hot water flow restricter a good idea?

[WELLY417]

Hi all

Just had old heating system (indirect tank for hot water) replaced with closed combi.
I general i'm pretty happy with the results but was surprised to discover that the flow of hot water is not restricted. As a result if hot taps are turned on too far the water is cooler than required. On reading the boiler manual (Biasi Garda he 28kw) it seems restrictors are only fitted to the less powerful boilers in the range. it seems that for our boiler a restrictor is not included as standard but can be added if required.
Now i'm wondering about getting the plumber back to do this (assuming it's not a diy job?) but not sure if it's worth bothering because:
a) maybe there are some cons against getting the flow restricted ?presumably if flow is restricted to produce hot enough water in winter then, in summer, when mains water is warmer the boiler could potentially achieve a greater flow at the required temp (but we will not be able to use this potential if restrictor fitted - if i've understood how they work correctly?)
b) we intend to change all our taps within the next year, so maybe it would be possible / easier to limit the flow at the tap some how?

As always any advice will be much appreciated

 

[bengasman]

some models are prone to blocking.

just don't turn taps open as far as you can, only as far as you need

 

[tryitandsee]

Can you not just turn down/adjust the water from the main house stopcock to match the manufactures flow rate for that boiler.

 

[jackthom]

Can you not just turn down/adjust the water from the main house stopcock to match the manufactures flow rate for that boiler.

OK but if there's a cold tap running elsewhere or a loo cistern filling, the DHW flow will then dip dramatically.

 

[blondini]

There should be a valve where the cold water feed enters the boiler. For the purposes of experimentation, turn nearest hot tap full on then adjust the valve until flow is warm enough.

 

[Agile]

If you want to restrict the water supply a little then do it at the blue tap under the boiler.

Run a bath tap and set the blue tap under the boiler so that the water is fairly warm after its stabilised.

Then dont turn the taps on to full if you need the water hotter.

Tony

 

[WELLY417]

Thanks Agile, that makes good sense to me.
didn't want to reduce at stop cock because this would have had disadvantages - slower cold water and slower filling loos
didn't want to do nothing because filling bath is frustrating - the flow slows on a partially open hot tap as i'm sure you know - so you have to keep checking the flow which may have reduced to a trickle (even to the point where boiler switches off)
One thing out of interest that is really puzzling me - why is there no mention of this in the manual? it only suggests fitting a restrictor. From what i have read restrictors have their own problems and obviously this method is much much simpler and less expensive. It also seems more flexible as you can reverse the change at the turn of a switch or tweak according to the time of year to make sure you always have max flow.
Guess my question is, if all boilers have an tap like this why would anybody ever want a restrictor in their boiler that can cause problems and can't be adjusted?

 

[Agile]

The manufacturers assume in their instructions that the installer is a competent experienced person and speaks and reads English well.

He is therefore well able to assess each individual system and adjust it accordingly giving appropriate advice.

The reality in London is that very many boilers are fitted by non corgis, many of whom do not speak very much English and are not able to read and understand the instruction books. Even some of the registed English installers are not very good at their communication skills!

The other aspect is that the blue tap can make a slight noise if it has to be set to restrict the flow a lot.

There are pressure reducing valves a competent installer can fit to assist dealing with these kind of problems.

Tony