@markc, our buffer tank is not visible as it's part of the hot water cylinder - the bottom 100 litres are the buffer tank.
If you had a new HW cylinder out in as part of your installation, look at your paperwork/proposals and see if it mentions the buffer as part of the cylinder.
Before you all dash off and start making adjustments, and even worse modifications, to your systems, you should first of all think about what it is that you are trying to achieve. You should also try to ensure that you fully understand how your system has been designed to operate and whether or not it is actually operating in that manner. You should then consider what affect any adjustments and/or modifications will have or should have on your system and its operation.
The next thing is to decide what information is required to fully understand how your system is performing and whether the information being received is reasonably accurate, reliable and consistent. Those of you with MMSP will have an advantage, but some of the ASHP controllers can also provide reasonably detailed data, though it may have to be collected manually. Obviously the best thing would be to have a data logger, but most people will not have this option.
Optimisation of a control system can be a lengthy process, that will need to be carried out in a logical and systematic manner and cannot easily be rushed.
@markc That is not a buffer tank, it is an expansion tanf for the central heating, when water gets hot, it expands, if it has no-where to go you have a bomb.
@markc, our buffer tank is not visible as it's part of the hot water cylinder - the bottom 100 litres are the buffer tank.
If you had a new HW cylinder out in as part of your installation, look at your paperwork/proposals and see if it mentions the buffer as part of the cylinder.
Hi Mars,
I don't doubt that you are correct. Is there any form of insulation between the two, since the buffer section could have a cooling effect on the hot water section, if my mental visualisation is correct.
If you have pipes running to the bottom your hot water cylinder (I've attached a photo) you probably have a buffer tank there.
Hi Mars,
I suspect the pipework you have shown is actually the connections to the internal heating coil within the hot water tank and not actually a buffer tank. Did your installer provide a schematic diagram to show the layout of your system, if not maybe you should ask them to provide one.
I would expect a buffer tank to be as shown on Google, with 4 pipe connections.
Before you all dash off and start making adjustments, and even worse modifications, to your systems, you should first of all think about what it is that you are trying to achieve. You should also try to ensure that you fully understand how your system has been designed to operate and whether or not it is actually operating in that manner. You should then consider what affect any adjustments and/or modifications will have or should have on your system and its operation.
Optimisation of a control system can be a lengthy process, that will need to be carried out in a logical and systematic manner and cannot easily be rushed.
This the exact reason I'm holding back for now and the foreseeable future. I do however keep an open mind re the future in terms of changes advised by Brendon @heacol
Retrofitted 11.2kw Mitsubishi Ecodan to new radiators commissioned November 2021.
14 x 500w Monocrystalline solar panels.
@derek-m, I don't how the tank is built but I think that they have separate compartments.
This is one of the problems from which I think that most people will suffer, you first of all need to identify all the component parts of your system and how they are interconnected. You then need to have at least a basic understanding of the function of each component part, along with how they interact with the other component parts within your system, before you start making adjustments and/or modifications.
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