Rayburn wood burning stove

[davo453]

As said else were we have just bought a new place and will be moving in in a few weeks.

The only cooking facilities and water heating system is a wet back Rayburn wood stove (similar to an Aga), now I've never driven one of these things and haven’t a clue how you do it.

Due to circumstances I don't think I’m going to get any instruction from the previous owners either. Has anybody got or used one of these things and can give some instructions?

Should I rip it straight out and put in a solar hws and gas stove? I have done a few searches and it seems they are popular in some quarters and very expensive to buy new.

Any Opinions?

Cheers


Dave

[ptc]

Keep it if its in good nick.
adds value to your home and keeps you warm in winter.
Who's doing the cooking ?

[davo453]

It is in good nick I think it's only a few years old. As ever i'll be doing the cooking (mental note: Make sure next wife can actualy cook !)

We'll certainly give it a try, but it looks a complicated thing, nuclear reactors look less complex .

Cheers



Dave

[Iain]

Patience and perserverance, they are great in winter, used to have one, PIA cutting small wood for them though.
When using oven, turn food around as it is hot on one side and will burn on that side (firebox side) if it is the one I am envisaging.
Apart from that, enjoy playing and getting the feel for it, the chimney damper also helps control the slow burn.
It will take a few months to get the temp right, not just dial and go.
We had an electric range as well but did enjoy the wood stove, and guests thought it was great.

[Barry_White]

Although not a Rayburn I have been using Vulcan for about 21 years. the hot water tank is also connected to Solar hot water in the summer. Should be no problem using it. Just fill it up with fire wood and it should just heat the water.

Just make sure if there are taps on the pipes from the tank to the stove make sure they are turned on. There should be taps on the pipes in case you have to take the stove out for some reason and have to drain the water jacket.

I wouldn't be without it in the winter. Heat the water, the kitchen and cook on it at the same time. It should have a damper on it so you can turn it down overnight so it will burn all night.

[Auld Bassoon]

Hi Dave,

Growing up in Jersey, my folks had an Aga (very similar in design & principle). When they renovated the house (late '70s), they tore out the old cast iron 'monster', and put in place central heating and a modern kitchen, etc.

Ever after they bemoaned that fact that the Aga wasn't there any more!

As a kitchen stove, it is a very nice complement to a modern hob & oven - but not really a substitute. Also, as a lovely way to keep the kitchen (and, perhaps, the dining room) snug in winter it's excellent.

It needs an efficient flue, and a goodly supply of fuel (wood, coal or anthracite), but really is a 'cracker'.

Don't throw it out, but consider how it might best complement your new home. Re-enamelling can do wonders for an old beast, and does give a great feel to a 'country style' house.




I believe that Aga & Rayburn have amalgamated (see http://www.aga-rayburn.co.uk/) and still make these classics.

Cheers!

[ptc]

Dave can you post a pic of yours ?

[davo453]

No problem, the pic was taken by the real estate agent and is small..........

I'll be doing a new kitchen i think and I’ll design the stove in, I think we will install a solar water heater too.

I'm quite looking forward to battling with the beast now

Cheers

Dave

[Barry_White]

N
I think, we will install a solar water heater too.

Dave

I have a Braemar Tank which has connections for solar panels, slow combustion stove connections as well as an element to connect to the electricity. I have three solar panels which are from a Rheem solar system.

Because these hot water tanks are gravity feed tanks so as to have a nice constant water pressure under the shower I installed a cold water gravity feed storage tank in the roof so as not to get fluctuations in the water pressure from the water pump because we are on tank water fed with a pressure pump that contantly switches on and off and fluctuates the cold water pressure.

[ptc]

Love it.
i can smell the eggs and bacon.
this is our room heater

[GraemeCook]

Hi Dave

We had a Rayburn in a house we had for ten years and sold twenty years ago. Still miss it.
As long as you keep flue and air inlet vents clean they are easy to control. Use 20-50mm wood to light it, once its hot if the wood will fit in the firebox then it will burn - no need to chop small.
We did three cooking "tricks" on ours:
* when hot, we washed top with clean water and newspaper, then cooked steaks directly on hot plate. No pan, no mess.
* ours had two round "hatches" in the hot plate. Ideal for wok cooking, when basically the more heat the better.
* we used an ashbestos lookalike pad for simmering.

We also put in an in-wall fan, and then ceiling vents to distribute surplus heat into other rooms.

Enjoy you Rayburn

Graeme

[davo453]

Thanks for that Graeme

We've lived in the new place since September and have grown to love the Rayburn. It takes a little getting used to but I’m now at the stage were I can merely show it a match and a bit of paper and it fires up.

I think the flue is going to need cleaning soon though as it's not heating up quite as quickly as it did. Love the self cleaning oven, just bung in more timber after you have finished roasting and give it some air the oven temp goes over 300 and you have a clean oven.

the vent idea is a good one, I’ve been trying to work out a system to take advantage of the enormous amount of hot water this thing creates in the winter (it will easily boil the tank
). Radiators and a hot water pump are the obvious thing but I cant ever remember seeing any of those in Western Australia.

The only real down side of the Rayburn (well ours anyway) is that the hot water jacket preasure has to run at a lower level than our pump runs the cold at, means you have to be very acurate with the taps when taking a shower.

Cheers



Dave

[ozwinner]

The only real down side of the Rayburn (well ours anyway) is that the hot water jacket preasure has to run a a lower level than our pump runs the cold at, means you have to be very acurate with the taps when taking a shower.

Cheers



Dave

Or,.......
You could also run cold from a tank at the same height, that way you will have equal pressure at the shower head.

Al

[davo453]

Yes good idea Al, it would have to be only for the shower though as the hot water preassure is pathetic. I'll sleep on that one.

Cheers

Dave

[aussiecolector]

Yes good idea Al, it would have to be only for the shower though as the hot water preassure is pathetic. I'll sleep on that one.

Cheers

Dave

I have a regal heat exchange hot water system I heat with the everhot stove and run the water through it with a presure pump.