Whats the big boiler upstairs for?

aaronoxf

Maybe a silly question to some but, upstairs in our back bedroom we have a boiler with a switch to turn on and off. we have a another boiler for the hot water and central heating downstairs in the kitchen. what is the upstairs for? We have really poor water pressure, would turning this on help to increase?

Cardew

By boiler upstairs I assume you mean a big cylindrical tank?

From what I can gather from you have a boiler downstairs in the kitchen(presumably gas fired?) that provides Central heating and hot water. That hot water is fed to the tank in your back bedroom.

The switch on the upstairs tank is for an immersion heater. This heats your water with electricity if the gas is turned off.

Of course it could be that you now have hot water from the downstairs boiler direct to the taps(a combi boiler) and the tank is from a previous CH system and is not now in use.

To check, switch off the downstairs boiler and see if you can get a bathful of hot water.

Several things can cause low hot water pressure, but if it is a tank upstairs, putting on the switch will not help.

aaronoxf

Cardew wrote: »

By boiler upstairs I assume you mean a big cylindrical tank?

From what I can gather from you have a boiler downstairs in the kitchen(presumably gas fired?) that provides Central heating and hot water. That hot water is fed to the tank in your back bedroom.

The switch on the upstairs tank is for an immersion heater. This heats your water with electricity if the gas is turned off.

Of course it could be that you now have hot water from the downstairs boiler direct to the taps(a combi boiler) and the tank is from a previous CH system and is not now in use.

To check, switch off the downstairs boiler and see if you can get a bathful of hot water.

Several things can cause low hot water pressure, but if it is a tank upstairs, putting on the switch will not help.

Ow thanks quite handy actually, thank you! its a new build property. So basically what your saying is the upstairs tank isnt used unless we want constent hot water, which we dont. saving the pennies

Magentasue

aaronoxf wrote: »

Ow thanks quite handy actually, thank you! its a new build property. So basically what your saying is the upstairs tank isnt used unless we want constent hot water, which we dont. saving the pennies

Not quite. Odd to have a water tank as well in a new build with a combi boiler which suggests that it's a conventional boiler downstairs and your hot water is stored in the tank. In which case, it is used, but you wouldn't switch it on (to heat with electricity) unless your boiler downstairs wasn't working.

aaronoxf

so its basically a back up. I dont need to use it

Magentasue

So you're saying you have a comi boiler? Or that you don't need to use the switch upstairs? The tank is being used (for stoaing hot water) unless you have a combi boiler, but the water is heated by the gas boiler downstairs and stored in the tank.

Cardew

aaronoxf wrote: »

Ow thanks quite handy actually, thank you! its a new build property. So basically what your saying is the upstairs tank isnt used unless we want constent hot water, which we dont. saving the pennies

I am really puzzled if it is a new build property.

It really would be most unusual for a new build to have a Hot water tank with an immersion and a combi boiler.

A combi boiler provides 'instant' hot water; e.g. The boiler fires up every time you demand hot water.

It seems probable to me that the boiler is not a combi, but a 'conventional' boiler heating water in the tank upstairs.

As said above, switch off your boiler downstairs and see if you get loads of Hot water.

philnicandamy

Could be the same system we have......a Thermal Heat Store

(Boilermate) http://www.gledhill.net/water-storage/ws-index.htm

Cardew

philnicandamy wrote: »

Could be the same system we have......a Thermal Heat Store

(Boilermate) http://www.gledhill.net/water-storage/ws-index.htm

A thermal heat store would not be used for gas(I did question the OP on a gas boiler) as a gas boiler can cope with 'instant' CH and HW.

As far as I am aware a Thermal store is only used for electrical heating systems.

philnicandamy

Ours is Gas fired thermal store(boilermate).......(small boiler on kitchen wall...large control boiler in cupboard)

aaronoxf

philnicandamy wrote: »

Ours is Gas fired thermal store(boilermate).......(small boiler on kitchen wall...large control boiler in cupboard)

Im glad I asked the question then, let me explain a little better. downstairs against the kitchen wall is a small boiler, gas controlled which when we stick heating on or hot water on, this fires up and hot water comes through.

Upstairs in the back bedroom in a cupboard there is a larger tank with a smaller tank above it, this has two switches, one inside the cupboard and one outside the cupboard, these switches are switched off as we dont often need hot water as shower come through hot and when washing up we use a kettle