We are huge advocates of an upgrade to Unvented Hot Water here at Parkstone Yorkshire. The water flow rates are amazing; each tap providing quick, efficient hot water, plus showers with powerful jets. In fact, it’s difficult to leave a shower supplied with unvented hot water! This project removed the old conventional cylinder from an airing cupboard and repositioned the new unvented cylinder in the loft space.
Why go to all the trouble of an upgrade to unvented hot water?
As many users know and can testify, there are so many benefits of unvented hot water. However, there comes a cost to an upgrade to unvented hot water. Here, we take a look at some key issues and how we overcame them in this project.
The first issue is size. The unvented cylinders and all the components and pipework take up more space than a standard cylinder. As this job is a relocation to the loft, our main worry was will it fit through the loft hatch? Fortunately, in this case we could fit though, saving us a lot of work!
The second issue is the weight. When fully loaded, the unvented cylinders are very heavy, so supports are necessary in normal loft spaces. We added joists using joist hangers with 18mm plywood for the base to take the weight. Next up, pipework. As mentioned above, we need to change the existing system design so the new cylinder has its own motorised valve. The pipework now configures as an ’S’ plan, instead of a ‘Y’ plan. All the remain components are installed and pipework fitted. The new unvented cylinder is in and ready to use. Looking forward to the next phase of this job where we will be installing a brand new bathroom!
A major benefit over the older type cylinder is how cold water feeds into the cylinder. A large cold tank fed the older cylinder from the loft space, so we disconnected and safely removed it. Mains water directly supplies the new unvented cylinder.
Second, and vitally important is strengthening the joists and creating a platform for the cylinder to sit. The unvented cylinder when full is very heavy, so we must install suitable supports. We take pride in our installation work, and ensure piperuns are clean, clipped and lagged.
All pipework is lagged and G3 certified.
If you would like a quote to upgrade to unvented hot water then please get in touch.