Combi or megaflow?

Hello all...

Fancy a HW system question?

My current house has a combi instant-heat HW system, and my previous house had a megaflow - as you folks will know, both give lovely near mains-pressure HW (as well as giving mains pressure cold water to all taps, and no dead pigeon-infested cold water tank in the loft).

Now, I've got used to this, and I like it, but oh dear - the new house I am about to move in to has an old-style gravity system, complete with pigeon-water tank in loft and very feeble showers. And I don't want a HW pump - had one of those before, didn't like it!

It's a reasonably-sized 4 bed house (but currently only 2 of us are living in it). What should I get - combi instant or megaflow pressurised HW cylinder? What are the pros and cons of each?

Thanks if you can help.... Richard

Reply to
richardclay09
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I live in just that kind of house, complete with nasty gravity fed system and I too dream of a happyer installation so would be interested in any reccomendations too, I am also particularly concerned about ease of conversion as obviously some pipe rework is to be expected.

What I really fail to understand is that my house is only 9 years old, so why the pedestrian water system? I've lived in houses from the seventies back in Denmark and never encountered such things.

//J

Reply to
Jan Larsen

There's nothing intrinsically wrong with a gravity fed system if it's done properly and you have enough head, which is easy enough in most houses. Of course the pipework has to be done with more care too as any restrictions effect the performance. But the beauty is once correctly installed, there's nothing really to go wrong or needing expensive maintenance, or to be influenced by outside factors. The 'pigeon in the tank' bit is crap - the storage tank should be covered, and most wouldn't want access for pigeons to a roof void anyway...

There will be disadvantages with the system used in Denmark (whatever that is) if transferred to the UK. There always is. ;-)

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

On 26 Aug 2006 07:23:55 -0700 someone who may be snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.co.uk wrote this:-

There are no dead pigeons in any of the cold water tanks that I keep an eye on. Never have been, never will be.

This is a DIY group, so why not try a bit of DIY? You should also add a thermal store/heatbank to your search as this is another way to provide mains pressure hot water.

Reply to
David Hansen

On Sun, 27 Aug 2006 04:06:40 +0100 someone who may be Jan Larsen wrote this:-

What is nasty about it?

Reply to
David Hansen

Yes I agree, to a point, it is a nice and easy system requiring little maintenance and yes naturally my tank is covered, it is also insultaed and such things, however the pressure provided by it is, in lack of a better description, not exilerating.

I'm sure there is I just don't understand why it is possible for a ~20 year old system (at the time) built in the seventies to give so much better performance than a ~10 system built 26 years later, given that both systems had been running fairly effortlessly for their lifespan at the time of sampling unless the latter is either poorly designed or poorly implemented.

//J

Reply to
Jan Larsen

Lack of pressure, the fact that I have a large body of water taking up space in the attic.

//J

Reply to
Jan Larsen

On Sun, 27 Aug 2006 19:56:35 +0100 someone who may be Jan Larsen wrote this:-

Does that particularly matter for filling toilets, basins and baths?

With showers what matters is a combination of pressure and volume. Some people like to feel that they will shortly be flushed down the plug hole, but others do not. Provided at least the minimum head is available and the pipe runs are properly designed and installed a gravity shower is acceptable to most people.

In most houses it doesn't take up very much space in the loft. Those who resent the space it takes up would probably do well to get rid of some of their clutter.

Reply to
David Hansen

No I would say it mostly matters for the shower(s)

Perhaps what is causing my discomfort is the flow rate, I do not know. I do however think I understand the difference (in relation to electricity) what I detest about the shower is not so much that it does not, as you put it flush me down the plug hole, it comes at what I would class as the lower levels of acceptable pressure, i.e it could quite comfortable do with a bit more. However the really problematic bit is that whenever someone runs a hot tap or even worse uses the other shower, the temperature changes significantly, which can lead to quite the rude awakening!

Again I tend to agree, however the amount of clutter necessary to my very existence is not entirely determine by myself. :)

//J

Reply to
Jan Larsen

On Mon, 28 Aug 2006 14:57:08 +0100 someone who may be Jan Larsen wrote this:-

That has absolutely nothing to do with it being gravity fed. Rather it has to do with poor design of the system. Mains pressure showers behave the same way if poorly designed.

Reply to
David Hansen

This is down to bad design. The shower should have its own feeds so it doesn't vary with other water use. But exactly the same can happen with a mains pressure fed one - indeed it's likely with a combi boiler too.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Plumbers in the UK still think Victoria is on the throne.

Reply to
Doctor Drivel

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