Morco

[chubby]

i ve been reading thru some old threads relating to morcos & the morco manual & what i can understand is this :

 

1) that the 25 mm gap is suggested / required (? which. ?) IF the bulkhead it is being fitted to has the potential reach a temperature of 65degrees whilst the heater is in operation .

2) That the flue must be 600 mm minimum to ensure that combustion gases are removed .

3) That the heater should not be sited in a bathroom or bedroom , though there is no specific " outlawing " of this .

 

I have to get one of these fitted .....as soon as possible really . . A gas safe engineer with the endorsement for working on boats is going to visit my boat to give a quote on doing the entire job & i ll await to see what he says but i strongly expect that the price will be expensive .

I would therefore like to iron out the " best practice " for installing it DIY ( a very hands on mate will assist ) & by this i mean - fit to bulkead , make hole in roof , fit flue & make waterproof & connect to plumbing . Then get a gas man in to connect to the existing gas pipes with a shut off valve just beneath the heater where its easily accessible .

So referring to the above points , is my understanding of the flue length of 600 mm correct ? I would be fitting the heater as low as possible , so the bottom of the morco was just above kitchen worktops ... maybe 4 " above .

 

My siting will be a kitchen bulkhead on ceramic tiles . This would negate the need for the 25 mm gap as the heater isn t being fitted to a wooden bulkhead ? is this acceptable ? Would ceramic tiles count as a suitable material as a " heat shield "

Then i would connect the plumbing & do nothing else .

The reason i ask is because IF i fit it myself then i need to do so in a way that will be safe for myself & guests AND so that a future owner of my boat is safe , which means that my installation needs to be sufficient to pass its next BSS inspection

 

If anyone with such experience of these heaters can verify that my understanding of Morcos instructions is correct regarding flue length & 25 mm gap then i can buy one confident that when we fit it then it will be in such a way that its acceptable & a gas safe man isn t going to arrive to connect the gas & do the old " ..... oohhff , gonna ' ave to start again me old china .... " etc etc & they can connect up , test it , charge thier fee for doing so & all is good and safe .

Any thoughts welcome as i really need to iron out these potential hiccups before buying the heater & flue etc

 

cheers

Edited July 24, 2014 by chubby

[smileypete]

Why not talk about it to the gas bod when they quote, it'll be their opinion that matters as far as getting it installed. They might be OK with you cutting the hole for the flue and making good, plus running the water pipes, to bring the cost down some.

 

cheers, Pete.

~smpt~

Edited July 25, 2014 by smileypete

[David Mack]

My siting will be a kitchen bulkhead on ceramic tiles . This would negate the need for the 25 mm gap as the heater isn t being fitted to a wooden bulkhead ? is this acceptable ? Would ceramic tiles count as a suitable material as a " heat shield "

Ceramic tiles are quite a good conductor of heat. There have been cases where tiles have been fitted behind solid fuel stoves and the wooden backing board behind the tiles has charred. So I would say you still need the 25mm air gap.

[chubby]

Thanks guys

 

So i will see what the quote comes to & take it from there . Happy to be corrected about the tiles & if its a DIY install then i ll make sure theres a 25 mm air gap as recommended . Better safe than sorry . i ll report back here on what happens next

 

cheers again

[jodansgang]

It's in!

It's working!

Ish!

Mounted the boiler on 6mm fire board to be safe. I figured that it would be a lot less hassle than frames and aluminium and the like. £10 for a big sheet from B&Q. Sorted.

I said previously that I intended to pipe the thing up using the hot out from the clarifier to supply the cold in to the morco as I didn't intend using mains electricity, so therefore the hot out would always be cold (with the exception of running the engine).

Now it works but only to a fashion.

I get piping hot water. No problem. However when I mix the hot with cold at the tap the burner goes out!

This is due, please correct me if I'm wrong, to insufficient water pressure and so to resolve this I intend to change my pump from its current 20ish PSI to a whopping great big 30PSI output pump.

If this doesn't work then I'll have to bow down to the fact that it's too long a run from the pump to the clarifier and back and so therefore will have to fit a diverter valve, so as I can switch between supplies.

The only other outside consideration is insufficient gas supply but I think that this is unlikely.

Hope this helps any would be Morco boiler enthusiasts.

[smileypete]

Have you tried switching it to half output as it's summertime?

 

cheers, Pete.

~smpt~

[jodansgang]

Pete my man, thank you, yes I have and it runs fine and well down to about 1/2 temperature and then burner goes out.

Greater success is achieved at the bathroom taps where hot and cold can be mixed with sucsess (again down to about 1/2 temperature then the burner goes out).

The kitchen tap is either hot or cold-no mix, again down to about half temp.

??????!!!!!!!!!

Thanks man.

[chubby]

Good to hear its comng along nicely , happy days . My morco s on hold for now as i couldnt get my head around " the rules " . Contacted BSS & thier reply was essentially " we don t ban them , but neither do we recommend them & would prefer you to use a room sealed version " , which to my understanding doesn t really exist so far as boats are concerned .

Had a guy in to quote to supply & fit ... but it was somewhat beyond my means unfortunately .

 

I ve got another gas guy who needs to " survey " my existing gas pipes incase they need to be replaced to cope with the the increased demand with the addition of a morco , but is happy theoretically to connect a heater that i install & plumb in . Once i get the answers to whether my existing pipes are ok then i can proceed . The guy who quoted said that they were fine & just needed "T ing " into . Who knows ????

 

I ll keep looking here & hope you get it all sorted - i m sure you will

cheers

[smileypete]

Pete my man, thank you, yes I have and it runs fine and well down to about 1/2 temperature and then burner goes out.

Greater success is achieved at the bathroom taps where hot and cold can be mixed with sucsess (again down to about 1/2 temperature then the burner goes out).

The kitchen tap is either hot or cold-no mix, again down to about half temp.

??????!!!!!!!!!

Thanks man.

 

The other thing to try is switch the burner output down on the control knob, to the small flame setting.

 

The heater only has those two fixed heat output settings, beyond that the heated water temperature depends on the flow though the heater, this is adjusted by the temperature control which is really just a variable flow regulator to restrict or increase the flow, giving a hotter or cooler temp.

 

If the temp needs to be reduced still further, best to mix some cold in at the point of use, BUT without restricting the flow from the heater which will cause the water temp from the heater to go up or the heater to cut out due to lack of pressure.

 

For this reason these heaters don't always play well with a thermostatic mixer that may restrict the hot flow too much, there maybe similar problems with a kitchen mixer tap if it's designed for a mains pressure system.

 

It's not like a modern combi boiler which can 'modulate' its heat output to give a steady temperature over a range of flow.

 

cheers, Pete.

~smpt~

Edited August 8, 2014 by smileypete

[Arducius]

Good to hear its comng along nicely , happy days . My morco s on hold for now as i couldnt get my head around " the rules " . Contacted BSS & thier reply was essentially " we don t ban them , but neither do we recommend them & would prefer you to use a room sealed version " , which to my understanding doesn t really exist so far as boats are concerned .

Interesting, we were told by a gas man that the Morco D61B (that we have already purchased) is not allowed on boats. I am hoping he is talking about the RCD and not the BSS. I've also contacted BSS to see what they say. Hopefully an email from them confirming that it isn't banned should convince the gas man.

[Arducius]

BSS response was that they do allow this model on boats. BUT... The PD 5482-3: 2005 Code of practice for domestic butane and propane gas-burning installations states the following:

Appliances should be recommended by the manufacturers as suitable for use in a marine environment. Appliances should be room sealed (with the exception of cooking appliances and conventionally flued instantaneous water heaters used for replacement purposes).

So thats a check, and oh... this isn't a replacement.

and

In circumstances where it is not possible to replace an existing conventional or unflued instantaneous water heater with a room sealed appliance, one conventionally flued instantaneous water heater, type B11BS, with a maximum input rate not exceeding 11.6 kW net, fitted with a combustion products discharge safety device may be installed. In this instance, the installer should carry out and record an assessment of any risk associated with the appliance replacement. For example, it is essential that any conventionally flued appliance and/or its combustion air supply does not communicate with any room/cabin containing a bath or shower.

That's all fine, but again this isn't a replacement.

 

So that leaves me thinking I can use a D61 if it's a replacement, but it's a bit vague about using a new one on a new fit out. In this case a long, unbreakable balanced flue won't allow me to pass under low bridges.

 

I guess it comes down to how you interpret "should" as opposed to "must".