Removing all radiators from open vented Yplan heating system

[frosti2k2]

Hi all,

I have an old central heating system which consists of an open vented setup with the two tanks in the loft, a y-plan with 3-port valve and all radiators fed by microbore pipe/manifold.

I am going to be replacing all the old radiators and re-piping with 15mm copper pipe. I was wondering if there is a way to keep the DHW function operational whilst I do the work?

I have tied the F+E tank valve up with a bungee and drained all of the radiators. I have also set the room thermostat and the programmer such that there should not be any demand for heating.

Am I now able to proceed with removing all radiators and microbore pipework whilst still keeping the hot water cylinder function?

Many thanks for any advice.

Cheers
Matt

 

[easyflow]

Do you have an element heater in the cylinder.

 

[frosti2k2]

Yes there is an electric immersion heater on the top of the cylinder.

 

[45yearsagasman]

Use the immersion for HW. By draining the system you will not be able to use the boiler for hot water as the coil will be empty.

 

[frosti2k2]

Thanks very much Pete and easyflow. Makes perfect sense to me now.

I was making the assumption that the DHW and heating used a separate volume of water for some reason. But now from your advice and looking at the system block diagram I can see it's all the same circuit, just diverted with the 3-port valve.

Cheers,
Matt