Urgent - where to put Megaflo cylinder? Calling Pigletjohn!

[silversixpence]

we are having a new boiler with Megaflo cylinder fitted this week. The cylinder is massive, I think 210l and the original plan was to fit it in the airing cupboard where the old tank was. There is no way it will fit in there. The boiler itself is being fitted where the old boiler was in a cupboard in the corner of the dining room/study. The plumber suggested fitting the tank in that room too but it will eat into a lot of space in a fairly small room and won't fit in the cupboard anyway so might need to go into another corner which will look terrible. The last option is to fit it in the attic but we intend to do a loft conversion in the next year or two so it will need to be moved again.

We are wondering:
a) where to put the Megaflo
b) is it difficult/expensive to move it once installed and if not, is it easier to move it from the ground floor than the loft?

We have to decide by tomorrow! Any advice will be really helpful.

A 210l one will weigh about as much as two chubby people. A concrete ground floor is strongest. It is a bit more economical to have it close to whichever hot tap you use most often. This might be the kitchen sink. Short pipe runs will run hot faster (they should be insulated anyway). It will be about the same girth as your old cylinder, but about twice as tall.

In the loft is a bad idea because it will be out of sight, and you will not notice any problems that occur. Also the pipes will be more likely to freeze when you are on holiday. As worker safety get taken more seriously, some firms will not service it unless you have fixed steps, a safety rail round the hatch, safe flooring and good lighting up there.

In some kitchens or utilities it can be put in a corner next to an easily movable appliance, such as a dishwasher on wheels with its own small worktop, that can be rolled out of the way when access is required for servicing. You can hide it with a dummy kitchen unit double door if you want as long as you can open it up fully for access, or construct a roomy broom cupboard. Modern houses usually have a plumbing duct in the corner of the kitchen and bathroom where the pipes can be run. It will make the cupboard slightly warm, but is very well insulated, so not a drying cupboard.

Thank you that's really helpful. I think we are going to have to construct a cupboard as you suggested, which will eat into the study (where the boiler has been fitted) but it can't be helped really. We will probably make a wall of cupboards to disguise the boiler/tank and have a cloakroom cupboard in there too.

We have recently had one installed as part of a whole house refurb and it is sitting in the corner of a room not currently in use. Want to get the room into use (as a dressing room/snug - it's off the room that will eventually be our bedroom) and have been getting quotes for cupboards etc. One thing worth bearing in mind - and which I didn't realise when we had it fitted - is that they don't actually have a v long life spans. Our plumber advises (now!) that we shouldn't bank on it lasting more than 10 years, though they do sometimes last (much) longer than that.

So the implication of that is that any cupboard we do have made for it will either have to be able to be dismantled or constructed in such a way that you can get the cylinder in and out - which kind of scuppers my plan of putting it in the corner of an L-shaped run of wardrobes.

I'm just posting that in case it's helpful to know that at this stage in your planning! I might have put it somewhere else if I'd known.

(On the plus side, however, our water pressure in a big house is fab as a result of having it.)

puzzled

Hmm - that is odd!

This is really interesting as we are buying a house that needs a complete refurb and have been told megaflo is the way to go as we will be installing two bathrooms. How much do these systems cost? Sorry to jump on your thread but we would need to plan the space to install it!

Megaflo and new boiler cost about 2.3k in total. We have definitely noticed an improvement in water pressure and much more reliable hot water but haven't had our radiators switched on yet.