Topic: An Old Fire

[davyw1]

Just on doing the finishing touches to my new hot house

The front of the fire in my sitting cabin which has yet to be boxed in


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The back of the fire before being boxed in

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After being boxed in and filled with sand

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Out of the roof

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The way in and out

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[Amazin]

Blimey! Well done - when do I move in?

 ;D

[tonybloke]

your Parkray won't provide much heat from the front, They designed that model mainly for hot water production. Filling the back construction with sand ain't the best bet, fill with a mix of.. (by volume and in this order) 6 parts vermicculite, 1 part water, mix these thoroughly, then 1 part cement. this will make a thermal insulating concrete. If possible, bring stove into room, put in a pair of 45 degree sections of flue to facilitate this. (my dad was a Parkray Technical Advisor for 30 years, then self employed Solid Fuel Specialist and consultant to all of the councils in east anglia) Why not hook up the water heating system? ;)

[GrannieAnnie]

You just can't stop building stuff, can you davy!
What an amazing project you've got going.

[davyw1]

TONY, First of you can only build with what you have and what you can afford. I am not after that much heat at the front of the fire as its where i have a break, but when its finished it will be hot enough.
Filling the back with sand works fine, it stays warm long after the fire has gone out and when the fire is lit the temperature is 70deg in the hot house.
You cant put a fire in the same place as where your young plants are going to be because when you open the door fume come out which is not exactly healthy for the plants.
If i had encased it in a concrete mix how would i be able to add a hot water pipe system later.

[tonybloke]

vermicculite concrete is very light, and can be cut with a knife or saw. a couple of threaded 1" fittings will allow for water hook-up at a later date[attachment=1] Here's one I helped install during the summer, second hand 'charnwood'LA50, running 6 second hand radiators and hot water. Running on wood, which is coppiced Ash. (P.M. me if you want any spares for that fireof yours, got a load in my shed) ;)

[davyw1]

Nice job Tony but a bit complicated for me. We make ours out of empty gas bottle and old pipes. I was thinking of running some 1" piping round to a gas bottle water storage but i think it would boil the water.

[davyw1]

You just can't stop building stuff, can you davy!
What an amazing project you've got going.

Its not that i can,t stop building it because the last one was so old it had to be renewed. I have now got my bate cabin to to next.  How old.....i played in it when i was a kid........and i am old
Any way its finished and ready for use apart from a lick of paint

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[tonybloke]

a nice job, well done davyw1 !
yes it probably would boil it! (jusy connect up some steel pipework to the boiler to distribute the heat, no water, just air will do, leave an open vent to prevent explosion) ;)