BIOMASS BOILER AND PACEMAKER

I have a biomass boiler that uses wood pellets, put in 7 years ago when the government were giving grants for green energy. It is being serviced today. The engineer when I told him aboyt my recent PM told me that there is a HUGE magnet at the back of the boiler and I should be careful.

 

I have been putting pellets in the hopper daily and have had no reaction (which probably speaks for itself), but wondered if anyone had any thoughts or opinions. It's a Grant boiler.

2 Comments

Huge magnet

by piglet22 - 2024-11-18 06:33:57

Heartily

Aren't pacemakers fun?

As you have already found out, you can use the boiler without going into some magnet test mode.

I would take your engineer's description of huge with some caution. Does he/she mean large or powerful? They do tend to use exaggeration especially when it comes to boiler faults. However, good of them to point it out and it suggests that they are aware. Grant company engineers are more likely to know than an independent one. Being a biomass boiler, more specialised, a company engineer is more likely to be the one attending.

I'm not aware of magnets being used in the boiler itself but can only speak for a gas powered Worcester Bosch.

However, most new wet heating systems (UK) with pipes and radiators or underfloor pipes will have some form of sludge removal separator in the system. Sludge forms as different metals in the system, typically copper, iron or aluminium react together and iron oxides, rust, can clag up radiators over time. reducing flow and heating efficiency.

The answer is to fit a magnetic separator and this is where the magnets might be. I have one and there is a clear warning on it as a yellow label with a magnet symbol and "may affect pacemakers". I fitted it and didn't worry about it. It never came within inches of the device.

Now and again, the accumulated deposits have to be cleaned out.

Some boiler types, especially combination boilers that do direct mains water heating and hot water, tend to have all the components in a single unit.

The separator is just a possibility. The huge magnet in a biomass boiler might be there to separate nails etc., but that's more likely to be done by the biomass manufacturer.

If as your engineer has said, it’s at the back of the boiler, it's very unlikely to pose a risk to you as the steel case of the boiler acts as a shield.

What I would do is contact Grant and ask them or read the installation and user manual to see if there are any specific warnings.

Some manufacturers are good at providing warnings, others aren't. My mobile phone case has magnets in it, but no warnings and that is more likely to be close to my device. In fact I tried  this morning, placing the phone and case within a couple of centimetres of the device and nothing happened.

You do need to be on your guard a bit and think things through before you do them, but probably 99% of what you normally do, will have no effect.

Piglet to the rescue yet again!

by heartily - 2024-11-18 10:22:08

Get you with a gas boiler! We only got mains water in 1948 in my village! I'm not unduly worried about the magnet in the biomass boiler - in fact it never occurred to me that it would have a magnet in it, so have been shovelling in bags of pellets as soon as I was able. Not easy to do without lifting my arm above my shoulder so it's more like a shotputter move... just as well I'm hypermobile.

Not sure I'm brave enough to clasp possibly dangerous items close to my PM to see what happens as knowing my luck...

 

You know you're wired when...

Your pacemaker interferes with your electronic scale.

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