not a problem with the actual stove itself then they charge €80. I wouldn't mind paying this if there nothing wrong but how do I know the person WILL actually tell me what's wrong? They could just come out and say it's not a problem with the stove itself.

It's been mentioned trees etc round the house can cause problems, we do have trees but they are quite a bit away, we also have an open fire in another room and there is no problem with smoking there. The new chimney for the stove is also well above the roof of the other chimney. Just wondered if anyone has any advice as I'm at my wits end with the whole thing. Thanks.

Dtp1979

Bigrennie wrote: »

Hi, wondered if anyone can help. Been reading this thread with interest. I bought a 25kw freestanding green stove last November. It works great, heats rads etc but from day 1 every time I open it to restock there is smoke belching out. I have to open doors and windows constantly and it's just awful to live with. The chimney was built new to accommodate the stove, a friend installed it with the help of a plumber. Both have fitted this stove in several other houses and no problems. We've tried a spinner cowl thing to no avail, I've had two builders out to look at it, chimney sweeps and another plumber. No one can see anything obvious. I contacted green stoves and they can send someone out but if it's not a problem with the actual stove itself then they charge €80. I wouldn't mind paying this if there nothing wrong but how do I know the person WILL actually tell me what's wrong? They could just come out and say it's not a problem with the stove itself.

It's been mentioned trees etc round the house can cause problems, we do have trees but they are quite a bit away, we also have an open fire in another room and there is no problem with smoking there. The new chimney for the stove is also well above the roof of the other chimney. Just wondered if anyone has any advice as I'm at my wits end with the whole thing. Thanks.

How high in metres is your new chimney?
And do you have a permenantly open vent in the room with the stove?

Bigrennie

Hi Dtp 1979, I'm not entirely sure how high chimney is, but it was raised by several blocks 4 or 5 times in the hope it would help the problem. It is very high, many people have commented on it as it's so visible. I can find out tomorrow if that helps.

No I don't have an open vent in the room. I always have a window open though as I like fresh air, even on cold days. I've tried every combination of doors/windows open/shut when I've been restocking thinking it may help but sadly not....

cranefly

If is is not a problem with the stove, which i dont think it is, if it works well every
other way, and if the draw on the chimney is fine, it is not worth a call out fee
of 80 euro just to be told something you already now.

All stoves have this problem at one time or another, with ours it all depends on the
weather, which way the wind is blowing, high or low pressure systems, 90 percent
of the time their is no smoke belching out when we reload the stove

The only bit off advice i can offer is to load the back of the stove with fuel
smokeless coal we use, and slope it down nearer to the front like a pyramid, this
helps the draw off smoke away from the door, or if that doesnt work, if you use
coal, shovel each load into a plastic bag or the like, so each time you refuel you
only have the door open for a second or two, that way you can minimize the amount of smoke escaping.

Bigrennie

Cranefly thanks, if I only had smoke 10% of the time I'd be happy but it's constant no matter what.

Dtp1979

Bigrennie wrote: »

Cranefly thanks, if I only had smoke 10% of the time I'd be happy but it's constant no matter what.

Did the installer use clay liner and is it insulated around it?

Bigrennie

Yes, both clay liner and insulated.

Dtp1979

Bigrennie wrote: »

Yes, both clay liner and insulated.

Are u burning dry fuel? Has it been like this from day one?

Bigrennie

Burning turf, the main reason we got the stove was to save on oil, we have plenty turf so it suited. We have also tried long periods of logs and coal to see if it was just the fuel we were using. Our neighbours have the same stove and use turf from the same bog and no problems.

Yes it's been like this from day one, at the beginning we didn't know any better and just put up with it. Over time we realised it wasn't right. It's not been used really since April and it's only now we're using it steadily again that I realise how bad it is. It's our main source of heating so I'd really like to get it sorted.

leitrim1

Just curious as to how the stove is working now. We has some problems in the begining but now its absolutely fabulous.

Bigrennie

Leitrim1, no improvement, it's as bad as ever. Hubby has lost the rag with it completely and wants to rip it out.

leitrim1

Bigrennie wrote: »

Leitrim1, no improvement, it's as bad as ever. Hubby has lost the rag with it completely and wants to rip it out.

Who installed it ? Part of our initial problem was the first plumber. There are guys going around proclaiming to be plumbers and they are not. Now we did have a faulty one as the replacement one is working brilliant and my cousin since bought one and its heating a pub and is fine also.

Perhaps get a second opinion from someone that is a qualified and used to fitting stoves. If he can't sort it then you must have a faulty unit.

strabow

Hi all. I know this thread is donkeys old but has anyone who contributed gone an bought a 30kw green stove. I have and through my own research i decided that With 24 rads in my own place that this was most suited to me. I put it in in november 2013 ran new 1" pipes to the hotpress had the head, rise of flow for the gravity feed and the balance nailed, the rads all start to heat up before the pump kicks in. Didn't buy oil all winter. Burning a mix of seasoned hardwood and coal (polish doubles) the heat in the house was like the tropics. However i have a continuing problem with the grate, it keeps falling to bits. The amount of fuel required to keep it hot enough weighs heavily on the grate and when it gets hot hot it softens and warps downwards. In addition to that the top just cracked yesterday. Nothing on it , nothing dropped on it had it full of logs for the morning and when it burned out and started to cool there was a bang like a stone exploding in the stove but not the case. I checked the glass and around the stove and found the top had cracked a good 6 inches long from the side of the top flue (which is capped because i used the back ) and about 1mm wide. Anyone else have these problems

gctest50

strabow wrote: »

In addition to that the top just cracked yesterday..........

don't use it until you get a new one - might hose out the carbon monoxide under the right conditions

make sure your carbon monoxide alarm is working

http://www.electricirelandstore.ie/Product/EI-CARBON-MONOXIDE-Alarm/1313/200