How to choose a fireplace with a water circuit?

A fireplace with a water heating circuit is an improved solid fuel heating device. Nowadays, it is called a solid fuel thermofireplace. Such a heater is found in country houses or in apartments on the ground floor, since it does not require a powerful foundation to be poured under it.

Varieties

The main elements of this device are the niche of the firebox and the chimney. They are divided into two different connection systems: open type and closed.

• Open-type fireplaces are designed to quickly heat up a room, but at the same time have a low efficiency. They are installed for visual enjoyment of fire.
• The efficiency of closed-type heaters reaches 90% of heat transfer. The furnace recess is closed with a shutter made of heat-resistant quartz glass.

The hydraulic system of the heating structure with a water circuit includes a fireplace stove that runs on solid fuel (coal and wood). Equipment with a tank for the coolant is installed in the central room, the pipes of the hydraulic system of the heating circuit are connected to it, and thanks to them, heat is transferred to neighboring rooms.

• This heater works to supply the heating hydraulic system with hot water for about 80⁰FROM.

When sawdust briquettes are burned in the heating system, the liquid in the tank heats up and enters the hydraulic system to heat neighboring rooms.

Type of fireplace and its heating power

These fireplaces differ in their appearance, the front side has a different modification. The door may have:

• direct;
• panoramic;
• prismatic glass.

These heaters are manufactured in different capacities, such as 12,15,19, and 24kW. They are selected depending on the size of the heated room. To determine the necessary parameters, it must be taken into account that 1kW is equal to 10m² heated area.

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A fireplace with a water jacket is classified as a closed-type hydraulic system. Unlike a single-wall thermofireplace, it has double walls, in the space of which wave-like heat exchangers are located.

It is connected to a pipe heating hydraulic system, which allows this heater to become the main element for heating the house, and it is also used as a water heating equipment for all rooms.

The design with a water jacket has different connection schemes — open or closed.

• An open system is created under a pressure of about one and a half atmospheres and the wall thickness of the attached pipe must be at least 4 mm.
• The closed system is made in such a way that it can withstand a pressure of 2.5 bar and the wall must be at least 6 mm thick.

Connecting the fireplace to the hydraulic heating system

For an open hydraulic system, an expansion tank is purchased, which is installed near the heating structure. The circuit with the coolant works in the likeness of communicating vessels. In this case, the coolant is heated in a thermofireplace and enters the heating hydraulic system through a heat exchanger.

A closed system is connected without a membrane tank, water is transferred directly to the heating structure.

A wood-fired water fireplace can use briquettes made from sawdust as fuel. This type of fuel is actively used in our time, since the heat transfer from this material is much higher than from wood, and a small amount of ash remains from them.

Specifications

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What structural elements are included in home heating with a fireplace with a water circuit? Let’s consider this question in detail.

A fireplace with water heating is a body made of boiler or cast iron steel 5-8 mm thick, coated on the outside with fire-resistant paint. Has a built-in capacity of 50 — 90 liters. It is possible to connect to such a design a water circuit with an internal displacement of 11% less than the tank of the heating structure can accommodate.

The inner walls of the furnace are lined with ceramic tiles. There are air ducts between the wall of the furnace and the outer lining of the heater, through which oxygen enters to improve the combustion of the fire, and heat exchangers are also built into this place.

Basic elements for connecting a fireplace to a water jacket

For the full functioning of the system, the following components are used:

• membrane expansion tank;
• copper pipe for inserting into the fireplace system;
• temperature sensor — automatic, resetting the temperature in the pipes if it has reached 95⁰FROM;
• valve for dumping excess temperature with a capacity of 2.5 bar — protects the fireplace from high pressure inside the hydraulic system;
• couplings and valves, they are purchased for the installation of a common system, are built into the heat exchanger device.

Assembly of the heating hydraulic system

Before installation, you should choose which system you will use, open or closed.

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The connection of the heating structure is carried out as follows:

• The heater is installed in the basement or on the first floor of the building — technical room.
• A barrel (hydraulic accumulator) with a coolant is attached above it. Its purpose is to maintain a smooth change in fluid pressure in the system.
• This is followed by the installation of open-type hydraulic pipes.

The membrane expansion tank is installed in the attic of the house, water enters the heat exchanger due to the forces of gravity. Excess heated coolant flows back into the tank. The liquid is warmed up in the device of a wave-like pipeline, which is installed in the niche of the furnace.

Remember! This assembly hydraulic system is the simplest and it will not be possible to heat a significant area with it.

More often, a closed system is used, in which liquid from a membrane expansion tank flows into a heat exchanger, which installs a closed boiler part.

• In this system, water is heated to 80 — 90⁰C and is pumped through the circulation pump through pipes to the storage tank, then it goes through pipes to radiators.
• To save the heater from high temperatures in the hydraulic system, a curved pipe is built into the back of the furnace, into which, if necessary, cold water is poured.

A temperature sensor is installed in the pipe leading to the surface of the heater, which, in case of exceeding 95⁰C in the water circuit, discharges water into the sewer.

Connecting to a ready-made, brick-made fireplace can be financially unprofitable. Since for this it is necessary to think over pipes for cold liquid and carry out complex calculations of the water system for connecting to heating.

Summing up, it is worth recalling that if the fireplace will heat your space not only by air, but also through a heat exchanger and a water jacket, then it is best to plan it at the beginning of the construction of the house.