I have decided to use LPG as may central heating fuel. LPG is not the cheapest fuel on the Isle of Skye - heating oil is more widely used. However, due to space limitation I decided to use LPG so I could buy a standard LPG Combi boiler, which is far more competative than an oil combi boiler.
The combi boiler will provide all the central heating requirements, as well as mains pressure hot water, so there is no need for additional pumps for power showers. I will however only be driving one shower by the boiler, the other shower will be an electric shower.
I decided on an Ideal Combi boiler as it offered the best specification, at a competative price. My family have also used both Ideal gas and oil boilers before, and we have never experienced any problems.
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The picture shows the pipe work which connects to the boiler through the back porch ceiling. There are 4 pipes, two 15mm and two 22mm. The 15mm pipes are used for the main cold water supply, and the hot water output, and the two 22mm are used for central heating flow and return.
Here is the boiler, temporarily mounted on the wall. I still have to connect the flue and pipes as well as plasterboard the wall.
This is a looking at the bottom of the boiler. You can see all the connections. The yellow valve is where the gas connection will be made. This pipe has to be installed by a CORGI registered plumber.
Before I could plasterboard the ceilings and walls I really needed to test the plumbing, and make sure there were no leaks. I sealed off the various pipe ends with drain taps (so I could bleed out any air) and filled the system. Here you can see the heating circuit is filled up to an above normal pressure (currently 2 bar, but normal central heating operating pressure is 1 bar).
A view underneath the boiler, showing the filling loop and drain taps (and a leak if you can spot it)! To be able to test the system, but be able to remove the valves afterwards, I have used push fit connectors and made up short lengths of pipe with drain taps at the end. These can be removed, and are only fitted to allow me to temporarily seal the system.
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