Stainless steel hot water cylinders

Stainless steel hot water cylinders have rapidly grown in popularity in the UK, as in comparison to conventional enamelled steel hot water cylinders of the same capacity, stainless steel hot water systems are lighter and simpler to install. Long-term maintenance and servicing costs are decreased because a sacrificial anode is not necessary for protection.

With regards to a copper cylinder, they are similar in weight and dimensions, but stainless steel domestic hot water storage tanks can be used at a higher pressure.

Austenitic stainless steel or duplex stainless-steel is a suitable material for a hot water cylinder since it doesn’t need cathodic protection to prevent corrosion on its surface.

Stainless steel pressurised hot water cylinders

There is no feed tank or cold water tank in an unvented system as they use mains water pressure. As unvented cylinders run at mains pressure, sealed hot water cylinders provide substantially superior flow rates, making for more pleasurable baths and showers as they are supplied directly from the cold water mains unlike a vented hot water cylinder.

They can be indirect cylinders, whereby the stainless steel hot water cylinders have an external heating source such as a boiler supplying the heat exchanger, which heats up the unit.

We go into more depth on our indirect unvented cylinders in duplex stainless-steel from 80 to 500 litres on this dedicated webpage –
https://www.flexiheatuk.com/product/indirect-unvented-cylinders/

Direct hot water cylinder range in Stainless-Steel

Or they can be a direct cylinder, whereby the cylinder is heated directly by an immersion element or a series of immersion heaters fitted into the cylinder. An immersion heater requires an electric supply to power this range or type of cylinder. Direct stainless steel hot water cylinders are often used where a gas supply isn’t available.

We go into more depth on this range on their dedicated webpage –  direct unvented cylinders in duplex stainless-steel from 80 to 500 litres 

Vented hot water cylinder in stainless steel

In UK homes, vented hot water cylinders are still a typical form of hot water system. Vented cylinders operate by drawing cold water from a header tank, which is normally found in the loft, and then utilising gravity to circulate hot water throughout the house.

A vent line connects the vented hot water cylinder to the cold water in the header tank to maintain the hot water pressure’s stability with expansion.

Because the hot water pressure is normally determined by the height of the water tank above the tap or shower feed, the pressure of the hot water can be very poor when using a vented hot water cylinder.

Vented cylinders, however, are easier to install and maintain.

The downside of vented cylinders is that they require more space, with tanks in loft space , and that the water pressure is often low, resulting in poor hot water flow rates, especially upstairs in a property.

To boost the pressure of the hot water delivered under gravity to the showers and taps in homes with a vented cylinder, many individuals install electric pumps to help boost the pressure.

Normally, properties or homes with a system boiler supplying the central heating system require an indirect unvented cylinder, whereas properties with standard or regular boilers require an indirect vented cylinder.

Our vented cylinders are the same as our unvented range, just supplied without the unvented G3 Kit.

Which is better, copper or stainless steel hot water cylinders ?

Copper is one of the most effective heat conductors and allows for greater heat transmission within hot water cylinders, resulting in quicker hot water delivery. Copper is less competitive when compared to stainless steel when it comes to long-term cost savings since stainless steel has a considerably stronger resistance to all types of corrosion than copper, including corrosion in crevices and stress. This makes stainless steel highly durable and promises a longer lifespan when compared to a copper cylinder.

Stainless Steel

However, due to stainless steel’s capacity to sustain extremely high pressure, unvented hot water cylinders are now commonplace. Due to their ability to deliver hot water under mains pressure, unvented hot water cylinders have become increasingly popular.

Since stainless steel is the ideal material for a pressurised system, it has taken over as the standard material to cover all your needs when compared to a copper cylinder. We can supply a pre-plumbed stainless steel hot water cylinder that are part of our range.

Contact us

Should you require any more information or want to check stock or prices on the best stainless steel hot water cylinders on the UK market with a warranty of 25 years (hi-flow commercial units are 5 years) from a trusted brands, then give our sales team a call on 01202 822221 or use our contact us form. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter for our latest offers. We produce full VAT invoices for all sales.