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#1
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Background:
We live in a 3 bedroom house-on-a-hill. From the front it looks like a bungalow. Once inside you go downstairs to the bedrooms. The (non combi) boiler is in the garage on the front. The hot water tank is downstairs in the airing cupboard (pumping hot water downstairs against convection, hmm who thought of that one!). There is a header tank in the loft. The CH radiators are all on Microbore pipe. In the 6 months we have lived there the CH top up tank has required about 2-4 litres of water to top it up. We had a combi boiler fitted in our last house (non condensing £1000). Running a bath took long enough to undress our toddler and clean his teeth and get him ready for bed, just about acceptable, certainly not quick. Showers were great with a very good flow and pressure, enough to make you want to stay in there longer. Situation: We want to extend into the loft and so need to lose the header tank. We intend to have a bedroom, nursery and shower room in the loft as well as a sizable landing (there's plenty of space due to the layout of the house). I've been told that microbore pipes and combi boilers don't mix. Is this true? I've also been told that if your system leaks a combi boiler will make it worse because of the pressure. (Remember its needed toping up already!) I would imagine the plumber who fits the new radiators in the loft may want to avoid using microbore and so we would have both standard and microbore radiators. Is this an issue? I have no idea how much it would cost to replace all the existing CH pipes (floor boards not sheets, at least in some rooms, no concrete floors afaict) and radiators (3 bedrooms, kitchen, dining, lounge, hall, lower floor hall, bathroom and washroom (10 rad in total) and whether this would be a better solution than using the existing microbore. There will be a plumber coming in to add new rad.s to the loft anyway. Existing CH and boiler is original fitted in 1992 when house was built. Things never seem to be simple though. ATM my understanding is our DHW comes from the hot water tank in the airing cupboard downstairs (there's also a pressure vessel in there too, not sure what for though). Siting the new boiler in the place of the old bolier in the garage puts it just the other side of the garage wall to the kitchen sink. The exiting bathroom is directly below that and the new shower room will be just above and to the back of the house so the pipe runs to the majority of the taps from the boiler will be short. (Our main gripe with the combi boiler in the old house was that it took ages to get any hot water through and then if you were just rinsing the pots you had to leave the tap running at a fair lick in order for the water not to go cold which it would do if you turned the tap off.) The current hot water pipes from the boiler go to the airing cupboard and the DHW pipes come back from there. It seems silly to send the water half way round the house so we are intending drilling through the garage wall into the space where the washing machine currently is in the kitchen and connecting the DHW feed from the new boiler to the end of those pipes. I'm presuming all the DHW taps are on branches off one run from the exisitng hot water tank so capping of the other end at the hot water tank (with a drain plug) will mean we still get hot water to the all the taps. For the CH we were going to try and locate the existing loop and break into it as close to the new boiler as possible and close the loop in the airing cupboard where the hw tank is. My questions a Does the above sound feasible? (IE are there any glaringly obvious mistakes I've made or things I've overlooked.?) Are there issues with microbore pipes for CH? Can you mix micro bore and standard piping in one CH system? Considering the minimum job for the loft will be addition of 4 radiators, new boiler and the plumbing to (re)move the HW tank from downstairs would replacing our existing 10 radiators on micro bore with new radiators on standard pipe add significantly to the price (+10%?, +50%?, double? triple?)??? Where is a good place to start looking on the net for prices for boilers/rads etc. We will then have the possibility of using 2 showers at the same time (one a floor up from the boiler and one a floor down from the boiler if than makes any difference). I'm presuming some sort of HW storage tank (as opposed to a combi) will be required to allow both to be used together. Is this the case (most "Combi yes/no?" threads so far have only concerned one shower being used. Could a combi and mini tank be used or would the best idea be to go for a mains pressure storage tank solution? As the back half of our garage has been converted to a store room there is not a space issue with putting a hot water tank in there with the boiler but I'd prefer it to be compact as possible. If I was to redo the exising pipes and radiators myself what's the best way of getting the pipes laid when their direction is across the joists? (I want to minimise pulling up the floor. My intention would be to use copper pipes from the radiators into the under floor space and plastic pipes to link these as I've been lead to believe that the plastic pipes are easier to work with. Any comments appreciated. Chris. PS Apologies for the long post (as the bishop said to the actress) |
#2
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"ChrisJ" wrote
| I've also been told that if your system leaks a combi boiler | will make it worse because of the pressure. (Remember its needed | toping up already!) If by 'combi boiler' you actually mean sealed pressurised radiator (primary) loop, then the *advantage* of this is that if there is a leak, the amount of water in the system is limited. With a header tank (fed by mains from a ballcock) the amount of water is unlimited. | ATM my understanding is our DHW comes from the hot water tank in the | airing cupboard downstairs (there's also a pressure vessel in there | too, not sure what for though). But from where does the cold water come from for the hot. From the "header tank" or is the hot water tank (cylinder) actually a mains pressure hot water system? | Does the above sound feasible? (IE are there any glaringly obvious | mistakes I've made or things I've overlooked.?) It sounds like you don't want a combi, so you don't need a new boiler. You need a pressurised primary system and a mains pressure hot water system. | Are there issues with microbore pipes for CH? | Can you mix micro bore and standard piping in one CH system? No and yes. | We will then have the possibility of using 2 showers at the same time | (one a floor up from the boiler and one a floor down from the boiler if | than makes any difference). I'm presuming some sort of HW storage tank | (as opposed to a combi) will be required to allow both to be used | together. Is this the case (most "Combi yes/no?" threads so far have | only concerned one shower being used. Could a combi and mini tank be | used or would the best idea be to go for a mains pressure storage tank | solution? Mains pressure, I think. Remember you do have the option of having some taps/shower on the 'hot water' part of the combi, and a conventional hot water cylinder powered by the 'radiator' part of the combi. | As the back half of our garage has been converted to a store room there | is not a space issue with putting a hot water tank in there with the | boiler but I'd prefer it to be compact as possible. As you will be taking a 2 storey to a 3 storey building you may be subject to additional fire precautions with your loft conversion. I say "may" because with a middle-floor ground level you may be able to plead exemption. You can avoid the hot water taking ages to reach the taps by taking a loop back from the far end taps to the cylinder and putting in a circulation pump. With insulated pipes and the pump on a timer for peak use periods only, there should not be significant energy loss. Thermostatic blending valves below all the hot taps except the kitchen may save accidents. With 3 storeys you might want to put some cabling in for a home intercom system. Owain |
#3
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In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
ChrisJ chris@youmustbekiddingifyouthinkimusingarealaddre ss.com wrote: Background: We live in a 3 bedroom house-on-a-hill. From the front it looks like a bungalow. Once inside you go downstairs to the bedrooms. The (non combi) boiler is in the garage on the front. The hot water tank is downstairs in the airing cupboard (pumping hot water downstairs against convection, hmm who thought of that one!). There is a header tank in the loft. The CH radiators are all on Microbore pipe. In the 6 months we have lived there the CH top up tank has required about 2-4 litres of water to top it up. We had a combi boiler fitted in our last house (non condensing £1000). Running a bath took long enough to undress our toddler and clean his teeth and get him ready for bed, just about acceptable, certainly not quick. Showers were great with a very good flow and pressure, enough to make you want to stay in there longer. Situation: We want to extend into the loft and so need to lose the header tank. We intend to have a bedroom, nursery and shower room in the loft as well as a sizable landing (there's plenty of space due to the layout of the house). I've been told that microbore pipes and combi boilers don't mix. Is this true? I've also been told that if your system leaks a combi boiler will make it worse because of the pressure. (Remember its needed toping up already!) I would imagine the plumber who fits the new radiators in the loft may want to avoid using microbore and so we would have both standard and microbore radiators. Is this an issue? I have no idea how much it would cost to replace all the existing CH pipes (floor boards not sheets, at least in some rooms, no concrete floors afaict) and radiators (3 bedrooms, kitchen, dining, lounge, hall, lower floor hall, bathroom and washroom (10 rad in total) and whether this would be a better solution than using the existing microbore. There will be a plumber coming in to add new rad.s to the loft anyway. Existing CH and boiler is original fitted in 1992 when house was built. Things never seem to be simple though. ATM my understanding is our DHW comes from the hot water tank in the airing cupboard downstairs (there's also a pressure vessel in there too, not sure what for though). Siting the new boiler in the place of the old bolier in the garage puts it just the other side of the garage wall to the kitchen sink. The exiting bathroom is directly below that and the new shower room will be just above and to the back of the house so the pipe runs to the majority of the taps from the boiler will be short. (Our main gripe with the combi boiler in the old house was that it took ages to get any hot water through and then if you were just rinsing the pots you had to leave the tap running at a fair lick in order for the water not to go cold which it would do if you turned the tap off.) The current hot water pipes from the boiler go to the airing cupboard and the DHW pipes come back from there. It seems silly to send the water half way round the house so we are intending drilling through the garage wall into the space where the washing machine currently is in the kitchen and connecting the DHW feed from the new boiler to the end of those pipes. I'm presuming all the DHW taps are on branches off one run from the exisitng hot water tank so capping of the other end at the hot water tank (with a drain plug) will mean we still get hot water to the all the taps. For the CH we were going to try and locate the existing loop and break into it as close to the new boiler as possible and close the loop in the airing cupboard where the hw tank is. My questions a Does the above sound feasible? (IE are there any glaringly obvious mistakes I've made or things I've overlooked.?) Are there issues with microbore pipes for CH? Can you mix micro bore and standard piping in one CH system? Considering the minimum job for the loft will be addition of 4 radiators, new boiler and the plumbing to (re)move the HW tank from downstairs would replacing our existing 10 radiators on micro bore with new radiators on standard pipe add significantly to the price (+10%?, +50%?, double? triple?)??? Where is a good place to start looking on the net for prices for boilers/rads etc. We will then have the possibility of using 2 showers at the same time (one a floor up from the boiler and one a floor down from the boiler if than makes any difference). I'm presuming some sort of HW storage tank (as opposed to a combi) will be required to allow both to be used together. Is this the case (most "Combi yes/no?" threads so far have only concerned one shower being used. Could a combi and mini tank be used or would the best idea be to go for a mains pressure storage tank solution? As the back half of our garage has been converted to a store room there is not a space issue with putting a hot water tank in there with the boiler but I'd prefer it to be compact as possible. If I was to redo the exising pipes and radiators myself what's the best way of getting the pipes laid when their direction is across the joists? (I want to minimise pulling up the floor. My intention would be to use copper pipes from the radiators into the under floor space and plastic pipes to link these as I've been lead to believe that the plastic pipes are easier to work with. Any comments appreciated. Chris. PS Apologies for the long post (as the bishop said to the actress) I'm struggling a bit to understand your current setup! You mention a header tank in the attic. I assume that this is a large tank (50 gallons or so) acting as the header tank for the hot water supply? You also mention a top-up tank for the heating. Is this the *same* tank, or are there two? If separate, how big is it, and where is it? You also mention a pressure vessel. I am confused about this, because if the primary circuit (i.e. the "sealed" circuit taking water from the boiler to the indirect coil in the hot water cylinder and to the radiators) is non-vented (pressurised), there won't be a top-up tank - but there will be a filling loop and pressure gauge instead. As I see it, you need, in addition to your existing requirements: * Extra radiators in the attic at a height equal to or greater than your existing primary circuit header tank (if any!). This means in my view that the primary circuit will *have* to be pressurised. * Hot water delivered to the attic for the new shower/washbasin. Whilst your existing hot water flow is gravity driven from the header tank in the attic, your new shower/washbasin cannot be gravity fed without raising this header tank above roof level! You thus need a mains pressure hot water system for your upstairs requirements. There are three and a half possible ways of achieving this: 1. Replace the existing conventional boiler with a combi, and use it for all your hot water requirements. This is a BAD solution - particularly if you want to use both showers at the same time, or have lots of baths. 2A. Install a mains pressure hot water system, still heated by a (new or existing) conventional boiler. This is fine as long as you've got adequate mains pressure/flow - but needs expert installation because you'll have a *lot* of hot water at high pressure. 2B. Install a heat-bank, heated by a conventional boiler - and obtain instant mains-pressure hot water via a plate heat exchanger. Almost as good, and can be DIY'd. 3. Install a combi boiler, but retain your existing stored hot water system. Let the HW side of the combi provide just *part* of your hot water requirements - I would suggest the kitchen sink and the new upstairs shower. "Zone" the CH side of the combi so that it heats both the radiators *and* the hot water cylinder. Use the hot water from the cylinder for the downstairs bathroom/shower. You will still need a header tank for the hot water, of course. You'll have lashings of hot water for baths, and no problems running 2 showers at once because one will be using the stored hot water and the other will use instant mains pressure hot water from the combi. I think 3 would be my preferred solution - but you'll still have to find somewhere for the header tank. [Actually, you could go for a combination of 2B and 3 - getting the combi to heat the heat bank. You wouldn't then need a header tank.] I haven't attempted to answer the questions about micro-bore and pipe runs - lets get the basic principles established first! -- Cheers, Set Square ______ Please reply to newsgroup. Reply address is invalid. |
#4
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On Tue, 14 Sep 2004 16:42:09 +0100, ChrisJ
chris@youmustbekiddingifyouthinkimusingarealaddre ss.com wrote: Background: We live in a 3 bedroom house-on-a-hill. From the front it looks like a bungalow. Once inside you go downstairs to the bedrooms. The (non combi) boiler is in the garage on the front. The hot water tank is downstairs in the airing cupboard (pumping hot water downstairs against convection, hmm who thought of that one!). There is a header tank in the loft. The CH radiators are all on Microbore pipe. In the 6 months we have lived there the CH top up tank has required about 2-4 litres of water to top it up. We had a combi boiler fitted in our last house (non condensing £1000). Running a bath took long enough to undress our toddler and clean his teeth and get him ready for bed, just about acceptable, certainly not quick. Showers were great with a very good flow and pressure, enough to make you want to stay in there longer. Situation: We want to extend into the loft and so need to lose the header tank. We intend to have a bedroom, nursery and shower room in the loft as well as a sizable landing (there's plenty of space due to the layout of the house). I've been told that microbore pipes and combi boilers don't mix. Is this true? Old wive's tale. With respect to the heating system, a combi boiler is not really any different to a system boiler. Microbore pipe is a form of pipe - there is nothing magic about it either positively or negatively. What you do have to do, and should do with any system design is to make sure that the bore of pipe used is adequate to support the water flow rate required for each radiator. If you look at the web site of the Copper Development Association, there is a downloadable paper on how to calculate this. Where 15mm pipe is used, it is possible to get away with some degree of murder in that a reasonable length will support flow for about 6kW of radiators. Similar lengths of microbore will support 1-2.5kW which is normally one radiator. It is why microbore systems are often done with manifolds but there is nothing to mandate that. If an installing firm is giving you stories about microbore, it either means that they don't know how to calculate for it or can't be bothered. Either is a flag to consider shopping elsewhere. I've also been told that if your system leaks a combi boiler will make it worse because of the pressure. (Remember its needed toping up already!) Not exactly. it's more a function of the primary radiator circuit being sealed and pressurised. Mainly combis are used on sealed systems, but this is a separate issue. If the system has old radiator valves, it is worth changing them for good new ones like Pegler, anyway. Then with competent plumbing, you won't have leaks. In any case if you do, the situation is better than with open vented systems because the volume of water is limited. I would imagine the plumber who fits the new radiators in the loft may want to avoid using microbore and so we would have both standard and microbore radiators. Is this an issue? No it isn't, but there is no reason not to use microbore. If the space needs a lot of heat (i.e. 2.5kW or so) then it mivht imply two radiators, but that's probably a good idea for heat distribution anyway. If you add radiators using 15mm and the rest of the system is microbore, then in order to balance it, you will need to turn down the lockshield valve on the new radiator(s) so that the flow becomes comparable to microbore anyway - somewhat defeats the object. I have no idea how much it would cost to replace all the existing CH pipes (floor boards not sheets, at least in some rooms, no concrete floors afaict) and radiators (3 bedrooms, kitchen, dining, lounge, hall, lower floor hall, bathroom and washroom (10 rad in total) and whether this would be a better solution than using the existing microbore. If the radiators are in good condition, there is absolutely no need to replace them or the pipework. If the plumber is leading you on this path, you are being taken for a ride. It certainly does make sense to give the system a good clean by either emptying and taking the radiators outside for a good flush, or by using a powerflush machine. Don't get suckered into paying multiple hundreds for this service - you can rent the machine and DIY it quite cheaply. There will be a plumber coming in to add new rad.s to the loft anyway. Existing CH and boiler is original fitted in 1992 when house was built. Things never seem to be simple though. ATM my understanding is our DHW comes from the hot water tank in the airing cupboard downstairs (there's also a pressure vessel in there too, not sure what for though). Is there a large and a small tank in the loft? If just a small one, then it means that your HW system is pressurised. Unless you go for a very large combi with production rate of at least 15litres per minute, you are going to get inferior results to it. In that scenario, with young kids, I would try to keep the cylinder. You could go for a combi to supply the kitchen requirements perhaps and keep the cylinder to rapidly fill the bath and give good showers. Otherwise, if you have a large tank, then the implication is that the primary circuit is sealed already. Siting the new boiler in the place of the old bolier in the garage puts it just the other side of the garage wall to the kitchen sink. The exiting bathroom is directly below that and the new shower room will be just above and to the back of the house so the pipe runs to the majority of the taps from the boiler will be short. (Our main gripe with the combi boiler in the old house was that it took ages to get any hot water through and then if you were just rinsing the pots you had to leave the tap running at a fair lick in order for the water not to go cold which it would do if you turned the tap off.) The current hot water pipes from the boiler go to the airing cupboard and the DHW pipes come back from there. It seems silly to send the water half way round the house so we are intending drilling through the garage wall into the space where the washing machine currently is in the kitchen and connecting the DHW feed from the new boiler to the end of those pipes. I'm presuming all the DHW taps are on branches off one run from the exisitng hot water tank so capping of the other end at the hot water tank (with a drain plug) will mean we still get hot water to the all the taps. This is reasonable as long as you make sure you insulate the pipes in the garage. For the CH we were going to try and locate the existing loop and break into it as close to the new boiler as possible and close the loop in the airing cupboard where the hw tank is. My questions a Does the above sound feasible? (IE are there any glaringly obvious mistakes I've made or things I've overlooked.?) Yes, although I would check into what you have as a cylinder. If it's pressurised and you have the space, I would keep it. Are there issues with microbore pipes for CH? None apart from those mentioned. Can you mix micro bore and standard piping in one CH system? Yes, although bear in mind the balancing issue. Considering the minimum job for the loft will be addition of 4 radiators, new boiler and the plumbing to (re)move the HW tank from downstairs would replacing our existing 10 radiators on micro bore with new radiators on standard pipe add significantly to the price (+10%?, +50%?, double? triple?)??? I would check the radiators. Don't replace them for the sake of it. If the system has had inhibitor in it, then they should be fine. If pipework is changed, it would add a lot to the cost and is not really necessary. There is no reason to change it to 15mm, even if the radiators have had it. I would just take one off and have a look. and see if there is much sludge. Careful because it stains. Where is a good place to start looking on the net for prices for boilers/rads etc. Discounted Heating. We will then have the possibility of using 2 showers at the same time (one a floor up from the boiler and one a floor down from the boiler if than makes any difference). I'm presuming some sort of HW storage tank (as opposed to a combi) will be required to allow both to be used together. Is this the case (most "Combi yes/no?" threads so far have only concerned one shower being used. Could a combi and mini tank be used or would the best idea be to go for a mains pressure storage tank solution? If you have a high end combi at 22 litres per minute, it would imply 11 litres per shower at shower temperature in the winter. I think that that is marginal. Some form of storage of the hot water, or a heatbank would be a much better choice if you think that you are going to use two showers simultaneously and decently. As the back half of our garage has been converted to a store room there is not a space issue with putting a hot water tank in there with the boiler but I'd prefer it to be compact as possible. You could look at a CPSU. This is a floor standing unit with some water storage inside. Whether that is enough to last for the duration of a shower where women are involved is another thing. If I was to redo the exising pipes and radiators myself what's the best way of getting the pipes laid when their direction is across the joists? (I want to minimise pulling up the floor. My intention would be to use copper pipes from the radiators into the under floor space and plastic pipes to link these as I've been lead to believe that the plastic pipes are easier to work with. If you are using microbore it is soft and you can thread it through holes in the joists. With 15mm, you would have to line up the holes perfectly and joint together short sections - not a good idea. You can thread plastic through joist holes as well. 15mm copper is normally put in by notching the joists. If you can avoid that then it's a Good Thing. Any comments appreciated. Chris. PS Apologies for the long post (as the bishop said to the actress) ..andy To email, substitute .nospam with .gl |
#5
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On Tue, 14 Sep 2004 16:42:09 +0100, ChrisJ wrote:
Background: We live in a 3 bedroom house-on-a-hill. From the front it looks like a bungalow. Once inside you go downstairs to the bedrooms. The (non combi) boiler is in the garage on the front. The hot water tank is downstairs in the airing cupboard (pumping hot water downstairs against convection, hmm who thought of that one!). There is a header tank in the loft. The CH radiators are all on Microbore pipe. In the 6 months we have lived there the CH top up tank has required about 2-4 litres of water to top it up. We had a combi boiler fitted in our last house (non condensing £1000). Running a bath took long enough to undress our toddler and clean his teeth and get him ready for bed, just about acceptable, certainly not quick. Showers were great with a very good flow and pressure, enough to make you want to stay in there longer. Situation: We want to extend into the loft and so need to lose the header tank. We intend to have a bedroom, nursery and shower room in the loft as well as a sizable landing (there's plenty of space due to the layout of the house). I've been told that microbore pipes and combi boilers don't mix. Is this true? No. It might mean that the installer has little experience of fitting anything except combis and/or does not have any microbore fittings in the van. I've also been told that if your system leaks a combi boiler will make it worse because of the pressure. (Remember its needed toping up already!) See my Sealed CH FAQ. below. I would imagine the plumber who fits the new radiators in the loft may want to avoid using microbore and so we would have both standard and microbore radiators. Is this an issue? Yes; but it's only a matter of balancing the flow between the new and old radatiors. I have no idea how much it would cost to replace all the existing CH pipes (floor boards not sheets, at least in some rooms, no concrete floors afaict) and radiators (3 bedrooms, kitchen, dining, lounge, hall, lower floor hall, bathroom and washroom (10 rad in total) and whether this would be a better solution than using the existing microbore. There will be a plumber coming in to add new rad.s to the loft anyway. Existing CH and boiler is original fitted in 1992 when house was built. Things never seem to be simple though. ATM my understanding is our DHW comes from the hot water tank in the airing cupboard downstairs (there's also a pressure vessel in there too, not sure what for though). Since the existing heating is open and the HW cylinder is vented I can't think what it does. What is it connected to?! Siting the new boiler in the place of the old bolier in the garage puts it just the other side of the garage wall to the kitchen sink. The exiting bathroom is directly below that and the new shower room will be just above and to the back of the house so the pipe runs to the majority of the taps from the boiler will be short. (Our main gripe with the combi boiler in the old house was that it took ages to get any hot water through and then if you were just rinsing the pots you had to leave the tap running at a fair lick in order for the water not to go cold which it would do if you turned the tap off.) The current hot water pipes from the boiler go to the airing cupboard and the DHW pipes come back from there. It seems silly to send the water half way round the house so we are intending drilling through the garage wall into the space where the washing machine currently is in the kitchen and connecting the DHW feed from the new boiler to the end of those pipes. I'm presuming all the DHW taps are on branches off one run from the exisitng hot water tank so capping of the other end at the hot water tank (with a drain plug) will mean we still get hot water to the all the taps. For the CH we were going to try and locate the existing loop and break into it as close to the new boiler as possible and close the loop in the airing cupboard where the hw tank is. My questions a Does the above sound feasible? (IE are there any glaringly obvious mistakes I've made or things I've overlooked.?) Are there issues with microbore pipes for CH? Can you mix micro bore and standard piping in one CH system? Considering the minimum job for the loft will be addition of 4 radiators, new boiler and the plumbing to (re)move the HW tank from downstairs would replacing our existing 10 radiators on micro bore with new radiators on standard pipe add significantly to the price (+10%?, +50%?, double? triple?)??? Where is a good place to start looking on the net for prices for boilers/rads etc. We will then have the possibility of using 2 showers at the same time (one a floor up from the boiler and one a floor down from the boiler if than makes any difference). I'm presuming some sort of HW storage tank (as opposed to a combi) will be required to allow both to be used together. Is this the case (most "Combi yes/no?" threads so far have only concerned one shower being used. Could a combi and mini tank be used or would the best idea be to go for a mains pressure storage tank solution? As the back half of our garage has been converted to a store room there is not a space issue with putting a hot water tank in there with the boiler but I'd prefer it to be compact as possible. If I was to redo the exising pipes and radiators myself what's the best way of getting the pipes laid when their direction is across the joists? (I want to minimise pulling up the floor. My intention would be to use copper pipes from the radiators into the under floor space and plastic pipes to link these as I've been lead to believe that the plastic pipes are easier to work with. Any comments appreciated. Chris. PS Apologies for the long post (as the bishop said to the actress) A hybrid system with a combi heating nearby small DHW and the airing cupboard tank, might well serve you best. If there is no HW needed in the loft conversion then simply pressurizing the existing primary (if the existing boiler is good for this) is a simple option. -- Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter. The FAQ for uk.diy is at www.diyfaq.org.uk Gas fitting FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html Sealed CH FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/SealedCH.html |
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