Hot water cylinder - airing cupboard layout

Slinky

Oh yes will definitely lag before the shelves go back in, the plumber is still working on the system though, so at the moment the contents of the airing cupboard are stored in my OH's car - the only spare space we could find before we went on holiday, with all the building work going on in the house! They could go in the loft now, but the back of the car is easier to use!

Bendy_House

ComicGeek said:

Slinky said:

We have the 210. At the moment we are heating via the immersion so are working out the minimum time to heat for the water we use. Can't wait for the gas to be connected up. 

There may be some heat coming off but it's not really noticeable in our unheated house and certainly much less than what was a 40 year old tank

It's the pipework from the boiler to the cylinder that emits the noticeable heat, rather than from the cylinder itself. If you're only running the immersion then what you experience now isn't the real situation. 

I've got virtually the same cylinder (just the slimline version) as you. I've lagged every bit of pipework, only the valves, pump and gaps between lagging strips are uncovered.

Still noticeably warm when I open the cupboard door, so I really don't think that you have to worry about it not being enough. Lag everything now and before you put the shelves in, much easier!

Storage envy!

I'd agree that's the most sensible approach - let the installers fully lag the pipework as they should. All the exposed components will be hot, ~65oC or more, so between that and the tank itself, there will almost certainly be enough warmth in that closed cupboard to keep things nicely dry.

There then remains the option of exposing a bit of pipe if wished, if it's felt that it isn't quite good enough, but I doubt very much it'll be needed. 

Would folk also recommend ventilating the cupboard in any way? Or will the natural gaps around the door be adequate? I'm thinking there will almost certainly be a gap along the bottom of the door - an ideal place - but would it benefit from one at the top too? 

ComicGeek

Bendy_House said:

ComicGeek said:

Slinky said:

We have the 210. At the moment we are heating via the immersion so are working out the minimum time to heat for the water we use. Can't wait for the gas to be connected up. 

There may be some heat coming off but it's not really noticeable in our unheated house and certainly much less than what was a 40 year old tank

It's the pipework from the boiler to the cylinder that emits the noticeable heat, rather than from the cylinder itself. If you're only running the immersion then what you experience now isn't the real situation. 

I've got virtually the same cylinder (just the slimline version) as you. I've lagged every bit of pipework, only the valves, pump and gaps between lagging strips are uncovered.

Still noticeably warm when I open the cupboard door, so I really don't think that you have to worry about it not being enough. Lag everything now and before you put the shelves in, much easier!

Would folk also recommend ventilating the cupboard in any way? Or will the natural gaps around the door be adequate? I'm thinking there will almost certainly be a gap along the bottom of the door - an ideal place - but would it benefit from one at the top too? 

No need unless you are looking to actually dry clothes in there, as it's dry heat rather than moist air. 

In Scandinavia they use drying cabinets, which rely on air flow within the cabinets to dry the clothes. I have had some clients in the past who have built large airing cupboards with hanging rails and an extract fan to draw air through - but that would result in a lot of heat being dumped without heat recovery ventilation, expensive in current times.

Bendy_House

ComicGeek said:

No need unless you are looking to actually dry clothes in there, as it's dry heat rather than moist air. 

In Scandinavia they use drying cabinets, which rely on air flow within the cabinets to dry the clothes. I have had some clients in the past who have built large airing cupboards with hanging rails and an extract fan to draw air through - but that would result in a lot of heat being dumped without heat recovery ventilation, expensive in current times.

I mean trickle-ventilating. And, yes, to get the last touch of any remaining dampness out of the clothes once stored - there is pretty much bound to be some, especially if the clothes have been air-dried. To get them bone-dry!

I suspect there will be more than enough natural 'trickle' - including folk just opening the cupboard door on a regular basis - to make integrated ventilating unnecessary.

But, when you think about it, tho', you wouldn't seal that door, or else you would have raised humidity in there.

Slinky

Found it! This is what I read about regarding insulation of pipework passing through walls.

https://probuildermag.co.uk/news/pipe-seals-officially-mandated-in-new-part-l-of-the-building-regulations