Are there good alternatives to Heatrae Sadia Megaflo cylinders?
You hear it all the time. It’s a bit like people referring to vacuum cleaners as ‘Hoovers’ (or more likely these days as ‘Dysons’!) Heatrae Sadia has a range of cylinders whose brand name has become the way tradespeople refer to "a quality hot water cylinder". This is, of course, the Megaflo. This term is also often used to specify a cylinder that has a built-in expansion, rather than a separate expansion vessel. Indeed, Heatrae Sadia, having come up with this idea, had exclusivity on a built-in expansion facility. In the last few years, this patent has expired. Since this happened, other brands have come up with their own cylinders that have built-in expansion systems, offering their own key benefits and really becoming core competitors in the relevant markets. Furthermore, there still exists a wide range of options which whilst perhaps not including quite as many wonderful benefits as the Megaflo still stand strong with their own, often proving huge margins cheaper and therefore potentially more effective for your requirements. We discuss some of the available alternatives below:
Joule Cyclone Air
One quality brand option to consider would be Joule, a branch of RM.
Joule is a quality manufacturer and competes in both expansion internal and external ranges, offering their own quality takes with the Joule Cyclone and Air Cyclone ranges Respectively. These are one of the fastest growing brands in the UK and offer core quality at a truly fractional price point when compared with the Megaflo range. These cylinders are made in a range of sizes, from 150 to 500 litres, and are suitable for homes with multiple bathrooms and high hot water demands. They come with a Pre-Built Cold feed and Internal Expansion (if purchasing the Air Options) using high-grade Duplex stainless steel components, these are cost-effective and high-quality solutions. We would happily recommend these units for use in almost all domestic or commercial environments, for those with a particular focus on efficiency, practicality, and ensuring the set-up time is minimal, this brand is a quality bet. Backed by the Benchmark Collective, KIWA Approved, and a member of the Hot Water Association.
This brand is building rapidly in the UK (they hail from Norway) and with around 90 years in the industry, they have a superb reputation for quality, innovation as well as environmental protection. They claim to have the lowest heat loss of any storage water heater. Exceptionally efficient to run, and pre-plumbed, saving a fortune on installation costs. These are, in addition, some of the shortest cylinders out there, when compared to their competition at the same size unvented unit.
Their ‘SUPER XPRESS VIP’ (Direct) and ‘SUPER COIL’ (indirect) ranges are really good examples of well-made cylinders with built-in expansion vessels, some of the most popular units under OSO are in these ranges. Recently OSO has expanded further, becoming one of the only brands on the market to offer A Rated ErP cylinder option in the DELTA COIL series. OSO cylinders are able to produce 20% more hot water than other cylinders they enable you to downsize because of their unique V40 number technology.
Gledhill Cylinders
Gledhill is a quality UK brand with a real emphasis on price point and functionality. The Platinum Range is quite simply one of the most affordable internal expansion ranges on the market, whilst not as pre-plumbed or externally appealing as their Megaflo or OSO counterparts, these units really cut the price necessary to an absolute minimum. This might be the best option if you understand some manner of plumbers' installations and labour costs are unavoidable, also a quality consideration where you know that aesthetic design is not a core selling point/is not required. These units come as standard with two immersions, able to cater to on or off-peak electricity tariffs (read here for more on these) this ensures an optimum heating output and energy cost for multiple circumstances. Many of the best features can be highlighted in this handy video:
So there it is. You have a decent choice now when it comes to Megaflo alternatives, and all the water heating geeks at Electrical Deals Direct agree that it’s always worth having a chat with us about the pros and cons of various cylinders to help select the best bet for your particular installation. If you wish to discuss further or purchase, please don't hesitate to contact us at 01934 253600 - we are on hand to give expert advice from consideration to installation, and we believe you should find the best prices around on-site with us!
