Please delete if this is too far off topic(/far too long
), but I'm a bit stuck and need some advice...
I run an outdoor centre and our commercial gas water heater (hot water only) has just keeled over. It's a quite old gas burner system and heats up water which is stored in a huuuuge and super-insulated water cylinder until required. The burner is a lochinvar (ie very expensive and reliable) and it's a "gas fired automatic circulating tank water heater". It will run 6 showers, 4 kitchen sinks and 10 handbasins continuously, withour batting an eyelid - and that's vital to our business as we take 60 guests at a time and they tend to use a lot of water. (We have all the usual water efficiency devices in place (shower heads, slim loo tanks etc) and are on a meter btw.)
I need to replace it this week and am really stuck! I could go for a straight replacement, which will be very expensive and last a long time and I know we will have enough hot water.
However, I am not wild about having a huge water cylinder heated to 65C (legionella prevention) - great when we're busy, but we only have 3 people in this week! I am tempted to get a super-efficient commercial gas condensing boiler, but I'm worried it may not be able to cope with our needs, and I don't want to do it if it turns out to be less energy-efficient in the long run, or less reliable.
I've tried the carbon trust, who were spectularly vague (but I have another number to call tomorrow), and I've googled till my eyes hurt - can anyone point me in the right direction, or have any knowledge of how these systems function?
Thankyou
