hot water cylinders

[robhuddersfield]

Hi,
I'm new to this forum and came across it whilst searching for some information, looks like a good place to ask i live in social housing, and they are in the middle of a complete installation of a new heating / hot water system.

Before they started this we had issue's getting enough hot water out, 1 full bath took ALL the hot water from the cylinder and it took a good 45min to get reliable hot water again. In our house there is me, my wife, 2 under 5's and a newborn, so we go through alot of water, even sharing baths. We dont have a shower as they have refused to fit one and we cant afford to have one installed at the moment.

Everything was going fine until i noticed the size of the cylinder they are installing, its 114 litre's (25? gallon) and looks smaller than the old one we had.

So I suppose my question is, how big a cylinder do i really need? will this one be adequate for my families needs? or can I force them to either replace with a larger cylinder, or put a shower in?

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[supper plumb]

was your old system old and pony you mite be surprised at its arability are they fitting all new rads boiler the lot or just the cylinder.
I changed some bath taps for a lady that just had a new system fitted the lot she moaned the water wasnt hot and didnt last before that lot till it was all changed.
Didnt stick my hand under the hot water for a second time!!!!!

 

[supper plumb]

Choosing a hot water cylinder
have a look here mite help you out
[DLMURL]http://www.andrewswaterheaters.co.uk/documents/Sizing_Guide_Oct08.pdf[/DLMURL]

 

[robhuddersfield]

as far as theyve said, theyre refitting everything. i know next to nothing about plumbing though so when i saw the size i was pretty shocked, its not the energy cost or anything that worries me, just the capacity

 

[PlumbBobBob]

hi rob welcome to the forums. the cylinder does sound a bit on the small side, the average size of cylinder is 950x450 which has a capacity of around 128 lts. i would question the size stating your situation.

 

[Dotty]

But then is it vented or unvented? The recovery rate of modern cylinders is pretty good now.

 

[supper plumb]

probs just through them in all day long getting good deals as they buy so many of this type along with the same boiler rads ect ect they dont like going over there spend per job so to speak..

 

[robhuddersfield]

just had to look up meaning lol, but its a vented one i think, we have a tank in the loft directly above it (i only know this because it overflowed and leaked a month or so ago)

 

[Howsie]

The size is inversely proportional to the recovery time when you factor the law of diminishing returns in.

Time for bed me thinks.

 

[Dotty]

The size is inversely proportional to the recovery time when you factor the law of diminishing returns in.

Time for bed me thinks.

I agree.

I think you need to lie down after that one!

 

[tamz]

Modern cylinders are not like old ones. They now have larger heat exchangers and faster recovery times.
A 900 x 450mm (117 litre) cylinder is standard specification for a 2/ 3 bed 1 bath house with gas fired central heating.
If a superduty cylinder was fitted an 80 litre would give the same performance (14 minute recovery with a 15kw boiler).
You are worrying about nothing and you can't "force" them to do anything.