How efficient are direct unvented cylinders

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For most people gas is about a 1/4 of the price of electricity! ( 4p and 12p per unit ).

You have not said what you have now and what you expect to achieve. However, from a running cost point of view I dont see how a direct unvented cylinder will benefit you.

Tony
 
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For most people gas is about a 1/4 of the price of electricity! ( 4p and 12p per unit ).

You have not said what you have now and what you expect to achieve. However, from a running cost point of view I dont see how a direct unvented cylinder will benefit you.

Tony

Well, it's a real mess that I'm trying to sort out. We purchased a house this August just passed, and when I viewed it, it looked as though is had a brand new (What I thought) combi boiler in the coal house and a redundant one in the kitchen. When we get the keys, to my surprise, we have a system boiler in the coal house that has been illegally installed by a DIYer and a gas water heater in the kitchen. At some point in the house's history some smart muppet decided it would be a good idea to rip the cylinder out and put in a water heater, but leave the header tanks in the loft. So to cut this extremely long story short, I toyed with the idea of getting a combi fitted, but can't stretch to the £2150 quoted to fit a new one. Then this cylinder gets posted up on ebay and it just so happens to be in the town I live in. So not relising it was a direct cylinder bought it for £100 which is a good price because new they are £410 new. Now stuck with it and am deliberating whether to:

A re-list the cylinder and try and get my money back.
B get it installed as is and have the water heated by electric
C get it converted with this hot rod and have the system boiler heat the water after having the boiler reinstalled and commissioned properly with correct flu

Answers on a postcard please.
 
Answer A.

Then get the system tidied up. As long as the water heater has a reasonable spec and is safely installed there is no reason to change the system. Spend your money that way then save up to do it properly in a few years.
 
In the long run, heating your water using standard rate electricty is bound to be a false economy. Long recovery times too. Can you get your system boiler rectified easily?
You could re-sell your direct cyl. or peel off the insulation and weigh in for scrap?
EDIT: just remembered: unvented cyl - as post above ^^^^^ :oops:
 
In the long run, heating your water using standard rate electricty is bound to be a false economy. Long recovery times too. Can you get your system boiler rectified easily?
You could re-sell your indirect cyl. or peel off the insulation and weigh in for scrap?
To rectify the boiler will mean turning the flu re piping it so it exits the house at another position then fitting a plume management kit. (This will all be done by my plumber who is a corgi registered fitter) I reckon it will cost around £400 to do this as the plume management kit alone is £250 for my boiler. He also has to fit a special drain so that the condensation that exits the pipe drains in to an alkaline device before draining into the spoil underneath my driveway. This has to be fitted because there is no drains in the vicinity at all. I was hoping to get a cylinder to tie it all up and have the system sorted.
 
If it was me I'd say £400 well spent compared to the cost of mains pressure hot water heated electrically for a couple of years.
 

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