"Tim" wrote in message
news
A thermal store has an inegral DHW coil.
A heat bank a DHW plate heat exchanger fed by a pump.

Q: But - which one? I've been all over the web and found:

McDonald Engineers' ThermFlow - simple
cylinder, use 2 external pumps (boiler
primary and CH)

Gledhill BoilerMate2000/SysteMate2000
(can't work out what the difference
is yet - possible one is direct and the other indirect??)
Very poncy
design with microprocessor control,
3 pumps (why there's a pump on the
mains water circuit I don't know) and lots
of sensors to go wrong. Looks
pretty though. Expensive at 1200 squids up,
but does include the controler
and all the pumps in a nice neat housing.

The Boilermate is an "integrated" store, that is the CH and DHW are run off
the store.
The Sytemate has the CH run direst from the boioer with the store being DHW
only.

All the controls/pumps etc in inside the neat casing in both. The control
systems are superb in both. The are not direct. I have a Systemate. They
are best available and state-of-the-art. They are self adaptive in that
they learn the boilers behaviour. They modulate the DHW pump speed to suit
the outlet temperature. A pump is on the mains water circuit, well it is on
the primary circuit, to pump heat into the plate heat exchanger. They are
also very reliable too.

Also look at http://www.rangecylinders.co.uk/prod...max/index.html
The Flowmax, which is a a well priced heat bank.

Best have a direct "integrated" heat bank.

Heatweb - Also looks complicated like the Gledhill, but not as neat.

Albion - simple again, like the McDonalds'.

But expensive.

Q: Would I want direct or indirect? Direct seems simpler - pump the boiler
primary through the bulk of the tank and the rads.

Yep.