Gas boiler location 20 January 2011 at 3:31PM in LPG, heating oil, solid & other fuels 8 replies 1.1K views

dereke_2

I have a terrace house that doesn't currently have gas connected (though it is available). Next year I am planning to do an extension with a utility room to put a boiler in. I don't want to do another winter on electric heating though and would like to get the boiler now. I don't have any location inside that is particularly suitable so I was wondering if it is permitted to build a water tight structure outside (where the extension will be going) and install the boiler there. I am planning on an unvented combi system.

Thanks.

anotherbaldrick

Even if you made the enclosure perfectly watertight , thermal insulation would be a problem . The boiler has sensors to detect low water temperature and on cold days (nights) even when system is asleep the boiler will be cutting in to keep itself warm . In the very cold weather like we had over Christmas it would be a problem. You cant lag a boiler.

dereke_2

Ok, so it would have to be a well insulated box that used up some of the heating capacity.. that sounds like something I could live with - it is only for one year after all.
How about from a regulatory stand point? Are there any regulations that it would violate? I am not going to be installing this myself (not interested in playing with gas!) so need to know if anyone would actually want to install it this way for me.

samtheman1k

How about in the loft?

dereke_2

Not a bad idea.. it would mean quite a bit of re-plumbing work.. definitely an option though!
I would still prefer to put it closer to its final resting place - the loft will get converted at some point so it would have to move again for that!
Thanks

Gas_Man_4

dereke perfectly within regs to build in an outside building. You really need say an hours time with a plumber/gas man to fire a load of questions at.

Or are you going to be paying for it to be done? As in the building and the boiler work

Pincher

It's been mild, but as soon as you start, it will be freezing,
and concrete won't set properly. I tried to do a boiler replacement in January 2010 because of the £400 scrappage scheme. Couldn't even get the old flue hole filled because it was so cold. This was an existing lean to. Couldn't really get started until March.

If you must do it now, consider a floor standing boiler.
This one is meant for installing under the kitchen worktop.

http://www.plumbnation.co.uk/site/worcester-greenstar-highflow-440cdi-floor-standing-combination-boiler-natural-gas/

So you build it into the new kitchen when that happens.
This means no external lean-to building, no need for a closet.
It's easier to relocate than a wall mounted boiler.
The condensate pump actually means you can run the condensate pipe wherever you want, preferrably somewhere it will never freeze.

If you want a permanent boiler room, I would think about a storage boiler:

http://www.plumbnation.co.uk/site/natural-gas-storage-boilers/

Assuming you have more than one bathroom, so a combi won't do.

dereke_2

I am not planning on doing this till around April so should be warm enough by then!

Planning on doing the building work myself so just need the connection to be made by the corgi (wo)man.

No space in the kitchen for anything else I do have a room under the stairs, but would require a flu about 4m long and it would have to run along the ground (behind kitchen cabinets) - not sure if that would work!?

I've only got the one bathroom at the moment. After some more reading I think what I really need is a combi boiler so it can do DHW and UFH. Eventually I would like a stove with a back boiler but I think you really need some kind of cylinder/thermal store to get the best out of it. And I can't really do that until the extension is done.

Pincher

http://www.gledhill.net/documents/Torrent_HP_iss2.pdf

This one is "available soon":

http://www.gledhill.net/page/182/Torrent-MultiFuelStore-SP.htm

It does DHW and central heating, including UFH.
You put the UFH manifold and the thermal store under the staircase. Use the staircase to hide all the pipes going to the first floor.

Just connect whatever heat source you want. The immersion element provides backup. Don't know how well the stove will keep up on freezing days, though. So, a 5kW stove plus a 3kW immersion element gives you 8kW, probably OK if you are well insulated.

With a thermal store providing DHW, you can get a simple boiler instead of a combi.

An interesting variation is you reserve a space behind the extension for a "heat source". Flow and return pipes, power and control cables are connected. Start out with a floor standing boiler, end up with a heat pump, or CHP. Or even a furnace with a back boiler!