Nice to have's for new CH piping?

[milleniumaire]

Having had a chat with my heating engineer this week, and a further chat with a very helpful person at Vaillant support, I'm now feeling confident that the Spirotech Spirocross AX100 LLH is the way to go with my CH enhancements. It's a little pricey but does provide the additional air and dirt removal features, which the cheaper Vaillant WH40 LLH does'nt provide, plus it is made from brass, rather than steel.

For an extra £50'ish I can also get an insulation jacket and I can only assume they don't include one with the LLH due to the increased cost. Should I bother with the insulation jacket? Will it make a difference to heat loss through the LLH?

The engineer suggested removing the Magnaclean Pro since the LLH has dirt removal, but is it as easy to clean out the LLH dirt as it is to clean a Mangaclean? I assume there's no harm in having both? Also, I do use the Magnaclean to add inhibitor, rather than having to mess with radiators, so would loose this ability.

As all the piping around the boiler is going to be completely re-routed to incorporate the LLH I was wondering if there are any "nice-to-haves" that I should include, without incurring too much expense. I'm thinking replace the existing 22 year old drain valves, but then they are brass and I always replace the washers after using them to empty/refill the system! I currently have a couple of clip on temperature gauges on the supply and return near the boiler. I wonder if there are more "permanent" versions of these that could be plumbed in? Would it be beneficial to have these on both sides of the LLH?

 

[Scott_D]

Keep the magnaclean in the boiler side if it’s a newish unit

 

[milleniumaire]

The magnaclean was installed in 2010 at the same time as the boiler, so not that new, but what can go wrong with them!

It surprised me when the fitter suggested he would loose the magnaclean as you can never have too many cleaners!

 

[Scott_D]

The valves leak and the plastic goes brittle

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Would swap it for a pro 2 it’s a handy thing to have eg inbh fill point

drain offs after any zone valves

butterfly pump valves

 

[Timmy D]

Change the drain offs for decent lever valves.

What about a plate heat exchange to keep the boiler water separate from system?

 

[milleniumaire]

Thanks for the useful suggestions.

Would swap it for a pro 2 it’s a handy thing to have eg inbh fill point

drain offs after any zone valves

butterfly pump valves

I do like the idea of having a magneclean, it has worked well over the last 10 years and as you say there are newer versions available. Maybe I should take this opportunity to replace my 10 year old pro, even though I've had zero issues with it. I know space around the boiler will be an issue when installing the LLH.

I assume using butterfly pump valves is to make it easier to replace/maintain the pump without having to drain the system? In the last 22 years, none of the pumps have failed, but I've had to replace two motorised valves. I guess it would be useful to have valves around any zone valves to assist in replacing them.

I suspect space will be the limiting factor.

Change the drain offs for decent lever valves.

What about a plate heat exchange to keep the boiler water separate from system?

Interesting idea, but I've had a LLH recommended by my heating engineer and Vaillant support. A plate heat exchanger was never mentioned as an alternative, not sure why, but I assume there's a reason!

The lever drain off valves I've Googled don't seem to make it any easier to drain off i.e. the drain off bit looks the same as on my current system, so I'm not too sure of the benefit of these.

 

[gmartine]

All types of pump valve are there to allow ease of maintenance but butterfly pump valves are full bore so never likely to seize as well being easy to open and close.

Plate seperation is by far the most effective way of keeping the boilers system water clean and therefore prolonging the life of your boiler rather than a physical/magnetic filter. Probably not for you as it's normally used on commercial or difficult to clean or keep clean domestic systems.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZU7n9bJwwm8&ab_channel=AndrewMillward