rayburn?

[red]

the house we are (hopefully) buying has a gas fired rayburn. I'm not convinced by it - the thing is on 24/7 summer and winter.. thats got to be bad efficiency.... does the hot water heating and cooking.

We wont have any choice but to give it a try at first as there will be no money left in the pot to change - not until we have saved a bit anyway. in time we hope to get solar panels to make hot water, and fit a woodburner in the living room, with a back boiler.
Anyone got experience of gas rayburns? what do you think?

I think in time we will want to replace it for a mutifuel version - (going backwards with technology).

what would you do if you inherited this set-up?

Red

[Martin]

use it, and fall in love! - at the moment, town gas is the cheapest form of fuel available!
It may not be "efficient", but they are a wonderful warming heart to a home - often old damp buildings would be unliveable in during winter without them - they do keep the damp and cold at bay. A good compromise would be to let it out March - September when you can afford about £2,500 for a solar hot water system
You'd never guess I'm a fan - beware, they are addictive!

[red]

beware, they are addictive!

I can see this happening only too well. and the building is old and damp as it is - even with the rayburn belching out heat on a summer's day...

Red

[Martin]

on a cold winter's day, you will bless it!
-and once you've had one, the thought of winter without it is bleak indeed!

[kenboak]

Hi Red & Co,

We once rented a cottage that had a gas fired Aga.

It was great in winter, but by May we couldn't get far enough away from it.

We turned it off in desperation and then had to buy a 2nd hand Baby Belling cooker so that we had something to cook on.

It's probably in your rights to ask the vendors to see their gas bills for the last few years, and then try and determine how much its going to cost to run in terms of the KWh of gas it consumes.

Gas is now getting very pricey, having risen by nearly 50% in the last 12 months, but its still cheaper than most other alternatives except wood - so the woodstove is a great idea and would work well in conjunction with a solar water heating system.

I would stick with it and then consider solar water heating and a gas hob to get you through the summer months.

Consider doing a DIY installation on Navitron 20 tube evacuated tube system which is excellent value for money at about £400. Add, a £40 pump, a £65 controller, and possibly an extra hot water cylinder for £150 to £350 and some pipework and you could get all the parts for under £1000. Skinflints might even be able to do better than this.


Ken

[Martin]

the other thing I forgot to mention is that BEFORE you start whacking in solar hot water, or woodburners, do all the boring stuff first! (otherwise it's like pouring energy into a leaky bucket)
Go for as much insulation as you can - grab any grants going for that!

[kenboak]

Excellent Point Martin,

What did Margaret Thatcher say "Insulation, Insulation, Insulation....."

Insulation is vitally important BEFORE you consider anything more interesting. Most of the eco insulation products are still made in the UK, and then there's Kingspan, Cellotex etc that will really improve your lot.

It will give you the biggest bang for your buck in energy saving terms and all UK houses would benefit from improved insulation , and any woodstove or solar water eating that you add later will do so much better.



Ken

[red]

yeh - insulation will be a priority. But I shall have to get a woodburner - have one now - can't live without it. but yeh - I do understand that we have to do all the unsexy boring stuff first

mains gas might well be pricey - but we are currently on LPG at the mo - thats a total killer costwise plus you have to watch the tank levels, then hassle company for top up - have actually ran out before - due to them failing to come in time (thank goodness we had the woodburner then...)

oh i can't wait to get onto pricey mains gas!

red

[Martin]

after lpg, town gas will be peanuts! Whichever order you add - solar or the woodburner, I'd suggest going for a 3-coil thermal store (super-insulated hot water tank) - one for the Rayburn loop, one for the woodburner, and one for solar - whichever you do first, get the right tank, then you can leave a coil unused until such time as you have the time/money to do the second! (it'll save 2 tank changes)

[red]

oh yeh - good advice, plan for lots with the tank.

thanks for that!


Red

[greenbean]

Hi Red, I have a mains gas fired Aga which is the heart and soul of this house - the Rayburns and Aga's are so well insulated that they need to just tick over in their gas consumption, I'm not saying that it doesn't cost more than having a gas oven you turn on and off when you need it, however our Aga dries clothes in winter by having a clothes pulley over it, I wouldn't have a tumble drier anyway, but it beats having wet clothes sitting round the house on clothes horses, - you will find it great to cook with, it's a different way of cooking a lot of things, get yourself the Aga cookbook, for slow cooking of stocks, stews, etc, there is nothing better - I love my Aga so much, and so does my wee dog who in winter you have to kick out of the way to get to it!
If I were you I would certainly get shot of the LPG - very expensive indeed. Pam

[red]

If I were you I would certainly get shot of the LPG - very expensive indeed. Pam

yeh thats the thing with living in the sticks - we barely get electricity - it goes off all the time and is the last to be fixed, we do have broadband but only just.. very crashy, no rubbish collection - have to take it up the road, no recycling bin, no mains water no sewerage no mains gas. so for heating its either wood oil or lpg. at the time of renovating this place lpg was cheaper than oil. Having said that it is lovely and peaceful here! but its time to move back into town.

The rayburn - well we are forced into giving it a go, and its great to hear that others have enjoyed their rayburn/aga.

red

[Martin]

premature lambs - bottom left - made specially for it!

[the.fee.fairy]

we had a rented house with a raybrun in it when i was a student.

It is lovely, many a party was spent in the kitchen in winter because it was warm!!

However, in the summer, they're not so great, and we did find that we had to leave the gas on the lowest setting all the time, otherwise we'd end up taking an hour to boil a pan of pasta. Its great for jacket potatoes though!!

Our gas bills always seemed high...but we were poor students and i can't remember what they were, so i can't compare it now.

[red]

well we shall have to try it out as we wont be in a position to change anything for sometime (having spent all out money on a house that is falling down )
So at least we can give it a good go and see what we think. The kitchen has a gas hob separate from the rayburn so I think we shall turn it off in summer an d have cold water.... we shall see ..