Hot water system set up?

[aquaplane]

Currently I have pressurised cold water only on Seminole.

We used to have warm/hot water via a Paloma instant hot water heater, which I have scrapped. The hot water fed a shower head in the Head through a single feed. The temp was set on the Paloma and what you got in the shower was what you got.

Looking at calorifiers, they seem to have thermostatic outlets so I could use it in a similar manner to before, ie. hot water from the calorifier let down with cold to the head/shower. But the galley sink has hot and cold feeds (or will have) so I thought I would want a hotter feed to there.

I'm not bothered about the cost of a few meters of pipe to the head, though the agro making holes in the lockers to run two pipes would swing it to only running one line to the head.

How do you have your system?

 

[PaulRainbow]

Cold from the tanks to the pump > accumulator > tee, from tee to cold taps in galley and heads and to the calorifier. Hot take off from calorifier to galley and heads taps.

Galley tap is a mixer, heads is also a mixer with a flexible hose and shower head.

Calorifier has a mains immersion heater and is plumbed into the engine cooling circuit for free hot water when using the engine.

 

[duncan99210]

Cold from the tanks to the pump > accumulator > tee, from tee to cold taps in galley and heads and to the calorifier. Hot take off from calorifier to galley and heads taps.

Galley tap is a mixer, heads is also a mixer with a flexible hose and shower head.

Calorifier has a mains immersion heater and is plumbed into the engine cooling circuit for free hot water when using the engine.

+1 Something like this system is pretty much the standard.

 

[vyv_cox]

Cold from the tanks to the pump > accumulator > tee, from tee to cold taps in galley and heads and to the calorifier. Hot take off from calorifier to galley and heads taps.

Galley tap is a mixer, heads is also a mixer with a flexible hose and shower head.

Calorifier has a mains immersion heater and is plumbed into the engine cooling circuit for free hot water when using the engine.

That describes mine, too. The only rider is if the tee is very close to the calorifier the expansion of hot water can sometimes reach back to it, giving hot water at the cold tap. This is sometimes solved by putting a nrv at the calorifier inlet but in that case a second accumulator is need to take the expansion. Keeping the tee further upstream is probably a better, and certainly cheaper, option.

 

[macd]

As Paul Rainbow wrote, except that a thermostatic mixer is well worthwhile in the shower.

A thermostatic control on the calorifier outlets condemns you to the same temperature at the sink as everywhere else, whilst washing-up needs hotter water (or so I'm reliably informed). Such mixers on the shower also save water: no faffing about getting the temperature right.

 

[Poignard]

My system?

Stove and kettle.

 

[aquaplane]

Those set ups are as the diagrams online. Thanks for confirming what I was thinking of doing.

I was also going to ask about an accumulator, I don't have one at the moment.
The instructions for the calorifier say fit one after the calorifier to take the expansion on heating. Is one required on the cold water side too? Or if I stick with one on the hot water side I don't have to worry about the proximity of the T and hot getting down the cold feed.

I wondered if I could use the thermostatic mixer on the calorifier to send water at the right temp to the shower instead of mixing it at the shower head as in Mac's system. It seems like the calorifier temp setting if set and forget.

So I had best order the mixer taps with pull out shower head for the Head.

 

[Birdseye]

Currently I have pressurised cold water only on Seminole.

We used to have warm/hot water via a Paloma instant hot water heater, which I have scrapped. The hot water fed a shower head in the Head through a single feed. The temp was set on the Paloma and what you got in the shower was what you got.

Looking at calorifiers, they seem to have thermostatic outlets so I could use it in a similar manner to before, ie. hot water from the calorifier let down with cold to the head/shower. But the galley sink has hot and cold feeds (or will have) so I thought I would want a hotter feed to there.

I'm not bothered about the cost of a few meters of pipe to the head, though the agro making holes in the lockers to run two pipes would swing it to only running one line to the head.

How do you have your system?

Same as a house ie mixer shower system so two feeds to the shower control.

 

[vyv_cox]

I was also going to ask about an accumulator, I don't have one at the moment.
The instructions for the calorifier say fit one after the calorifier to take the expansion on heating. Is one required on the cold water side too? Or if I stick with one on the hot water side I don't have to worry about the proximity of the T and hot getting down the cold feed.

The main function of an accumulator is to smooth the flow, helping to,prevent constant operation of the pump when the taps are open. Although the newer pumps. E.g. Par Max 2.9, are said to provide a smoother flow there are always benefits in having an accumulator. To this end it is normal to have the accumulator close to the pump, mine is only 12 inches downstream.

As the water in the calorifier heats up it expands backwards to the accumulator unless there is a nrv at its inlet. Mine has been like this for 30 years, one accumulator but only since I bought the boat 20 years ago, none previously. Despite that the rv on the calorifiers (original one replaced) never lifted previously and never has since

 

[rogerthebodger]

As Paul Rainbow wrote, except that a thermostatic mixer is well worthwhile in the shower.

A thermostatic control on the calorifier outlets condemns you to the same temperature at the sink as everywhere else, whilst washing-up needs hotter water (or so I'm reliably informed). Such mixers on the shower also save water: no faffing about getting the temperature right.

I also have a thermostatic mixer valve just before the shower. This has made all the difference to showering.

 

[geem]

I also have a thermostatic mixer valve just before the shower. This has made all the difference to showering.

+1
I think it also saves water as there is no faffing about trying to get the balance right. We have domestic triton shower valve and it is like showering at home

 

[PaulRainbow]

Those set ups are as the diagrams online. Thanks for confirming what I was thinking of doing.

I was also going to ask about an accumulator, I don't have one at the moment.
The instructions for the calorifier say fit one after the calorifier to take the expansion on heating. Is one required on the cold water side too? Or if I stick with one on the hot water side I don't have to worry about the proximity of the T and hot getting down the cold feed.

I wondered if I could use the thermostatic mixer on the calorifier to send water at the right temp to the shower instead of mixing it at the shower head as in Mac's system. It seems like the calorifier temp setting if set and forget.

So I had best order the mixer taps with pull out shower head for the Head.

My accumulator is straight after the pump, so it works for both the hot and cold circuits. It is maybe a foot from the pump. The tee is right next to the accumulator and there is about a metre of pipework to the calorifier. It all works fine.

I'd have a thermostatic mixer at the shower, rather than the calorifier, you can then have hot water at the galley for washing up etc.