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Blog Post 20 - 10/06/2018

10/6/2018

7 Comments

 

Air Source Heat Pumps

What is an air source heat pump?

Air source Heat Pumps are a way of providing you with heating and hot water in one of the most environmentally friendly ways possible; by using air as its fuel source! Imagine it to be like a fridge, a fridge extracts the heat from the inside to make it cooler. An ASHP works in the opposite way; by taking heat from outside to make it warmer! It doesn't just need a warm day though, your ASHP unit can even manage to extract heat from the air in temperatures as low as -15°C ! 

Still don't get it?

Don't worry! hopefully this diagram below can help you understand the cycle of an ASHP. You can always read more information about this on our > Heat Pump < page.
air source heat pump st austell

Repairing an ASHP unit in Fowey

This week we were called out to Fowey with complaints that although the Air Source Heat Pump was running as it should be, it wasn't actually producing any heating or hot water upon closer inspection it was clear to see that the soft start unit inside the ASHP was not only not working, but had completely burnt out! After speaking to the fantastic support team at Grant Engineering, we were quickly able to replace the burnt out unit for a happy new one!
air source heat pump st austell
air source heat pump st austell
Above you can see the damage to the old soft start unit that was simply too old and tired to work.
Below you can see the before and after pictures of the unit in its correct placement in the ASHP.
air source heat pump st austell
air source heat pump st austell

However the system still wasn't perfect...

We also discovered that the soft start unit wasn't the only issue, but also the immersion timer no longer worked either. We were able to promptly replace this for a new timer and the system was once again working as it should be!
air source heat pump st austell
air source heat pump st austell

We hope you enjoyed learning a little more about Air Source Heat pu​mps and seeing how we were able to help a holiday let in need in Fowey this week.
​Check back soon where you can see what else Eco Dragon has been up to.
7 Comments

Blog Post 19 - 31/03/2018

31/3/2018

2 Comments

 
Happy Easter from Eco Dragon

From all of us at Eco Dragon South West Ltd!

As a special thank you from us to you for being such fantastic customers, we have extended our free service offer for another 2 weeks! Now you can get a free boiler service if you call before 14/04/2018, just click >here< to be taken to our post that can tell you more about this offer.

But that's not all! For those of you who we have already done work for; did you know that you can get 20% off any job up to the value of £200 just by leaving us a google review?!* To do this, all you have to do is go to google and search for "Eco Dragon Plumbing and Heating" and click on our business, or simply scan this QR code to be taken directly to the reviews page.
QR review code

What is our new tool and how can it save you money?

oil syphon, fix boiler
This is our new purging pump. We use it to syphon water and sediment out of oil lines and the bottom of your oil tank to leave you with clean and efficient oil, leaving running costs lower and protecting your boiler from damage as a result of foreign bodies in the oil supply.

This also saves you money when you call us if your boiler isn't working as we can now clean your line and repair your boiler much faster than without our pump, keeping job costs low and making the process easier for everyone involved.

In the picture, you can see the oil gets darker at lower levels and lighter at the top. This is the separation of water and sediment from the oil. When this happens inside your tank the oil sits on top of the water and sediment, therefore the sediment gets pulled through your oil line before the oil which can very rapidly damage your oil pump within your boiler. 
So if you feel there may be sediment and water in your line then give us a call and this simple process could save you from having to pay repair costs for your boiler.
2 Comments

Blog post 18 - 04/03/2018

4/3/2018

1 Comment

 

Battling the cold;
leaks, burst pipes and frozen water

The Beast from the east combined with storm Emma really battered the UK this week. Like many other plumbers and heating engineers, we were getting calls from all around the St Austell area with no heating and hot water.

The main cause for this if the customer had a gas boiler was the condensate pipe freezing on the outside of the property causing an ice plug to form, when the boilers couldn't drain they were shutting themselves down. For this, we disconnected the condensate pipe leading to the outside of the property and created a temporary one inside the property so it wouldn't freeze again, then went back when the weather warmed up and reconnected the original pipe.

For oil boilers, there were two main causes for the heating and hot water failing. The first cause was the cold water feed leading to the boiler freezing, as if there is no cold water going into the boiler, then hot water can't come out. The second reason for failed heating and hot water is a little more complex; due to the rapid change in weather and temperature recently, a lot more condensation has been building up on the inside of oil tanks (much the same as when you have a shower in an unvented bathroom), this water then drips down to the bottom of the tank and the oil then sits on top of the water. 
This is a problem all year round for customers as when the water gets sucked through the oil line it can damage the oil pump within the boiler, however in this weather the water hasn't been making it that far, instead it has been freezing in the oil line between the tank and the boiler (particularly with external boilers) and causing a plug in the line. For this we have been using a heat blower to defrost the water in the line, then pulling the water through to remove it from the tank.

Have a look below at some pictures of the work we have been doing this week.

We dealt with a lot of burst pipes and fittings that had pushed themselves apart under the strain of ice plugs.

burst pipe
burst pipe
burst pipe

Even our van froze shut as a result of freezing rain!

freezing rain
freezing rain

Thank you for checking out our blog this week, we hope all of you made it safely through the storms.
1 Comment

Blog Post 17 - 17/02/2018

17/2/2018

2 Comments

 

The importance of servicing your boiler


A professional, thorough boiler service is essential in the upkeep of your boiler, whether you have a natural gas; LPG, oil or electric boiler. New boilers come with a warranty, and as part of this your warranty requires you to have your boiler serviced annually, however having your boiler serviced isn't something you should only do for the sake of your warranty and it certainly isn't something you should stop doing once the warranty is up!
oil boiler service
This is what the inside of a boiler looks like when it hasn't been serviced, and by the looks of things this boiler has NEVER been serviced. All of the waste byproducts produced by this boiler are not only damaging the boiler, but also reducing the efficiency as the oil boiler has to heat all of the waste byproducts before it can provide the client with heat to their home. By having the boiler serviced, we were able to improve the efficiency of this boiler and extend it's life expectancy to keep the client warmer for longer.
Picture
gas boiler service
We at Eco Dragon can service and repair any type of boiler, and we never give up! If your boiler has a problem then we guarantee we will explore every method of fixing it before suggesting a replacement to help keep costs lower for our customers. But don't forget, it's not just boilers we service, we can service almost all fueled appliances such as your gas fire!
gas fire service

That's all for this week's blog post, check back next week where we may have some exciting news

DON'T FORGET! Take a look at >blog post 16< where you can view our latest promotional offer while it is still running

2 Comments

Blog Post 16- 10/02/2018

10/2/2018

0 Comments

 

SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL OFFER!

This week we are launching a special offer for all of our customers, old and new! 
free boiler service
If your boiler is getting old, no longer works or regularly has problems, it may be time to replace it for a new one. If you choose Eco Dragon for your Boiler replacement, then we have a special offer just for you.
This offer applies to everyone in Cornwall, whether you live in St Austell, Newquay, Truro, or anywhere else in Cornwall, then our boiler replacement offer is suitable for you!

What's the offer?

Any customer who calls to have their boiler replaced before 14/04/2018 will receive their first annual service absolutely free! Yes you read that right... A FREE BOILER SERVICE!

What type of boiler do i need to have?

Absolutely any! Whether you want a Natural Gag Boiler, LPG boiler, Oil Boiler or just about any other type of boiler you can think of, Eco Dragon can Supply and fit them all, and this offer applies to every one of them!

So what do i need to do?

All you need to do is call us on our mobile (07756532873) to book yourself in before 14/04/2018 and tell us you'd like our Boiler offer. 

What if you can't fit my new boiler before the deadline?

Picture
No need to worry! The deadline is only the deadline to call us, we can book you in for your boiler replacement later in the year, as long as you call us before the deadline. DON'T FORGET you must tell us when you book that you want our Boiler offer to receive your FREE service for your first annual service.

We hope to hear from you soon!
0 Comments

Blog Post 15 - 03/02/2018

3/2/2018

1 Comment

 

So what have we been up to since our last update?

Although Eco Dragon is Based in St Austell we do work all over Cornwall, and we certainly have been over the last two months in the build up and run off of Christmas. 
It truly is heating season as we have been receiving calls daily from people who need our help to get them through the winter.

We have traveled to Penzance, Porthtowan, Par, Fowey and everything in between over the past couple of weeks to make sure we can help as many of our loyal customers as possible make it comfortably through the winter.
cylinder
solar install
On one of our renovation projects, we have been working to install an air source heat pump and solar thermal panels to ensure our client is getting plenty of heating and hot water for a reasonable running cost. Here are a couple of photos of the progression of the project, we will show you the finished installation in another post.
solar panels
Picture
Over the past 2 months we have installed 6 boilers to customers with no heating, with a few more lined up to do next. Here are a few pictures of a couple of our recent boiler installs in St Austell and Gorran Haven. If you would like to see any other parts of a boiler installation to see what's involved, please comment on this post saying what you would like to see and we will make sure we include it in our next post!
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Picture

Now you are up to date on the busy lives of Eco Dragon Plumbing, Heating, Renewables and Construction. Please leave us a comment letting us know what you think and check back soon to see what else is in store.
1 Comment

Blog post 14 - 11/11/2017

11/11/2017

4 Comments

 

What has Eco Dragon been up to these past few weeks?

Winter is fast approaching, and as usual this means our phone doesn't stop ringing. We are extremely grateful to all our customers, old and new, that choose Eco Dragon to provide them with the quality service they deserve, so we always try our best to make sure everyone is happy and that we help out as many of our customers as we can.

As well as the usual servicing and repairs of boilers that come with the winter time, we have also been receiving a great number of calls for full plumbing and heating installs on new-builds and renovation projects to get customers set up ready for winter. 

Over the past few weeks we have begun new projects as well as continuing on old ones, you can see two examples of our work below.

Remember the Old Coastguard House in Gorran Haven?

pipework
pipework
embedded pipework
Just in case you don't remember, here is a little reminder for you. We began working on a renovation project in Gorran Haven just over a year ago now, installing the plumbing and heating throughout the house, whilst the clients carried out the rest of the renovations themselves! (you can see previous progress in older blog posts). The clients have been working hard to create their dream home and have now called us back to the property to finish installation of water and heating pipes to the part of the house that wasn't previously ready for us. 
The room pictured above will soon be the clients' kitchen, but first we had to get our pipework in place so it could be hidden in the walls and floor. Pipes are now in place for hot and cold water feeds and of course the heating, so now the clients can crack on with their home! Good luck guys!

New heating install- an Air Source Heat Pump!

cylinder
Another client contacted us recently to say she wanted a more economical way to heat her home and provide herself with hot water. Over the space of a week and a half we removed the client's old boiler, swapped the radiators for more efficient ones, installed the heat pump (hiding the pipes in a newly cast step) and swapped the cylinder in the loft for one suited to the heat pump, making use of the 
cylinder
pipework that was already in place whilst adding in our own to suit the cylinder requirements. The client has contacted us since the install to say that everything is working perfectly and she is extremely happy with the install, which is what we aim to achieve with all of our customers.
air source heat pump
hidden pipes
pipework

We don't want our blog to be too busy, otherwise it becomes too much to enjoy, so this is all we will show you for this weeks blog. We hope you enjoyed it and found it interesting, feel free to leave a comment letting us know what you think!

See you again Soon 
4 Comments

Blog Post 13 - 23/09/17

23/9/2017

1 Comment

 

A closer look at an installation - learning more about RHI.

In late 2015, Eco Dragon received a call from a customer who was looking to have radiators and underfloor heating installed as a new heating system in a new-build property he intended to live in with his family. What made this project particularly unique was that his heating system wasn't a typical boiler installation that we are usually asked to perform, but an Open-Loop Water Source Heat Pump System!

This is a very uncommon but highly cost effective way of having your own natural heat source, and definitely one you should consider if you have a running water source on your property, like the stream this customer had in their garden.

Based locally to the customer is a manufacturer that we use often for ground and water source installations known as > Kensa <. We worked closely with the customer and Kensa to design a heating system that would work perfectly based on his property specifications. 

you can click on the following link to view a full description of the project and learn more about the Open-Loop system and the RHI that goes with it: > Link to article <

Let us know what you think by leaving us a comment or contacting us if you feel that you could make use of a water source on your property!
1 Comment

Blog post 12 - 26/08/2017

26/8/2017

7 Comments

 

Special Blog Feature- a complete bathroom refurbishment; start to finish!

A lot of the work that Eco Dragon have been doing recently are bathroom refurbishments and installations (but don't worry, we still make time for our loyal customers who need our help with their boilers and other similar issues).

For this weeks blog post, we thought you might like to see what a complete bathroom refurbishment involves. This particular bathroom was requested to be refurbished to allow for a walk-in shower to make access easier for the clients.

The prep work- removing the old bathroom and plastering the new ceiling

bathroom refurbishment
bathroom refurbishment
Plastering

​Step 2- fitting the shower tray

shower tray
measuring
making sure the balance is right
shower tray
shower tray
bedding the tray down

Getting our apprentice to have a go

bath
tiling

lets get tiling!​

tiling
tiling
tiling
Picture
tiling

Fitting the shower and the shower screen

shower
shower
shower

The finished bathroom

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Working closely with our clients to get their jobs done exactly as they want it is our number one priority. Our clients worked with our bathroom merchants to design their own bathroom to their specifications, ensuring they had what they wanted from the get-go. From there; we consulted the clients every step of the way, even down to the position of the lights and the pattern of the tiles.

We hope you enjoyed seeing a complete bathroom refurbishment and installation from start to finish. Make sure you check back soon to see what else Eco Dragon have been up to! 
7 Comments

Blog Post 11- 10/06/2017

10/6/2017

3 Comments

 

Welcome back- so what have we been doing?

Since the last blog post, we have been working at a property at Castle-An-Dinas (along the old A30) where there has been an issue with water flow and pressure. Upon further investigation we discovered a leak coming through the ground from the water main. We dug up the water main where the leak was and repaired the leak.
Once we found the leak we discovered that the cause was the pipe being buried in sharp rocks which had pierced the pipe with natural ground movement. unfortunately the whole pipe was buried like this, so as we fixed the leak and the pressure built up again; the pipe burst in a new area, the only option this left us with was to replace the pipe and bury it properly. 
This is still an ongoing project, but you can view our progress in the images below.
Digging
Our apprentice doing some digging
Digger
Sometimes you have to bring out the toys
Hole
Finally dug deep enough
leak
Finding the pipe...
leak repair
...and putting in a new connector

What else?

bathroom
Removing the old bathroom
We have also began a bathroom project, where we are removing the old bathroom and replacing it with a new one.

​so far we have removed the old bathroom and re-plastered the ceiling, you can check out the pictures here showing our progress.
Plastering
Plastering the ceiling
construction
The bathroom with everything removed

What's new at our house?

Picture
Drilling out the holes for the whirlpool system
In our own home we are working hard to get our bathroom 'user friendly' before we have relatives come to stay.

so far we have the shower completed and 3 walls tiled. To make things a little more exciting we have also fitted a whirlpool system to our bath.

The aim for this weekend is to install the underfloor heating and get the floor tiles down. After that we can re-fit the toilet properly and then we shall be ready for our guests on Thursday. Wish us luck!
Picture
The Fitted system
Picture
How the system works

Finally- a commonly asked question

Many customers considering having a Air Source Heat Pump Fitted are unsure as to whether they want one or not as they have heard they make a lot of noise. 

we can assure you that this is only a rumour and the ASHP is actually very quiet, you can watch our video here to hear for yourself how quiet it is against our head engineer's soft speaking.
3 Comments
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    Keeping up to date with all the latest from Eco Dragon

    We love pictures! By taking pictures regularly of work we are carrying out, we can be sure that you are seeing the best of what Eco Dragon has to offer. Remember, if you want to see the most recent pictures of our work then head on over to our Facebook page or check out our Facebook and Instagram feed on our home page!


    Eco Dragon South West Ltd are proud sponsors of Hiryu Budou-Jyo (Flying Dragon Martial Arts Club)

    Our plumbers, Heating Engineers and Construction Workers are based in St Austell and cover most of Cornwall!
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