GB2197710A

GB2197710A - Removable boiler housing

Info

Publication number: GB2197710A
Application number: GB08726843A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Stephen William John Grant
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1986-11-18
Filing date: 1987-11-17
Publication date: 1988-05-25
Anticipated expiration: 2007-11-17
Also published as: GB2197710B; IE58600B1; GB8726843D0; BE1000019A7; IE863038L

Abstract

A boiler housing 1 comprises a plinth 3 on which a boiler 2 is mounted and a rear wall 4 extending upwardly from the base plinth and which in use typically abuts against the side or end wall of a building. A removable cover 10 comprising a top wall 11, a front wall 12 and a pair of side walls 13 is releasably secured by clips 20 to the base plinth 3. For cleaning and maintenance the cover is removed by releasing the clips 20 allowing ready access to the front and two sides of the boiler. Preferably the cover is preformed for example from glass reinforced plastic which may be lined with heat insulating material. Preferably the base plinth and rear wall are of precast concrete or the like. <IMAGE>

Description

A BOILER HOUSING The invention relates to a housing for a boiler and in particular to a housing for a liquid or gas-fired boiler such as an oil boiler or a natural gas boiler.

One of the problems with boilers of this type is that they generally must be sited in specially constructed boiler houses which are made as small as possible to use as little as possible of the storage or living space available. In addition to the cost and inconvenience of building a boiler house such boiler houses generally are of small size leading to considerable difficulties in accessing the boiler for maintenance and cleaning.

There is therefore a need for an improved housing for a boiler which will overcome at least some of these difficulties.

According to the invention there is provided a boiler housing comprising a boiler support and a cover for extending over the boiler, the cover including a front wall portion and at least one sidewall portion extending from the front wall portion to cover the boiler, the cover being releasably mounted to facilitate removal of the cover for maintenance access to the front and at least one side of the boiler.

In one embodiment of the invention the cover includes two side wall portions extending from the front wall portion.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the cover includes a top wall portion extending inwardly from the front wall portion.

Preferably the top wall portion includes a cut-out portion for accommodating a boiler flue.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention the cover comprises a single preformed member. Typically the cover is of reinforced plastics material and preferably at least portion of the inner face of the cover is lined with a heat insulating material.

In one embodiment of the invention the front wall portion of the cover includes a removable access hatch. Typically the front wall portion of the cover also includes an air inlet closed by a safety flap.

Preferably the top wall portion is inclined upwardly rearwardly from the front wall portion to direct water falling on the top wall portion off the cover.

In one embodiment of the invention the boiler support comprises a base plinth on which the boiler is mounted.

Preferably a rear wall extends upwardly from the base plinth. In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention the base plinth and rear wall are of precast or preformed sections. In one case a top portion extends forwardly from the rear wall to define a weathering hood for accommodating a boiler flue.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention the cover comprises a top wall portion a front wall portion and a pair of side walls depending from the top wall, the base and rear of the cover being at least partially open for inter-fitting with the base plinth and rear wall respectively to form an enclosure for a boiler.

In one embodiment of the invention securing means are provided for releasably securing the cover to the boiler support.

The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description thereof given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is an exploded view of a housing for a boiler according to the invention, Fig. 2 is a side view of the boiler housing assembled, Fig. 3 is a transverse cross sectional view of the boiler housing assembled, Fig. 4 is a front view of the boiler housing, Fig. 5 is a view of one side of the boiler housing with a cover section removed, and Fig. 6 is a view from the other side of the boiler with the cover removed.

Referring to the drawings there is illustrated a housing according to the invention and indicated generally by the reference numeral 1 for a boiler 2 which may be of any suitable construction. The housing 1 comprises a boiler support which in this case is generally L-shaped in side view and comprises a base support or plinth 3 on which the boiler is mounted and a rear wall support 4 which, in use, typically abuts against a side or end wall of a building.

Heat insulation 5 is provided between the boiler 2 and the rear wall 4. A top wall defining a weathering hood 6 is attached to and extends forwardly of the rear wall 5 to accommodate a flue 7 extending from the boiler 2. A flashing section 9 is provided between the weathering hood 10 and wall against which the boiler support wall is abutted.

The housing 1 also includes a removable cover 10 which in this case comprises a top wall 11, a front wall 12 and a pair of side walls 13 which extend downwardly from the top wall 11. The top wall 11 of the housing 10 includes a cut-out slot 15 for accommodating the weathering hood 6 and both the rear and base of the cover are open to cooperate with the base wall 3 and back wall 4 respectively of the boiler support to define a housing which encloses the boiler 2 and associated boiler equipment. Means for securing the cover 10 to the boiler support is provided by a pair of securing clips 20 each having a latch 21 which is engagable in a receiver (not shown) in the inside of the boiler hood 10.

The boiler hood may be of any suitable material of construction however preferably it is preformed in one operation of a preformed reinforced plastics material such as GRP. In this case the inner faces of the hood 10 may be lined with a heat insulating material 25.

The front wall 12 of the hood 10 includes a removable access hatch 30 through which some of the boiler equipment may be accessed for maintenance. An air inlet 31 fitted with a safety closure flap 32 is also provided in the front wall 12 of the cover 10.

In more detail, the boiler 2 is in this case an oil boiler having a burner/blower 40 through which oil is fed along an oil supply pipe 41. A thermostat 42 controls the operation of the burner/blower 40. It will be noted that the boiler 2 includes a front access panel 35 which may be removed for cleaning the flue gas passageways of the boiler 2.

To access the boiler for cleaning the latch 21 is released and the cover 10 is lifted off thus exposing the front and two sides of the boiler for ease of maintenance and cleaning. Because the boiler is typically sited in an open space such as against the rear wall of a house there are no obstructions to access.

The main advantage of the invention is in providing a housing for a boiler of simple and cheap construction which does away with the requirement for a specially built building for housing the boiler and yet allows the boiler to be readily accessed for cleaning and maintenance by simply removing a single cover.

It will be appreciated that any suitable mechanism may be employed for retaining the cover in position. For example, a simple front hook and latch mechanism accessible through the front hatch 30 may be provided.

To guide and retain the cover in position at the rear of the base support 3 a guide means such as a channel may be provided on either side at the rear of the base support. It will be appreciated that the cover and boiler supports may be of any suitable shape or configuration. In addition, while for ease of operation it is preferable that the cover be a single preformed member, this may not be an essential feature of the invention. The cover may possibly be formed from a number of interconnected sections only some of which may be removable for access for cleaning and maintenance.

Claims

1. A boiler housing comprising a boiler support and a cover for extending over the boiler, the cover including a front wall portion and at least one sidewall portion extending from the front wall portion to cover the boiler, the cover being releasably mounted to facilitate removal of the cover for maintenance access to the front and at least one side of the boiler.

2. A boiler housing as claimed in claim 1 wherein the cover includes two side wall portions extending from the front wall portion.

3. A boiler housing as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the cover includes a top wall portion extending inwardly from the front wall portion.

4. A boiler as claimed in claim 3 wherein the top wall portion includes a cut-out portion for accommodating a boiler flue.

5. A boiler housing as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4 wherein the cover comprises a single preformed member.

6. A boiler housing as claimed in claim 5 wherein the cover is of reinforced plastics material.

7. A boiler housing as claimed in any preceding claim wherein at least portion of the inner face of the cover is lined with a heat insulating material.

8. A boiler housing as claimed in any preceding claim wherein a front wall portion of the cover includes a removable access hatch.

9. A boiler as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the front wall portion of the cover includes an air inlet closed by a safety flap.

10. A boiler housing as claimed in any of claims 3 to 9 wherein the top wall portion is inclined upwardly rearwardly from the front wall portion to direct water falling on the top wall portion off the cover.

11. A boiler housing as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the boiler support comprises a base plinth on which the boiler is mounted.

12. A boiler housing as claimed in claim 11 wherein a rear wall extends upwardly from the base plinth.

13. A boiler housing as claimed in claim 11 wherein the base plinth and rear wall are of precast or preformed sections.

14. A boiler housing as claimed n claim 12 or claim 13 wherein a top portion extends forwardly from the rear wall to define a weathering hood for accommodating a boiler flue.

15. A boiler housing as claimed in any of claims 12 to 14 wherein the cover comprises a top wall portion, a front wall portion and a pair of side walls depending from the top wall, the base and rear of the cover being at least partially open for inter-fitting with the base plinth and rear wall respectively to form an enclosure for a boiler.

16. A boiler housing as claimed in any preceding claim wherein securing means are provided for releasably securing the cover to the boiler support.

17. A boiler housing substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.