Inset Boiler Stove Boru Chieftain or ESSE

Hi Folks
We are planning to replace the open fire in the sitting room with a multifuel boiler stove. The house is a 1900sq ft bungalow with 10 rads..standard cavity with plenty attic insulation
Initially i looked at the non inset type such as the Carraig Mor but with a deep chimney breast it lands very far in to the room and I think they look better in a kitchen. With a standard hearth and wooden floor it also meant alot of messing with a new very big hearth
So we decided on an inset. The Boru 600 boiler model looked ideal but when i ripped out the fireplace the flue gatherer is only 800 wide and the fireplace opening is about 460mm with no chance of widening without structural messing.
With these dimensions I started looking at the Boru Chieftain . The Boru puts 14kw to water and no more than 2kw to room. My concern is the 2kw
As it is in a sitting room i'm a bit worried it will seem wimpy even if it is doing a good job of heating the rads. The room is 4 x 5m x 2.45 high. The only reason I'm even considering it is that there is a decent rad in the room already which might make up the balance

The only other option i've seen is the Esse 350 GS
The Esse puts 11.1 to water and 3.6 to the room

I would appreciate any comment particularily from some one who may have one of these models in use.

Thanks
Mike

Which Insert Boiler Model??

Hi,

I am in the exact same situation as you were about insert boilers.
Which way did you decide in the end and are you happy with your decision?

I would appreciate your reply or any advice from others...
Thanks

mflynn1971 said:

The Boru puts 14kw to water and no more than 2kw to room. My concern is the 2kw
As it is in a sitting room i'm a bit worried it will seem wimpy even if it is doing a good job of heating the rads. The room is 4 x 5m x 2.45 high. The only reason I'm even considering it is that there is a decent rad in the room already which might make up the balance

The only other option i've seen is the Esse 350 GS
The Esse puts 11.1 to water and 3.6 to the room

Click to expand...

As a quick calculation the room will require approx 2kW, however, that is the maximum output from that stove so if a good fire is not lit then the output will be less. Also depending on the flue draught, too much will end up with less output from the stove. To me, it is a little small for that room.

The Esse seems a better option. Generally stoves will only contribute to the heating system, depending on their size and the system layout. A standard hot water cylinder will take approx 3kW (approx 1kW per 50 litres) and the rest will be dispersed among the radiators.

For radiators, for example one 1000 x 500 double radiator will take approx 2kW and a 1000 x 500 single will take approx 1.1kW, so you can deduct from that the average radiator in your home and work out each output for the total output needed.

This will not take into account heat loss through walls, floors, ceilings and windows as each house will have a differing effect. Number of external walls in the room and orientation to north and south will also be a factor.

Just wondering is what was the decision process here:
was it firstly to replace the open fire with a closed stove and then the discussion moved on to why not put in a boiler stove and you have arrived at this point.

I presume you have oil or gas for the rads as is, so have you sorted the consequential plumbing issues.

On the rated outputs look at what the spec says, it assumes a certain 'fuel reload' time sequence so if u 'need' the 14 or 11 for the water rads then you will need to be stoking, stoking stoking

I have done a lot of these over the years and the clients who are most satisfied with the process is those who use the fire on a stand alone basis, no rads etc and the whole process is very relaxed: if they are too tired or its too late to light the fire an hours boost on the CH does the job.

What I am trying to say is be happy with the initial thinking and consider the down stream management issues.

There is nothing worse than seeing couples shoving damp timber into a boiler stove in a cold house on the basis that the gas oil is 2 dear.

hastalavista said:

Just wondering is what was the decision process here:
was it firstly to replace the open fire with a closed stove and then the discussion moved on to why not put in a boiler stove and you have arrived at this point.

I presume you have oil or gas for the rads as is, so have you sorted the consequential plumbing issues.

On the rated outputs look at what the spec says, it assumes a certain 'fuel reload' time sequence so if u 'need' the 14 or 11 for the water rads then you will need to be stoking, stoking stoking

I have done a lot of these over the years and the clients who are most satisfied with the process is those who use the fire on a stand alone basis, no rads etc and the whole process is very relaxed: if they are too tired or its too late to light the fire an hours boost on the CH does the job.

What I am trying to say is be happy with the initial thinking and consider the down stream management issues.

There is nothing worse than seeing couples shoving damp timber into a boiler stove in a cold house on the basis that the gas oil is 2 dear.

Click to expand...

+1 Good advice

I'm in the same situation as the OP regarding choice of stoves (although the house is 1300ft2) so I think this is the best place to pit my questions.
I was also looking at the Charnwood SLX45i as well as the Boru Chieftain and the Esse 350GS.
I've been told that the Boru would be perfect but I'm still not convinced.
it is cheaper though...quite a bit.
The Esse is about €1650 online with the stainless steel door. Local guy said there's a huge backlog of orders. About 2 months at least.
The Charnwood is €1700 locally on sale.
The Boru Chieftain inset is €1350 locally and with flue adapter, bends, pipe and chimney cap comes in at €1620.
it is however my least favourite of the 3.
How do Boru stack up, quality-wise against the others?
I've heard that Stanley have outsourced manufacturing to China and aren't the same as back in the day. I'm concerned that if they are trading on their reputation from the good old days, then a company called Boru may just be trading on the evocative name of an Irish legend and hoping that people buy them for the 'Made in Ireland' badge.
is this accurate? I hope not as I would prefer to give my money to an Irish company if they can compete in the quality stakes.

ps. The back boiler is there so as not to completely waste the heat from the fire/stove. I'm not expecting it to heat the house but it would be nice for it to take the chill from the house or perhaps keep the place warm after the ofch is switched off.

Hi MFlynn1971,
Am interested to know which boiler model you installed in the end? I am looking to install an insert boiler to heat around 11 rads in a 1100 ft house and was wondering about the Boru Chieften / Esse 350GS/ Hunter Herlad 14 or a Charnwood? Would love to hear what you chose and if you are happy with it.

I have had big problem with a buru insert stove and had to have it removed to find that welds had failed on stove and fumes were leaking into room.had made contact with buru and dealer,i did not get any help whatsoever from buru but had my money returned from dealer would not recomend boru as I think there service very poor

We installed a Charnwood stove ( inset) when this house was being built 19 years ago and its still going strong and we have been very pleased with it (12 rads I think) During the summer we decided to replace a few minor pieces in it and the service from them was second to none even though our model is now obselete. I think Donegal plumbing and heating were doing the best deals on the Charnwood stoves in 2010 but I dont know if that still applies but it might be worth checking it out.