A back boiler is a device which is fitted to a residential heating stove or open fireplace to enable it to provide both room heat and domestic hot water or central heating. The device is a water filled heat exchanger enclosed at the rear of the burning chamber with a hot water output at the top of the chamber and a cold water feed at the bottom.
The back boiler is typically used with a gravity feed circuit to the hot water cylinder otherwise boiling or overheating of the water can occur. Back boilers are strictly regulated in Ireland and the UK following explosions relating to incorrectly serviced or installed back boilers.
