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Old fashioned water heater and boiler

Hi, recently moved from a 21st century house to a 20th century house and we have this huge old fashioned water heater in an upstairs airing cupboard. We also have a more modern Worcester boiler in the downstairs kitchen in an area which we will soon be knocking through to intstal bi-folds.

Is it easy/cost-effective to do away with the water heater and install a new boiler upstairs? (perhaps use the existing unit)

I mean, I know most things are achievable with enough money but is it common to upgrade the old fashioned water heaters or should they be ok going forwards? Haven't lived here long enough to assess whether the heater and boiler are efficient enough but I don't much about this. Thanks in advance.


Increasingly money-conscious
:cool:

Comments

  • oligopoly
    oligopoly Posts: 395 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker


    Photos of the water heater and boiler in question!
    Increasingly money-conscious
    :cool:
  • Section62
    Section62 Posts: 8,658 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Third Anniversary Name Dropper
    oligopoly said:
    Hi, recently moved from a 21st century house to a 20th century house and we have this huge old fashioned water heater in an upstairs airing cupboard. We also have a more modern Worcester boiler in the downstairs kitchen in an area which we will soon be knocking through to intstal bi-folds.

    Is it easy/cost-effective to do away with the water heater and install a new boiler upstairs? (perhaps use the existing unit)

    I mean, I know most things are achievable with enough money but is it common to upgrade the old fashioned water heaters or should they be ok going forwards? Haven't lived here long enough to assess whether the heater and boiler are efficient enough but I don't much about this. Thanks in advance.

    Not that old fashioned, possibly less than 10 years old.  Still being purchased and installed today -
    https://www.toolstation.com/central-heating-supplies/hot-water-cylinders/c1072

    The hot water cylinder works with your gas boiler to give you a stored supply of hot water ready to use when you need it.  You've also got an electric immersion heater to give you a backup method of heating your hot water if the boiler goes wrong.

    Lots of people have been replacing hot water cylinders with a combi boiler, but that isn't necessarily an improvement.  It all depends on your hot water needs, and the pressure of the mains water supply.  And now what happens in the future with the cost of gas versus electric.

    I predict over the next 10 years many people will be going the other way and replacing their combi with a hot water cylinder.

    Best thing to do is to use the current system for a while to see whether it meets your needs.  Moving the existing gas boiler (or installing a new one) could get expensive - depending on what alternative locations there are in the house to put it.

  • ic
    ic Posts: 3,338 Forumite
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    Looks to me like you've got an S or Y plan system - your Worcester Boiler is a system boiler, and can provide heat for both the raditators and for heating the hot tank.  The electric element on the tank is a back up, and shouldn't ordinarily be used.  You must have a programmable thermostat somewhere, that probably has timings for both hot water and radiators? 

    The bonus of your system is you have lots of hot water stored up, so plentiful supply for baths and showers.  Downside is there's some wastage to that, as heat will escape from the tank - even though its insulated.  Unless you're desperate for the space it'd provide, removing the tank and replacing the system boiler for a combi is never going to pay for itself in efficiency savings.

    If your showers are weak, take a look at fitting a pump. 

    If you want to move the boiler upstairs, the gas will need extending to there (and possibly the pipe size increasing all the way back to the meter), plus you'll need a route out for the flue, which might be up through the roof if the airing cupboard isn't on an external wall.
  • oligopoly
    oligopoly Posts: 395 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Sounds like it's worth keeping the water heater then. The boiler will have to move due to the work we're doing next year - might look to reposition the boiler in the new utility area then. Thanks both for the advice. 
    Increasingly money-conscious
    :cool:
  • Bendy_House
    Bendy_House Posts: 4,756 Forumite
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    edited 18 October 2021 at 6:54PM
    Unless you need that cupboard space, then it usually isn't cost-effective to get rid.
    A stored hot water system - vented (like yours) or unvented (mains-driven) - always provides the option of topping up the hot water using either PV or a solar heat panel.
    Changing a system 'type' is going to cost ~£2k+, so is hardly 'cost-effective'. Usually best to wait until the existing system is starting to fail, and then look at your options.
  • Section62
    Section62 Posts: 8,658 Forumite
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    A stored hot water system - vented (like yours) or unvented (mains-driven) - always provides the option of topping up the hot water using either PV or a solar heat panel.


    On which topic, in today's news-
    How energy flexibility can save us money and cut carbon
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-58898999

    Khalid Abdulla, an engineer from Edinburgh, has a hot water tank from a firm called Mixergy that's automatically switched on by his energy supplier's computer when power is cheapest (it can be overruled manually).

    The tank's insulation ensures the water remains hot whenever Khalid's ready for a shower. In effect, he's storing energy in hot water.

    Who would have thought that a hot water tank could become the cutting edge of technology?

    (no need for complicated and expensive systems though - in future simple 'smart' controls could switch a standard immersion heater on and off as the price of electricity varies through the day and night)

  • plumb1_2
    plumb1_2 Posts: 4,395 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Most probably cheaper to heat your hot water as it is, vs a Combi 
    We have more cold weather in the country and tend to use our heating more, heating the water is just like heating another radiator when you put the heating on.

    I would very concerned about that brass fitting on the outlet/expansion pipe from the top of the cylinder, could be NRV? Risk of the cylinder exploding if the stats fail.
  • twopenny
    twopenny Posts: 6,807 Forumite
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    During the Beast from the East when my 40yr old boiler gave up I happily had plenty of hot water and baths because I retained the immersion.
    While people with Combi boilers had the pipes freeze and gas fitters couldn't get through or were too busy to fix them so no heat or hot water.
    Ditto if there's a power cut the gas boiler will continue to heat the water and if you have one shower from the mains and one electric shower you are sorted.
    That is a really nice boiler. Count it as a plus.
    Interesting article Section. They'll be telling us we can have our log burners back soon because the fuel is sustainable and eco friendly.........

    I can rise and shine - just not at the same time!

    viral kindness .....kindness is contageous pass it on

    The only normal people you know are the ones you don’t know very well


  • Section62
    Section62 Posts: 8,658 Forumite
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    twopenny said:

    Interesting article Section.

    There's more.  A ban on selling gas boilers from 2035. £5k towards the cost of a heat pump.

    (which means finding a storage solution to your hot water needs, or paying peak electricity prices for 'instant' heating)

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58959045

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