Opinion on Excelsior direct cylinder water heater?

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I currently have a gravity fed system. There is n't much water pressure for hot shower.

I came across Excelsior Cylinder for water heating. They recommended Direct Cylinder.

Their brochure claims 'external expansion is not required = cheaper installation'

I have the following questions :-

1. Is this product any good?

2. They said, I would need a Direct Cylinder has two water heating elements. My current gravity fed, has one element. So why do I need two elements?

3. I am more concerned about electrical requirements. I don't have any spare slots on my consumer unit. I already have a B16 dedicated line to my immersion heater, but if I get this Direct Cylinder, can I hook it onto the same line? Or do I need a spare slot in my consumer unit?

4. The company claim, it does not need to be service so often, is this correct?

(I was not keen on these Cylinder systems due to annual maintenance and been scared off by exploding expansion tanks. Plus plumbers are impossible to get hold off and hard to take time off work etc...).

5. For the sake of less electrical work. What happens if I buy a Direct Cycling (or Indirect Cylinder) and only use one immersion heater.

Can I not just use a timer and let it heat my water up in the morning and evening which is when I use it?

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They seem to be OK, they're manufactured by an agricultural supplies company specialising in the dairy market rather than a dedicated cylinder manufacturer so my biggest query would be over after-sales product support

The biggest advantage over, say, a Gledhill seems to be the inclusion of an extra immersion heater, which would give faster heat-up and reheat times. If you have no way of connecting a second immersion then that's not going to help you much

You'd need one slot in your consumer unit per immersion heater. It might be possible to make alterations to accommodate a second heater but you'd need to consider the total load on your system

The service claims are against older-style cylinders that had a replaceable anode. It'll almost certainly still need an annual service

I've never heard of an expansion tank exploding. The main cylinder can explode if incorrectly installed. Internal expansion systems are, in my opinion, a disadvantage rather than an advantage. I would want an external expansion vessel - they don't go wrong as often and are easier to fix.

If you only use one immersion heater it'll be slow to heat up, but you're probably used to that anyway so it won't matter
 
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You don't reveal what area of the country you're in so it's hard to say why you're struggling to get hold of anyone. As for the videos, the first one isn't an explosion, though it is admittedly a very bad leak. The second one is a demonstration of what happens if you don't install them correctly. Getting someone who is certified and registered to install them will prevent this from happening
 

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