Megaflo HW Tank, New Boiler and Loft Conversion
Discussion
Hi
The background is as follows
1. I am planning a loft conversion and want to get rid of the two water tanks for the HW tank. I think a Megaflo is what I need.
2. The current Gas CH boiler is about 13 years old and I want to replace it with a more efficient model. It is not a combi and would need to heat a 4 bed 4 bath house on 3 levels.
3. I have asked the 2 conversion companies to include the cost of both of these to be done at the time and want to get a feel for what I need hardware wise and get a better idea of the costs so if they throw a £10K quote for this I am in a position to argue.
The questions are as follows
1. Anyone got any advice/experience/tips for the Megaflo tank
2. What are the latest and most efficient CH boilers available condensing etc.
thanks
The background is as follows
1. I am planning a loft conversion and want to get rid of the two water tanks for the HW tank. I think a Megaflo is what I need.
2. The current Gas CH boiler is about 13 years old and I want to replace it with a more efficient model. It is not a combi and would need to heat a 4 bed 4 bath house on 3 levels.
3. I have asked the 2 conversion companies to include the cost of both of these to be done at the time and want to get a feel for what I need hardware wise and get a better idea of the costs so if they throw a £10K quote for this I am in a position to argue.
The questions are as follows
1. Anyone got any advice/experience/tips for the Megaflo tank
2. What are the latest and most efficient CH boilers available condensing etc.
thanks
Before you do ANYTHING else check the pressure and more importantly FLOW on your rising main.
Oh, and I'm not getting involved in which boiler you want, because everyone on PH just names their own as the 'best', but I woldn't fit a Megaflo Unvented Cylinder, I'd fit a Main.
Oh, and for God's sake make sure that the Unvented Regs are adhered to....
Oh, and I'm not getting involved in which boiler you want, because everyone on PH just names their own as the 'best', but I woldn't fit a Megaflo Unvented Cylinder, I'd fit a Main.
Oh, and for God's sake make sure that the Unvented Regs are adhered to....
Edited by Ferg on Thursday 30th April 17:55
I've read up quite a bit on system boilers 
because I'm waiting for my 9 year old Baxi Barcelona to die.
Anything made by Atag, Viessmann and Boulter-Buderus will be pretty decent. However, these are quite rare in the UK so servicing/parts may be a problem. More mainstream would be something like Worcester-Bosch.
I have a 250 litre Megaflo HW tank that has given me no problems. It has an air bubble that needs regenerating every 3 months or so - 15 minute DIY job.
Edit: be careful moving to a sealed/pressurised system - make sure your current pipework/rads can handle the pressure, any weak areas will get very wet!
because I'm waiting for my 9 year old Baxi Barcelona to die.Anything made by Atag, Viessmann and Boulter-Buderus will be pretty decent. However, these are quite rare in the UK so servicing/parts may be a problem. More mainstream would be something like Worcester-Bosch.
I have a 250 litre Megaflo HW tank that has given me no problems. It has an air bubble that needs regenerating every 3 months or so - 15 minute DIY job.
Edit: be careful moving to a sealed/pressurised system - make sure your current pipework/rads can handle the pressure, any weak areas will get very wet!
Edited by Hereward on Thursday 30th April 21:00
Hi,
I did all of this last year - had a megaflo system put in, top tanks taken out, and a loft conversion done.
I got a well respected plumber to fit the megaflo system - Ferg is right that pressure is a key issue, as is ensuring your pipe work can cope with the increased pressure. The systems are complex, but ours was well installed, and has required no attention in the intervening 12 months.
Our boiler is about 13 years old, and I asked about potentially replacing it at the time of putting in the megaflo - plumber said it was good for a good few years, and was capable of coping with the extended house (now 6 bedrooms, three bathrooms, after loft conversion). And it is.
I would get plumbing sorted before doing the loft - our plumber was aware of the 'next' job, so left capped pipes in airing cupboard for shower, toilet, basin & central heating, and loft company just worked from them.
Feel free to PM me
Jono
I did all of this last year - had a megaflo system put in, top tanks taken out, and a loft conversion done.
I got a well respected plumber to fit the megaflo system - Ferg is right that pressure is a key issue, as is ensuring your pipe work can cope with the increased pressure. The systems are complex, but ours was well installed, and has required no attention in the intervening 12 months.
Our boiler is about 13 years old, and I asked about potentially replacing it at the time of putting in the megaflo - plumber said it was good for a good few years, and was capable of coping with the extended house (now 6 bedrooms, three bathrooms, after loft conversion). And it is.
I would get plumbing sorted before doing the loft - our plumber was aware of the 'next' job, so left capped pipes in airing cupboard for shower, toilet, basin & central heating, and loft company just worked from them.
Feel free to PM me
Jono
Ferg said:
jon.nic said:
Ferg is right that pressure is a key issue,
To be honest, FLOW is the key....Pressure in the shower is fine most of the time, but if someone turns on any other tap in the house (cold or hot) then the flow rate to the tank reduces, which appears in the shower as if the pressure is reduced. The main pipe into the house is just 1/2", and is really inadequate for the flow rates which the cylinder can supply. I've noticed about half a dozen houses down our road having larger pipes fitted from the water main in the street, so it's obviously not just us with this problem!
I'd also recommend getting as large a cylinder as you can fit, because with decent flow rates and pressure, kids love to have long showers. And empty the cylinder quickly because of the flow rate...
SJobson said:
Pressure in the shower is fine most of the time, but if someone turns on any other tap in the house (cold or hot) then the flow rate to the tank reduces, which appears in the shower as if the pressure is reduced. The main pipe into the house is just 1/2", and is really inadequate for the flow rates which the cylinder can supply.
Just for your info:http://www.plumbingpark.co.uk/plumbing_hvac_articl...
Ferg said:
SJobson said:
Pressure in the shower is fine most of the time, but if someone turns on any other tap in the house (cold or hot) then the flow rate to the tank reduces, which appears in the shower as if the pressure is reduced. The main pipe into the house is just 1/2", and is really inadequate for the flow rates which the cylinder can supply.
Just for your info:http://www.plumbingpark.co.uk/plumbing_hvac_articl...
I may have to install something along those lines later in the year.
Need a fair size airing cupboard to house that lot!
SJobson said:
The main pipe into the house is just 1/2", and is really inadequate for the flow rates which the cylinder can supply. I've noticed about half a dozen houses down our road having larger pipes fitted from the water main in the street, so it's obviously not just us with this problem!
Presemeably you'd have to upgrade the rising main all the way to the cylinder - surely in many houses that would be an absolutely horrendous job? Ours is corner to corner buried in the slab and then in in the wall to 1st floor and across to the airing cupboard. Not sure Mrs DL would be thrilled with 22mm tube clipped to the ceiling as it wended its way around the house! Edited by Deva Link on Sunday 3rd May 12:43
Thanks for the opinions/advice. I have got the first company coming back with a quote on Thursday so should see how much they want.
From what I have read the pressurised system needs a pipe to the outside in case of problems trouble is my tank is in the centre of the house on the ground floor so how a pipe would get run is a bit of a mystery.
As part of the whole evaluation the flow/pressure of the mains would need to be checked and the mains comes into the house in the airing cupboard so pipe work fir that would be kept to a minimum.
From what I have read the pressurised system needs a pipe to the outside in case of problems trouble is my tank is in the centre of the house on the ground floor so how a pipe would get run is a bit of a mystery.
As part of the whole evaluation the flow/pressure of the mains would need to be checked and the mains comes into the house in the airing cupboard so pipe work fir that would be kept to a minimum.
The link Ferg has supplied is for the duostream - brilliant if your flowrate isn't up to much.
It combines an 'accumulated' store of water that then supplies the unvented cylinder much better than your average 1/2" mains supply. The accumulator then refills after your shower has finished, ready for the next time a tap is opened.
We had a duostream quote for a 500 litre accumulator and 300 litre unvented cylinder, specc'd to do two silly big showers at once, and parts alone were close to 3k. Can be done for between half to a third of that using any unvented cylinder (one without an air bubble is easier - no recharging) with an off-the-shelf accumulator cylinder eg reflex, zilmet.
Note your 'airing cupboard' will get much bigger and will have a sign on the door that says 'plant room'
PH - plumbing matters.
Oh, boilers - Vaillant, Viessmann, anything made by ze germans.
It combines an 'accumulated' store of water that then supplies the unvented cylinder much better than your average 1/2" mains supply. The accumulator then refills after your shower has finished, ready for the next time a tap is opened.
We had a duostream quote for a 500 litre accumulator and 300 litre unvented cylinder, specc'd to do two silly big showers at once, and parts alone were close to 3k. Can be done for between half to a third of that using any unvented cylinder (one without an air bubble is easier - no recharging) with an off-the-shelf accumulator cylinder eg reflex, zilmet.
Note your 'airing cupboard' will get much bigger and will have a sign on the door that says 'plant room'
PH - plumbing matters.
Oh, boilers - Vaillant, Viessmann, anything made by ze germans.
SLacKer said:
From what I have read the pressurised system needs a pipe to the outside in case of problems trouble is my tank is in the centre of the house on the ground floor so how a pipe would get run is a bit of a mystery.
Correct, but you can now run it to a soil-pipe if that's easier. You'll have to put a dry trap in to prevent the smell coming back and the pipework to the soil-pipe MUST be in polypropylene not ABS.Get a VERY GOOD plumber that you trust!
We had this done as part of our loft conversion - once we got our own plumber to do the work (after 2 subcontractors from the builder) everything works very well.
Check your showers - it's not legal to run power showers from a MegaFlow.
Check any water softeners - ours had to be changed as a result.
But 4 bathrooms and 3 showers over 3 floors all work great now
We had this done as part of our loft conversion - once we got our own plumber to do the work (after 2 subcontractors from the builder) everything works very well.
Check your showers - it's not legal to run power showers from a MegaFlow.
Check any water softeners - ours had to be changed as a result.
But 4 bathrooms and 3 showers over 3 floors all work great now
Deva Link said:
SJobson said:
The main pipe into the house is just 1/2", and is really inadequate for the flow rates which the cylinder can supply. I've noticed about half a dozen houses down our road having larger pipes fitted from the water main in the street, so it's obviously not just us with this problem!
Presemeably you'd have to upgrade the rising main all the way to the cylinder - surely in many houses that would be an absolutely horrendous job? Ours is corner to corner buried in the slab and then in in the wall to 1st floor and across to the airing cupboard. Not sure Mrs DL would be thrilled with 22mm tube clipped to the ceiling as it wended its way around the house! Edited by Deva Link on Sunday 3rd May 12:43
Ferg said:
We live in a lane with a poor flow rate and an accumulator has made all the difference. Not sure who made it though....
andy43 said:
The link Ferg has supplied is for the duostream - brilliant if your flowrate isn't up to much.
It combines an 'accumulated' store of water that then supplies the unvented cylinder much better than your average 1/2" mains supply. The accumulator then refills after your shower has finished, ready for the next time a tap is opened.
We had a duostream quote for a 500 litre accumulator and 300 litre unvented cylinder, specc'd to do two silly big showers at once, and parts alone were close to 3k. Can be done for between half to a third of that using any unvented cylinder (one without an air bubble is easier - no recharging) with an off-the-shelf accumulator cylinder eg reflex, zilmet.
Note your 'airing cupboard' will get much bigger and will have a sign on the door that says 'plant room'
PH - plumbing matters.
Oh, boilers - Vaillant, Viessmann, anything made by ze germans.
Thanks for that never heard of that solution. Although if that tank would need to go into the loft then I still have tanks in the loft and the idea is to get rid of them.It combines an 'accumulated' store of water that then supplies the unvented cylinder much better than your average 1/2" mains supply. The accumulator then refills after your shower has finished, ready for the next time a tap is opened.
We had a duostream quote for a 500 litre accumulator and 300 litre unvented cylinder, specc'd to do two silly big showers at once, and parts alone were close to 3k. Can be done for between half to a third of that using any unvented cylinder (one without an air bubble is easier - no recharging) with an off-the-shelf accumulator cylinder eg reflex, zilmet.
Note your 'airing cupboard' will get much bigger and will have a sign on the door that says 'plant room'
PH - plumbing matters.
Oh, boilers - Vaillant, Viessmann, anything made by ze germans.
Ferg said:
SLacKer said:
From what I have read the pressurised system needs a pipe to the outside in case of problems trouble is my tank is in the centre of the house on the ground floor so how a pipe would get run is a bit of a mystery.
Correct, but you can now run it to a soil-pipe if that's easier. You'll have to put a dry trap in to prevent the smell coming back and the pipework to the soil-pipe MUST be in polypropylene not ABS.Also the size of the cupboard could fit two tanks in of the current size I have which is about 6 foot high so I am kind of hoping that the cupboard is big enough.
None of the showers are power showers so I am OK there and I have no softeners so OK there as well.
Edited by SLacKer on Tuesday 5th May 15:15
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