Hot Water Cylinders (examples)

Below is a description of two types of water tanks or cylinders that are used in a domestic hot water system and the basic workings and uses:

Direct vented (not connected to CH system)

The way that the direct type of water cylinder works is by heating the water contained within it by using an electrically fed heat source called and element, which heats as electricity is applied to it. The element then, passes the heat to the body of water that it is sat in. The system is reasonably simple in that there is no boiler and that makes it perfect for a property that has little or no extra space for one to be fitted. The cylinder will feed things like the bath or perhaps a shower. Some of these cylinders are quite large with multiple heaters inside. Orpington Plumbers are experienced with this kind of cylinder.

Indirect vented. (connected to CH system)

The indirect vented type of cylinder is supplied with cold water from a storage tank above. It heats the water by passing hot water from a boiler through a coil inside the tank called a heat exchanger. A solar powered system could also power this. Cold Water enters at the bottom of the cylinder, there is a small drain cock nearby. The heated water is then returned to the hot water system pipework through a connection at the top of the cylinder. The heat transfer takes place inside the cylinder from the heated coil. There is no contact, hence ‘indirect’ refers to the relationship between the coil and the water, in other words the heat is indirectly transferred to the water. An Orpington Plumber works on this type of system.

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