Hot water tank question.

[giveitago]

Hello everyone. I am looking for a bit of basic advice on hot water tanks. I currently have a warm air heater that heats up the water in my tank via a heat exchanger. The tank is now very old and does need sorting out. I am getting a brand new, unvented tank as a replacement, with an immersion heater included for back up purposes. I don't really know much more than the basics about this subject though.

I wondered if there is much of a difference in the quality of tanks available on the market? I obviously want to get something that is very good quality and will last a very long time. I would far rather tell my installer what to get me, than leave it all down to him. Not that would I expect to get junk, but I am sure everyone can appreciate where I am coming from here. Any other tips or advice would also be greatly appreciated. For example, are there any special features I should know about? Thank you.

 

[Chewitt]

Your existing tank is probably an old Elson, Elsey & Gibbons rectangular copper tank. I used to sell loads of them back in the 1980's for bloaks of flats. From memory they were 85, 115 or 135 litre.
The ThermaQ is a good choice to replace it and the recovery from cold via the primary coil will only 25 minutes +.
As stated earlier it will have to be fitted by an engineer with a G3 ticket. They can be very dangerous if not fitted correctly.

 

[AWheating]

I'm guessing the biggest issue will be the discharge as getting a separate waste to the stack may be impossible.

 

[giveitago]

who plumbed it up?

The same guy who fitted my boiler. He had all of the necessary qualifications. He took away my old water tank without telling me what capacity it was though. I did ask him beforehand and he either forgot to check or just couldn't easily tell. All of the work on my boiler and water tank has now been fully completed.

Your existing tank is probably an old Elson, Elsey & Gibbons rectangular copper tank. I used to sell loads of them back in the 1980's for blocks of flats. From memory they were 85, 115 or 135 litre.

Thank you very much for the information. My new cylinder appears sooooooo much bigger, but looking at a cylinder, as opposed to a rectangular wooden case, can be so misleading when it comes to judging actual volume. I at least now know I am 15 litres better off, minimum, and might even be 35 litres better off. I seriously doubt my old water tank had as little volume as 85 litres.

I'm guessing the biggest issue will be the discharge as getting a separate waste to the stack may be impossible.

Do you mean the condensate pipe? If so, then I can't see anything running up to my roof alongside my new dual flue. However, I can see a small pipe coming out of my boiler and running sideways through my airing cupboard. I can't see where it runs from there though.

Does anyone have a rough idea what cost I should be looking at to get my immersion heater wired up then? The guy who installed my boiler and water tank said it was something he doesn't do. I want to get a vague idea in my head, before ringing someone up next week, and it certainly isn't the easiest thing to find out online. Thank you.