This job was in a large house which had two open flued water heaters on the 1st floor providing hot water to the bathrooms.

Our customer wanted the old gas appliances removed for safety reasons, and also desired a mains pressure system to feed his new baths and showers, instead of the noisy and unreliable pumped system.

We recommended a DualStream accumulator fed unvented system.  The accumulator (which boosts the available water flow rate in the house) was fitted in one airing cupboard, and a 300 litre unvented cylinder was fitted in the other.

DualStream accumulator in one airing cupboard

The accumulator fed system discharges water at an enormous flow rate into the showers and baths. 

Shaun puts the finishing touches to the DualStream unvented HW cylinder

In fact, it quickly exposed a faulty plastic pipe joint fitted by another bathroom installer.  After a quick pop up the system was fully operational.

Vaillant EcoMax Pros in basement

The new system was adapted to run off a pair of existing Vaillant open vented Ecomax Pros in the basement.  One of these was not working but it was a simple arcing electrode fault. 

We rewired these units to work with the Honeywell Hometronic radiator management system, now our customer has full control of 16 different zones of heating.

Our client, Farnrise Construction, were building a new 5 bedroom house in Coulsdon.

HWCH specified and installed a full ground floor underfloor heating system, Vaillant 624 system boiler and a manifolded upstairs radiator system.  This allowed the radiators to be fed by seamless pipework, making leaks under the beam and block floor almost impossible.

New build property in Purley, Surrey. WC price on application.

Each floor will be independently controlled as well as each separate underfloor zone. 

Hot water will be provided by a Vaillant uniSTOR unvented cylinder.

The property will be completed in late 2008.

Our customer had an old warm air unit using an open flue system.

Warm air is amongst the most efficient methods of heating a space, and most homeowners with a warm air system would not have anything else, especially radiators!  Warm air was very popular from the 1950s to the late 1980s in the UK, with over a million installed at one point.

However, they have gone out of fashion now and new units are only installed as replacements, which brings us to our customer in Bookham, near Leatherhead, Surrey.

The old unit used to use a conventional flue, that is, a chimney.  These are not considered as failsafe as the modern combustion systems used on domestic boilers, where the gas combustion is sealed to the outside.

Johnson & Starley, the sole domestic gas warm air manufacturer in the UK, brought out a new Economaire warm air range in 2001, and this uses the room sealed concentric flue system.  This range also incorporates ‘System ET’ (even temperature), which incorporates a varispeed fan blower and a pulsing gas valve to provide a subtle heating effect employing the highest economy.  It also removes the need for a pilot light.

New Economaire 32 with internal water heater

Our client wished to have the latest unvented pressurised hot water system, so we linked the Economaire’s internal water heater to an RCM Copperform Ultrasteel unvented cylinder.

Unvented cylinder shown to the right

This unit provides mains pressure cold and hot water services to all outlets.

Finally, we fitted the optional Johnson & Starley Cleanairflow filtration system.  Ideal for those with dust allergies etc, the Cleanairflow filter uses electrostatics to remove particles as small as cigarette smoke from the recirculated air.  These units are extremely effective, so that you have to regularly clean the filter element!

Our customer had a large detached house in East Croydon, Surrey.

Our venue for this posting

Their existing boiler (an old Ideal Mexico open flued unit) was located in a cupboard in one of the reception rooms, taking up lots of room and making the roof uncomfortably warm in the summer.

As far as our customer was concerned, there was only one place for his new boiler, and that was the roof space.

Vaillant 637 boiler on HWCH carpentry

We constructed a vertical platform for the boiler and control equipment, and as per company policy we used the services of our roofing subcontractor to pass the Vaillant flue through the roof tiling (we always use our specialist roofing team for external works).

Our customer also wanted to have mains pressure hot water throughout the house and needed the space occupied by the old open vented hot water cylinder.

So we installed a new Vaillant uniSTOR 260 litre unvented cylinder in the loft, on a specially constructed platform. 

Vaillant uniSTOR 260 pressurised cylinder

Our customer needed a radiator in the hallway to replace a very old fan convenctor unit mounted on the wall.  We fitted a recessed, flush unit from Smiths, called ‘SpaceSaver’, into the under stairs area.  All that could be seen was a small grille.

The SpaceSaver unit uses heat from the boiler and incorporates a small fan inside.  Usually used in the plinths of kitchen units, they are also very useful when a discreet solation to heating a space (without radiators) is required.

Finally, as our client has a large house which is only normally occupied by two people, we fitted the Honeywell Hometronic radiator management system.  This allows immediate zoning of all radiators and rooms, using wireless technology.

Hometronic controller in upstairs cupboard

Hometronic allocates heat to areas normally occupied at a certain time;  similarly it reduces wastage of energy by automating the provision of lower room temperatures in rooms not normally occupied at certain times of the day.  Energy cost savings of 25% can be achieved, whilst rooms that are being used are more comfortable.

A greener, more comfortable house!

Our client had a delightful detached house in a secluded road in Oxted, Surrey.

The house had been extended into the loft, and had ended up with three luxury bathrooms.  Unfortunately, the hot water storage cylinder was jammed under the stairs and was too small.  And there were three separate shower pumps (each installed by plumbers with every new bathroom).

The shower pumps were noisy, one was a negative head type (so it suffered from running for short periods in the middle of the night), the hot water cylinder could not be sited anywhere else, and the water tanks took up valuable space in the eaves.

The boiler was an old Potterton Kingfisher light commercial 60Kw unit, mounted in an external boiler house.  Our customer wanted to remove the water tanks and cylinder from the house, and relocate everything into the small outside boiler cupboard.

And she wanted the boiler flue of the new unit to go up the existing chimney.

With this set of rather onerous requirements, there were a shortage of heating and plumbing companies with suitable solutons.

The old boiler was from heat calculations, considered to be oversized at 60Kw.  In fact, a 35Kw boiler would deliver a more than adequate heating performance for the property. 

We estimated that the hot/cold water requirement would be circa 40 litres per minute.  We choose the ACV Heatmaster combination boiler unit, because this can deliver this incredible flow rate into a domestic property.

Most unvented cylinders struggle to deliver this kind of performance, and here we have a combined boiler and hot water generator that can cover all the bases in one simple unit.  Truth is, whilst the ACV is billed as a combination boiler, it is really a hybrid solution, being a croos between a heatstore and an unvented cylinder.

It uses the trusted ACV tank-in-tank technology, and can run in full condensing (high efficiency) mode even when producing hot water.  The heatstore runs at 85C and directly heats the house and indirectly heats the hot water, in an enveloped tank.

The ACV was adapted to run ‘open flue’ up the chimney.  Our customer needed some roof repairs so the scaffolding for the twin walled condensing smooth liner was shared between HWCH and their roofing contractor.

Of course, running a mains fed water system to serve three bathrooms requires a good quality water main. 

In common with most houses, our customer’s water main struggled to deliver 22 litres per minute, and we were looking for closer to 50 litres per minute when those three bathrooms were being used.

To improve the peak water flow rate, a GAH accumulator was fitted in the boiler plant room directly behind the ACV Heatmaster. 

It was a tight fit in there, but what a performance punch we packed in!

Instantaneous hot water, fully condensing performance, boosted water flow, three bathroom showers at the same time, and no plant inside the house.  On time, and on budget.

Our customer had a newly refurbished Victorian terraced house in a rather upmarket area of Wandsworth, SE London.

Their newly configured bathrooms were let down by the shower pumps.  Noisy, vibrationary and liable to intermittently start in the middle of the night.

Because the property had been extended into the loft, one of the shower pumps was a ‘negative pressure’ type.  These have to push water out of the tanks uphill, because in most loft extensions there is insufficient space or load bearing ability to site water tanks above shower rose level.  The negative head pump incorporates a set of bellows and detects a small change in air pressure in the pipe when you turn the shower on;  it starts pumping straight away! 

Unfortunately, just a small air leakage over time in the pipe also makes the shower pump believe you have opened the tap – so they are prone to randomly starting.  When this happens in the middle of your sleep you start considering the alternatives.

We removed the old water tanks and the old copper hot water cylinder and converted the system over to a modern Vaillant uniSTOR 260 pressurised (unvented) cylinder.

Vaillant uniSTOR and controls installed by HWCH in Wandsworth Oct 2008

The uniSTOR is a modern unit of very neat appearance and is our ‘weapon of choice’ for unvented cylinders.

The showers in the property now work at mains pressure, quietly. 

And our customer has two nearly new pumps to sell on Ebay.

All unvented cylinders require an emergency water discharge, which is normally copper.  On this installation we used plastic waste pipe, which has been tested by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) and certified for use with a special adaptor trap; this makes our options for the siting of unvented cylinders more flexible.

Second problem is, the tank is atmospherically open, leading to potential contamination and stagnation issues.  Particularly as the location tended to be quite warm most of the year.

HWCH were aproached for a better solution, even though the original had only been in place for a few years.

Our client, a farm near Tadworth, Surrey, had an older boiler running two gravity hot water cylinders.

Our customer in Tadworth - not the dog!

The spacious house had a fully equipped annexe with its own hot water provision.

We specifified two DualStream accumulator fed systems, which would replace the old noisy shower pumps and provide a silent, fast flow fresh water service to all outlets.

In the main house we relocated the hot and cold water services into an attic room, to liberate more room downstairs for a bedroom enlargement.

DualStream No 1 in attic room

The other DualStream was sited in the annexe.

DualStream unvented No2 in annexe

The whole system was powered by a new Grant 36-46Kw Vortex condensing oil boiler (with a 3yr warranty) located in the garage.

Grant Vortex condensing oil boiler in the garage

We then converted every radiator to Hometronic using the HR80 valve; 

Hometronic radiator valve - remote control your heating!

this, combined with the Hometronic Manager controller, gave our customer the ability to control the heating in the house in 16 completely addressable zones.

Dean commissioning the new Hometronic system

In addition, they can also control the hot water storage cylinders independently, all from the Hometronic Manager (see picture above). 

Dean has given them ‘lifestyle buttons’ programmed to allow for guests, the entire heating map and hot water provision can be changed to accommodate any scenario with one simple button press.

Every room in the house is now thermostatically controlled, and the boiler only fires when necessary.  You won’t read about this system under ‘energy saving’  in Good Housekeeping;  we are years ahead of the game in energy conservation.

Outwood, Surrey

Our customer, in Outwood, Surrey, owns a large house that has recently been comprehensively extended.

In 2006 HWCH fitted a DualStream accumulator boosted unvented hot and cold water system, to make all the baths and showers deliver a hotel-type performance.  At the same time we fitted the latest Grant Vortex 46Kw oil fired condensing boiler plant in the cellar.

In 2008, following the building extension works,  we were invited back to upgrade the installation with our Hometronic domestic heating controls.  This innovative product allows our customer to divide his property into 16 separate zones of heating, each individually monitored and controlled by radio links.

The Hometronic controller was fitted in a utility room, out of the way. 

Hometronic Controller Outwood 2008

From this unit the customer has full control of all 16 areas, plus hot water timings.  As there are usually only three occupants to the house (which now includes a granny annexe), the heating levels can be phased during the day to follow the occupants, rather than heating the house in its’ entirety.

Radiators adapted to Hometronic - Rear Hallway

In fact, up to 1600 different temperature set points can be programmed in for a week.  No customer has yet managed to schedule that many changes!

All radiators are adapted to take the Hometronic hardware, even the towel rails, which can now be scheduled to warm up in the summer!  On their own!  No pipework or flooring adaptations are usually needed.

A towel rail being adapted for Hometronic, warm towels in the summer!

At the same time we made a few alterations while the system was being converted.  Here is a radiator being added to a previously unheated WC.

While we were there, we added a radiator in one of the WCs. Much more comfortable.

Finally, the system HWCH installed in the cellar back in 2006 was updated by our in house electrical specialist, and the system was filled with Fernox inhibitor and tested.

Dualstream OSO 500/300 litre and Grant Vortex condensing oil boiler

Our customer will now have warmer rooms when and where he wants them, whilst saving energy everywhere else in the property.  We believe Hometronic is the future for heating larger houses….

Inside a Kidd Model 260 – stripped down, preparing for lifting

Going down! the Kidd Boiler is winched into the cellar through a very tight opening (stairs removed)

The boiler flue will emit large quantities of plume and steam, being a high efficiency condensing boiler.  A new Kidd alumimium flue liner was inserted into the boiler room chimney.

Going up -one of the old boilers being lifted out

refurbished School radiator and custom coloured Hometronic valve

School radiator fitted with Hometronic valve

Another example, this time with a bronze Hometronic valve (special order from Hot Water & Central Heating)