Solid Fuel

Oxyvent and solid fuel

Solid Fuel

Any plumber will tell you that it’s not an easy task to control the temperature of a solid fuel stove that’s supposed to work with your heating system. A Gas or Oil boiler has its own stat controls to regulate whatever temperature you desire… but you can’t do that with a Solid fuel Stove as it depends on how much fuel you put into it. But there actually is a way that you can get full control over your solid fuel stove with Oxyvent.

How do Solid Fuel Heating Systems work?

Most Solid Fuel heating systems work by firstly heating up the water inside the stoves boiler to 65°C and then pumping this hot water through your heating system and radiators. But as that happens, cold water from the radiators is introduced to the bottom of the stove boiler. When this cold water hits the hot surface inside the stove, it causes a serious reaction called “Thermal Shock”, which is the banging, rattling noise you always hear. As well as making noise, Thermal Shock also affects the flame of the fire, making it difficult to control the damper setting and maintain the output of the stove. This significantly reduces its efficiency, resulting in poor heat from your radiators and a waste of fuel.

The Oxyvent way

Oxyvent uses two separate temperature controllers and two pumps to regulate the water temperature within the Stove. One controller regulates the water leaving the stove, set at 60°C, whilst the other regulates the water coming back to the Stove, which is set at 50°C. Once the fire has heated up the water, the first pump moves the hot water out of the stove, through the Oxyvent Tank and back to the stove’s boiler. When the water returning to the boiler reaches 50°C, a second pump moves the water through the radiators.

The cold water from the radiators then goes through the unique patented design of the Oxyvent Tank, which increases the water temperature to 50oC before it can enter the stove. This prevents any thermal shock from occurring and prolongs the life of your stove.

The 2 temperature controllers maintain a balanced water temperature within the stove of between 50°C and 60°C at all time. We have found that when you balance the temperature of the water entering and exiting the stove to within 10°C like Oxyvent does, the benefits are enormous – including a much more efficient stove, more heat getting to your radiators and superior control over the damper, allowing you to regulate the flame of the fire much better.

Oxyvent Boiler protection

Oxyvent has the only system that goes beyond manufactures guidelines on keeping the return water temperature above 45°C which also prevents condensation in the stove. Since the cooler water returning from the radiators is not allowed back into the stove until it has reached 50°C, it completely eliminates any condensation problems within the stove. Oxyvent has achieved this electronically with its uniquely designed wiring system with built-in boiler protection for your stove.

New Oxyvent Wiring Board

Oxyvent has designed a unique wiring board specifically suited to solid fuel system.

• Unique safety feature that automatically over rides room stats while solid fuel is operating
• Separate connections for each component for easy tractability
• Light come on for the zone that is operating
• 3 Heating zones and hot water zone

Oxyvent wiring board

If you are experiencing any issues with your stove, then you need an Oxyvent System. 

Frequently asked questions on Solid Fuel Stoves

This is very common complaint when it comes to zoning solid fuel with oil or gas. With the existing system the plumber is given it is not possible to zone a house properly. The Oxyvent system is designed specifically for zoning solid fuel with oil or gas. Our unique wiring system will give you the choice of zones with the Oil and a separate choice of zones for the solid fuel. With unique built it safety features.

There are several reasons why this happens, poor circulating, incorrectly piped, sludge in the system etc. This is just an indication that the system is not function correctly. To solve issues like these in solid fuel systems it is all about temperature control. Oxyvent is the leader when it comes to controlling water temperatures in solid fuel appliances.

Two reasons why this happens. It is either water trapped inside the stove that cannot get out or the most common reason is thermal shock. Thermal shock occurs when hot and cold water collide inside the stove. As the existing system has only one pipe stat (temperature control) to regulate the stove temperature, then thermal shock is inevitable. Oxyvent use two temperature controls which eliminating thermal shock.

For the first time underfloor heating can be operated with solid fuel on an open vented system. This means there is very little pressure in the system as it is operated off the tank in the attic. Less pressure on pipework and less chance of leaks. Solid fuel is very effective and efficient at the lower temperatures underfloor heating operates at. No plate heat exchangers used. No pressurizing the system. Less maintenance.

Read about Underfloor heating >>

Only with Oxyvent can it operate efficiently. The temperature regulators and independent circuits for each heat source will lead to a smooth transition to a flawless system. The oil boiler will switch off once it has reached its 60°C setting. The stove will then take over to heat the radiators. Once the output of the stove is kept up the Oil boiler will not switch back on. It is only when the temperature in the stove drops that the oil boiler cuts back in. There will be no banging or gushing water noises. The high limit stat on the boiler will not lock out due to overheating, like what happens with the existing system.

What our customers have to say

“We have a sizeable heating system which consists of 24 radiators ,we always seem to have a problem getting the heat to perhaps 5 radiators. At first we thought it maybe that our boiler was not sufficient enough to run the system, but we were reassured that the output of our boiler was more than enough to run the installation.

We tried a more powerful circulating pump but this did not improve the situation. We heard of Oxyvent through a friend and requested an inspection. He explained what the problems were and recommended that we install the Oxyvent Tank.

We could say the results were instant, we had on the first day pretty much all the radiators heating up to what they should be, from then on the system seem to improve and it definitely now is heating to its full potential.”

Brian Kelly, Co. Cork

“We built a new house in 2004 and were very disappointed with the heat from the radiators. We have a bungalow and especially the two bedrooms at the back of the house were freezing, and in the winter we had to use electric heaters in those rooms to heat them. We had the heating on all day and the house was still cold. We heard about Oxyvent spoke with them about how the Oxyvent Tank would help us. We fitted the Oxyvent Tank in 2006 and could not believe the change. All the rooms heated up fast and the boiler had to be switched off after one hour as the house was roasting. Our fuel bills are down about 30% but the best result is the house is nice and warm. We could never fill a bath with hot water before and had to do with filling it halfway, and now we can have a nice full hot bath of water for the first time.

A lot of our friends and family have the Oxyvent Tank in their homes and they are delighted with it. We would highly recommend to anyone whether they have an old house or new one.”

Pat & Joan Looney, Co. Kerry

“We have the Oxyvent Tank for about ten years, before installing it we had radiators not heating all the way through, they were cold at the bottom throughout the house, even though they were cold we were burning quite a lot of oil, so we decided to have the Oxyvent Tank installed, the difference was amazing we had even heat throughout the house all of the radiators were heating and we were burning less oil, a saving of 30 to 35% I would say, so getting the Oxyvent Tank was a great idea still today 10 years later it is working as well as it did when it was first installed.”

Sarah Stafford, Co. Kerry

“We are so delighted with the Oxyvent Tank since we got it installed in 2005. We have mighty heat from the radiators, and they are hot all over, different than before. Everyone that comes in remarks on the heat and are amazed when they see how low the boiler temperature is set. Prior to putting it in I would have the boiler temperature set high, it is now set to minimum. The Hot water in the tap is now boiling, a big difference from before. I had big savings in my oil bills over the years and I would like to wish you every success with the Oxyvent tank. IT’S A WONDERFUL PRODUCT!”

Margaret, Tralee, Co. Kerry

“I installed the Oxyvent Tank in my oil fired heating system in 2008. Prior to installation I had a lot of trouble with air locks in my system. The Oxyvent Tank rectified this problem.

Since installation my yearly oil consumption is significantly lower and thankfully my heating is a lot more efficient. I would confidently recommend this product without any hesitation.”

Tom Browne, Co. Limerick

We answer your questions

August 07, 2020

How often were you given the same suggestions to fix radiators in rooms that don’t heat: Check for air in the system, Fit a larger pump, Check the water pressure, Check if the radiator valves are stuck, etc etc

July 11, 2020

Where Underfloor Heating is installed with a gas or oil boiler, hot and cold patches on the floor are quite common. It can get very uncomfortable when the floor overheats. What can we do about it?

June 04, 2020

People normally place their hand on the top section of the radiator to find out if their heating is operating properly. This is not the correct way to find out if your radiators are functioning efficiently.