Running a bath - why is it so hard for me?!
Discussion
I like the odd bath every so often.
But for the past two places I have lived in, I haven't been able to run a bath easily at all.
What I mean exactly is that I can't just turn the hot tap on and expect it to come out nice and hot until it is filled enough for me to mix in the cold.
If I turn it on the normal amount, it might be warm for a few seconds and then go cold.
If I turn it on ever so slightly it comes out nice an hot, but takes about an hour to run a bath.
This is how I have been doing it for the past 6 years. And for something that is meant to be relaxing, it ends up giving me more stress and wish I never bothered in the first place.
The weird thing is, I can run a shower nice and hot just fine, and I can run the kitchen tap downstairs nice and hot just fine.
Why am I haveing this problem?
I wanted to smash the taps in with a hammer this afternoon after going on a long walk in what was horrible windy/wet weeather and being soaked through to my underwear for hours.
But for the past two places I have lived in, I haven't been able to run a bath easily at all.
What I mean exactly is that I can't just turn the hot tap on and expect it to come out nice and hot until it is filled enough for me to mix in the cold.
If I turn it on the normal amount, it might be warm for a few seconds and then go cold.
If I turn it on ever so slightly it comes out nice an hot, but takes about an hour to run a bath.
This is how I have been doing it for the past 6 years. And for something that is meant to be relaxing, it ends up giving me more stress and wish I never bothered in the first place.
The weird thing is, I can run a shower nice and hot just fine, and I can run the kitchen tap downstairs nice and hot just fine.
Why am I haveing this problem?
I wanted to smash the taps in with a hammer this afternoon after going on a long walk in what was horrible windy/wet weeather and being soaked through to my underwear for hours.
Certainly sounds like a boiler issue as I had a similar problem at my last place; the good news is it is fairly easy to fix so shouldn't be too expensive assuming it is a combi. Don't ask me what the fix is as I just rang my landlord who sorted it out in about 10 minutes (Corgi registered before anyone asks).
FWIW we have a combi and it's fine running baths. If the heating is on I believe that the hot water takes priority while the bath's filling (or equally if someone is using a shower). I know they seem to be frowned upon on here for some reason, but having changed from an (old) boiler with tank to a combi about 8 years ago I wouldn't go back now. In fact I can't as the airing cupboard is now knocked through to the bathroom to make a bigger shower. I suppose you just need to have the correct sized unit for the house.
I have a combi boiler, to run a hot bath I need to use hot water only, I add cold in at the end to bring the water to the correct temperature. Works fine but has to be done in the correct way. Make sure no one else uses any water whilst the bath is running, that includes flushing toilets etc. Make sure the water temperature control on the boiler is set to full.
If the bath still won't fill hot then you have a problem with the boiler.
If the bath still won't fill hot then you have a problem with the boiler.
It sounds very much like the boiler hasn't been commissioned.
You should have the water flow throttled to the correct flow rate specified by the manufacturer to gain the correct temperature rise. If the water flows too quickly the boiler simply cannot heat it fast enough. Some combination boilers are pre-set with a flow restrictor, some are not. No combination boiler can compete with a cylinder (vented or unvented) set-up when filling a bath. It's not rocket science it's all about flow-rate.
You should have the water flow throttled to the correct flow rate specified by the manufacturer to gain the correct temperature rise. If the water flows too quickly the boiler simply cannot heat it fast enough. Some combination boilers are pre-set with a flow restrictor, some are not. No combination boiler can compete with a cylinder (vented or unvented) set-up when filling a bath. It's not rocket science it's all about flow-rate.
Have to agree with Ferg (well I would as he's a plumber/heating Engineer I think and I'm not 
). When we run a bath it does take a while due to the lower flow. However, we can run a bath/take a shower anytime we like unlike when we had a tank...You could guarentee that if I came in from doing some dirty job in the garage/DIY that someone had just emptied the tank 5 minutes beforehand. 
). When we run a bath it does take a while due to the lower flow. However, we can run a bath/take a shower anytime we like unlike when we had a tank...You could guarentee that if I came in from doing some dirty job in the garage/DIY that someone had just emptied the tank 5 minutes beforehand. OldSkoolRS said:
Have to agree with Ferg (well I would as he's a plumber/heating Engineer I think and I'm not ). When we run a bath it does take a while due to the lower flow. However, we can run a bath/take a shower anytime we like unlike when we had a tank...You could guarentee that if I came in from doing some dirty job in the garage/DIY that someone had just emptied the tank 5 minutes beforehand.
Cylinder's too small... ). When we run a bath it does take a while due to the lower flow. However, we can run a bath/take a shower anytime we like unlike when we had a tank...You could guarentee that if I came in from doing some dirty job in the garage/DIY that someone had just emptied the tank 5 minutes beforehand. Recovery should be 20 mins from cold. I'd go unvented given the choice everytime. PROPER shower performance!!
I wouldn't want to wait 20 minutes for the tank to reheat, then another 10 or so for it to fill enough if I'm dirty from some welding/grinding job and the tank is cold. Though I usually just use the shower myself which seems to have plenty of pressure and is hot within 10-15 seconds at a steady 38 degrees (nice Grohe shower unit I picked up cheap in a German DIY store years ago).
Not trying to put down your comments Ferg, but I never understand the hatred of combi boilers on here, it's a reasonably sized 4 bed detached house too, so if it can work well in my place then it should be possible to get one to work in most typical UK houses (bar the odd mansion owned by CEOs/directors). So limitations on flow rate aside, then the OP should be able to run a bath with hot water as I can without having to replace it with a tank setup.
Not trying to put down your comments Ferg, but I never understand the hatred of combi boilers on here, it's a reasonably sized 4 bed detached house too, so if it can work well in my place then it should be possible to get one to work in most typical UK houses (bar the odd mansion owned by CEOs/directors). So limitations on flow rate aside, then the OP should be able to run a bath with hot water as I can without having to replace it with a tank setup.
One outlet at a time? Two at a push? And shifting minimal water. You can't beat science. If you are happy with what it can provide then that's great. My life is peppered with people unhappy with combination boilers for many reasons. Imagine going to a job and the customer says, "I had the boiler fitted last year and it takes forever to fill the bath. If I'm in the shower I have to make sure no-one else uses the water 'cos it slows down." I'd lay monet that most of the plumbers on here will tell you the same story. Sure! There's plenty of money in hit-and-run combination fitting, but I'd rather provide a system free from "Oh yeah, it's great, but you can't use the bath and shower at the same time." I can't recall the last time someone moaned about the hot water from a cylinder set-up. Boiler breaks down? Switch the immersion heater on.
All good points Ferg, I can see why you chose to fit them in those cases. I suppose we just accept that you can't run a bath and a shower at the same time. We do have a downstairs shower that I usually use, but I just make sure everyone knows I'm going to use it incase someone goes into the bathroom upstairs. Apart from the depths of winter we can use both showers as there is plenty of pressure, but a bath and shower isn't really on for the reasons you said.
A few years ago when my step daughter lived at home, the number of times I'd find the tank empty was infuriating, so for me the combi was a God send. We deliberately didn't tell her that the water was avialable non stop incase she stayed in the shower even longer! I don't know if mine is particulalry large (ooh err) I think it's 90,000 BTUs but it's worked well for the last 6 or 7 years. That's done it, I'll need a new one next week now.
A few years ago when my step daughter lived at home, the number of times I'd find the tank empty was infuriating, so for me the combi was a God send. We deliberately didn't tell her that the water was avialable non stop incase she stayed in the shower even longer! I don't know if mine is particulalry large (ooh err) I think it's 90,000 BTUs but it's worked well for the last 6 or 7 years. That's done it, I'll need a new one next week now.
Ferg said:
No combination boiler can compete with a cylinder (vented or unvented) set-up when filling a bath. It's not rocket science it's all about flow-rate.
There are some pretty big Combi's out there now with some of the large worcesters doing 15 litres/minute@40 degree rise.A lot of people hate combi's and a lot of people love them, I work on loads so have no problem with them. I usually find customers who dont like them have had experiences with older or small combi's and most engineers who don't like them generally can't fix them and thats why they dont like them (no offence to anyone on here who doesn't like them just what I find). Unvented is fine if you have the space and want to pay out so much if not a "decent" combi is fine in a lot of situations.
Mine is a Worcester, maybe that's why I'm quite happy with it?
However, as Ferg is always on here offering free advice I don't want to annoy him by argueing when he does it for a living and I don't. I just wanted to let the OP know that there are working combi systems out there as presumably it's better to fix what he has rather than rip it all out.
However, as Ferg is always on here offering free advice I don't want to annoy him by argueing when he does it for a living and I don't. I just wanted to let the OP know that there are working combi systems out there as presumably it's better to fix what he has rather than rip it all out.
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