BARN STORMING CONVERSION FROM GAH HEATING
GAH Heating Products has recently supplied three Thermecon oil fired boilers for a group of barn conversions near Hingham in Norfolk. These have been installed together with three Dualstream water control systems also from GAH. Here, the established oil boiler technology of Thermecon has been combined with modern hi-tech Dualstream systems to provide the ultimate in comfort for the prestigious properties.

For the heating, Norwich based Feneley Eclection specified Thermecon oil fired boilers and installed them in purpose built boiler houses in each barn. Tim Plackett – director of Feneley - has used Thermecon oil boilers many times before, and says he selected them again for this project due to their proven reliability and tremendous backup service. He comments ‘everything you need is supplied with the balanced flue kit – even the flashing plate to go under the tiles on a vertical flue. Plus, the flues go together well.’ Another reason for selecting Thermecon was that their black balanced vertical flue terminals look like they could be stoves, and are much more in keeping with the contemporary but sympathetic conversion of the barns.

The oil boilers used here are all Thermecon Option 80/95 models, which can provide from 23 to 28 kW output. Option boilers feature a full height door, and internal control panel with manual reset limit stat and are ideal for boiler house installations such as the barns. Outputs available in the range start at 40,000 and go up to 270,000 Btu/h – all available as balanced or conventional flue.

Although he has used Thermecon boilers many times, this is the first time Tim has installed a Dualstream system and views it as the ultimate system for domestic hot water, being the next stage on from unvented systems. Essentially, Dualstream consists of a hot and cold water pressure balancing unit coupled with a high performance unvented hot water cylinder. By enhancing the mains water volume, it provides balanced water supplies to all hot and cold outlets – even when run simultaneously. Such a system is ideal for the barns where there are two or more bathrooms, perhaps incorporating power showers, and which wouldn’t be able to function on a normal unvented system. With increasing demand for exhilarating top performance power showers using up to 40 litres of water a minute, most traditional systems simply cannot provide the necessary flow rates.

At the heart of the Dualstream system is the balancing unit which is an accumulator vessel storing mains water at incoming pressure. This stored water becomes the engine that drives the hot/cold outlets. As the water is used, the accumulator vessel is charged by the incoming mains, enhancing the volume feeding both the cylinder and cold supplies to the rest of the property. Dualstream can easily be installed in conjunction with an existing heating system, and offers all the advantages associated with an unvented system such as less pipework and no need for feed and expansion tanks necessary. There’s also no cistern filling noise, and no need for noisy pumps on power showers either as the enhanced water pressure from the Dualstream system means you can have real power shower performance without the pump. In the largest of the barns which has three bathrooms there is also the question of where to site the pumps, and three pumps would add considerably to the cost of the installation. One correctly sized Dualstream system overcomes this problem, and supplies adequate water flow rates to all outlets in the barn.

Two of the Dualstream systems used for the barns are 200/210 models, with a 300/300 model used for the largest barn. When sized correctly, the system will allow any number of baths or showers to be run at the same time. Accumulator sizes range from 60 up to 450 litres, with direct and indirect cylinders up to 500 litres available. This means that the system is just as suitable for small flats as for larger properties like the barns. Two or more models can be installed in parallel for greater volume demand such as health clubs, sports and social clubs and leisure centres. The system is also particularly useful in three or four storey town houses or flats where poor pressure and volume problems are exacerbated by the building height.

For press information please contact:
Network PR, Bure Cottage, Acle, Norfolk, NR13 3AZ.

For reader enquiries please contact:
Mr. Graham Gooch, GAH (HEATING PRODUCTS) LIMITED, Building 846, Bentwaters Parks, Rendlesham, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 2TW