Boiler to shower - how far is too far?

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Hi Chaps,

Going to betting a new combi boiler installed on external wall of my garage.

Pipes will then run up, across ceiling of garage, down other wall and through wall into floorspace of my bungalow.

The bathroom is at the opposite end of the property so then hot water will have to travel about 20 metres to the shower etc.

Is this too far?

Currently we have a system boiler and vented hot water tank, but its really old and I want to bin it off.

Worth noting is that the central heating does have two pumps at the moment?!
 
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there's no maximum limit, the further away, the longer you'll be waiting for your hot water,
remeber most combis have a pre heat function now that'll get hot water to your taps a bit quicker,
also it'll depend on your water pressure, flow rate, and existing plumbing, and the boilers ability to deliver the l/min you want
 
Put the boiler nearer the bathroom.

Where is the kitchen.

The amount of water wasted will be annoying and expensive if your on a meter.
 
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I would never recommend a combi for a family dwelling. Only for a small flat with a max of two people.

A new system boiler is cheaper to buy, cheaper to fit etc.

You get near instant ready heated water from the cylinder.

You can continue to use the same cylinder in most cases and replace it at any time in the future ( best with an unvented if your mains adequate ).

Then you have an electric immersion heater as backup should the combi fail.

Tony
 
The amount of water wasted will be annoying and expensive if your on a meter.

Sorry to intrude, but we have a similar problem with hot water to our kitchen 'wash basin' (we're all at it now, aren't we?!), which is about 40' from the boiler (in the garage).

We're not on a water meter yet, but I've just been informed by my energy supplier (Sainsbury's) that they will be compulsory by 2018. When that time comes, he recommended that I get a CombiSave to reduce wasted mains water.

Are they as good as he says?
 
Put the boiler nearer the bathroom.

Where is the kitchen.

The amount of water wasted will be annoying and expensive if your on a meter.

Kitchen is in between the two (garage and bathroom), would ideally not have it there though as would mean a load of new gas pipework and hacking my new kitchen to bits!

Could always fit a secondary return ;).

cheers dan - can you elaborate. not heard of one of these before

I would never recommend a combi for a family dwelling. Only for a small flat with a max of two people.

A new system boiler is cheaper to buy, cheaper to fit etc.

You get near instant ready heated water from the cylinder.

You can continue to use the same cylinder in most cases and replace it at any time in the future ( best with an unvented if your mains adequate ).

Then you have an electric immersion heater as backup should the combi fail.

Tony

We're not a family and have no plans to start one, also I wanted the storage space that the cylinder is in. Would the set up you suggest be ok for a shower, I don' want an electric one.

put it in the loft?

did think about this but aren't the regs a bitch?

he recommended that I get a CombiSave to reduce wasted mains water.

Are they as good as he says?

whats a combisave?
 
> whats a combisave?

Google will tell you.

Anyone here have one?
 
im not sure if a secondary return works with a combi?
what it is, is instead of the usual one pipe you have from your hot water tank to your taps, you extend this pipe and have a loop back to the tank which is pumped by a brass (gold) pump giving you a constant loop of hot water that is circulating all the time. it was designed for commercial properties like hospitals etc.


copied from the website
By controlling the flow of water during the initial firing process, the CombiSave accelerates the heating of water and reduces the amount of fuel needed in the process. The CombiSave can even be fitted to older models, so it’s a great way of making your home more energy efficient without buying a brand new combi-boiler.
When the hot tap is turned on, the CombiSave reduces the flow of water until it has reached a set temperature. At this point, the valve opens fully and allows the hot water to flow throughout the system. The CombiSave will save an average of 8 litres of water every time the tap is turned on from cold.
they're pretty good, dont cost a lot and are a doddle to fit

to put your boiler in the loft, you'll need it to be boarded out up to the boiler as you cant be hopping over joists to work on it, and a light rigged up, the flue will cost more if vertical, but you could put it on the gable end maybe with a standard flue, the pipes will need insulating to protect from frost, but you'll need that anyway if its going in a garage, and frost protection stats.
it can be a pain getting to it, to top the pressure up if needed, and to adjust the stats, but you can have a wireless timer / stat anywhere in the house
 
> im not sure if a secondary return works with a combi?

You can find various posts where people claim to have done it.
You install a (thin) return pipe back to the boiler, with a pipe
thermostat, pump and non-return value, feeding in to the
cold water input to the boiler. When the pipe thermostat says
the water is cold, the pump turns on and the boiler thinks a
tap has been opened. You would want a timer so it would
only come on for part of the day - or you could have motion
sensors etc.

Has anyone here actually done this?
 
> [combisaves are] pretty good, dont cost a lot and are a doddle to fit

It seems to me that they avoid wasting water during the seconds
between opening the tap and the boiler reaching temperature -
but on the other hand, they don't avoid waste as the hot water
flows along and heats up the pipe, and they don't actually make
the water arrive any sooner. And you can achieve the same thing
by only opening the tap a small amount at first.
 
So having read the above post an done a bit of research the combiave seems bit pony and I won't bother with that, also this return loop seems like more hassle than its worth.

Maybe combi in the loft is the answer!

Do plumbers these days do a service where they'd just connect your boiler up?

Ideally Id run nearly all the pipework, install all rads and mount boiler myself so then someone could come in to do the gas stuff and sign it off.
 
The boiler would have to stay in its (sealed) box.

Whether any installer would put their name to a boiler installed on your system is up to them - but at least this part you are legally allowed to do.

Best to discuss the matter with quoting rgi s before doing any work, just to be safe.
 
The boiler would have to stay in its (sealed) box.

Whether any installer would put their name to a boiler installed on your system is up to them - but at least this part you are legally allowed to do.

Best to discuss the matter with quoting rgi s before doing any work, just to be safe.

Great, thanks mate.

One more question, my incoming mains is only a poxy 15mm and the main stopcock is dripping a bit (very small amount) from the handle so needs to be replaced.

I was thinking about using a WRAS approved full bore lever valve to not restrict the flow as much as a stopcock would.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/full-bore-lever-ball-valve-15mm/80413

Is this allowed?
 

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