Not enough hot water,only 1/2 a bath and heating is average

[hobbles]

Can anyone advise on low hot water capacity and average heating before I bring the plumber back who did this complete new system 2 years ago on my property.
Here is the spec of the system:
Baxi Solo 24 HE condensing boiler
Centercyl HE85 hot water cylinder with Backer BT15 rod stat
Wilo Gold RS50 pump
Drayton MA1 motorised valve- (no stickers no instructions)
Drayton electronic controller and RTS1 room stat.
TRV's on all 11 rads

We only get 1/2 a bath of hot water or 1 x 15 minute shower. Its a 4 bed house, the heating is ok but not superb, stat has to be upto 25/26 to really feel any difference. TRV's set to 3. Wilo pump set on 2

I would expect for all 3 of us to be able to have a shower one after the other. Am I wrong??

We then have to use the immersion heater, which if left on packs up. Presumably the overheat/run protection kicks in? Sorry not a plumber but a sparky. Power off and back on and seems to reset the overprotection. is this normal??

Logically to me it seems like the cylinder is not filling up enough,hence not much capacity of hot water.When i remove the rod stat it is not even wet, or does it sit in a casing in the cylinder?
Also i have all documentation for the kit listed except the Drayton MA1 and reading other forums these can be a bone of contention, 2nd hand maybe?? Could this have anything to do with capacity of hot water given or am I going off in a different tangent??

Anyhow if any of you could advise it would be much appreciated before i take my plumber to task.

Thanks Andy

 

[spraggo]

Check that you have water in the expansion tank, which should be about one third full. If not the float valve is probably stuck.

 

[picasso]

Have a look near the bottom of the cylinder , you should see a small box strapped on to the cylinder, this is what controls the temperature of the cylinder, what number is it on ?, the stat at the top is for the electric back up what have you set the stat on thew front of the boiler to ? and finally why has your plumber put an 85 ltr hot water cylinder in a 4 bedroom property , you short of space ?

 

[hobbles]

Hi Picasso/Spraggo, thanks for the replies.

Ok the tank stat is at 50, turned it down today as Mrs was moaning about how hot the water is coming out of the taps. We have found that if we turn it down at the boiler it also turns the heating down/rad temperature? Make sense are is that a problem on its own. I have bled rads recently and unscrewed air tap in loft today while up there.

Now the query on the cylinder size worries me as it is in the loft which is huge and loads of room. The property is an extended 3 bed traditional detached with kitchen extension and ensuite,utility etc so hence the 11 rads and probably quite a large system I presume to be piped round.

Do I have an expansion tank or do you mean a header tank above the cylinder, black plastic thing in a black insulated covering??? If you mean the red/white round ones i have seen on site. No I definetely have not go one of them installed!

Andy

 

[HERTS P&D]

Cylinder stat on 60c and turn TRV's up to number 4. Leave for 1 hour and then see how hot the water and rads are.

Andy

 

[45yearsagasman]

A four bedroom house and 85 litre cylinder does not compute.2 showers would use that up if only set to 50*c.Set your cyl stat to 60 and boiler stat to 80% and if that does not improve matters then you may need to upgrade to a larger cylinder(125 litres min).

 

[spraggo]

You should have two black tanks in your loft, the small one is the expansion tank for your central heating and should be about one third full. The big one supplies the hot water to your taps via the cylinder and should be at least three quarters full. Check that the ball valves are free to move up and down in both.

 

[spraggo]

Just to dismiss any doubt, are you saying that the water coming from the hot bath tap eventually runs cold, or that the water stops running altogether?.

 

[hobbles]

The water runs cold not stops running.

I have just read cylinder info and that even says 1 bath/shower for 85 model and recommends a 125ltr for 2 baths showers which we have.

Me thinks somene has cut corners and made some dollar! T****r.

If I turn stat upto 60 wont that make taps unbearably hot (9 yr old daughter) especially with boiler cranked upto 80%

These guys are good!!!

 

[Tibbot]

Stored water stat should be 60-65. The HE 85 is a high recovery cylinder and is best ran with all day timed demand. Let the cyl stat control the boiler it's well insulated and won't use too much energy. The 120 model would have been more suitable as it has shower tapping and more capacity, though they too will run out if used heavily with limited timed heat demand.

 

[hobbles]

Ok , so lets just get this right.

Tank stat @ 60
Boiler dial @ 80%, there are no numbers on dial in bottom r/h/corner above indicators. So turn c/wise 80%
TRV's set on 4
And check expansion/header tank for free float/ballcock movement.
Should be full 3/4

Check.
Simples.......... Who said the art of commnication was dead, oh yes my marriage guidance councillor.

Cheers chaps, will report in tmoz. As its brain drain time,yes you got it. THE X FACTOR, must get out more.

Thanks Andy

 

[hobbles]

Morning all,

Vast improvement on the heating from cranking up boiler temp dial and tank stat to 60. I assume I am using more gas by doing this??? Not checked expansion/header tank yet and float/ballcock movement

Also when bleeding rads should the system be on/hot or off/cold or warm???

And finally oh wise men/women how open should the balance valves be??? (other end to TRV on rad) They are all fully open at moment??
There are 14 rads not 11, 3 are towel rads (chrome pipe type) with no TRV's fitted.

Andy

 

[HERTS P&D]

Bleed the rads with the system turned OFF, or you could suck air into the rads. If you go to the FAQ, you will find how to balance the rads.

Happy heating

Andy

 

[spraggo]

1, You will use more gas, Unfortunately you don`t get something for
nothing.
2, To bleed rads, heating system should be switched off, does not matter
whether the rads are hot or cold.
3, All valves other end of TRVs should be fully open and towel rail
lockshield valves should be opened just enough for the towel rail to
heat up.

 

[45yearsagasman]

Spraggo 1 and 2 ok but all lockshelds fully open?.How do you suggest balancing the system if not with l/s valves?