Megaflow Cylinder

[harbansnagpal]

I have a Turbomax Vaillant Combi Boiler which supplies hot water for central heating and showers. For shower purposes, it is extremely poor. Combi is 5 years old and for economic reasons, I would rather not change it until later. It has been suggested to me I should have a megaflow cylinder to cater for bath rooms and continue using Combi for central heating. I have space to place the cylinder in the basement (height limitation 800 mm) or first floor cupboard (no height limitation but limitation to throw excess water) or loft with usual limitations. I am 70 years old and cannot resort to DIY. Can you please suggest a solution and direct me to the right people.
Hari

 

[kevplumb]

before you do anything you need to check of have checked the incoming pressure and flowrate a megaflo is not a automatic fix (bit like a combi)

 

[charliechaplinspants]

Bit expensive if you go down that route just for a shower! You can get a decent electric shower and it won`t cost you a fortune.

 

[doitall]

I would have thought a good electric shower was the way to go as well, but, as Kev above, it still depends on the mains pressure/flow

 

[Llan1observer]

OP said "bath rooms's " in post

something quite new you could look at would be the alpha flowsmart system.
I only offer this as another alternative for you to look at and cannot offer any good or bad criticism about the product as I have only read about it

but again like others have pointed out you would need to have the flow and pressure checked out before doing anything.

 

[harbansnagpal]

Electric Shower will not solve the problem as when I am using hot water from the sink tap and my wife opens another tap (say) kitchen sink tap, hot water supply becomes negligible although cold water supply is plentiful.
Hari

 

[mickyg]

Electric Shower will not solve the problem as when I am using hot water from the sink tap and my wife opens another tap (say) kitchen sink tap, hot water supply becomes negligible although cold water supply is plentiful.
Hari

Sorry,changed post, just realised you said the cold is plentiful. then an electric shower will solve the problem

 

[DP]

Megaflow cylinder can be lined to your combi. Have done this often. It is a good idea. One great advantage of this setup is the ability to heat water electrically when boiler malfunctions.

Suggest you keep combi HW for the kitchen/ utility and let the Megaflow supply hot water to bathrooms. You can have multiple cylinders (I am not suggesting you have say 6 small cylinders for example) if one suitable size cannot be fitted in the space.

If you need further information, my details are in my profile.

charliechaplinspants, do you have G3 registration? In an earlier post you were seeking information on combis and flowrate, now your giving advice. You seem to be a quick learner. I hope reader taking your advice does not injure himself or be out of pocket as a result of what you think is a noble cause.

 

[Agile]

If you wanted to fit an unvented in a small vertical space by chance someone I know has a used unvented horizontal cylinder which is now redundant as I have fitted a solar cylinder for him.

Tony

 

[charliechaplinspants]

charliechaplinspants, do you have G3 registration? In an earlier post you were seeking information on combis and flowrate, now your giving advice. You seem to be a quick learner. I hope reader taking your advice does not injure himself or be out of pocket as a result of what you think is a noble cause.

Sorry took so long, been busy. Don`t have G3 registration. Don`t need it to recommend installing electric shower do I ? Can`t see how anybody could injure themselves given my advice? can`t see your point DP.

 

[Agile]

Presumably you dont have any Professional Indemnity insurance either!

Tony

 

[DP]

OP is looking for unvented cylinder. To recommenced an electric shower is like saying one candle will illuminate a large room. Even the smallest combi will knock the pants off the biggest electric shower. An unvented cylinder and electric shower is no comparison

You are right, you do not need G3 registration if you are to fit electric shower. My mistake.

 

[harbansnagpal]

Have just realised, mains pressure/flow is extremely poor. It took 2 minutes to fill a bucket of 10 litres which means 5 litres per minute. Spoken to Thames Water and they assure no more than 9 litres per minute and are suggesting to employ a plumber to check the reasons for low pressure/flow. Your advice please.

 

[Chri5]

For multiple locations electric showers are bad news. A decent one will cost £300 + fit and then need a 45 amp / 10 or 16mm cable run back to the fuse board.

2 units running 40 amp demands simultaneously could pop the head fuse, which is normally only a modest 60 or so amp.

The combi + tank is perfect, but does require decent mains pressure- possibly an upgrade to 22mm pipe from the street in would resolve the pressure issue.

You might have a reduced bore due to chalk build up since all London suffers from limescale build up- if you taps and kettle suffer then the mains pipe will unless it's plastic.

My understanding is that simple use of a 3 way valve on the combi h/w out will allow the topping up of the megaflow tank. That can be set with timers and also as a constant temp controlled demand via a thermostat.

The beauty of the set up is that the simple demands of water for the kitchen sink, washer and d/s cloak are direct via the combi and only the baths, bath sinks and showers would run via the megaflow tank.

With a combi it seems to be the only solution getting decent flow to the showers.

Not cheap and at the total cost (??? £1500) is well within the cost of getting a brand new combi and far better output (some go to 19 ltrs a minute now).

Either Way the mains pressure needs sorting 1st.


PS I'm just a spark, who has simple knowledge such setups- I've not done it, just heard that's the way to go

The megaflow unit will also have an element for direct water heating should the boiler fail

 

[simond]

An accumulator may solve your problem, subject to measurements of flow and pressure.

Not cheap though.