New oil boiler - the big question

[oilman]

Building regs - and common sense - require that gravity feed should have a thermostat on the hot water cylinder coupled to a motorised valve that shuts off the flow when the water reaches the required temperature. Mine already has this although it's never been wired up!

You need to check some other points too so your system complies.

5.2)If the new boiler or storage vessel is designed for
gravity hot water, or it is impractical to convert to a
fully pumped installation, provide the following
controls:
a) a cylinder thermostat & zone valve to control the hot
water and provide a boiler interlock.
b) a room or programmable room thermostat.
c) a programmer or time switch.



d) TRV’s on at least all radiators in the bedrooms.
6) Any Boiler Management Control System that meets
the specified zoning, timing & temperature
requirements, is a wholly acceptable alternative.

This is from a leaflet published by the Association of Controls Manufacturers. (ok a vested interest perhaps, but it comes from the building regs.

Yes, I'm going to plumb the kit in myself and get a registered oil engineer to commission it. Worth the cost, not only to get the system running at best efficiency but to provide certificated evidence of a proper installation when it comes to selling the house. Solicitors are quite hot on this, as Oilman pointed out earlier.

Sounk OK to you, Oilman?

Legally speking, the engineer can commission it, but only after seeing a document from either the building control department, or from a registered installer (OFTEC CD/10) stating the installation complies. A registered person can only self-certify (ie their own work), so they aren't entitled to certify someone elses work. If they do, but it didn't comply, they will be liable for the consequences. (Like financial).

East Anglia is a fair sized place, which part of it are you in?

 

[PaulAH]

Saffron Walden. Now you wouldn't be after a job, would you Mr Oilman (smirk)?

Thanks for your advice. I have have decided to move the gravity system onto the pumped circuit, with appropriate controls. It should be simple enough given the lay of the pipework.

Paul

 

[oilman]

Unless you already have someone organised to do the commissioning, it would be worth asking Boulters for their recommended engineer for your area and get them involved early, then they might "do the installing" too.

 

[PaulMcC]

Hi PaulAH,
What a small world - I'm also in East Anglia, Near Eye in Suffolk!
A few more questions about commissioning & the pumped systems...

Commissing:
Do you need to get a document (Oilman - do you have any further info on what this document is) from the building control department and then get the installation comissioned OR can the registered installer commission and approve the installation?

Have you found an engineer willing to commission your system? My assumption is that an engineer would be more interested in installing the system for you and just commissioning may be difficult to organise?



Pumped Systems:
PaulAH - you mentioned that you will go pumped on the hot water circuit and use a 4 port boiler. Does this mean you will run two independently controlled pumps, one water and one heating? Do Boulton have a controller for such a system. I looked into converting my system into a two port boiler with one pump and a diverter water/heating valve but your solution sounds like the best of both worlds. Minimal plumbing and the benefits of a pumped water circuit.


Thanks,
Paul (a.k.a. "t'other one")

 

[PaulAH]

Eye Eye Paul

Others will be able to give you chapter and verse on the building regs but here are two good reference sites:
http://www.heatingcontrols.org.uk
http://www.centralheating.co.uk

Although most of these regs make practical sense, I must say I find the whole thing rather Orwellian. If I want to fit a new boiler in my own home, I don’t see it’s any of the Deputy Prime Minister’s business unless he wants to act in an advisory role. You could end up in the ridiculous position of being fined for installing a carefully designed and built, state-of-the-art system simply because you don’t have the right bits of paper. But that is another subject altogether...

There is a list of registered commissioners on the OFTEC site http://www.oftec.co.uk/.

No, I’m not going to dual-pump the water and heating systems separately (sledgehammers & nuts) but join them up using a three-port valve, thermostats and programmer. You simply divert the pipework and leave the other pair of ports on the boiler blanked off. Which brings us to the matter of flow direction. I’m going to start a new thread on this. Hang the cost.

Paul

 

[oilman]

..........I don’t see it’s any of the Deputy Prime Minister’s business .........

I seem to remember some poor Welsh guy got thumped because he told JP it was none of his business (ok, so he did egg him on a bit )

PaulMcC You need an installation certificate if you don't have an OFTEC guy put it in. He shouldn't certify your work is ok. It's great for you, but he's in doo-doo if anything is not compliant.


PaulAH, as you say there is a list of commissioners on the oftec site, but it only indicates a minimum competence and that they've ticked the right boxes on a form. They may well be very good of course. For your boiler there are a couple of points peculiar to that boiler, hence the suggestion of contacting Boulters.

 

[oilman]

If you look at the cost of pumps and diverter valves, you will see pumps are cheaper, but you would need to organise some relays to control them. But two pumps could work out cheaper than using a diverter valve.


(Why didn't I edit my last message ? you ask. Well, it's because something in diynot's software is making the message window come up in DINGBATS!!!!!!!!)

 

[PaulAH]

With two pumps you'd still need valves to shut off the flow, surely? Wouldn't convection find its way past the pump, especially on the hot water cylinder circuit which has 28mm pipe?

 

[PaulAH]

Sorry Oilman, I overlooked your last comment. What are these "couple of points" peculiar to the Boulter? Or should I ask Mr Prescott?

 

[PaulMcC]

Oilman,
Apologies for asking again but this is all a bit new to me.....just to clarify your post about the commissioning/certifying process.

Is it impossible for a member of the publis to install their own oil boiler as an OFTEC registered engineer will only cert their own work i.e. self cert

Or have I got this completely wrong and it is possible. What would be the process to get the OK on a boiler I install myself.

Many thanks in advance for your expertise and patience with a CH newbie!
PaulMcC

 

[PaulAH]

Paul / Oliman. See new thread.

 

[oilman]

What are these "couple of points" peculiar to the Boulter........

Nothing to do with JP. There are some things he'd better not know about.

Is it impossible for a member of the publis to install their own oil boiler.....

No, anyone can put the boiler or heating system in, but they have to contact the building control department first and tell them whats going on.
For all those who have put their boiler/heating in you can apply for a certificate of regularisation (from the George W. Bush school of English). Telling them late aviods your being charged with an offence if you get found out.

Paul / Oliman. See new thread.

Wot thread?

 

[PaulAH]

Heating Mafia (looks like you got there already)