Tweaking my System: My Hot Water System

[Zak33]

Today I have a new hot water cylinder going into my Airing Cupboard, for improved hot water efficiency. The Boiler doesn't need changing yet, and I'#m quite happy with it's cost to run,but I want a better supply of hot water, with less of the inevitable limescale that will have developed over time. I think this old tank is 18 years old, same as the house.

So, right now, the system is being drained.

Like any PC/Hardware/Engineering enthusiast, I'm intrigued to see what's going on, and luckily my plumber knows me well and is happy top let me watch, and to do some weird stuff.

Like weigh the tank on the bathroom scales (just did that for the new one) and take photo's of the inside also done

So, although the tank are NOT the same make, they are the same volumetric capacity. I've weighed the new one and it's 15kg dead on. The one's I saw in Wickes weighed a lot less, and having seen inside it, I can see why he suggested this one. The coil of copper heating pipe at the bottom, that allows the hot water from the boiler to circulate inside the tank (in this copper pipe) to heat the water is incredible.

This is like the one I saw in wickes and I'll post a picture of what's going in later, but the coil is very different.

I shall weigh the old one after it's removal and attempt some photo's, though it wont be as shiny as the new one so may fail abysmally.

[matty-hodgson]

can i ask - what's the weighing for?

[Zak33]

lime scale estimation... you wait until you see what's in an older tank matey

[Zak33]

right.. here is the NEW tank



that's the coil of heating pipes in the bottom.

[0iD]

True story, those old tanks can accumulate a good couple of kilo's of clag

Nice bit of scrap copper tho.

[Zak33]

New Tank = 15kg
Old tank = 28.5 kg (I've left it upside down and left it to drip to make sure it's not water weight)

It was a one man job to remove but two man job to carry it down stairs safely where as the new one was a doddle to carry up.

[Zak33]

OK.. are you ready for what was inside my hot water tank? What I bath in, and shower in?

[Zak33]

and



what I can't get a good photo of is the volume of scag and scale at the bottom of the tank.. it's very deep, prolly 4 inches or more, of loose lime scale and crap.

[pollaxe]

You need an actor with sympathetic eyebrows!

[Funkstar]

it's hard to tell from the photos, but how does the length of heating coil compare in the two tanks?

I bet your hot water will be a lot better now, purely from the better transfer without all that scale.

[Zak33]

it's hard to tell from the photos, but how does the length of heating coil compare in the two tanks?

about three times as long and slightly thinner bore, so quite good surface area. I'm worried that over a very long period it'll get worse than the current one, but I'll look to change it again in 10 years if I'm still here. It's not a lot of money if you know the right people

[peterb]

Fit a water softener! (A proper ion exchange resin based one) Well worth it, and not difficult to do yourself!

[matty-hodgson]

that look absolutely disgusting!
is there nothing you can do to stop all that stuff accumulating in the bottom of the tank?
it sorta looks like the inside of a kettle, is it the same stuff?

[Funkstar]

is there nothing you can do to stop all that stuff accumulating in the bottom of the tank?

See peters post above yours

[Zak33]

we've got one of those electro ones that wraps around the Inlet pipe for the mains supply. I never thought they worked untilI met Sair, who has one fitted under her sink. Her kettle and shower , bath etc was vastly clearer than mine, and my houser was 500 meters from hers.

We brought it with us, to this house, and a kettle lasts much longer with it, so I'm hoping it will assist in lengthening the life of our water systems. The chalk is softer with it, and doesn't "set" like stone.

I think alot of what you can see in that old cylinder picture abouve came away from the tank BECAUSE we've had this fitted for the 4 years we've lived here and it's loosened a lot of the stuff.

[Zak33]

that look absolutely disgusting!
is there nothing you can do to stop all that stuff accumulating in the bottom of the tank?
it sorta looks like the inside of a kettle, is it the same stuff?

it is, but it's worse really.

You see, a kettle BOILS.. and the elemnt inside a kettle is even hotter.. many hundreds of degrees, so all bacteria is killed.

But a hot water cylinder works by having HOT (not boiling) water circulating through the inner copper pipes, to heat the water in the tank, so it never gets to boiling... and all sorts of weird stuff accumulates, some of which is kinda... jelly like

it is rank tbh. And every house has it.. and it's why you should NEVER drink hot tap water.