Subject: Microbore CH better than 15mm - says plumber
From: (Lobster)
Date: 06/04/04 00:13 GMT Daylight Time
Message-id:

I've got a plumber in doing some jobs for me at the moment, including
fitting some new radiators to an existing system, which has a combi
boiler and 22/15mm copper pipes throughout. I left him to it this
morning and came back to find he'd installed a rad using 10mm
microbore; he'd put the 15mm TRV and lockshield valve which I'd
supplied to one side, and bought his own 10mm kit instead.

I am admittedly predjudiced against microbore as it's harder (IMO, for
me) to fit, and I believe more likely to block; so I was a bit hacked
off with this, especially as there was no problem at all with access
to existing 15mm pipework under the floor. He'd simply fitted lengths
of microbore to the ends of the flow and return 15mm pipes using
reducers.

When quizzed, he said it was because radiators "work better" with
microbore; that's as much as I could get. The guy is very
uncommunicative and I find difficult to talk to, but he's reliable,
good value, and does a good job, and I don't want to make an issue of
this unnecessarily. But before he fits any more rads for me can
anybody tell me if it's possible there is any truth in what he's
saying?

No it's ********. Nothing can work "better" with less flow. It's easier to bend
and fit of course and when time is money that's of the essence. Whether it'll
actually harm your system is another matter. If the flow to the rads is
sufficient and they all get hot then it's fine.


Dave Baker - Puma Race Engines (www.pumaracing.co.uk)
I'm not at all sure why women like men. We're argumentative, childish,
unsociable and extremely unappealing naked. I'm quite grateful they do though.