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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

Tell me about your boiler, please

11 replies

keepmehappy · 26/08/2018 12:49

I know, scintillating opener(!)

Specifically, how many litres per second and how big a house does that supply?

We've got a 4 bed/2 bath house, current boiler is 10ltrs/sec. We need to upgrade as it's practically condemned. I believe there's no point going above a certain literage as after a while it won't make any difference, but what is that volume? 13 or 14 ltrs/sec? Struggling to decide ...

OP posts:
Ariela · 26/08/2018 13:23

Depends what your incoming water pressure is, as that can be the limiting factor
www.localboilerquotes.co.uk/boiler-flow-rates-explained/

keepmehappy · 26/08/2018 13:41

Ah, yes of course, mains pressure. Thanks. But how can I tell what mine is? Have to get someone in?

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DolorestheNewt · 26/08/2018 13:42

There's another excellent thread with @PigletJohn contributing at the moment. Hang on, I'll find the link....

PigletJohn · 26/08/2018 14:25

fill a bucket at your kitchen cold tap. Time it. Calculate litres per minute. Do the same at your garden tape and scullery tap which may be different. How many?

How old is your house?

You are talking about flow, not pressure.

keepmehappy · 26/08/2018 15:49

Thanks, piglet and Dolores! 13 litres per minute at the kitchen tap. House is about 80 years old.

So there's no point going over a boiler of 13 litres/minute then, basically?

(Just realised that in my OP I put 13 litres per SECOND! That would be kinda powerful... Grin)

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PigletJohn · 26/08/2018 16:57

13lpm is a bit meagre with a combi. 20lpm is OK.

A poor incoming flow means that showers are likely to run hot and cold if water is used elsewhere in the house at the same time. 12lpm is OK for a shower, but a bath holds about 100 litres so will take a while to fill.

It will do no harm to have a slightly more powerful boiler. Within the same range the prices are not vastly different for about 12kW/18kW/24kW/35kW output. But you need one that can modulate its power down well so it does not keep turning on and off at low loads. You can estimate the heating load by measuring your existing radiators and deciding if they are big enough to keep your house warm in winter, or if you want bigger ones. It will probably be less than the hot water load, if you have a combi.

There's a chance you have a fashionable Italian kitchen tap that constricts the flow (traditional British Pillar taps give the best flow) but an 80-y-o house is likely to have a small incoming waterpipe, probably lead and a bit squashed. For better water flow, you could lay a new plastic pipe all the way from the boiler to the meter or stopcock in the pavement. It is no complicated work, but it does involve digging a trench, which is rather wearisome if you have a concrete frontage.

Ask your water co to test your drinking water for lead content. There might be a subsidy or free reconnection in a lead replacement scheme. It will be inconspicuously hidden on their website.

If you had better flow, you could get either a more bountiful combi, or an unvented cylinder, which gives unsurpassed hot water.

Ask your plumber to check that your stopcock(s) and any service valves are big enough.

This sort are rather constricting and you can get better ones that don't leak so often.

proudwoman92 · 26/08/2018 16:57

I will ask my husband to calculate
He is a plumber

keepmehappy · 26/08/2018 17:29

Wow, Piglet! I'm dazzled! Grin

That's really very helpful - far more so than the people who have been out to quote for me already!

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PigletJohn · 26/08/2018 17:54

the water co will test it free for lead content (they can be slow to make appointments, so ask soon. They will not test once you have started work due to disturbance.

In a hard water area the pipes may be coated with limescale on the inside which seals it in.

keepmehappy · 27/08/2018 10:50

Fantastic, thank you Piglet. Now to establish who my water company is ... I think it's just Scottish Water - is there only one up here?! - but will check.

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