IS anyone familiar with Primatic cylinders?

[mysteryman]

I think a C Plan would be dangerous because you would be blocking the cold feed or the expansion, and Primatics were connected usually to boilers without limit thermostats.

Primatics were intended to be on gravity primary, pumped radiator systems. As such, they were a cheapskate job.

Mind you, Tony will be along any minute with a different opinion.

 

[Andygasman2010]

I've got rid of this post as it was duff info

 

[PEDANTICVINDICTIVEMAN]

Dont forget some of these blighters have an auto or manual bleed valve halfway up the side of the tank, the damn things are usually siezed ready to
snap off, if you dont vent it after filling, you wont get any circulation round the flow and return circuit, hence then no hot water via the boiler, immersion will still give you hot water.

 

[heytesto]

I think a C Plan would be dangerous because you would be blocking the cold feed or the expansion, and Primatics were connected usually to boilers without limit thermostats.

Just make sure the 2 port goes after the tee for the feed or vent

Andygasman, not sure where you get your info from, but primatics were for gravity primaries only, the heating circuit may of course be pumped. As for the 2 port going after the tee for the feed or vent. They do not have a feed or vent on the primaries. They are called single-feed or primatic because the heating was self-priming from the secondary side. Single feed because there is no header tank required. But I'm sure you know this.

Never installed one but ripped out loads. Always converted to indirect.

As for speed of filling, usually ok but sometimes painfully slow. Especially if the gravity primaries are falling the wrong way and you need to clear an air lock.
These things turn systems into red rust sludge buckets as the air bubble will always eventually fail causing cross mixing with domestic water.

As Mysteryman says, cost cutting cheapskate krap.

There you go, my 2 bobs worth on primatics. What to slate next... ball-type pump valves?

 

[heytesto]

Dont forget some of these blighters have an auto or manual bleed valve halfway up the side of the tank, the damn things are usually siezed ready to
snap off, if you dont vent it after filling, you wont get any circulation round the flow and return circuit, hence then no hot water via the boiler, immersion will still give you hot water.

News to me

 

[Andygasman2010]

Ah s*****! I'm got myself way off the mark there!

Your right mysteryman, course it can't be a C-plan! I'm thinking of an indirect system.

Primatic's can be pumped though, so long as the pump is on the return. Seen it a few times now but it isn't very common.

 

[heytesto]

And...

 

[Andygasman2010]

And...

Ey??

 

[heytesto]

Andy, you say Primatics can be pumped, I assume you mean the radiator circuit, that's ok. But not on the primaries to the cylinder, on the flow this would block the path of the open vent and on the return it would block the path of the 'cold feed' back to the boiler.

Edited and humble pie eaten

 

[BertieGas]

Great for scrap though, they are really heavy even when empty. Biggest problem after a drain off is the time it takes for the hot water to run clear. It can take days. Dont drain off primatics now, spend ages waiting around.

 

[PEDANTICVINDICTIVEMAN]

Dont forget some of these blighters have an auto or manual bleed valve halfway up the side of the tank, the damn things are usually siezed ready to
snap off, if you dont vent it after filling, you wont get any circulation round the flow and return circuit, hence then no hot water via the boiler, immersion will still give you hot water.

News to me

All our close had them when houses built, including mine, next door still has theirs, their boiler wont heat the water so they use the immersion heater, they wont let me try and sort the vent out on the side as it risks scrapping the cylinder if it snaps off, used to go to a few when air built up and stopped circulation, you had to move the old insulation jacket to find the vent.

 

[Andygasman2010]

Just seen a few on an estate where I live. Standard Y-plan (everything on the return) but with a primatic cylinder! It does strike me as a bit odd but they've all worked fine for years.

Didn't think the internal vent could get shut off as I think it's on the flow inside the cylinder, and the plan is on the return. These were hooked up to Solos with overheat stats, maybe that's what makes the difference.

I'm not old enough to remember them going in in the 70's so I just assume it was acceptable back then.

 

[heytesto]

Just seen a few on an estate where I live. Standard Y-plan (everything on the return) but with a primatic cylinder! It does strike me as a bit odd but they all work fine.

Didn't think the internal vent could get shut off as I think it's on the flow inside the cylinder, and the plan is on the return. These were hooked up to Solos with overheat stats, maybe that's what makes the difference.

I'm not old enough to remember them going in in the 70's so I just assume it was acceptable back then.

Andy, I apologise and stand corrected. Just been on the Range site and it appears they can be pumped. I don't remember seeing one in 30 years, but there again my memory is shot

 

[Andygasman2010]

I can't see why anyone would do it though, only benefit I can see is having one less tank in the loft!

They'll all be getting ripped out soon anyways. I'm sure someone will be fitting the latest in condensing combi technology! I bet i'll be going round more often than I do now

Just been on the range site too, I didn't think you could even get primatics anymore.... Supose evey day's a school day

 

[heytesto]

I can't see why anyone would do it though, only benefit I can see is having one less tank in the loft!

They'll all be getting ripped out soon anyways. I'm sure someone will be fitting the latest in condensing combi technology! I bet i'll be going round more often than I do now

Just been on the range site too, I didn't think you could even get primatics anymore.... Supose evey day's a school day

http://www.rangecylinders.co.uk/product-primatic.html

Always hated them, every one I've drained has been fithy with red rust and sludge from inter-mixing.