Frequently Asked Questions
General FAQ
Where to start?
- Technical expertise – ask us anything about storage
- Unique products designed by our team
- Made in UK, full no quibble warranty
- Fast delivery on most items
- After sales support
- High quality stainless cylinders
- Hot Water Association Charter Members
- We are nice people to deal with!
Easy – in a word – comfort.
With storage you can enjoy multi outlet use without someone squirming in the shower when the kitchen tap is turned on. You get fast bath filling and excellent flow rates. You get a back up immersion heater so if the boiler breaks you still have hot water. And it is the only way to harvest renewables – solar, heat pump, wood burners etc.
Go to the home page – just follow the links on choosing the type of product to identify the unit you need, and then use the sizing guide.
You can enquire through your merchant, search online or simply buy from our internet site – the choice is yours.
The new cylinder does not have to be in the same location as the old one, but it may be the best place for it. It’s always best to talk to a professional installer if unsure.
Yes, to harness the solar gain generated by the solar panels you will need to get a twin coil at some point.
How much work is involved in changing a cylinder and do I need to change my boiler at the same time?
A replacement cylinder will usually fill the same purpose as the old one unless your hot water needs have changed, such as more people living in the property or if more showers have been added. If that is the case it may be that you need a larger cylinder.
Usually there is no need to change the boiler at the same time.
Our standard products are warrantied for use with public mains supply. For private supplies we can offer Super Duplex cylinders. These are made to order and carry a five year warranty subject to our terms and conditions regarding chlorides and hardness, annual service and so on.
Thermal Store FAQ
- No metal G3 discharge
- No pressure reducing sets and relief valves
- Mains hot water
- Safe, vented stores available with fast radiator heat up
- Multi fuel options
- Sealed system options for underfloor heating
- Use renewables to contribute to heating and hot water
Easily, just use the indirect (twin coil) store and replacement is straightforward as they work with Y or S plan systems as well as upgrading your service to mains pressure hot water.
If you have the appropriate pressures coming in you will enjoy flow rates of 20 to 30 litres a minute. This means multi outlet use isn’t a problem as showers tend to operate at about 9 litres per minute. It also means you can fill a bath in just a few minutes. Gas combi boilers typically offer flow rates of only 9 to 12 litres a minute.
In addition, you will enjoy temperatures around 50°C where a combi can be as low as 40°C.
Turn on a tap connected to the mains – usually the cold kitchen sink tap. Leave it running and turn on another cold mains tap – perhaps the garden hose tap – and you can see immediately what you would get in terms of multi outlet use. To measure your flow rate, use a bucket with capacity markings and a stopwatch – if it takes 30 seconds to draw 10 litres you have 20 litres a minute.
All mains hot water products need to be serviced – have a look at our installation guides on the product pages and you will see that there are just a few checks needed every year. The shock arrestor charge should be checked, the blending valve filters should be rinsed out and inhibitor levels maintained.
It is a small expansion vessel which will prevent water hammer or coil rattling in mains pressure systems.
It is ten years on the tank and two years on fitted components. If they fail we will replace them without fuss – you can see our terms and conditions on our web site.
It certainly is – it has enhanced surface area and will provide plenty of water at the right temperature. It is stainless steel for long life and we have made sure that it is manufactured to satisfy customer needs.
No – the standard Advance multi-fuel store has a HETAS listing and is perfectly safe to work with sealed systems, even with wood burners. If you want a vented version just ask.
Yes, you can wire the solar PV up to thermal stores to contribute to heating through the fitted 3kW immersion heater(s).
The TSD/TSi includes an integrated feed and expansion tank at the top of the store. The TSDC/TSiC is just the cylinder itself, these are used if you already have a feed and expansion tank in your home and do not want to change it.
The ETS is open vented and does not need a discharge pipe. However it does supply mains pressure hot water.
Although the ETS is designed to use off-peak, it is perfectly fine to use it with the standard tariff although it may cost more to run.
Heat Pump Cylinders FAQ
No – they are unvented. The reason being is that our thermal stores operate on higher temperatures than heat pumps can usually supply.
Because of the construction, position and water capacity of the coil these units get the best out of heat pumps. You can expect to get 50°C or maybe more.
25 years on the tank, 2 years on components fitted – including immersion heaters and thermostats, control valves etc.
Because we like to talk to you first to make sure that you are specifying the correct cylinder with your heat pump installation.
Buffer Store FAQ
It stores energy from low or intermittent heat sources – such as heat pumps – to create a reservoir of energy to be used on demand and also prevents shorting of systems by providing a low temperature return to heat pumps.
Yes – it is designed to reduce system footprint and you can place up to a 300 litre unit on top of it.
Two reasons – the 20 and 100 models are our best sellers and this keeps them priced competitively. The second reason is that the 100 litre is box shaped and has a bigger wall thickness than the stainless buffers to support a cylinder on top and enable it to run up to 3 bar sealed system pressure. They have a long life if the systems are inhibited.
Electric Boilers FAQ
The 6kw will run four or five, the 9kw will run six or seven and the 12kw will run eight or nine. This obviously depends on radiator size so we have tried to average out the outputs.
Let’s assume you are working. You want heat for two hours in the morning and maybe six hours in the evening. The boilers modulate so they are only on full output at start up and then tend to use a percentage of their rated power – let’s say 50%. So, for the 6kw we are talking about 6 x 50% = 3kw multiplied by hours of use (8 per day) = 24. This is then multiplied by the price per KW supplied, around 12p. The price per day is thus 24 x 12p = £2.88.
If you have an extension built in your home and need more power you no longer need to change the boiler – just boost the output with a Plug N Glow.
Or – if you have a conservatory you could install a standalone underfloor system by using Plug N Glow and just adding a pump and a room thermostat.
Likewise, any smallish area – caravan, narrow boat, home workshop or office and so on could be heated with a wet controllable timed system. You can even use it to protect greenhouse plants in the winter, switching it with a frost thermostat.
Not recommended as it is low output
Afraid not – you would need a power station next door to drive it. A typical gas combi will be more than 30KW. That is 125 amps – imagine the cable, never mind that houses are usually limited to 100 amps for all household use.
The cylinder stores energy like a battery so it can be drawn off when needed. It is designed for apartments or small houses but will offer mains pressure hot water at flow rates faster and hotter than a gas combi boiler.