Pumped heating/gravity HW conversion help please

[brightonplumber]

Hello all can someone help me with this please....?

I'm changing an old Potterton Kingfisher 2 with pumped heating and gravity hot water to a new heat only boiler with S plan layout whilst keeping it open vent. It is a big house with the boiler in the basement, cylinder up on second floor and header in loft. The current system is piped up as in the image with 4 28mm pipes going into the boiler. My question is is it possible to do this without having to run any extra pipework between the airing cupboard and the boiler as the route is not easy! Any help with how this would be done would help. the customer wants to keep it open vent as they are worried about leaks. I know making the system sealed would probably be the easiest way...

 

[EvilDrPorkChop]

My opinion, make it sealed. It's OK saying worrying about leaks and leaving OV, however what I always advise my customers if it's leaking on OV you won't know - that's introducing fresh water constantly into the system. I had a customer that had steel pipes that had been leaking under her hallway floor (That had laminate over) for probably a number of years. It was only when she decided to upgrade and have a combi we found the issue. Had the system been sealed years ago we'd of had a chance of knowing.

So I always tell everyone, make it sealed and deal with any issues now rather leave it and wreck the system due to existing leaks/future ones on OV.


If you do leave OV then you should really move the feed and vent pipe so it's behind the pump, however I have seen it left like as you've shown. Some systems fill up OK, and others don't when they're like that.

 

[kris]

Heres another way to look at a leak ..... if your customer has a leak with a sealed system ( heating) then only so much water leaks b4 it stops however if she has a leak with an open vented system then it keeps leaking until u physically fix the leak