Gas boiler in the cellar
Discussion
Hi Guys,
I'm looking for a bit of advice/general thoughts. We have a property which is currently on oil heating but we are having gas installed and I want to put a condensing gas boiler in at the same time.
The house is an old Edwardian pile and has a cellar which in days of yore contained a baxi back boiler of some kind. Since then central heating has been added and copper piping has been added.
The cellar is well ventilated with plenty of air bricks and someone's drilled a few holes in the cellar door for good measure. The cellar is not especially damp. Overall I thought it would be a straight swop with condensate running into a limestone sump somewhere in the cellar. Provided there was a frost thermostat I would have been happy.
We've had a few plumbers out to quote for the job and got some conflicting advice:
1.) Some want to pump the condensate out.
2.) Some are happy with the limestone sump idea.
3.) Some recommended our 3 way valve should be replaced with two two way valves. Again I agree with this recommendation as 3 way valves seem a crummy.
However one plumber - who by all accounts is well respected and has done a large amount of good work in a colleagues house - has recommended the boiler should not be installed in the cellar due to damp and cold conditions that will be experienced in the cellar and he recommended putting the boiler in our bathroom which is one the first floor above and inline with all the pipes.
There is no reason to suspect the plumber is having me on or making work for himself. He has said he wouldn't want to do the job unless it's in the house. He went on to say that oil boilers are simpler so he would be happy fitting one in a cellar. However I'd prefer the boiler be placed in the cellar so it's out of the way. It's also where the gas enters the house. The job will also be more substantial if the boiler is relocated.
Can't really find others concerned about placing a boiler in a cellar on t'interweb. Anyone got any thoughts?
Thanks.
I'm looking for a bit of advice/general thoughts. We have a property which is currently on oil heating but we are having gas installed and I want to put a condensing gas boiler in at the same time.
The house is an old Edwardian pile and has a cellar which in days of yore contained a baxi back boiler of some kind. Since then central heating has been added and copper piping has been added.
The cellar is well ventilated with plenty of air bricks and someone's drilled a few holes in the cellar door for good measure. The cellar is not especially damp. Overall I thought it would be a straight swop with condensate running into a limestone sump somewhere in the cellar. Provided there was a frost thermostat I would have been happy.
We've had a few plumbers out to quote for the job and got some conflicting advice:
1.) Some want to pump the condensate out.
2.) Some are happy with the limestone sump idea.
3.) Some recommended our 3 way valve should be replaced with two two way valves. Again I agree with this recommendation as 3 way valves seem a crummy.
However one plumber - who by all accounts is well respected and has done a large amount of good work in a colleagues house - has recommended the boiler should not be installed in the cellar due to damp and cold conditions that will be experienced in the cellar and he recommended putting the boiler in our bathroom which is one the first floor above and inline with all the pipes.
There is no reason to suspect the plumber is having me on or making work for himself. He has said he wouldn't want to do the job unless it's in the house. He went on to say that oil boilers are simpler so he would be happy fitting one in a cellar. However I'd prefer the boiler be placed in the cellar so it's out of the way. It's also where the gas enters the house. The job will also be more substantial if the boiler is relocated.
Can't really find others concerned about placing a boiler in a cellar on t'interweb. Anyone got any thoughts?
Thanks.
I project manage mechanical installations on residential, commercial, hospitals, schools etc new builds and refurbishments, every single one has the boilers in the basement.
I suppose installing the boiler near as poss to the internal entrance from the house would put it in the 'least damp' air I guess.
Boiler warranty would require the condense drain to be into a 'proper' drain, but the sump idea would be fine so long as there was NO CHANCE of it backing up - Is a tundish air-break possible? Otherwise a condense pump to raise the drain to the nearest local stack is fine (condense pumps are cheap) but we try to avoid pumping any condense (this includes AC installs) as the pumps are a failure point we like to avoid just to save post project completion revisits (defects).
Is the limestone sump a soak away or does it have it's own drain?
Thinking about it, bathrooms get more moist air than any other place in the house, and many boilers get installed in them, so the damp arguement is moot imho.
I suppose installing the boiler near as poss to the internal entrance from the house would put it in the 'least damp' air I guess.
Boiler warranty would require the condense drain to be into a 'proper' drain, but the sump idea would be fine so long as there was NO CHANCE of it backing up - Is a tundish air-break possible? Otherwise a condense pump to raise the drain to the nearest local stack is fine (condense pumps are cheap) but we try to avoid pumping any condense (this includes AC installs) as the pumps are a failure point we like to avoid just to save post project completion revisits (defects).
Is the limestone sump a soak away or does it have it's own drain?
Thinking about it, bathrooms get more moist air than any other place in the house, and many boilers get installed in them, so the damp arguement is moot imho.
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