Found this in a closed Chimney breast - old back boiler

[thompo]

Hi,
We are renovating and as one of the chimneys is sucking in water like a sponge, resulting in damp issues (solid brick north facing gable wall) I decided to open the breast up and let it breathe a little. (previous owner filled the pots and bricked everything closed... no vents)

Followed the large cracks in the plaster and found a mismash of cut brick and mortar, kango'd this out to get some circulation.

and found something rusty.....

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• thompo
• 18 Jul 2013
• 1

curiosity got the better of me..

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• thompo
• 18 Jul 2013
• 1

Found some newspapers stuffed in the hollow for the pipes dated Nov 27 1981 and some more stuffed in the flue dated 7 July 1989!

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• thompo
• 18 Jul 2013
• 1

Removed

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• thompo
• 18 Jul 2013
• 1

couldn't believe they had just left it in there! Must have been 12" of soot on top of it, and the condition of it seems to suggest how wet the wall is .

Anyone know what it is out of interest, know its back boiler but was trying to figure out the how coal gets down to burn without the hopper catching light too?

Have to decide now wether to open the breast properly and create a feature out of it (in a bedroom) or close it up again (properly!) once we sort the damp problem.

#Edit to correct spelling

 

[Agile]

The fire would have been in a basket in front of the back boiler and the hot gases just sucked through the inlet at the base.

No real need to have removed it. It was doing no harm!

I think its a chimney breast and not brest !

Brest is a city in Brittany, France.

Tony

 

[thompo]

Correction noted

Probably wasnt doing much harm in itself but the way in which it was covered in (plaster cracking etc) and after discovering the amount of soot etc, meant there wouldnt have been much if any ventilation through the opening i had made. At the same time once discovered i didnt want to leave it to rust away within my wall.

Half tempted to get it blasted and see whats left, could make an interesting ornament or plant pot according to the other half lol.

Would the bit with the crack be a door to a hopper? currently rusted shut so couldnt see how it works on the inside, just curious.

 

[Agile]

More likely to be an access hatch to aid sweeping and soot removal.

To ensure proper ventilation you need two vents. Usually provided by an open pot or a vent in the loft.

Tony

 

[thompo]

aaah that would make much more sense than a hopper


Yep, thanks, when chimney stack is rebuilt, it will all be properly vented to prevent any future issues.

Cheers Neil

 

[stem]

I had exactly the same thing in the dining room of my 1960's house. It was built with a Baxi All Night Burner with a back boiler. Although I didn't know it to start with.

The fire front had been removed and plastered over, but the back boiler left in place. Full of water. (The pipes to it were cut off above the ceiling and not drained) Eventually, the boiler rusted through and the water began so seep out making a damp patch near the skirting. Not knowing of its existence, I assumed the damp was caused by a lack of chimney ventilation and the fact that the chimney pot was left open to the elements. I had the chimney capped and ventilated and was going to make a small hole and insert a vent at the bottom where the fire had been. "Half a day's work" I told Mrs Stem as she left for a days shopping.

When I made the small hole for the vent, I discovered that there was something else behind it and so enlarged the opening until I ended up with a similar situation to your photo. I levered the back boiler out and sat it's leaking rusty carcass on the dining room floor. At this point a lot of soot fell down the chimney, just as Mrs Stem arrived home.....