Primatic Gravity Hot Water Controls upgrade or new Indirect Cylinder | Bathroom Advice | Plumbers Forums

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My parents have a Baxi Back Boiler with a pumped central heating system and gravity hot water system with a Primatic cylinder. My Mum's asthma is getting more severe due to the house being unheated at night. I am looking for a way for them to be able to have their central heating on low at night but not have the hot water heating all the time. They can't afford to use the system for longer periods without the controls being upgraded.

From the research I have done to date, I understand that we could change the controls to the Honeywell C-Plan, but that this can't be implemented on a Primatic cylinder because a zone valve in the flow or return to the cylinder would rob the CH system of its provision for expansion. I've seen a suggestion that the way around this is to replace the Primatic cylinder with a conventional indirect cylinder and add a F&E tank. Currently their cold water tank sits above the cylinder in the airing cupboard; it's not in the loft. If we did add an F&E tank I'd be inclined to install where the current cold tank is and relocate the existing tank to the loft as I understand the cold water tank should be above the level of the F&E tank. Is this correct (and why is this)?

The final configuration will be a pumped CH system with a gravity hot water system arranged as per C-Plan with a Programmable Thermostat controlling the CH pump + boiler for central heating and a Single Channel Timer + Cylinder stat controlling the boiler and cylinder zone valve for DHW. I know that the cylinder zone valve will need to a six wire V4043H to work correctly in the C-Plan configuration. I've been referring to the C-Plan diagram at the top of Page 13 in this Honeywell document:
https://heatingcontrols.honeywellhome.com/documents/All/pdf/._Wiring Guide 2018 (Web DPS).pdf

The programmable thermostat will be a Honeywell CM721 (or CM727) and the single channel timer for DHW will probably be the Danfoss 102 timer that current controls the entire system.

Unfortunately we don't have the money to replace the Baxi boiler with anything better, and we probably can't change the location of the pump due to cost. Any comments or suggestions?

The work will be done by a heating engineer, but I'm aware that experience with Primatics, gravity hot water and C-Plan is getting rarer.
 
Primatics are old school. The primatic cylinder is used for the feed and expansion of the central heating system water via an air bubble, you would not have a primatic cylinder and an additional F+E tank for heating in loft. That’s correct isn’t it Riley?
 
Primatics are old school. The primatic cylinder is used for the feed and expansion of the central heating system water via an air bubble, you would not have a primatic cylinder and an additional F+E tank for heating in loft. That’s correct isn’t it Riley?
Correct would (should) only be fed by 1 CWSC something doesn’t sound entirely right about your system if it’s primatic
 
My parents have a Baxi Back Boiler with a pumped central heating system and gravity hot water system with a Primatic cylinder. My Mum's asthma is getting more severe due to the house being unheated at night. I am looking for a way for them to be able to have their central heating on low at night but not have the hot water heating all the time. They can't afford to use the system for longer periods without the controls being upgraded.

From the research I have done to date, I understand that we could change the controls to the Honeywell C-Plan, but that this can't be implemented on a Primatic cylinder because a zone valve in the flow or return to the cylinder would rob the CH system of its provision for expansion. I've seen a suggestion that the way around this is to replace the Primatic cylinder with a conventional indirect cylinder and add a F&E tank. Currently their cold water tank sits above the cylinder in the airing cupboard; it's not in the loft. If we did add an F&E tank I'd be inclined to install where the current cold tank is and relocate the existing tank to the loft as I understand the cold water tank should be above the level of the F&E tank. Is this correct (and why is this)?

The final configuration will be a pumped CH system with a gravity hot water system arranged as per C-Plan with a Programmable Thermostat controlling the CH pump + boiler for central heating and a Single Channel Timer + Cylinder stat controlling the boiler and cylinder zone valve for DHW. I know that the cylinder zone valve will need to a six wire V4043H to work correctly in the C-Plan configuration. I've been referring to the C-Plan diagram at the top of Page 13 in this Honeywell document:
https://heatingcontrols.honeywellhome.com/documents/All/pdf/._Wiring Guide 2018 (Web DPS).pdf

The programmable thermostat will be a Honeywell CM721 (or CM727) and the single channel timer for DHW will probably be the Danfoss 102 timer that current controls the entire system.

Unfortunately we don't have the money to replace the Baxi boiler with anything better, and we probably can't change the location of the pump due to cost. Any comments or suggestions?

The work will be done by a heating engineer, but I'm aware that experience with Primatics, gravity hot water and C-Plan is getting rarer.
Before you go ahead look at whats available in terms of grants and free fitting for your folks. You might achieve a new system this way. Rob Foster aka centralheatking
 
OP if asking if they should replace the Primatic for a normal cylinder & add an F&E not that they have both installed.
The problem with putting it on the cylinder return is if the boiler stat went & water started to boil it would be released steam through the vent in the cylinder but could not get cold water from the return to replace it, the boiler would be dry running, not good.
The gravity cylinder replacement & controls up grade is not going to be cheap, personally I would do as Rob suggests above & investigate boiler replacement / controls grants for them, failing that why not just use oil filled room heater with time / temp control?
 
Sorry Guys, there was supposed to be a question up near the top - the question was "Is it correct that you can't implement C-plan with a Primatic cylinder?"

Thanks to Chris for wading through and answering the question I did ask.

I agree that the cylinder replacement and controls upgrade won't be cheap. Many thanks to Rob and Chris for the suggestion about a grant I will look into it for them.

I have given them an oil filled radiator that has a thermostat and I've given them an electronic timer and set it up for them so it comes on just before bed time and goes off after the heating should be on in the morning.

Thanks again and sorry about the missing question.
 

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