DHW Cylinder Recommendations

[John Rumm]

So you are not aware of any legal requirement then....

[Doctor Drivel]

You are from Essex.

[John Rumm]

I will take that as a no then.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Dribble probably thinks an annual boiler 'service' essential too. So promotes service contracts. It's amazing how naive some are.

[John Rumm]

I have no objection to the concept of preventative maintenance, especially if pressurised systems are at play, but folks do seem to like to bang on about legal requirements which seem to be figments of their imagination.

It strikes me, that if one has an unvented cylinder, then the occasional test of the pressure release valve, and checking the dump pipe and tundish etc are free of obstruction would be sensible. With an indirectly heated cylinder, you are going to have to be monumentally unlucky to arrive at a set of circumstances where it is in steam production mode!

In reality I expect most people who have them rarely if ever have them inspected - they probably came with the house they bought and are just "there". It does not seem to be a problem in real life either, since one is not routinely reading about steam explosions. In fact gas ones seem far more common - and those are exceedingly rare.

[Tim]

Particularly handy though if you want to push your customers down the combi route!

Tim

[dennis]

There is nothing wrong with having a service contract if its the right price.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Presumably the prime reason is to get service when needed? That's what seems to be the problem these days - having to wait a long time before the engineer calls, then wait again for the spares.

Certainly in my case I'd have lost out heavily with a service contract on my old system even if I had to pay a plumber to fix the (few) faults which I DIY fixed. My brother, who doesn't do this sort of DIY, has cancelled his contract due to the high costs and inefficient service.

But both of us have storage systems with a backup immersion heater and some form of backup house heating too.

His service company some years ago said they would no longer maintain his old boiler - even although spares were still available. And did him a 'deal' on a Potterton condenser which was so unreliable he had to replace it only 5 years later. After they'd again said they would no longer maintain it. So he cancelled.

[Doctor Drivel]

You must f***k off as you a plantpot.

[Doctor Drivel]

This is from the side of the insurance company... The majority of policies that cover for hot water systems advise that it must be maintained/serviced every 12 months, maintained/serviced according to the manufacturers instructions or maintained/serviced regularly. They will also quote BS.

The majority of insurance companys will not pay out if the system has not been serviced in 2 years or more dependant on the policy wording.

For all gas water/heating systems unless the policy states 'properly maintained / maintained regularly' then the insurance will not pay out if the system has not been serviced in the last 12 months.

You will find that the T&C's are adhered to more under the 'Home Emergency' add on policies and the claim will be declined if the service has not been carried out within a maximun of the last two years.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Yet another reason to avoid these money making scams.

[John Rumm]

Unless you explicitly buy a policy "to protect your hot water system" (and who does?) it seems to be a non issue. Standard household policies have no exclusions like this.

Most failures of plumbing in the house that people are likely to claim for don't involve steam explosions either.

If so, these schemes seem to be on par with boiler maintenance contracts

- not worth the expense. Your household insurance will cover for all your typical plumbing disasters without limitations.

[Doctor Drivel]

Please eff off as you are a plantpot.

[Doctor Drivel]

Look hard.

If an unvented leaks and the ceiling drops they will say where is "the service record?"

Will it? If the side wall is taken down because an unvented cylinder exploded and no annual service and BS states there should be ion and so does the makers...then.....No pay out.

[John Rumm]

I looked at my one. No exclusions for heating systems etc.

Seems doubtful. Regular maintenance will not have prevented a leak in most cases, since the maintenance only addresses the safety interlocks and not the integrity of the cylinder itself.

Again this is a rather moot point, since a leak is far more likely to occur in a old vented cylinder than an unvented simply due to the significantly weaker construction.

Chances of that happening are near enough to nil for me not to care.

[Fredxx]

Where is the legislation which says this?

Isn't something like the Ideal Istor really an unvented cylinder in disguise?

[Mike]

I'm reasonably sure Worcester Bosch don't (didn't?) recommend that arrangement. I've certainly seen evidence of some occasional discharge via the expansion pipe into the header tank, the circumstances are few and far between though.

[Doctor Drivel]

They will.

[Doctor Drivel]

Read thread.

No it is a combi with an integrated unvented cylinder perfectly matched for rapid re-heats.

[Doctor Drivel]

If the boiler has a high limit stat as well as a run stat then you can use a one pipe feed and expansion tank. These are better. You can also fit a high limit stat on the flow pipe of the boiler.