PullerGas, I was fascinated at his Systemate as I had never seen anything like it, and looked at how it worked. A superb idea. I clicked immediately that the whole heating and hot water system is controlled via a central pcb, the one in the Systemate. The thermostat, a simple boiler, remote timeclock and the three pumps are all wired into the controlling pcb. They are a doddle to install. You connect up the pipes like a combi. The wiring is simple. The heating coil inside the cylinder must be massive as you cannot put your hand on the hot pipe from the boiler but can grab the return pipe coming out the bottom of the coil with no burning of your hand. This dismisses your suggestion they are not suited for condensing boilers. The pcb keeps the hot water inside at 70 degrees. I recall the pcb was so smart it 'learns' the system and how long the boiler takes to reheat and adjusts to suit the time it brings in the boiler, and may drop the cylinder temperature further. Very clever and sensible. All thought out and done for you.
PullerGas, the three pumps are quality Grundfos. All my pumps have lasted around 15 years. On the Systemate in my mates place the original pumps are still working. He says a few around him have had the odd pump replaced, not many. He said the sensors tend to be the parts that fail more than any, there again once in a blue moon. The problem tend to be with the boilers rather than the Systemate. There is nothing in these things. As I wrote, three pumps, a pcb and about three temperature sensors. All is in the front of a big neat box easy and simple to get at. Look inside a complicated boiler and then inside a Systemate. I know what I would rather work inside.
In the 1990s it was highly advanced using electronic central control, the way forward. These days the boiler is the centre of the system, the wrong way around. It was a pity ignorant people and the Credit Crunch killed them. Other makers should do something similar.
gazdaz36, Overcomplicated? You have never looked inside one. There is nothing there. Look back in this post for an explanation. The pcb DOES act as the central control. All are wired into it: a simple boiler, room thermostat, clock, pumps, sensors.
All. How more central do you want it? The Systemate's pcb uses the hot water plate pump also as a shunt, not a separate pump, very clever. The pcb decides when to shunt. The pcb varies the speed of the hot water pump to what the hot water temperature should be. Read what I wrote about the Systemate and what it does. I have been to Blackpool once. Nice tower.
Here it is inside. Three pumps and a plate heat exchanger a pcb (top left) and some sensors. There is nothing there !!!!
Dan Robinson, you have argued nothing, and when proven wrong insult. Next I expect you will be telling us you have been a plumber for 20 years so you know it all.
