What is this please?

[STREET TRIPLE]

Hi Everyone,
Just moving into a new home.
Not plumbing minded, but wondering what all this is in a cupboard on the second floor. Glow worm boiler on the bottom floor. Main bathroom and a en-suite shower room on the second floor. Kitchen to first floor.
Dumb questions, do I need it all, can it be replaced with something better/ smaller?
Any help much appreciated.

TIA

 

[JohnD]

it's a rather untidy installation

but you have a fine quality unvented cylinder, which can give you unsurpassed hot water. The white vessel is to maintain pressure in the cylinder.

the red vessel is to maintain pressure in the radiators. I guess you have a largish home with more than the average size or number of radiators.

You could change it, but a different system such as a combi will not be as good.

It will need an annual check and maintenance, which has to be done by someone with the extra qualification for unvented cylinders (many, but not all, boiler engineers have it, so ask before making an appointment)

Unless you know for sure the system has recently been serviced, arrange for a call to check it over and to explain the controls to you (write it down). You will (should) have sophisticated timers and thermostats.

I see the cylinder has an electric immersion heater than you can use to heat the cylinder on the rare occasions that the boiler is out of action. Don't use it otherwise, as the cost of electricity is about four times as much as gas. make sure its switch is labelled.

 

[flameport]

Unvented hot water cylinder and 2 expansion vessels, the red one for the sealed boiler circuit and the white one for the hot water.

do I need it all

Yes, unless you no longer want hot water.

can it be replaced with something better/ smaller?

Theoretically you could have a combination boiler which heats water on demand. Performance will be severely impaired compared to what you have got now.

 

[STREET TRIPLE]

Thanks for the quick replies guys.

Sorry, more dumb questions.
So, this is a water heater and tank?
The glow worm boiler is just for the rads?
Are they as efficient/economical as a combi boiler?

Haven't seen any controls. Just a really ancient digital timer for the boiler.
Would like a Nest type thermostat with geofencing. Any recommendations for this type of setup.

Four bed semi-house, built in 2008 so quite new. Nine fairly small [500mm to 700mm] radiators in each room two towel rails. Microbore pipework. Garage Utility and bed to ground floor, kitchen and living room to second. Three bedrooms, family bathroom and en-suite to second floor.

Thanks again guys.

 

[JohnD]

the white cylinder contains your hot tap water

and is heated by the gas boiler.

It also has a standby electric immersion heater which may take around two hours or more to heat the cylinder. The boiler will heat it much faster and cheaper. Look for the label on the cylinder telling you how many litres it contains. Due to its size and pressure it can (should) fill a bath quickly and deliver a powerful shower.

The boiler heats the cylinder and the radiators, under the control of the timer(s) and thermostat(s).

The boiler is equally efficient as a combi in heating the radiators, and slightly more efficient at heating the hot tap water, because it does not have to start up every time you turn a tap on, and then waste the heat cooling down afterwards. You can set the timer to run for (say) half an hour or an hour morning and evening, depending on your pattern of hot water usage, for hot water all day.

The hot water volume delivered to the bathtaps and shower should be superior to the supply a combi can manage.

The CH thermostats may have integral timers. You will need to study their instructions, or ask the engineer to set them according to your instructions. It is common to have a CH stat on each floor of a larger house now.

 

[ianmcd]

Pic one is definately a potty

 

[Mottie]

Is it just me or does that flexi-hose to the expansion vessel seem swollen at the vessel end?

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Is it just me or does that flexi-hose to the expansion vessel seem swollen at the vessel end?

No, it doesn't look in spectacular condition. I would hope it would be checked/replaced as required on the next service. OP, if there is no record of a recent inspection/service on the cylinder, I would advise getting it done, you will need someone with a 'G3' certificate to work on Unvented Hot Water. The flexible hose to the white expansion vessel doesn't look in fabulous condition, if it fails, you will get wet....

 

[Agile]

Worse if that flexible hose bursts it will continue to spout about 20 litres per minute until you find out where to turn off the mains water!

In fact if it was mine then I would be turning off the mains water whenever I left the house!

The system water by the red EXV looks as if the pressure is rather too high. I would advise about 1 bar cold. The red indication pointer seems to be set a bit low assuming this is a first floor but it would usually work fine at about 0.7 bar cold.

 

[Stadan20]

Hope you have a water softener going to that range cylinder

 

[dilalio]

Amazed you would buy a house and not have any idea about how it was heated and supplied with hot water.

Conversion to a combi would be a big downgrade for your DHW.

 

[STREET TRIPLE]

Thank you everyone.
I will be getting all of the above sorted before I move in.
Just waiting for plumbers to get back to me, would like the work doing in September.
Also wanting the pipework tidying up. Looks like a Friday afternoon job.
Any G3 engineers on here who would like to quote for the work? Please PM me. Property in Ripponden HX6.
Thanks again everyone. Love this forum

 

[Bodd]

The gauge on the heating expansion vessel looks a little high