warm air replacement

[TheMickMan]

Hi again, My unit is so old that it keeps breaking down, so am hoping to replace it.

I prefer to have the wau as it heats the house in minutes. I would not like it replaced with radiators as it would nearly wreck the house installing one, with floorboards being pulled up and pipes running everywhere.

 

[wolfman1]

If you are not in the trade then its unlikely that you will ever have significant exposure to people with WAU heating.

For us in the trade we are from time to time asked to work on them and mostly to REMOVE then to be replaced with a wet system.

About 4% of the installations I have been asked to do have been to replace WAU with conventional systems.

Tony

I well believe this to be true, the wet system is considered to be the better system, my opinion is that it is not, but more likely is just more fashionable and easier and cheaper to install on new builds (usually a cheap combi thingy posing as heating) Also warm air can be a sticking point when selling, so replacing with a wet system would seem a better investment, however i am making my decision based on common sense, i want the better system, not interested in resale, i base my decision on engineering sense, it has to be more efficient to heat the air rather than heat water to heat radiators to heat the air, i also base it on experience and some research (the only people who don't like appear to be heating engineers) also it is costing around half as much to replace my unit than it would to fit a decent wet system, so i have 4k in my pocket (yes i know i could have had a wet system for less than 8k, but i could also have a had a replacement wau for 2.5k, but i wanted the bells and whistles) chances are the unit will outlast a boiler 3 to 1, thus saving even more in the long run. Personaly i wouldn't call a wet system conventional but more a conveniance.
As i said before, proof will be in the eating, or heating in this case, if i find the heating inferior to a wet system i'll eat my words, but my god it would have to be bad to be inferior to the wet systems i've had.

 

[mehran]

i have not read all the debate but....

if you have your heart set on WAH then get that. i m sure all the points have already been made.

i am sure it will heat your house well enough for you to be happy with it.

 

[ColJack]

wouldn't you be able to "fish" plastic pipes through the air vents from your WAH?
if you put the rads over the vents then the pipes could be routed down the back of the rad and out to each side..?

( you can do radiators in plastic pipes now can't you? I didn't dream that did I? )

 

[Paul Barker]

i have not read all the debate but....

if you have your heart set on WAH then get that. i m sure all the points have already been made.

i am sure it will heat your house well enough for you to be happy with it.

They do heat the house very well much faster than wet central heating. I don't like it because the units are always full of lint when I service them, and I am uneasy about the possibility of splits in the heat exchanger mixing POC with warm air. Some of the ex council house units I service have had new heat exchangers within a few years.

I haven't had up to date training on the newer room sealed units but have seen a couple where they have a little tray under the flue terminal collecting condensate. So they seem to be keeping up with the times, though in a visually bizaar fashion.

There is the odd customer who loves it. And there is the odd customer who had wet heating fitted instead who regrets it.

 

[wolfman1]

wouldn't you be able to "fish" plastic pipes through the air vents from your WAH?
if you put the rads over the vents then the pipes could be routed down the back of the rad and out to each side..?

( you can do radiators in plastic pipes now can't you? I didn't dream that did I? )

That sounds hideous, if i had rads it would be copper (call me old fashioned) also upstira would be a problem with the warm air registers in the ceiling

 

[ColJack]

ok, "your old fasioned"..

ah, I see, your WAH is laid out different to my moms then..
hers are all on the wall at about a foot up..., apart from 1 in the lounge which is in the floor in front of the patio doors..

plastic could be converted to copper behind the rad so you only see the copper is that's what you like..

 

[sweeper2]

Hi all
Had to resign from diynot due to conflicts, possibly my fault? anyhow i said i would get back on the performance of the new system, so i'm back, different name.
So, did i make the right choice? based on performance so far, yes i most certainly did. In comparison with the wet systems i've had the wau beats them hands down, i've had no issues with dust or noise transmission. The warm up time is fantastic (by this i mean time to warm the house, not the the system) you can put it on for ten minutes or so just to take the chill of say for the little ones bath time, within minutes warm air is oozing through the registers, fantastic! just what you want.
We are very very pleased, also if you have a working hot air system and are thinking of going wet, you may be dissapointed. I have to say alot has to do with it being a well designed system with proper return air vents etc.
I honestly have absolutely no regrets (i am honest enough to say if i had) if i was being really picky, it is slightly noisier than wet when on full blow, but it warms up so quickly and then the fan slows (or stops when temp is reached) and you can't hear it above the telly or a kettle being boiled.
So my money well spent, i knew i was doing the right thing

 

[sweeper2]

I would suggest you look at the Worcester Bosch air/air heatpump for the conservatory.

It is not easy extending an existing warm air system in most situations.

The air/air heatpump is at least as economical as a gas wet system for this application and has the ability of providing air cooling in the summer built in.

We have a couple of customers who've had these air/air units installed by us this year and the feedback has been brilliant.

I fitted a cheap air/air heat pump, works ok, efficiency drops rapidly once its freezing outside (especially at high ambient humidity) cooling is good, but for realy cold times a portable gas unit will be used to take the chill off.
initially i was pleased with the heating ability but this morning i gave it a blast, was down to 50 degrees in and freezing out with high humidity (it was damp) and the unit soon frosted up, defrost took a while and allowed room to cool slightly admitedly the unit is a bit small for the conservatory but we rarely use it in the mornings and the sun will warm in the daytime so i think it will be ok.