New hot water options

[Mark M]

I've done combi twice and found it struggled to cope with what amounts to 4 adults and a teenager. Anything else happens in the house (flush the loo, washing machine fills up) and the pressure drops enough, even worse if two of you are showering at the same time. Best case you get a low pressure shower each.

So this when we moved to a new house with a 20 year old system I went pressurised and have a megaflow pressurised system with a Worstester boiler heating that and the radiator. Also changed the showers to thermostatic controls. Its night and day for us, everyone gets a hot high pressure shower with very little pressure drop and it doesn't matter if somebody flushes the loo downstairs now. When one of the girls really goes silly with a long shower we can run out of hot water but it recovers quickly ready for the next person.
The downside is you don't have endless hot water but it recovers quickly, the up side is mains pressure hot water all through the house, we have good pressure at our place. It was about 1.5k more expensive than a straight combi version but so much the right decision for me.

Thanks for the info, if there is £1.5-2k difference then Id be happy going with the pressurised system over a combi. Just had visions of it being much more expensive!

 

[Simon42]

Probably a daft question but what do you mean when you say 15kw to 40 assuming the boiler can cope? I assumed that indirect the boiler heated the water and for direct it was the heating coil?

Coil rating refers to the coil of pipe inside an indirect cylinder the boiler pumps water through to heat the water.

Some of the Magaflo cylinders have coils rated much higher than the more common 15 to 18KW and that's great as long as the boiler can heat and push enough water through it to deliver that.

See some specs here: https://www.heatraesadia.com/products/cylinders-and-hot-water/unvented-cylinders/megaflo-eco-plus. There is a 250L with 42.2KW coil, although it will have am electric immersion usually 3kw

 

[Mark M]

I think Ive decided that the pressurised system is going to be the best option to go with. The plumber is going to sort a quote out but a couple of further questions if I may:

1. He has suggested going with Main Heating boiler and cylinder. Apparently they are part of the Baxi group? Any thoughts, opinions or experiences with them?
2. He said the best location for the boiler will be in the loft (currently in the utility room) and the cylinder in the airing cupboard where the existing hot water tank is. I had originally planned for the boiler and cylinder to be in the garage but have no real preferece however assumed it would be more straight forward running the mains cold water from the stop **** (kitchen) to the garage. Any downsides/issues to the boiler being in the loft?
3. Just curious but do I need a direct or indirect cylinder?

 

[Mercenary Keyboard Warrior]

Only issue with boilers in lofts that I have heard about is access. IE it needs to be boarded or at least partly so for access when being serviced/fixed etc

Where do you use most hot water? If its upstairs and the cupboard is in a good location I would go there. You still need to get the hot water from the tank to the end point no matter what mechanism for heating/storing.
Ours is noticably quicker to get hot water to upstairs taps than kitchen sink. We rarely use the sink, but the difference is marked. Never workde out why as its not that much further.

 

[Mark M]

The loft is partially boarded out but can board out more of it if need be no problem.

The showers are used most but its not the end of the world waiting 10-20 seconds for the hot water I guess so not a deal breaker either way. The plumber said it would be cheaper to install in the loft so assuming there is no major issues I'll probably just go with that.

 

[dirtychinchilla]

ASHP if you are staying in the property for the long term, and want to invest in something that doesn't rely on gas.

Why wouldn't you want to rely on gas? Electricity is nearly 3 x the price.

 

[Journey]

Why wouldn't you want to rely on gas? Electricity is nearly 3 x the price.

It's just an idea.

We are in the process of going fossil free where and when we can, and no initial startup costs are not cheap, but it is something we want to spend our money on.

 

[dirtychinchilla]

It's just an idea.

We are in the process of going fossil free where and when we can, and no initial startup costs are not cheap, but it is something we want to spend our money on.

Electricity is not fossil free, though. It just means that the energy generation is centralised, not decentralised as it would be at your house. As an example, London is reducing its emissions by buying power from sources outside of London, which are definitely using fossil fuels.

Initial startup costs for electric heating are low. Price per kW is very high!

 

[Journey]

Electricity is not fossil free,

I didn't say it was. I said I am trying, where we can.

We are in the process of taking on a large(ish) solar array, and also a battery back up/energy storage solution, and our home electricity tariff is all solely based on purchased energy from renewable sources.

Re-read what I wrote, rather than telling me something I already know.

 

[Simon42]

Lofts are okay if access and lighting is good and its easy to connect up to existing waste for the boiler condensate drain (not into guttering down pipes!). Working in lofts in the summer can be a nightmare so consider any servicing outside of the sunniest months and hopefully most boiler issues occur under load in the colder months.

An indirect cylinder is what you need - boiler doesn't heat the actual hot water you use, just its primary circuit water which in turn heats the hot water via a loop of pipe in the HW cylinder so indirect.

 

[Mark M]

Lofts are okay if access and lighting is good and its easy to connect up to existing waste for the boiler condensate drain (not into guttering down pipes!). Working in lofts in the summer can be a nightmare so consider any servicing outside of the sunniest months and hopefully most boiler issues occur under load in the colder months.

An indirect cylinder is what you need - boiler doesn't heat the actual hot water you use, just its primary circuit water which in turn heats the hot water via a loop of pipe in the HW cylinder so indirect.

Thanks. Can I just clarify your last sentance as this is where Im getting lost off with the whole direct vs indirect method. So the boiler has 2 jobs, first to heat the radiators and second to heat water that goes through a primary circuit inside the cylinder that heats the water in the tank?

So does a direct cylinder have an element and doesnt rely on the boiler for anything?

 

[Simon42]

So does a direct cylinder have an element and doesnt rely on the boiler for anything?

There are some good descriptions and diagrams online, but yes a direct cylinder usually has a couple of electric elements (but can be more). One for full rate mains electricity as with the backup for an indirect cylinder and the other for cheap rate electricity/solar etc

 

[Mark M]

Ok so Ive decided to go with the pressurised cylinder route and the plumber is coming roud to Friday to price it up. What should he be checking when he comes? Ive seen it mentioned in other threads but I think its is pressure and flow rate? Flow rate can be checked by timing how long it takes to fill a bucket I think but not sure about the pressure?

Thanks