VB Hot Water Cylinders
The Adveco VB hot water cylinders are for vented or unvented DHW applications. Available in three ranges – VBI, VBT and VBB – and offering a wide range of sizes and configurations, VB addresses the bespoke needs of commercial hot water projects, including direct electric heating, buffer storage, indirect heating & preheat.
The VB family of hot water cylinders are tough enough to deal with water conditions typically encountered across the UK, presenting building projects with a versatile choice of vessels to cost-effectively meet the demands of commercial hot water applications.
Constructed from a carbon steel shell with a high-quality enamelled inorganic glass lining to prevent corrosion, these tanks are suitable for use in systems with maximum working pressure up to 8 bar and temperatures up to 85°C.
VB Cylinder Design: Features & Key Technologies
- Tank working temperatures up to 85°C
- Maximum working pressure up to 8 bar
- 200-5000 litres capacities
- Support for 3-36 kW electric immersions
- Magnesium sacrificial anode included
- Suitable for a wide range of applications and water types
Options
Adveco VBI / Glass-Lined Single Coil Indirect Calorifiers
With a single fixed indirect heating coil, the Adveco VBI range of calorifiers is designed to serve as indirect water heaters or preheat vessels. Available in 200 to 3000 litres capacities, the Adveco VBI features a single fixed indirect heating coil at low level and can also accept a 180mm 3-36kW electric immersion. The coil has a working pressure/temperature of 6-8 bar / 110°C.
- Electric Immersion Heaters from 3-36 kW
- E0008/0-95: Control thermostat
- E00011: Overheat thermostat
- MB0001: Destratification pump kit
- Unvented Kits: Contact Adveco for options and details
- Cleanout flange to immersion heater or anode adaptor plates
VBI 200-3000
Adveco VBT / Glass-Lined Twin Coil Calorifier
The Adveco VBT range of calorifiers is designed to serve as indirect water heaters. The tanks, available in 200 to 3000 litres capacities, incorporate two fixed indirect heating coils, one each at low and high level, designed for use with two separate heat sources.
- Electric Immersion Heaters from 3-36 kW (200-500L) or 3-6kW (750-1000L)
- E0008/0-95: Control thermostat
- E00011: Overheat thermostat
- MB0001: Destratification pump kit
- Unvented Kits: Contact Adveco for options and details
- Cleanout flange to immersion heater or anode adaptor plates
VBT 200-3000
Adveco VBB / Glass-Lined Buffer Vessels & Electric Water HeaterÂ
Available in a range of sizes from 200 to 5000L, the Adveco VBB is designed to serve as a buffer vessel or an electric water heater. Compatible with a wide range of direct electric immersion heater options available from Adveco, the VBB supports duty immersions from 3 to 36 kW, as well as secondary supplementary immersions from 3 to 6 kW for additional heating, or as backup to ensure continuity of service from a single unit.
- Electric Immersion Heaters from 3-36 kW
- E0008: Control thermostat
- E0009: Overheat thermostat
- MB0001: Destratification pump kit
- Unvented Kits: Contact Adveco for options and details
- Cleanout flange to immersion heater or anode adaptor plates
VBB 200-5000
All vessels include a cleanout inspection with a bedded plate and flange compatible with a range of backup immersion heaters. A magnesium sacrificial anode is included as standard. Protective Insulation is provided by rigid high-density polyurethane foam (200-500 litre) or a removable polyester fibre jacket (750-5000 litre).
What is a commercial hot water cylinder?
A commercial hot water cylinder stores and, in most configurations, heats water for a building’s hot water system, sized well beyond domestic scale to meet the demand of an office, hotel, school, or similar. VB is one of Adveco’s cylinder ranges, built from carbon steel with a glass lining and available in single coil, twin coil, or electric/buffer configurations to suit different heat sources.
Vented or unvented: what's the difference?
A vented cylinder is fed from a cold water storage tank, usually in the loft or a plant room above it, and is open to atmosphere via a vent pipe. It’s simple, tolerant of poor mains pressure, and has been the standard commercial approach for decades. An unvented cylinder connects directly to the mains, runs at higher pressure, and doesn’t need a separate cold water tank, which frees up plant room space but requires safety components like a pressure relief valve and, in the UK, a Building Regulations-compliant installation.
VB supports unvented kits on request across the range, so the choice comes down to your plant room layout and mains pressure rather than the cylinder itself.
The problem VB solves
Getting commercial hot water wrong usually shows up as one of two problems: oversizing, where the boiler or heat pump is bigger and more expensive than it needs to be because it’s specified to meet the worst-case peak directly, or undersizing, where the building runs short exactly when it matters most. Both cost money, just at different points, one upfront, one in complaints and callbacks.
VB’s role is to decouple the heat source from the peak. Because it comes as a single coil, twin coil, or electric/buffer configuration, the same cylinder range lets you specify a heat source sized for steady average demand, not the worst five minutes of the day, while the stored volume in the cylinder absorbs the spikes. That’s a smaller, cheaper heat source doing the job of a bigger one, backed by a cylinder built to handle whatever water conditions the site throws at it.
Sizing, compliance and where VB fits
Like any commercial DHW cylinder, VB is specified around actual demand rather than building floor area: peak usage, the number of outlets likely to run at once, and the recovery capacity of the heat source feeding it all matter more than a headline litre figure. VB supports storage up to 85°C, giving the headroom needed to meet HSE guidance under ACOP L8 and HSG274, which calls for hot water to be stored at 60°C or above and distributed so it reaches 50°C within one minute at outlets, a core requirement for Legionella control in commercial buildings.
VB comes in three configurations, VBI (single coil), VBT (twin coil), and VBB (electric or buffer), so the same glass-lined cylinder range works whether a building runs on a single boiler, a combination of two heat sources such as a heat pump preheat with a gas or electric top-up, or a fully electric setup. Every vessel is protected by a magnesium sacrificial anode as standard, and built to handle the water conditions found across the UK, from hard water regions in the South and East through to naturally softer water areas.
VB is commonly specified across offices, education, healthcare, and hospitality projects, wherever a reliable, compliant and cost-effective glass-lined cylinder is needed to meet commercial hot water demand.
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