Unvented cylinder installation & servicing in Cardiff & South Wales

A direct electric cylinder heats stored water using immersion heaters, without needing a gas boiler. An indirect cylinder is heated by a suitable boiler or heat pump through a heat exchanger. The right choice depends on the heat source and how your household uses hot water.

For a replacement, we consider the available cupboard space, incoming pressure and flow, hot-water demand, electrical supply, controls, expansion provision and discharge arrangement. Cylinder capacity and reheating time are considered together; a larger tank alone does not guarantee better performance.

In a Cardiff Bay flat, we replaced a direct electric cylinder with a 200-litre Gledhill unit, renewed the expansion vessel and inlet controls, and tested the system through a full heating cycle. The film shows the installation and explains how we assessed the home’s hot-water needs.

A cylinder can still produce hot water when a safety component needs attention. Servicing gives a suitably competent engineer the opportunity to check the safety devices, expansion provision, controls and discharge arrangement against the instructions for your model.

Follow the manufacturer’s service interval and keep the completed service record. For example, Gledhill’s Stainless ES instructions call for routine maintenance normally at least annually and an updated service record. Check the conditions that apply to your own cylinder rather than assuming every warranty is the same.

Tell us about changes in hot-water temperature, slow recovery, leaks or water passing through the tundish so we can arrange an appropriate assessment. Safety valves and discharge pipework must not be capped or altered to hide a fault.

A useful quotation starts with your postcode, the cylinder’s make and model, the number of bathrooms and how your hot water is heated. Photographs of the existing cylinder and available cupboard space help us plan the assessment. Let us know whether you need a replacement, a service or help with a fault.

The assessed scope may include the cylinder, associated valves and pipework, expansion and discharge arrangements, controls, electrical work and removal of the old unit. Access and changes to the existing system affect the price, so we explain the proposed work and quotation before you book.

If you are also changing the boiler or considering a heat pump, plan the hot-water system alongside that upgrade. Cylinder compatibility and recovery performance need to be checked against the proposed heat source.