hot water volumes

[Janiner]

Hi All,

We have been advised by our local plumber that our 12 bedroom hotel requires a new boiler with a capacity of 400 litres. The current boiler is 100 litres and is not sufficient - we're just buying the hotel so have no experience of the boiler yet!

He has also suggested a price of around 13000 euros for supply and installation of the new 400 litre boiler.

Des anyone know any more than we do (zero) about hot water capacity? Is 400 litres excessive? What about the price - it sounds extortionate..??

Help..!!

Thanks.

[A_Redman]

Capacity needed depends on how many people, bath to shower ratio and how much spread there is on when people bathe and finally how big,the heating source is. Depending on how many beds, how many in the staff quarters etc 400 sounds tight rather than generous to me. We have 100 in our maison secondaire which has showers raher than baths and will never sleep more than five.

You do not say how the much if any extra plumbing is involved, is there any water used for central heating ? In general the cheaper the source of fuel, wood oil gas electricity then the dearer the water heater. You could easily spend more on heating fuelin the first year than you save.

Do you know what make and model of water heater are proposed ?

[Diana]

What about 2 smaller units, if one breaks down you will still have some hot water.

Diana

[Suzyq]

LAST EDITED ON 29-Mar-04 AT 05:47 PM (GMT)

People using your water rather than theirs are often prone to waste, we have found that 200litres gives min 4 showers, can get away with 6 if they're careful. This includes bowls of hot water for washing hands etc. This is on just heating up over night and not during the day.
It will also depend on the temperature setting; a low temp will mean they use more hot to cold water. When we have a lot of summer visitors we just leave it on all the time and have never had a problem.
Our water is very soft and acid and our chauffe eau is expected to last about 7 years before it corrodes; check with your water supplier what type you have and make sure you get an appropriate heater and protection if available eg for hard water. More build up less efficiency.

Seems a huge amount of money did you really mean 13,000, 200l heaters are relatively cheap.

Suze

[Coco]

Surely your finger slipped when typing his quote, or he's doing more than just installing the water boiler! We had a whole central heating system plus boiler and a tank of oil put in for just over 10,000 euros in a house with 3 bedrooms and three bathrooms.

Coco

[Janiner]

Thanks to everyone for their helpful replies. No, my finger didn't slip....I thought it was expensive - this is a quote ONLY for a boiler (including water tank) and its installation with timer / thermostat!

I think I'll get a few more quotes.

Somebody has suggested that we may be better off to install the type of showers that have their own small water heater. Any thoughts? Are these more expensive to run? The boiler will provide heat to the radiators too but we don't need to replace these.

We have contacted a UK website (www.DIYDoctor.org.uk) and they suggest that 300 litres should be enough.

I think the current owners keep the hot water at the hottest it can possibly be and then they have a mixer valve which mixes this with cold water before it reaches the showers / taps. That helps them to maximise the capacity.

It's all a new world to us....far more interesting than communting every day!!!

Thanks again to everyone!