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Anyone used a Raburn?

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Feasty
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PostPosted: 12:06 - 17 Jan 2023    Post subject: Anyone used a Raburn? Reply with quote

Currently live in a 3 bed semi with a recently fitted combi boiler, water pressure is ace and showers are lovely and last forever. House heats quickly via a Hive and temperature scheduling helps with the bills.

We've seen a detached house and really like it, more room, countryside views but there's no mention of central heating and it has a solid fuel Raburn in the kitchen. So I'm assuming this is what heats the house and hot water - it does have radiators and showers upstairs and downstairs.

We'll be viewing it over the weekend, but for now - has anyone got a Raburn or used one previously? Are they a pain to use, slow to heat etc?
I'm open to try and get used to it, but need to factor in if they are so bad we'd be better converting to a gas boiler straight away (that's if the house has a gas supply...).
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A100man
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PostPosted: 12:13 - 17 Jan 2023    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rayburn - same sort of thing as Aga (only more for heating and less for cooking).

Expensive to run unlikely to be efficient I'd think - best to ask some direct Qs about what fuel is used (coke? anthracite?) how much it costs especially over winter etc..

Some solid fuels are no longer available too (old house coal I think is now banned). Factor in an oil-fired boiler if no mains gas available. Or a heat pump if you're name is Greta.
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Freddyfruitba...
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PostPosted: 13:05 - 17 Jan 2023    Post subject: Reply with quote

I believe they are very 'uncontrollable' - think electric storage heaters on steroids. A friend had one ages ago and I remember their kitchen in summer was like a furnace - they ended up installing a standard gas cooker alongside it and powering the Raeburn down for the summer. They would have pulled it out altogether but it was massively integrated into the structure of the house, and it would have been prohibitively expensive/impossible IIRC. Tread carefully!
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Ste
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PostPosted: 13:12 - 17 Jan 2023    Post subject: Re: Anyone used a Raburn? Reply with quote

Feasty wrote:
(that's if the house has a gas supply...).

It doesn't.
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stinkwheel
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PostPosted: 14:28 - 17 Jan 2023    Post subject: Reply with quote

They are very nice and very effective but you land up being a slave to it. Constant fucking about feeding, adjusting and emptying it (and re-lighting it if it goes out). The oil fired ones are less of a PITA.
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Robby
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PostPosted: 15:16 - 17 Jan 2023    Post subject: Reply with quote

1850s tech. It will be a pain in the arse and cost loads to run.

I'm assuming the house is quite old, so getting it insulated well enough to make a heat pump practical would be difficult.

I grew up in a house built around 1910, with an aga from around 1920 that was originally coal fire, but had been converted to oil at some point in the 50s or 60s. It didn't do house heating, just a big cast iron cooker. Burned through massive amounts of oil, and it was turned off in summer. Changing the temperature meant twiddling a little valve and waiting 24 hours for the change to take effect.
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Feasty
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PostPosted: 16:00 - 17 Jan 2023    Post subject: Re: Anyone used a Raburn? Reply with quote

Ste wrote:
Feasty wrote:
(that's if the house has a gas supply...).

It doesn't.

Laughing Laughing Laughing

You're all voicing my concerns, and Googling around sounds like a right pain to swap to a different supply. I'll see what info I get out on the visit, thanks for the tips Thumbs Up
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Previous: Aprilia Habana Retro 50cc (beauty), Yamaha SR125 (fell apart), Honda XR125 (nippy little commuter), Honda SLR650 (Geewhizz), Yamaha Diversion 900S (Smoooooth) written off courtesy of a stupid escaped horse.
(7 year gap), BMW F650 (Relaxing ride). Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 (Big and bold). Yamaha FZS600 (got me in trouble too quick!).
Current: Yamaha TDM 900 (Comfy, light but big, power when needed).
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doggone
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PostPosted: 16:36 - 17 Jan 2023    Post subject: Reply with quote

There's quite a learning curve to getting them to do what you want.
The coal it will burn is about £550/ton though usually more like £350 - and it will probably use about 2 ton through winter you can burn wood in there too in fact a few thin bits of wood on hand are a good plan especially if you want to cook with it as it gives you a quick boost to hotplate and oven.
It will burn many hours on half a bucket of coal so you might not find it that much trouble.
You will probably want some alternative heat such as electric or portable gas fire to back it up when it is being sulky or not on e.g. chilly mornings autumn and spring.
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Tracey Suntan-King
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PostPosted: 17:49 - 17 Jan 2023    Post subject: Reply with quote

We had a solid fuel & wood Rayburn in a house in Buxton where it’s perpetually cold Rolling Eyes The house also had gas CH. We rarely needed the gas CH when the Rayburn was lit as it heated the whole 3 storey house.

However, we were at home all day so Sid could tend to it and the house was toasty all day. We had the added bonus of being able to slow-cook in it, casseroles, baked spuds and the like. It was great. In summer it wasn’t lit and the gas boiler was used for hot water.

It strikes me that a Rayburn is unsuitable if you’re out at work all day because you’re burning fuel to heat an empty house. If you light it once you’re home from work it will take ages to get up to temperature.

So I’d highly recommend a Rayburn for people retired or WFH. Otherwise a more responsive, controllable heating system would’ve more suitable. HTH Thumbs Up
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stinkwheel
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PostPosted: 18:08 - 17 Jan 2023    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'd probably keep it if I had one in a house. However, I'd fit a modern central heating system in parallel to it. Probably a big multi-source heat store so you can feed in the raeburn boiler output into the heat store when it's lit but use your alternative heat sources such as your air source pump to feed into it when it's not.
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Islander
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PostPosted: 21:00 - 17 Jan 2023    Post subject: Reply with quote

A100man wrote:
Some solid fuels are no longer available too (old house coal I think is now banned). Factor in an oil-fired boiler if no mains gas available. Or a heat pump if you're name is Greta.


You can still buy ordinary house coal although you probably can't burn it in an urban environment. Petcokes are more efficient though, they're easier than anthracite types to light, produce more heat, and burn cleanly leaving less ash.

Rayburns are excellent sources of heat and easy to cook with once you get the hang of them. As stinkwheel points out, the downside is that like any solid fuel burner, they need looking after - making sure that they're kept topped up with fuel, ashpan emptied regularly (very important as too much ash can cause grate burn through) and you'll need to have the chimney swept regularly.
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MCN
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PostPosted: 14:55 - 18 Jan 2023    Post subject: Re: Anyone used a Raburn? Reply with quote

Feasty wrote:
Currently live in a 3 bed semi with a recently fitted combi boiler, water pressure is ace and showers are lovely and last forever. House heats quickly via a Hive and temperature scheduling helps with the bills.

We've seen a detached house and really like it, more room, countryside views but there's no mention of central heating and it has a solid fuel Raburn in the kitchen. So I'm assuming this is what heats the house and hot water - it does have radiators and showers upstairs and downstairs.

We'll be viewing it over the weekend, but for now - has anyone got a Raburn or used one previously? Are they a pain to use, slow to heat etc?
I'm open to try and get used to it, but need to factor in if they are so bad we'd be better converting to a gas boiler straight away (that's if the house has a gas supply...).


Unless you have unlimited supply of wood (privately and legally sourced.) they are a pain in the Aga. Whether Wood, Gas or Lectric.

They must be on 24/7/365. They can be turned off but take about 24hrs to re-establish their equilibrium. Wood fired may be longer.

The manufacturers and their dealers will heavily market them as being grate. (Pun) but I lived with one (natural Gas) for about 8 years and it was a Royal Arse-cot.

Day to day: To cook for four needs a bit of planning to get heat into what you're cooking. Its not just as simple as 'pre-heat' the oven. They lose heat to the food so quickly and take an age to recover lost heat.

Pro: They are a 'core' heat source in the home so in winter they can improve comfort.

Con: They are a 'core' heat source in the home so in summer they can reduce comfort.

Do not get.
(Unless it is a wood fired option and you have your own wood source.)
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MCN
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PostPosted: 15:05 - 18 Jan 2023    Post subject: Reply with quote

stinkwheel wrote:
I'd probably keep it if I had one in a house. However, I'd fit a modern central heating system in parallel to it. Probably a big multi-source heat store so you can feed in the raeburn boiler output into the heat store when it's lit but use your alternative heat sources such as your air source pump to feed into it when it's not.


The Aga I lived with (they are like keeping a hungry pet) had a wee coil over the flame area. The coil was connected to a wee coil in the hot water tank and a wee radiator in the upstairs lavy.
The wee system was topped up by a wee tank in the loft. Topped up by a ballcock controlling mains water supply.

I wouldn't suggest the that the heat 'recovered' by that coil system was worth the hassle.

But.... The age of cheap energy is gone. If.... you have unlimited wood supply then it would work but..... a wood supply needs an enormous amount of work to build up and maintain. You would effectively be feeding a bonfire everyday.

Too much energy is lost up the Lum. If there are more efficient heat recovery systems (Like Condensing Boiler Technology) and they are not prohibitively expensive then they might work.
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stinkwheel
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PostPosted: 16:30 - 18 Jan 2023    Post subject: Reply with quote

MCN wrote:

The Aga I lived with (they are like keeping a hungry pet) had a wee coil over the flame area. The coil was connected to a wee coil in the hot water tank and a wee radiator in the upstairs lavy.
The wee system was topped up by a wee tank in the loft. Topped up by a ballcock controlling mains water supply.

I wouldn't suggest the that the heat 'recovered' by that coil system was worth the hassle.
.


However we had a coal fired one with a proper back-boiler (differewnt brand, same idea) that fed a pumped hot water tank central heating system that heated and provided hot water for a 6 bedroom, 3 storey Victorian manse.

I'm not saying it was efficient but it certainly worked on a mix of coal and logs. Keeping it serviced was like something off the sourcerers apprentice though. It got swapped out for a gravity fed coal boiler (would probably be biofuel pellets now) and an LPG gas range in the end.

If it's that type, it would certainly work as a high level feed-in for a heat store system but I wouldn't have one for running everything. Then if you can be arsed lighting and fuelling it, or say you got a cheap load of logs, it'll feed into the heat store and the other systems can back-off proportionately. Or you could have it ticking over feeding in a little heat to suppliment the other sources.

This kind of system, some of them have provision for 5 or 6 different heat sources.
https://thermal-store.co.uk/pics/connections/thermal-store-heating-system-lm-with-2-exchanger.png
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I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.
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MCN
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PostPosted: 19:25 - 18 Jan 2023    Post subject: Reply with quote

A major issue in heating systems is cost of installation.

I just parted with £2000+ small change just to install a new gas boiler to heat a 3 bed semi. (It's a wee house too)

The solid fuel thing has the refueling thing too.
Finding reliable suppliers that cost less than energy from pipes or wires.

This energy conservation crisis has not been addressed sufficiently by government.

My house was built 2004. But it could down almost instantly when the heating goes off.
That's what my boiler is heating. Everything but just my house.

Inshalla, the future with herald in proper insulation at affordable prices.
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A100man
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PostPosted: 13:29 - 20 Jan 2023    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've just remembered that the house my ex-wife now lives in (her boyfriend's) has a a Rayburn - so it will be brilliant, you can be sure of that...
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Feasty
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PostPosted: 16:09 - 20 Jan 2023    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well I've found a little more out, they pay about £3k a year for fuel for the Rayburn. But then their electric bill is only something like £600 a year and of course they don't have a gas bill.
The house has open fires in the living room and dining room which will help keep the place warm.

Unrealistic to stick with this though as we'll be working away from home at least 3 days a week, and I don't fancy coming home to get a fire going then wait 2 hours before the house starts feeling warm!
The good news is there is a gas supply to the house, it just needs connecting up to a meter - then of course the work to fit and connect it up to a boiler. I'm guessing around £5k for all that.
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Previous: Aprilia Habana Retro 50cc (beauty), Yamaha SR125 (fell apart), Honda XR125 (nippy little commuter), Honda SLR650 (Geewhizz), Yamaha Diversion 900S (Smoooooth) written off courtesy of a stupid escaped horse.
(7 year gap), BMW F650 (Relaxing ride). Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 (Big and bold). Yamaha FZS600 (got me in trouble too quick!).
Current: Yamaha TDM 900 (Comfy, light but big, power when needed).
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Robby
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PostPosted: 21:47 - 20 Jan 2023    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you're considering going from no connected gas supply to central heating - so you would be installing from new a mains connection, meter, boiler, rads and pipework - it would be worth considering a heat pump. You may even be eligible for a grant to cover some of the cost.

Whilst a heat pump may not be enough on its own without a lot of insulation, it would likely work quite well with solid fuel fires as supplemental heat for cold days.

To take it a step further, if you can do warm air from a heat pump rather than radiators, it means you also have central air conditioning in summer. Add solar panels and you have air conditioning that doesn't cost anything to run. After this last summer, I would want to consider the possibility of air conditioning on a new house purchase.
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mentalboy
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PostPosted: 17:15 - 22 Jan 2023    Post subject: Reply with quote

A100man wrote:
I've just remembered that the house my ex-wife now lives in (her boyfriend's) has a a Rayburn - so it will be brilliant, you can be sure of that...


You mean it needs regular servicing to keep happy and is a bastard to get rid of when you want an upgrade? Laughing
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MCN
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PostPosted: 21:35 - 22 Jan 2023    Post subject: Reply with quote

A100man wrote:
I've just remembered that the house my ex-wife now lives in (her boyfriend's) has a a Rayburn - so it will be brilliant, you can be sure of that...


I hope he drives a Saab too. Cool
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