BSEE CASE STUDY
The Welcombe Hotel, spa and golf club in Straord uponAvon needed to replace its unreliable old boilers and chose products from the Hamworthy range. BSEE looks at some of the challenges that had to be overcome during the refurbishment period
landscaped grounds with its own spa and golf course, it presents a relaxing retreat for its guests and day members. Like many hotels, the Welcombe was facing the issue of old boilers becoming unreliable, nearing the end of their serviceable life, with spare parts being difficult to source.
T ‘ We’ve installed
a large number of Wessex ModuMax which means we’re very familiar with the product. Thanks to its compact size, the Wessex fied onto the footprint of only one of the old boilers, so we’ve eecvely halved the space needed for the heang equipment.
’
uHamworthy Purewell VariHeat cast iron condensing boilers were installed in the spa plant room
Danny Bulch, director at Cedar Green, chose to replace the boilers and water heaters in the hotel, spa and golf club with varying products from the Hamworthy range to overcome the challenges of the project: refurbishing a hotel during peak heat requirements in winter, overcoming access issues to the plant room and accommodating different fuel options.
Two large atmospheric boilers on a fan dilution system, of which only one was still working, delivered heating and hot water to the main building of the hotel. Bulch opted for Hamworthy’s Wessex ModuMax mk3 196/588V, a small modular condensing boiler with stainless steel heat
exchanger that has a 10-year warranty, as a replacement. The boiler, consisting of three individual, flexibly stackable boiler modules, can suit difficult plant room layouts and deliver an output of up to 588kW from less than a square metre of footprint. It can efficiently match the heat load from 39kW incrementally all the way up to 588kW thanks to a turndown ratio of five to one per module. Bulch elaborates: “We chose the Wessex because it delivers a high output from a small footprint and it’s a tried and tested product. I’ve been working with
Hamworthy for a long time and I like their products because they are reliable. “We’ve installed a large number of Wessex ModuMax
he Welcombe in Stratford-upon- Avon is one of Hallmark’s many prestigious hotels in the UK. Situated
in 157 acres of
which means we’re very familiar with the product. Thanks to its compact size, the Wessex fitted onto the footprint of only one of the old boilers, so we’ve effectively halved the space needed for the heating equipment. The remaining old working boiler kept the hotel running while we were installing the Wessex
ModuMax on the footprint of the second, failed boiler.”
Overcoming the challenges
The replacement was undertaken in winter. with high heating and hot water requirements while the hotel stayed open, making it more challenging.
Working with Cedar Green Projects, Midtherm
Engineering was employed to design, supply and install a new flue system and boiler room air supply and extract system to accommodate the new condensing boilers at the historic hotel in Warwickshire. Bulch comments: “Whilst we installed the boilers, the flue experts from Midtherm Engineering were able to set up the flue. Once finished, our team of coded welders undertook some complex positional welds whilst the hotel remained open for business as usual. Within only a few hours, the hotel was running on the new Wessex boiler, a virtually seamless changeover with no noticeable loss of heating or hot water.”
While the ventilation was relatively simple, the flue installation was not without its challenges.
Ian Ford, Flue Division manager at Midtherm Engineering, explains: “We carried out a flue survey of the six flues within the chimney from a scaffold tower. We discovered that there was only one flueway which linked the boiler room to atmosphere. With multiple offsets and a rectangular cross-section, traditional stainless steel flue liners were not practical.
“Our clear favourite for this application was FuranFlex, a glass fibre reinforced thermosetting resin flue liner which delivered the much- needed flexibility and ability to cope with condensate and pressure created by the boilers. In uncured condition, the soft form allows the liner to be passed through a complicated flue route before being suspended from the scaffolding, once positioned, and then inflated using fast blowers.
“After completing this, we carried out a camera survey to ensure it is free
24 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER DECEMBER 2018
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A WELCOMBE BOILER REPLACEMENT Energy efficient option reduces costs for hotel
from twists and damage. A bank of steam generators was then connected to the plastic inner sleeve of the liner to slowly cure it under heat, turning it into a hard and smooth material, which resembles carbon fibre in appearance. “Lastly, we connected the liner to the boiler and installed the new
mechanical input ventilation system to complete the installation, making it safe and efficient.”
Replacing the spa boilers
Five large cast iron boilers with a combined output of approximately 500kW supplied heating and hot water to the spa with an indoor and outdoor pool and a fully equipped gym. As the sections of the boilers kept splitting and were becoming unreliable, a replacement was needed. Bulch chose three ErP- compliant Hamworthy Purewell VariHeat cast iron condensing boilers with a combined output of 540kW as substitutes.
Danny comments:
“Hamworthy’s Purewells are compact and sturdy cast iron boilers with large waterways, we use them in our temporary boiler rooms for this very reason. Looking at the requirements of the spa, there wasn’t a moment of hesitation in choosing these boilers as we know them so well.”
To accommodate the hot water requirements, PS200 and PS500 Powerstock glass lined calorifiers with a combined hot water output of up to 2,149 litres per hour were chosen.
Overcoming access issues to the Welcombe’s plant room were a challenge. The hotel’s clubhouse with function rooms and sports bar was the last part of the refurbishment project at the Welcombe. It had an awkward to access the plant room. Bulch elaborates: “We needed a wall hung stainless steel Hamworthy product that can run on LPG, as there is no mains gas to this part of the estate. We opted for two boilers, as these are smaller and lighter than a big model and provide back up for servicing and maintenance. Making use of multiple boilers means we can also benefit from better load matching thanks to the combined higher turndown ratio.” The chosen new boilers were two Stratton mk2 S2-70 stainless steel wall hung
condensing boilers with five- year warranty and 154kW total output. Additionally, the two boilers have a combined turndown ratio of ten to one for flexible load matching from as little as 15.4kW up to their full output of 154kW.
A successful project
Danny Bulch’s familiarity with the complete Hamworthy range allowed him to choose the best-suited boiler for each area of the hotel. The Welcombe now benefits from higher energy
efficiency, lower operational costs, reliability and standardisation, helping to support the Hallmark Hotel Group’s constant
progression within the green tourism sector.
www.hamworthy-heating.com VISIT OUR WEBSITE:
www.bsee.co.uk
uThe Hamworthy Wessex ModuMax mk3 stainless steel condensing boilers installed in the main boiler room of the hotel halved the space the heang plant is taking up
uThe Welcombe Hotel, spa and golf club in StraorduponAvon
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