Get yourself a Glowworm Ultrapower (if you have room)
We had one put in last year to replace our ageing oil tank + boiler and I have to say it's the dogs nads.
- hot water tank inside boiler unit - no shunting it around the house to another tank (has freed up a cupboard in our bathroom we can now use for a larger shower)
- hot water at mains pressure (can be a problem with combis)
- tank easily keeps water hot for 10-12+ hrs after it was heated
- fully programmable etc. etc.
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Previously on "Can anyone recommend a good forum for gas boiler and heating controls?"
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Originally posted by TykeMerc View PostThere's a lot of mysticism around central heating systems, but it's really a load simpler than it appears as it's all logical and easy enough to plan out from 1st principles. The kit isn't wildly expensive either unless you buy from the big companies, a good local tradesman can certainly do an install far cheaper than the likes of British Gas. I bought a boiler for less than half of what I was quoted by BG and a few other companies.
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I've always found www.diynot.com/forums quite useful. has a useful number of professionals on there, which is nice.
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Originally posted by Clippy View PostHe, he - couldn't resist.
I also have a combi and if I remember rightly, one of their dis-advantages is you can't run a power shower with one.
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Multi zoning can be done with a few strategically placed motorised valves, the controllers for what you've mentioned would add up though. Another option is 2 smaller specced boilers, but that's getting pretty esoteric.
One of the main reasons you've got a scary bill is that you've got an ancient boiler, the other is that you feel hot water tanks are necessary. Admittedly a tank makes power showers more viable, but you can get very effective electric shower units to overcome that issue. Modern washing machines are cold fill too so it's not at all hard to reduce the hot water load considerably.
I'm am advocate of combi boilers (properly installed in a well designed plumbing system) for a couple of reasons.
1. It's a mile more convenient to be able to turn on a tap and get hot water irrespective of how much has been used.
2. It's a damn sight cheaper to run in the long term and let's face it gas prices and taxes aren't going to fall appreciably if at all. I cut my gas bill by over 20% as a result of binning the hot water tank for a combi and I used a load less gas than you so your savings should exceed mine by a fair margin.
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Originally posted by TykeMerc View PostI can't point you to a suitable forum, but when it comes to the fundamental design of a heating and hot water system it's actually quite simple.
- Modern combi boilers are reasonably priced
- They come in a pretty wide range of wattages and throughputs, researching a suitable size isn't tricky
- Doing without a hot water tank saves a lot of water heating and hot water cooling off if unused, it also returns some space depending on where you site your boiler
- If you site a good combi carefully and put in suitable bore pipes for water, heating and gas then not only is it appreciably cheaper on fuel but hot water comes through quickly
- You can easily get an inexpensive (£100 region) wireless timer/thermostat and room radiator stats or a bit more cash will get you a multi zone controller
A good local gas fitter should be able to spec you a suitable capacity boiler if you can't be fussed with working it out and you'll need one to comission the boiler legally anyway.
There's a lot of mysticism around central heating systems, but it's really a load simpler than it appears as it's all logical and easy enough to plan out from 1st principles. The kit isn't wildly expensive either unless you buy from the big companies, a good local tradesman can certainly do an install far cheaper than the likes of British Gas. I bought a boiler for less than half of what I was quoted by BG and a few other companies.
I know how to get a decent boiler at a decent price - I did so at our previous house.
I need to research more about combi-boilers vs hot water tanks - it used to be the case that combi-boilers were only suitable for small households - we are 5 with a fair number of visitors - showers, baths and dirty dishes are the order of the day - we can manage with the size of tank we have now, but if we upgrade to power showers, well....
Multizoning would be very good for comfort, there are some rooms in the house that are very cold in winter, even though all the radiators are balanced etc. But new piping has to be put down for each zone?
Thermostats - I agree there is nothing difficult about these in fact I would probably get a digital one with time of day settings - the OH always seems to feel colder at certain times of the day. Also an outside thermostat to override in case the temperature drops below normal.
One thing I wanted to find out if it is possible, if using a hot water tank, for the hot water controller to recognise more than one 'on' setting, specifically, fully on for the morning and evening when demand for hot water is at its highest, and 'half on' for other times in the day when people are in the house and just need water for washing up or running the washing machine etc. At night time it woud be off completely. It seems unnecessary to have the boiler fire up to keep the tank full of hot water when half a tank would be sufficient and would also help if say, I have to get up 2 hours early to leave for a flight, at least there would be enough hot water for a shower and shave in case I forget to override the timings the night before.
I am sure it is possible to build something like this, it is logically like having 2 small tanks which I guess in a good controller could be managed independantly, though in this case there would have to be two thermostats on the cylinder I suppose. But if the controller costs £1000s for this then its not worth it.
Also I've noticed most heating engineers I have come across do not like to work with anything 'out of the ordinary', in fact I find the same traits in most tradespeople, many a time I have had to persuade them to try something new.
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Originally posted by MPwannadecentincome View Post
At least you referred me to the new one and not the old one!
Originally posted by TykeMerc View PostI can't point you to a suitable forum, but when it comes to the fundamental design of a heating and hot water system it's actually quite simple.
- Modern combi boilers are reasonably priced
- They come in a pretty wide range of wattages and throughputs, researching a suitable size isn't tricky
- Doing without a hot water tank saves a lot of water heating and hot water cooling off if unused, it also returns some space depending on where you site your boiler
- If you site a good combi carefully and put in suitable bore pipes for water, heating and gas then not only is it appreciably cheaper on fuel but hot water comes through quickly
- You can easily get an inexpensive (£100 region) wireless timer/thermostat and room radiator stats or a bit more cash will get you a multi zone controller
A good local gas fitter should be able to spec you a suitable capacity boiler if you can't be fussed with working it out and you'll need one to comission the boiler legally anyway.
There's a lot of mysticism around central heating systems, but it's really a load simpler than it appears as it's all logical and easy enough to plan out from 1st principles. The kit isn't wildly expensive either unless you buy from the big companies, a good local tradesman can certainly do an install far cheaper than the likes of British Gas. I bought a boiler for less than half of what I was quoted by BG and a few other companies.
Leave a comment:
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I can't point you to a suitable forum, but when it comes to the fundamental design of a heating and hot water system it's actually quite simple.
- Modern combi boilers are reasonably priced
- They come in a pretty wide range of wattages and throughputs, researching a suitable size isn't tricky
- Doing without a hot water tank saves a lot of water heating and hot water cooling off if unused, it also returns some space depending on where you site your boiler
- If you site a good combi carefully and put in suitable bore pipes for water, heating and gas then not only is it appreciably cheaper on fuel but hot water comes through quickly
- You can easily get an inexpensive (£100 region) wireless timer/thermostat and room radiator stats or a bit more cash will get you a multi zone controller
A good local gas fitter should be able to spec you a suitable capacity boiler if you can't be fussed with working it out and you'll need one to comission the boiler legally anyway.
There's a lot of mysticism around central heating systems, but it's really a load simpler than it appears as it's all logical and easy enough to plan out from 1st principles. The kit isn't wildly expensive either unless you buy from the big companies, a good local tradesman can certainly do an install far cheaper than the likes of British Gas. I bought a boiler for less than half of what I was quoted by BG and a few other companies.
Leave a comment:
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Originally posted by MPwannadecentincome View PostThe gas boiler is donkeys years old, the hot water tank doesn't have a cylinder thermostat and controller is old and creaky - and the gas bill for the last year has been around 2 grand for a 4 bed detached bungalow (extended into attic upstairs).
So I want to plan for a new boiler and affordable controls. I've heard about intelligent heating controls but they seem very expensive, but I want to research what options are available, trouble is there are thousands of pages on google search - does anyone know a good forum where such topics are discussed?
TIA
If the members on there can't help, no one can!
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Can anyone recommend a good forum for gas boiler and heating controls?
The gas boiler is donkeys years old, the hot water tank doesn't have a cylinder thermostat and controller is old and creaky - and the gas bill for the last year has been around 2 grand for a 4 bed detached bungalow (extended into attic upstairs).
So I want to plan for a new boiler and affordable controls. I've heard about intelligent heating controls but they seem very expensive, but I want to research what options are available, trouble is there are thousands of pages on google search - does anyone know a good forum where such topics are discussed?
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