Hot Water not so Hot!

[dave12]

Hi,

I have a combi Boiler Potterton Performa 28i. I have had it for about 5-6 years now.

When running the Hot Water, the Hot water never seems to be that Hot. I would say it was only quite warm. Put it this way, it never gets that hot you can't put your hand under it whilst its running. Although it seems the slower you run the tap the hotter the water gets.

I am convinced my problem is due to the lack of lagging on the pipes. Heres why. The Boiler says it is heating the water to 60degC (according to the LEDs). The Hot water pipe coming from the Boiler is red hot, and you can barely touch it. I am also happy that I am not losing heat via a faulty Diverter Valve as I have checked this.

The Pipe work comes out of the boiler on a 15mm pipe for about 1m then goes to a 22mm pipe. This then runs up the side of the house (inside) to the loft, then along the eves an back down to the Bathroom (Upstairs). I would say the Pipe run is about 8-9m without the individual tap offs (for Shower, sink etc).

Do you think it is possible that I am losing all this heat through the pipe? Or am I maybe missing something? Thanks for any advice in adance!

 

[Garfeild]

You certainly could be losing heat this way,also you have an awful long run of 22mm pipe to empty before the freshly heated water reaches the point of use.Lagging will certainly not hurt.
The slower you run the tap means the boiler has longer to heat the water,so will be hotter,im not sure what litres per minute the boiler is capable of,as im not familiar with that boiler, probably somewhere around 10/11lts/min (ish),it should be in the MIs though.you could measure it with a graded bucket and a stopwatch,then adjust via the inlet tap to ensure correct flow.