Pulsacoil 2000 replacement

[Deleted member 105431]

don't listen to george bramwell

All those who do not understand thermal storage, as this fool does not, accuse anyone who does of being a Mr Drivel. I did a search and he does know his stuff. This thread clearly shows that many here do not understand water and heating systems and only know unvented cylinders and system boilers. To advise an unvented cylinder to replace an electric thermal store shows the ignorance of many here. They are easy to spot and it is best to tell them to f***** OFF when they emerge out of the sewers.

BTW, the service charge for an electric only unvented cylinder, will be around £80-100. No one will turn up and work for an hour or two. All controls have to be tested that means boiling the unit by by-pass the immersion stats. £40, only a turn up and look around cowboy will charge that.

I have taken out many unvented cylinders that are scaled up to the hilt and weigh a ton. One was so scaled up it took an eternity to reheat. They had been quoted an arm and a leg to descale it. I replaced it with a DHW only thermal store. The long guarantee meant nothing.

more drivel. So george remind us of your qualifications again. . . .

or do you not have any?

and how many unvented cylinders have you serviced/installed? NONE.

You are a troll.

 

[mickyg]

mickyg - the appliance is in a cupboard within the bathroom, so the soil branch to the WC is within reach, but I'm alarmed by the thought of the T&PR discharge going into a plastic pipe - are you sure this is do-able?

yes positive. I wouldn't advise anything thats not allowed

have a look here http://www.nhbc.co.uk/NHBCPublicati...ical/StandardsExtra/filedownload,34921,en.pdf

I'm not against thermal stores like george thinks, in fact I've just completed a qoute for one. But you can't get thermal stores off ebay for a ton

 

[jbleaky]

I'm grateful for all the help that's being offered, but a bit nonplussed at the infighting and abuse.

mickyg - that document is very interesting, but I'm not yet sure what weight it carries, i.e. whether it is accepted by building controllers.

dangermouse - you said that Gledhill products are unreliable, but some of them have 25 year guarantees, so your broad statement is not accurate or helpful.

My Pulsacoil 2000 has a Grundfos pump that has never gone wrong, a plate heat exchanger that needs occasional replacement (hard water area), two immersion elements, one of which has had to be replaced (but don't they all, evetually), one PCB that has never put a foot wrong, and two sensors, one of which was replaced early in its life. It has been very reliable, but now, sadly, has a leak.

Gledhill Storage Systems did stop trading, but there is a new Gledhill company that sells spares, and the cost of them has not been extortionate at all. Also I can't see anything wrong with the installation (not that this had anything to do with the manufactrurer).

All in all, your advice is very poor, so I thank you for your time, but I'd be grateful if you would leave this topic to people who are more objective.

GeorgeBramwell - the leak is tiny at the moment, but it appears in two places: one is at the seam of the galvanised casing, and other is at the underside of the pumped return where it enters the casing through a rubber grommet.

The only way I can see to repair it would be to drain, disconnect, haul the whole thing out using a hand pallet truck, cut out a section of casing to get at the cylinder, and see if it can be repaired. The repair would need a specialist, and it wasn't possible then I'd be left looking at an empty cupboard for a week while a replacement product is obtained. And if it could be repaired, who's to say that it won't leak somewhere else next weekend?

I'd rather invest the money in something that has a long warranty from a company whose business isn't reliant on the new build market.

I have some food for thought now - I'll post back when I've made a decision.

 

[Deleted member 105431]

so a few plate heat exchangers, a few imm htrs, a sensor failure, and a leak that means you need to replace it. Not what I'd consider reliable.

 

[simond]

I'm rather surprised about Mr Bramwell's testing routine for an unvented cylinder.

Gledhill's new build division had an unenviable reputation for leaks and I would like to add my weight to the comments regarding their build quality.

This company are no longer trading and the only support available is utilising the third party componentry that is still in stock. Most of the new build Boilermate/Pulsacoil/Gulfstream metalwork is no longer manufactured and therefore a failed unit is an economically unjustifiable repair.

The 25yr warranty does not imply quality, just remind me how much that warranty is worth now?

Those of us in the plumbing industry know that some manufacturers have used warranties to buy themselves out of low sales/margins. Offering a long warranty when you are skint is the cheapest short term way of moving product.

 

[Deleted member 105431]

I'm rather surprised about Mr Bramwell's testing routine for an unvented cylinder.

why are you surprised? He has never picked up a tool in his miserable deluded life.

Gledhill's new build division had an unenviable reputation for leaks and I would like to add my weight to the comments regarding their build quality.

those in the trade who actually have experience of working on this ****boxes know that, but the poster and GeorgeBramwell obviously know better.

The 25yr warranty does not imply quality, just remind me how much that warranty is worth now?

gledhills warranty is worth precisely the same as George Bramwells advice. . . . sweet f.a

 

[GeorgeBramwell]

Gledhill's new build division had an unenviable reputation for leaks and I would like to add my weight to the comments regarding their build quality.

Any leaks I came across were pipe joints or on immersions.

This company are no longer trading

They are, with a reduced range of products. http://www.gledhill.net/

jbleaky, use a replacement unit by a different maker. Overflows from F&E tanks can be connected to the local drain by using a tundish. Pressure relief valves by using a HepVO trap and high temperature plastic pipes. No need to run pipes to the outside.

 

[GeorgeBramwell]

I'm rather surprised about Mr Bramwell's testing routine for an unvented cylinder.

why are you surprised? He has never picked up a tool in his miserable deluded life.

**** OFF IDIOT

 

[GeorgeBramwell]

so a few plate heat exchangers,

Plates can be descaled and adequate descaling should taken up in such areas. Now you know.

 

[mickyg]

mickyg - that document is very interesting, but I'm not yet sure what weight it carries, i.e. whether it is accepted by building controllers.

errr...its off the website for the National House building Council. What do ya want a letter from the queen??
I give up, get another leaky can......

 

[jbleaky]

so a few plate heat exchangers, a few imm htrs, a sensor failure, and a leak that means you need to replace it. Not what I'd consider reliable.

In that case you must be talking about someone else's water heater.

Mine has needed only one heat exchanger, one sensor, and one immersion element that wasn't made by Gledhill. And the heat exchanger didn't fail - it scaled up because the installer (builder) didn't do what Gledhill specified and fit a scale-reducing device.

As I said earlier, your advice isn't useful and your attitude isn't helpful.

GeorgeBramwell - your later posts are not welcome either. You're wrong about Gledhill still trading - The manufacturer of my water heater ceased trading, but the Gledhill Building Products company didn't.

 

[simond]

I think Dangermouse is right on the money. Gledhill heatstores have been awful but there will always be a few lucky ones.

I don't think we should give any more credence to your experience than the sample it represents. Which is one.

Most of us have seen many many more, some only five years old leaking like sieves.

And I don't know what makes you so certain that you wouldn't have needed that new heat exchanger if you had the scale device fitted. That is just conjecture, not fact.

 

[jbleaky]

Please would you all stop treating this topic as an opportunity to slate products, companies and other forum members. I came here looking for sound, objective, technical advice, and I'm not feeling very supported.

mickyg - I didn't mean to upset you, I was only wondering what weight the NHBC document carried. After all, the NHBC is only an insurance company, and I don't understand why a building controller would have to accept its technical newsletter. If you understand, then please just explain it to me.

simond - you seem to be the voice of calm in a sea of hissy fits, but even you have started to attack me for absolutely no reason.

I'm not asking for credence based on my amateur experience of one installation. I was explaining that I have no reason to be cynical, and asking contributors to for some insight as to why they dislike Gledhill products.

My mention of a 25 year warranty had nothing to do with the Pulsacoil - I was referring to products like stainless steel unvented cylinders (e.g. Heatrae Megaflo and Gledhill StainlessLite).

You observed that I'm "certain" that I wouldn't have needed a new heat exchanger if you had the scale device fitted. I never implied certainty. My local water hardness is 330ppm, which is within the range for which Gledhill strongly recommended a polyphosphate based scale reducing device. The installer didn't fit any device at all, so scaling up is a reasonable expectation, not "conjecture".

And in case anyone is a fan of HeatWEB, please note that I contacted them by phone, gave all the details, and was told that I would be called back. Nothing happened. I then filled in the online enquiry form, and also sent an Email. Again, nothing has happened.

Clearly they don't need, or don't want, my business.

I wouldn't be here if I had my mind set on another Gledhill unit, and I'm still keeping an open mind about other products. If anyone can help me, and can explain their suggestions without getting shirty, I'd be pleased to hear them.

 

[simond]

DPS possibly don't need your business - but they arguably make the best heatstores.

Generally speaking most fabricators/manufacturers would rather be approached by the installer rather than the end user.

DPS do have a list of recommended installers, I am sure their receptionist can help in this respect. As for information, their web site could not be any more fulsome.

They are not very proactive returning calls, but the product is good. If you want a heatstore, the Pandora, with the Hydropath scale device as recommended (!) would, I am sure, be a good investment.