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PMPIX

Hi - wonder whether you can help me please? A general plumbing enquiry but involving my heating / hot water system.

I'm based in the Highlands and I've had a Macdonald thermo flow cylinder for about 15 years. It is plumbed at mains pressure and the heating supply comes from a calor gas-fired Aga and a calor gas fired boiler, which both feed into a neutraliser. The Aga provides primary heat and then through the neutraliser valves, the gas boiler is fired on demand and provides additional support when hot water is needed or the central heating is switched on.

The problem I have is that the expansion tank on the cylinder constantly runs with hot water down the outside of the building.


The plumber I called in advised me to call in an electrician to install a 'stat' which he said would open a valve to direct the excess hot water back into the central heating system.

The electrician who I called in to do this, tells me that the stat would not work because it would work against the valves of the neutraliser, which he says (correctly as I understand it) operate in order to fire the central heating boiler and draw in hot water in support of the Aga - so the hot water is drawn in to the system not pushed out of the system.

He advised me to recall the plumber to take out the neutraliser and install a valve, after which he would the install the stat and it would operate as a normal system.

My understanding is that for the Aga and the boiler to feed into the system efficiently there had to be a neutraliser in there - the key point being a balance between demand on the Aga and support demand from the gas boiler. Can anyone advise on the course of action because ?? whether removing the neutraliser would be the course of action? or whether there is another contemporary solution?

Thanks in anticipation.
 
The electrician is wrong. It will require an anti boil thermostat.
Turning the aga down will also help.
Could you post a picture of the neutraliser?
 
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Thanks Chalked,
Attaching a pic of the neutralising part of the works (top is heating, bottom is hot water) and also a plumbing diagram.
thx in anticipation
PM

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