Hi,
I have an oil fired boiler with a balanced flue. It's in the kitchen and all the valves, pump, etc are alongside it. "the boss" thought it looked ugly and wanted it all hidden away, so I have made a box of veneered chip around it.
The box is slightly higher than the boiler and about work top height. I have made a lid from the same sheet of chipboard. The box has a front and rightthand side but no back because I couldn't get behind the boiler due to pipes etc.
There is no lefthand side as the lefthand side butts against the kitchen units; these obviously have a gap under the plinth and behind the units so heat can escape from the box into these spaces.
Now we've been running the boiler like this and everything has been ok, but the manual states that if you run it in a "compartment" you need to add a vent at the bottom and a vent at the top to allow air to circulate so the boiler does not overheat.
The manual says each vent should have a free area of 232cm^2 or 36in^2 which seems absolutely massive! The area required to "feed" an open flue boiler is half that!
Many catalogues I have looked at don't give you the free area, only the overall size of the louvre, which is useless. I've found BES states the free area but only sells large sizes in white; I would have liked brass or as a second choice brown plastic (to match the wooden finish of the box).
My worry is that by the time these are fitted, there will be more vent than box! Any idea who sells big brass louvres or any idea what to do next?
TIA