Hello, I’m wondering if I could use an indirect cylinder to heat the water for a small central heating system. My plan is to use the the heat from inside of the cylinder to heat the coil and then use a pump connected to a thermostat to circulate the water to around 6 radiators. I ask because where we live we don’t have a gas boiler and our garden is far too small for oil and access is difficult for lpg to be installed. Could this work? An expansion vessel will be fitted obviously.
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Using Indirect Cylinder To Heat Radiators
View the thread, titled "Using Indirect Cylinder To Heat Radiators" which is posted in UK Plumbers Forums on UK Plumbers Forums.
For starters I can't see your electric immersion heater providing enough heat to heat your water and 6 rads. Also this isn't something you could set up yourself, its an unvented system, so would require a plumber with G3 unvented qualification and they wouldn't touch this with a barge pole I'm afraid as it would be using appliances for purposes not approved by the manufacturer which in turn would be contravening building regs. That's my take on it at least, others might have a different opinion.
I presume they mean they'd use the electric immersion heaters on the indirect cylinder to heat it and rather than the coil being hooked up to a boiler in order to heat the cylinder, they hook the coil up to the rads and use the immersion heaters effectively to heat the coil and the rads.
Although I might have got the wrong end of the stick, but that's how I read it...
That's what I was thinking but want confirmation.
Always room for an oil tank. Bundled steel tanks made to order.
Direct Thermal store but won't be cheap to run
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Aire
If you don't have gas and can't get oil or lpg have you considered an air source heat pump?
I’m aware of that, it will take longer to heat with an element.
Wouldn’t an electric boiler work out about the same in terms of energy use?
Yes, although how would it be powered? I don’t have solar panels or a boiler?
normally two or three elec immersions
Nope.
And in answer to your original question. Yes it would work, very badly. You would dissipate heat faster than you could input it. So in effect would be circulating cold water around your radiators with a 3kw immersion buzzing away for nothing.
If the jobs worth doing then it's worth doing properly, and that is definitely not the way to do it.
So a thermal store is the way to go? I don’t see any where you can have 3 immersion heaters the max amount is 2 and wouldn’t running 2 or 3 at the same time be a safety issue?
What’s the advantage of a thermal store if only using the electric elements, I mean would it not be better to use an vented indirect cylinder with the 2 immersions? The only advantage I see is mains pressure hot water running through the coil and not the central heating water.Which brings me to the asking if it is indeed safe to run 2 elements together and not on an economy setup?
true but you wouldnt have heating with the unvented cylinder
Sorry not sure I understand, what I meant was use an standard economy vented indirect cylinder and use the coil for the flow and return for the radiators and use the coil inside as a heat exchanger to heat them using the heat from the cylinder.
Won't be able to cope you want a thermal store if your planning that
Is that because of the hot water draw off to the taps?
I’m not ignoring any advice. I’m asking a question.
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