High Pressure Unvented Cylinder - Installer Advice

[OliverD]

Can anyone clarify something for me?

I'm having a high pressure unvented hot water cylinder installed.

Had three quotes from different plumbers, all who talk knowledgeably about installing the system. However, when I've asked do you have an unvented/G3 certificate, they've looked blank at me!!!

Been on the Gas Safe site and using the search function and selected the type of job and the plumbers come up, but next to their qualifications it doesn't say they are qualified to install an unvented system.

I'm confused, is this something I should worry about?

I live in the Solihull area so if anyone knows of a qualified G3 engineer they'd recommend please PM me.

 

[dcawkwell]

It will only come up if they have bothered to register it with gas safe.
If they haven't they haven't installed any OR! they aren't registering
with via gas safe as the should be.

Search for my gas safe registration my gas safe online registration looks like this
Services Provided:
Domestic
Out of Hours Work
Gas Type:
LPG
Natural Gas
Domestic area of work:
Gas Boiler
Combustion Analysis
Cooker
Fire
Pipework
Meters
Caravan
Range Cooker
Unvented Cylinders
Vented Cyl
Water Heater

If you do an advance search on the gas safe website you can search for just people with unvented. I suggest you do that and avoid these other plumbers.

 

[OliverD]

Thanks DC

I've tried the advance search, searching for just unvented, but it brings up lots of plumbers, some it seems without unvented qualification.

I've searched the plumbers who've quoted and they don't come up either as being registered. Would you worry?

Thanks

 

[dcawkwell]

Thanks DC

I've tried the advance search, searching for just unvented, but it brings up lots of plumbers, some it seems without unvented qualification.

I've searched the plumbers who've quoted and they don't come up either as being registered. Would you worry?

Thanks

Worked fine for me.

I put in all services , all gas types, unvented cylinder and then
entered my home town.

Only plumbers with unvented cylinder qualification came up.

 

[Biggles..]

No G3, don't use!

I've got it but its not on my GSR card as I couldn't be bothered to tell em and why should they care about anything other than gas.

 

[dcawkwell]

No G3, don't use!

I've got it but its not on my GSR card as I couldn't be bothered to tell em and why should they care about anything other than gas.

Because you have to register your unvented cylinder installs just
like installing a boiler. So if you
aren't registered with gas safe who are you registering them with???

 

[OliverD]

DC - it maybe because I'm on Mac (had a few problems with the GR site)

Thanks Lee - I will call some of the local guys who've got G3 on GR site if the other guys can't show me there certificate.

If anyone lives in Solihull area and has G3 please PM - I'll get you around for a quote.

 

[GasBod]

My card doesn't mention g3 anywhere on it!All it says is my UHW10 expires in 2016.

 

[Dan Robinson]

Because you have to register your unvented cylinder installs just
like installing a boiler.

No you don't.

The installs have to be registered yes, but not necessarily by you, for the boilers or the cylinders.

But OP. they installer must hold the relevant certification.

 

[sooey]

When we first registered for those things they said it was for life. Now they want a retest every 5 years. I haven't resat it and I've got no intention of, sod them. Though I still come up on the gas safe site as having it.

 

[OliverD]

PostPosted: Fri Jan 11, 2013 11:28 pm Post Subject:
dcawkwell wrote:

Because you have to register your unvented cylinder installs just
like installing a boiler.



No you don't.

The installs have to be registered yes, but not necessarily by you, for the boilers or the cylinders.

But OP. they installer must hold the relevant certification.

So if I've understood this right?

No G3 on GR means they can still have certificate to be competent to install the system.

But a G3 GS plumber needs to register it on GS. What's the main benefit to me as a consumer on the second point then?

 

[Norcon]

when I've asked do you have an unvented/G3 certificate, they've looked blank at me!!!

That means they don't have it and are cowboys.

 

[Dan Robinson]

The installs have to be (sic) registered with LBC. By someone- either you or the installer.

It is just easier through GS, although as we found out with CORGI, not necessarily the most trustworthy.

As said. If the installer looks blank at the mention of a G3 certificate then he hasn't got it and should be shown the door.

 

[OliverD]

I've now had a couple of G3 certificated plumbers around, both all seem competent and I'd be happy in installing the megaflow cylinder. But both of them have a different view on the installation.

Currently I have a gravity fed system. I have a 22mm pipe straight off the mains coming into the house which feeds to the header tanks. However its not a direct feed, so supplies all cold outlets too, except the showers.

I have 7bar coming into the property. And all my taps are the mixer sort.

These are the two different ways proposed to install it:
1) Create a new direct feed from the mains to the cylinder, and then put a mains balancing valve (i think this is what he called it) to supply hot and cold. I've been told this is the best way to equalize pressure/flow when multiple outlets are open.

2) Simply put a pressure reducing valve on the mains to reduce overall pressure to 3bar. So the pressure coming out the cold will be equal to the hot. My fear with this there may be a drop in performance?

Please can anyone advise which they think is the best route. Option 1 sounds like the way you'd do it if installing a system from scratch.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks everyone.

Ollie

 

[Gasguru]

These are the two different ways proposed to install it:
1) Create a new direct feed from the mains to the cylinder, and then put a mains balancing valve (i think this is what he called it) to supply hot and cold. I've been told this is the best way to equalize pressure/flow when multiple outlets are open.

Well unless you've misunderstood then whoever proposed that...show 'em the door.

ALL unvented cylinders come with a pressure reducing valve, and the cylinder should NEVER be fed direct from the mains.

The pressure reducing valve should be installed before the feed to the cylinder and cold taps.

Are you sure you want to go for a Megaflo? Bubble tanks can require the bubble regenerating much more often than claimed in some areas of the country. I prefer a separate expansion vessel. Get the installer to fit a pressure gauage AFTER the reducing valve. Helps with fault diagnosis in the future.