New hot water cylinder?

[Matthew]

Hi All,

All the advice you offered on shower pumps etc was very useful. The job went well and we now have a fantastic shower.

Some advice here would also be greatly appreciated!

Our final plumbing job is now imminent. We would like to fit a larger hot water cylinder into our airing cupboard. With our new bigger bath we tend to run out of hot water. The existing cylinder is an old British Gas 117 litre effort. We would like to go up to maybe 140. I have a few questions;

1) We would like a fast recovery type, any recommendations? 2) If poss my wife doesnt want it to be any taller than the existing cylinder as she likes the shelving space in the airing cupboard. Are wider cylinders available? 3) I used copper tube and speedfit connections for our shower pump. Can I use the same style for plumbing in a new cylinder? 4) What type of connections do cylinders usually have (compression etc)? 4) From experience, how big a job is it, more than a day? 5) Any other advice?

Thanks for any info, Matthew

[David Hansen]

On 30 Oct 2006 06:05:04 -0800 someone who may be "Matthew" wrote this:-

They are much of a muchness.

Yes. Avoid the usual suspects and get in touch with the manufacturer direct. Albion and McDonald Engineers are two well known names. However, bespoke cylinders may well be more expensive.

Three things to consider:

1) triple insulation

2) a solar coil if you have any thoughts on solar water heating

3) a thermal store may be a better bet than a "traditional" cylinder.

If you want to risk it.

Personally I think that "speedfit" connectors are the Spawn of Stan and prefer soldered or compression fittings, but this is only a personal prejudice. This is based on a few incidents, such as once sitting down to Christmas dinner in a house in the family. Before the first course was served I was "entertained" to the sound of running water. This was shortly followed by a request that I ascend into the loft in the manner of a submariner opening the conning tower (aka "sail") hatch and ascending while water is descending. That particular "speedfit" fitting, under mains pressure, had come apart in a spectacular fashion. The replacement compression fitting has remained in position without failing for about five years. I have yet to experience a compression (or soldered) fitting failing in this way. I was aware as I climbed into the loft that water and standard electric wiring are not an ideal combination.

If you are lucky compression fittings. Otherwise it is dreadful screwed fittings, typically 1".

[Michael Chare]

H/W tanks come in standard sizes. See

- if the site works!

I have just fitted a new range Supercal cylinder with double (50mm) insulation.

The Supercal has CRT (Corrosion Resistance Technology) and by luck was on special offer from 'Grahams' plumbers merchants. I live in a hard water area and my previous tank lasted 21 years before it fell to pieces in my hands.

I fitted a Backer Titanium Immersion heater which I got direct from them for £25.81 including postage - cheaper than the Wicks price for a normal ?alloy anti corrosion unit.

don't much like changing H/W tanks or immersion heaters, so the theory is that the new set up will last longer than me.

The new tank came with compression fittings. I thought that I would do the job in a day, but it took longer mainly because whilst in theory the connections were going to be in the same place, in practice they all needed changing.

You need to be very careful when tightening the connections or working on any pipe attached to the tank as the copper sidewalls are very weak. (Not like a steel boiler) I think that I may have started another leak on my old tank when I used a hack saw to cut through a 28mm pipe attached to it.

[Michael Chare]

PS as H/W tanks are easily damaged I recommend thoroughly checking a new tank and its connections before taking out and maybe damaging the old one.

When I came to fit the flow pipe (the last for the four connections I had to complete) I found that a 22mm pipe would not fit into the compression socket. To get the pipe to fit I had to squeeze it slightly at the end and then file it down!

Taking the tank back would have left me without H/W or central heating for maybe a couple of weeks as the particular tank I had was not a stock item.

[meow2222]

Have you considered adding a 2nd (maybe smaller) tank instead, on the inlet side to the present tank? Running this tank at lower temp would stretch the hw supply out somewhat longer, but enable the efficient use of solar heat at any time in future. If heating it with the gas boiler, just run the hot circuit thru the main tank first then the 2nd tank. The other plus is lower tank cost, and no extra space taken up, providing you can put the new tank in the loft..

Also theres another way to make showers last longer, a drain heat exchanger. They need less hot water then.

NT

[HLAH]

Don't know if these

have what you want but they were the cheapest place we could find for an Albion Eco Superduty fast recovery cylinder with solar coil by a long mile. There was some problems with their online payment system but all was sorted quickly, highly recommended. The cylinder in the end came direct from Albion but strangely was delivered by Plumb Centre.

H