Gas guru wrote
Pandora - its just a thermal store similar to all the others with the same potential problems.
Not at all.
Come now, circulating pumps don’t give very much trouble.
Extra flowswitch to fail .
No different from combi boiler installations where you have millions of em fitted.
[code:1]Mixing valve to scale up and fail [/code:1]
In hard water areas yes. Same problem with any system.
Plate exchanger to block .
Again, the same scenario with your combi boiler. Precautions need to be taken.
Still requires expansion vessel maintenance
The Pandora ? Yes. Which I think is unique only to the pandoro. there are many other makes of thermal store hot water delivery systems which don’t need an expansion vessel.
How many fail yearly on UV systems ?.
Must keep the inhibtitor dose up
Not the Pandoro. The store remains static.
Standing losses almost certainly much higher .
Not at all. The insulation is usually beefed up.
What's the point - unvented is easier and simpler.
I don’t agree. I have fitted UV cylinders. ACV,s which incidentally are much more efficient then megaflows as has been pointed out by someone else and D2 can be a real pain in the arse.
Plenty of spiel justifying thermal stores.
Plenty justifying UV also.
The pre-package units are cheap and nasty. Pushfit plumbing and ball valves on the pumps.
Which pre-packaged units are you referring to.?
The original poster already has a thermal store and has finally had enough - the last thing he wants is another one.
You don’t know anything about the OP,s system or how it was maintained. Perhaps he lives in a very hard water area which has led to the failure.
Why complicate the hot water system for no good reason.
Then install neither thermal store nor UV but gravity tanks and cylinders.
Far from being blinkered I have seen plenty of thermal stores.
An UV cylinder in the true sense is also a thermal store. Its just how the water is delivered to the taps and how the energy is delivered to the stored water which differs slightly.
Please explain the logic in adding many more parts (that will fail at some stage) just to get a little more pressure.
Then why install combi boilers which have infinetly more parts to go wrong.
Indeed in many areas of the country the pressure advantage will not be realised (here in London is it often down to 1 Bar).
Then combi it is. Mid range or lower perhaps. What are you talking ? About 12/Lmin.
When I see a company using pushfit joints and rubbish ball valves on their pre-packaged units I question whether they are really that interested in quality since any half decent plumber knows they will leak.
Which thermal store company are doing this. ??
What type of rubbish valves ??
Customers often don't see the value in servicing and many such services are nothing but. However unvented cylinders even if not maintained will usually just need the expansion vessel re-charging and the expansion valve cleaning ie no parts cost and minimal labour. Failure to keep the inhibitor concentration correct on a thermal store is often terminal.
Lack of servicing on any system usually means lack of performance or terminal failure.
Keeping an inhibitor level on any system is important. Radiator systems through the country are full of sludge and running inefficiently due to lack of inhibitor.
Plumbers treat radiator systems as fit and forget , with the client adopting the same approach.
With integrated stores inhibitor levels are important and it is up to the installer to understand this and explain to the end user the implications if not properly inhibited.
