by ericmark »
Fri Feb 15, 2008 8:51 pm
When I was a boy we had an Eagle cooker and OK in the winter but too hot in the summer and to supplement your gas central heating but not replace it. The boiler has no control, the oven has dampers allowing some control but not the water and you need to remove the heat, on the old copper boiler is was holes many times due to over heating when replaced with stainless steel the water board informing one that the waters going off is no good when it will take 6 hours to burn the fuel already in the stove. Many times it boiled the water in the cylinder and cistern and plastic cisterns are a no no. You would need inverter and battery back-up if pumped system. Thermo siphon is the normal way. Originally they would not use a hot coil which was OK in North Wales but where there is lime in the water would be a problem. Having lived with a coke burning stove for the first 25 years of my live I would never consider fitting one now. I also had to used one in the Falklands with peat and lifting the clinker all the ash and always needing to dust every day is not my idea of fun. OK if someone else is doing the cleaning and drafts of course they need excess air to burn so I would not get rid of the gas boiler. Great always having a kettle on the boil though.
