Can someone ID these boilers/systems for me

[Jez]

Apologies for this ramble boring thread, but figure someone will know better than me what this all is. I have some knowledge of plumbing but clearly not this level.

Viewed a property earlier today, it has a couple of boilers and in hindsight i did not take the model numbers. The reason for asking is that i cannot (the house is abandoned, no owner to ask, agent not sure) find any megaflo or other water cylinders anywhere within the property. I have no way to test the hot water from the first one as it is powered down. I note that the radiator loop connected to it shows pressure, so a good sign.

The 2nd boiler is running and everything fed from that works, but again no water cylinder to be seen. Is the 2nd a combi, are they both combi's?

First boiler; this appears to serve the main part of the house and the radiator system:


2nd Boiler; this appears to run an water to air exchanger for areas of air heating, and also provide hot water to an area of the house, one bathroom, and heat a swimming pool (which is at 30c, water feeling very warm, the digital display).

 

[SeatIbiza]

ID in what way? They both just look like ordinary boilers, Baxi in the first and unknown in the second. Could be combi or standard, but if there are not hot water tanks then more likely combis?

30 for a pool is high, the evaporation must be very high!!

I'm interested in the property that's abandoned! Sounds cool!

 

[Jez]

Yep it feels warm and the room is very humid/warm so i guess you are right about the evaporation.

I am confused by the lack of a water cylinder anywhere, i am almost wondering if we have simply missed it. Hence the ID as combi boilers if they are that? What has thrown me are the motorised valves (first boiler)...i would expect them to control flow to a cylinder?

 

[SimonR]

30 is very high for a pool and if it is abandoned I would be VERY CAREFUL as there is a massive risk of Legionella unless it is dosing regime is being regularly undertaken and checked. Just walking into where the pool is could put you at risk. - I dont know if you remember but a courier Died from legionella in the Stoke On Trent JTF from breathing in the evaporating water of an untreated jacuzzi on the shop floor, the risk here is the same, only x1000 greater given the pool volumes.

 

[Jez]

Gosh...we would never use it without refilling obviously. But yes it has been sat at that temperature and humidity for quite a few months and longer. I'd think that it is treated, though, it is under a maintenance contract (the plant room has various chemicals in bottles and filtration tanks, etc) and hence it being heated. It is the only part of the place which isnt a mess. I have no idea why they have left it at what feels to the touch verging on a bath temperature, though.

 

[SimonR]

Please, just check that it is being dosed and checked, before going back into the pool area. I honestly cannot stress how potentially dangerous this is.

 

[Jez]

Thank you for the advice, that had not occurred to me at all!

You have me worried now, slightly due to my quick poke around in the plant room and pool room etc, but also with the ongoing maintenance and avoiding it becoming a danger to the kids longer term. I’ll have to have a good read about al of this, it had not occurred to me as I say.

 

[SimonR]

If it is a fairly modern pool plant, it will probably have an automatic dosing system that will take care of chlorine / bromine / ozone disinfection quite happily, but this does have to be fed with chemicals every week or so. My concern for you was the fact you said that it had been abandoned for months, which without maintenance, the chemicals would have run out a long time ago, leaving a large mass of warm water, with no disinfectant. That is where Legionella likes to live. At 30oc you would have a very high evaporation rate, which means that the legionella can become airborne and respireable.
Pool maintenance is not rocket science or even hard, but indoor pools particularly do need a regular regime.

 

[Jez]

thankyou for the insight, you obviously know your stuff when it comes to pools!

the plant/pool dates from 2015 so is quite new, and is under maintenance hence being heated at all (why so warm, I am not sure). The agent assured me that it’s all kept good to go and that a pool guy attends regularly under contract. It certainly looks very clean and the visible bits of equipment all seem to be “working”. There are lots of bits in there, a giant blue expansion vessel of some kind (you can just see on the right bottom) along with that clear tube filled with cubes of some kind. Lots of bottles of chemicals.

I really do need to read up on this stuff thanks for the insights into it.

I do wonder how the hot water works via both boilers though...perhaps I have missed something.

 

[SimonR]

Blue vessel is probably a rapid sand filter. The tube is probably bromine / chlorine tablets (disinfectant). heating should be done via a heat-exchanger, somewhere in there. Its unlikely to be directly heated.

 

[Jez]

The fact that the tube (you can see this below the boiler itself) is full - a good sign yes and I need not see my gp?!

Lord only knows why they are maintaining it through this cold winter at 30c. No one is there or using it and haven’t been for months.

 

[SimonR]

Also that level of evaporation will be having a pretty detrimental effect on the building fabric. Have they not got a pool cover on ?

 

[Jez]

Yes they do actually, although it doesn’t completely cover the surface, you can get a hand around the edge and in the corners. The building itself is in very good condition indeed but it is definitely humid in there. If we do go ahead with this then I’ll be turning it all down considerably and reviewing the heating costs....

I still don’t understand the main water system on the first boiler, I guess in the scheme of things a water system doesn’t figure as anything can be fixed, but it would be good to work out whether it has a day 1 large plumbing job required to gain hot water off that.

 

[Dangerous Dave]

Top boiler isn’t a combi as it only has a flow and return pipe visible. It would have a water in and dhw out if it was a combi. Second one is harder to tell looks like multiple pipes out so a combi.

If it’s a large house unlikely to be totally run off a combi, I have two hot water cylinders one is in the attic so you can have them hard to find.

 

[blueboy2001]

First boiler is a Baxi Solo. Look at the text on the label of the bag above it - Heat Only.

2 motorized valves fitted, so could be one for CH and one for DHW. The timer to the left does both heating and HW too. It seems likely there’s a cylinder hiding somewhere.

Pool boiler I’m pretty sure is a Viessmann Vitodens 100W 30KW combi. The smaller ones don’t have a flap covering the controls.

 

[Jez]

First boiler is a Baxi Solo. Look at the text on the label of the bag above it - Heat Only.

2 motorized valves fitted, so could be one for CH and one for DHW. The timer to the left does both heating and HW too. It seems likely there’s a cylinder hiding somewhere.

Pool boiler I’m pretty sure is a Viessmann Vitodens 100W 30KW combi. The smaller ones don’t have a flap covering the controls.

Oh yes, i will need to return anyway so i will look into this further and try to find a cylinder. Thankyou for the insight, googling the Viessmann model, agreed, that it is what it is. And explains that system.

Top boiler isn’t a combi as it only has a flow and return pipe visible. It would have a water in and dhw out if it was a combi. Second one is harder to tell looks like multiple pipes out so a combi.

If it’s a large house unlikely to be totally run off a combi, I have two hot water cylinders one is in the attic so you can have them hard to find.

Agreed, a combi seems unlikely and as you point out, it cannot be one can it. (Extra clue being the bag above as blueboy points out) The attic/loft is somewhere which i had not thought about. I'll go and get a better and thorough walk around, including loft access. Thanks.

 

[LeeUK]

Second boiler is definitely a Viessmann Vitodens, I have the same but without the flap.

 

[Dis86]

30 isn't high for a pool at all. 28-29 is more typical however.

 

[Jez]

30 isn't high for a pool at all. 28-29 is more typical however.

I am new to all of this but the consensus was that 30C was really warm. Googling this however agrees with you.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends swimming lessons for kids starting at the age of four. and the Red Cross recommends a pool temperature of at least 84°F (29°C) to conduct swim lessons for children.

When the seniors in your life are going to use your pool for leisure, consider raising the temperature to somewhere between 86°F and 88°F (30°C and 31°C).

For swimming and water aerobics, the recommended temperature is the standard range of 78°F to 82°F (26°C to 28°C)

 

[Dis86]

I am new to all of this but the consensus was that 30C was really warm. Googling this however agrees with you.

I was a swimming pool designer for 3 years.
Highly recommend you either download or buy a copy of the PWTAG guidelines.