Condensing boiler dedicated to single pipe heating system??

[foggys916]

So,

Made a mistake when having my radiator piping installed into our rooms in the roof of our bungalow. We had single pipe fitted.

As a result we now have two pipe downstairs and single upstairs and the heating just does not work to the upstairs rooms. The logistics of having the floors lifted and a two pipe system fitted fills me we horror. I have just got a 3 year year old Alpha CD18R off ebay (less than 50 quid) and we already have one of these for the downstairs.

Question. As we have some loft space in the upstairs bathroom (this is right next to an outside wall), could we have a boiler (CD18R) up there, with no tank, just to feed the four radiators?

Steve

 

[Dean744PiN5]

my professional opinion, you are trying to make a bad situation even worse by finding a cheap quick way out, it's a recipe for disaster in the long run, plus think of the increased maintenance and service costs of having 2 boilers, upgrading the gas supply ect, especially one's as unreliable as the alphas, as well as paying a gas fitter to fit the thing especially a second hand product of fleabay, i wouldn't even entertain the idea of fitting such a product brought of fleabay.

In reality the simplest solution is to re-pipe.

 

[gasmarc]

it fills me with horror that you would even contemplate fitting a boiler that cost £50 , I would try opening the newly installed rad before doing anything else

 

[Razor900]

Are the new rads higher than the header tank?

 

[simon04]

Personally, I would stay clear of second hand boilers - especially where there's no guarantee that it will work at all, let alone be reliable or safe to use.

I would also be surprised if there are many reputable registered gas engineers willing to fit such an appliance - I certainly wouldn't. I also wouldn't want extra boilers in my house without good reason.

Probably not what you wanted to hear - but I wonder if the pipework on the system is the original issue, then maybe it's best in the long run to solve that first?

Btw. You will need some way of filling these rads - either by tank, or a sealed system.

 

[mcmoby69]

think of the increased maintenance and service costs of having 2 boilers

Lmfao , best joke all day.

 

[foggys916]

Are the new rads higher than the header tank?

Personally, I would stay clear of second hand boilers - especially where there's no guarantee that it will work at all, let alone be reliable or safe to use.

I would also be surprised if there are many reputable registered gas engineers willing to fit such an appliance - I certainly wouldn't. I also wouldn't want extra boilers in my house without good reason.

Probably not what you wanted to hear - but I wonder if the pipework on the system is the original issue, then maybe it's best in the long run to solve that first?

Btw. You will need some way of filling these rads - either by tank, or a sealed system.

So this has been around since 2009 so rads long since filled. The rads upstairs get only mildly warm (bled them many times), even the first one. The header is right at the highest point of the roof and above the rads in the upper floor, although these are above the tank and the pump, which are downstairs.

Must admit not had many issues with the Alpha, other than the fact that the guy who installed did not put enough of a "drop" on the drain pipe and I refection he did not gague the right model even though we told him were going to have dormers upstairs (semi-detached bungalow with three upstairs bedrooms and bathroom upstairs and living, dining, 1 and a "half" beds, bathroom, kitchen and hall downstairs). He fitted a CD18R, I think he should have put in a CD24R, we do need a bigger tank though.

I hear what you are saying about the two boilers, but getting the floors up, upstairs, will be a massive and tricky job. I'll live with the extra maintenance costs, if it will work, which I'm not hearing that it won't? The boiler I brought is actually from a retired registered gas fitter. I met him and saw it working before I brought it.

Steve

 

[gasmanstu72]

one pipe systems worked fine with a big old cast iron boiler that just chugged away non stop pouring heat into the system which would eventually heat up,
modern condensing boilers will cut out long before your rads get even luke warm, purely because the water isn't circulating through the rads and is just going around the one pipe loop and coming back almost as hot as when it left.
the solution is to re-pipe it.

 

[Dan Robinson]

Got several steamers happily chugging away on one pipe systems.

As for fitting a second hand Alpha from eBay? - that is a candidate for "******** of the year".

 

[manortim]

As for fitting a second hand Alpha from eBay? - that is a candidate for "******** of the year".

i disagree.....

i would say that lovely alpha has found its perfect 'boiler friend'.

 

[Dean744PiN5]

i would say that lovely alpha has found its perfect 'boiler friend'.

 

[simon04]

How did you come by that picture?

That guy used to pop up round this way a fair bit - haven't spotted him lately though.

 

[Dean744PiN5]

just do a google image search for boiler friend

 

[foggys916]

one pipe systems worked fine with a big old cast iron boiler that just chugged away non stop pouring heat into the system which would eventually heat up,
modern condensing boilers will cut out long before your rads get even luke warm, purely because the water isn't circulating through the rads and is just going around the one pipe loop and coming back almost as hot as when it left.
the solution is to re-pipe it.

Cheers, gasmanstu72, that answers my core question it won't work from a practical perspective, useful to know.

Off to Google to see if there are any clues on how to deal with re-piping in rooms in the roof in a converted bungalow. I wonder if the pump is just pushing the hot water around the singe pipe upstairs so well and it just is not making its way into the rads (upstairs).

Case closed.

Cheers

Steve

 

[Agile]

I don't see any reason why any boiler will not work on any single pipe system.

But that does require proper balancing and bypassing.

The limitation with one pipe systems is the temperature of the returning water is low and the output of the rads close to the return will not be so good.

But some makers like Worcester specifically say their boiler should not be used on a one pipe ( but they can actually ).

Tony