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Just a quick question. How can I tell whether a hot water tank is designed for use in a gravity or fully pumped system?
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Recognising your Heating System
A good question that deserves an answer: In the UK there are currently three main types of gas heating and hot water systems. Please beware when attempting to turn off your water in your home as you need to generally know what type of system you have. You need to know if you have:Originally posted by Ubarrow View Post
- Gravity fed - if you have a gravity fed tank system as well as the boiler you'll also have a hot water cylinder in a cupboard somewhere and also much higher up (like in a loft) a cold water feed/expansion tank(s). This is a low pressure system.
- Combi Boiler - this type of heating system uses a high pressure water from the mains - most system manufacturers stipulated a maximum water pressure of 3 Bars. Most of the newer Combi Boilers have a pressurised expansion vessel built into their units unless the system has unusually many radiators but it is the total volume of water in the system that stipulates if you have to have a larger external pressure vessel installed. If you have one installed you will spot it quickly as it is normally circular or shaped like a large gas canister and painted in bright red.
- High pressure system - there are essentially two types of mains pressure hot water systems:
- Unvented Mains Pressure Systems - (easily recognisable because these systems use a cylindrical pressure vessel)
- Vented Mains Pressure Systems - (utilising a Thermal Store; you will instantly recognise this because there is only one cylinder or a tank type of vessel) These type of system will become more frequent in the future as the Thermal Store is used as a source of energy gained from appliance(s) in heating system used for heating water or domestic hot water. Most cylinders and vessels are made from mild steel. This type of system allows you to connect to heating devices such as wood-pellet boiler, oil boilers, gas boilers, solar thermal collectors, heat pumps, fireplace insert etc. The heat output of all these sources is accumulated inside of the thermal store and thanks to stainless steel coil can be used for domestic hot water heating.
This type of systems provide mains pressure water to all taps and they tend to give good flow rates of hot water. They require a hot water tank but you will not find any cold water feed tanks in the loft.
However, the water pressure is related to your incoming mains pressure so if you live in a residential area with low pressure then they are NOT a good option. Being pressurised they may require more maintenance and some require safety certification when installed.
Warning: If you attempt to heat mains pressure water using a cylinder designed for a low pressure system the risk of explosion exists.I am totally independent writer and my writing is not skewed in any way by receiving payment for my writing. I reduce my gas bills by using Heat Genius Smart Intelligent Heating Controls with more efficient Column radiators.
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