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TomTommy
Hello everybody,
I'm hoping for some wise comments as I've received conflicting advice in my attempt to update my hot water. There's no boiler (that's right, no central heating!) so my only concern is hot water. Flat is on the third floor of an 1870 building in the centre of London. Water pressure is good. There's no gas in the building, only electric. At the moment there's a Heatrae Sadia dating from 1982. I'd like to replace it with something that will give adequate hot water pressure for a shower.
The advice so far:
Big plumbing company initially suggests unvented but then says no, the existing plumbing in the building (which is mostly lead) probably won't withstand the pressure and they don't want to do it. Instead they recommend replacing the heater with basically the same thing, a Heatrae Sadia 75...so good luck taking that shower.
Second big plumbing company suggests unvented, a Tribune Range TDI, seems to have no concern about the lead plumbing.
Another plumber, not a big company, also seems unconcerned about the lead plumbing but says that the g3 regulations for a discharge can't adequately be met because the pipe would have to empty into a metal stack. Looking at the regulations myself, I don't see that exact requirement. The pipe could, I think, discharge safely from the back of the building. This plumber has suggested a thermal store but is not advising a particular brand. I've done enough research to be aware of the basic pros and cons of unvented versus thermal store. I note that there seems to be a general dislike of thermal store, and there seems to be a lot of complaints about Gledhill in particular.
So I'm left wondering:
Would an unvented be risky because of ancient lead plumbing in the building?
Is it true that a g3 discharge pipe must empty into a stack?
Are thermal stores a curse of endless aggravation regardless of brand? And would an electric one be SO much more expensive to run than an electric unvented?
Many thanks for you thoughts!
I'm hoping for some wise comments as I've received conflicting advice in my attempt to update my hot water. There's no boiler (that's right, no central heating!) so my only concern is hot water. Flat is on the third floor of an 1870 building in the centre of London. Water pressure is good. There's no gas in the building, only electric. At the moment there's a Heatrae Sadia dating from 1982. I'd like to replace it with something that will give adequate hot water pressure for a shower.
The advice so far:
Big plumbing company initially suggests unvented but then says no, the existing plumbing in the building (which is mostly lead) probably won't withstand the pressure and they don't want to do it. Instead they recommend replacing the heater with basically the same thing, a Heatrae Sadia 75...so good luck taking that shower.
Second big plumbing company suggests unvented, a Tribune Range TDI, seems to have no concern about the lead plumbing.
Another plumber, not a big company, also seems unconcerned about the lead plumbing but says that the g3 regulations for a discharge can't adequately be met because the pipe would have to empty into a metal stack. Looking at the regulations myself, I don't see that exact requirement. The pipe could, I think, discharge safely from the back of the building. This plumber has suggested a thermal store but is not advising a particular brand. I've done enough research to be aware of the basic pros and cons of unvented versus thermal store. I note that there seems to be a general dislike of thermal store, and there seems to be a lot of complaints about Gledhill in particular.
So I'm left wondering:
Would an unvented be risky because of ancient lead plumbing in the building?
Is it true that a g3 discharge pipe must empty into a stack?
Are thermal stores a curse of endless aggravation regardless of brand? And would an electric one be SO much more expensive to run than an electric unvented?
Many thanks for you thoughts!
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