Benefits of Copper

Newark Copper Cylinder Co. Ltd. only manufacture copper hot water cylinders, as there are several key factors which we believe prove, that stainless steel is a greatly inferior material for this purpose. Copper has been used for good reason over the years and continues to be the best and safest material for hot water storage.

The main benefits of copper as a manufacturing material for hot water cylinders are detailed below:

Microbiologist describes copper's antibacterial properties as 'remarkable'

Copper is recommended to combat Legionella and we, at Newark Copper Cylinder Co. Ltd, have never, in over 30 years, heard of a single case of Legionella to be found in a copper hot water system. Copper will also eradicate MRSA, E-coli and Avian Bird Flu in less than 5 Hours. In tests it took 34 days for E-coli 0157 to die on Stainless Steel, 4 days on brass and just 4 hours on copper. 99% of the bacterial population introduced into a copper plumbing system, will disappear in under five hours. It is thought that the metal 'suffocates' germs, stops them from feeding and destroys their DNA.

Hospitals have recently started replacing all of their commonly touched fixings with copper versions due to the metal's anti-bacterial properties. In a trial at Selly Oak hospital, in Birmingham, copper taps, light switches, toilet seats and door handles, all but eliminated common bugs. Researcher Professor Peter Lambert, of Aston University, Birmingham, said:

"The numbers [of bacteria] decreased always on copper but not on the steel surfaces."

Professor Tom Elliott, the lead researcher and a consultant microbiologist at the hospital, added:

"The findings of 90 to 95 per cent killing of those organisms, even after a busy day on a medical ward with items being touched by numerous people, is remarkable. I have been a consultant microbiologist for several decades and this is the first time I have seen anything like copper in terms of the effect it will have in the environment."

The healing power of copper has been recognised for thousands of years. More than 4,000 years ago, the Egyptians used it to sterilise wounds and drinking water and the Aztecs treated skin conditions with the metal.

Read more about the use of copper in hospitals.

Watch a video about the hospital's copper trial.

Copper has highly efficient heat conductivity

Copper is one of the most efficient conductors of heat. It has a thermal conductivity of 401W/mK. Compare this to Stainless Steel which is rated at 14W/mK and you can see why copper is the material of choice. This is of vital importance when trying to get the most out of renewable technologies such as Solar and Geothermal and when trying to reduce the use of fossil fuels by using high efficiency boiler coils wherever possible.

The flexibility of copper allows you to specify a bespoke cylinder

Copper allows flexibility of manufacturing. If you have a requirement for tall and thin or short and wide, we can manufacture a cylinder to suit. With the significant increase in the use of renewable power, cylinders are often required to fit in restrictive spaces, have additional heat exchanger coils and have extra direct connections - all of this can be achieved to your own specification. Copper manufacturing allows this versatility, unlike other materials which are far harder to work with and are not as flexible.

Copper is 100% recyclable

Copper is 100% recyclable, with no loss in properties and over 90% of all copper scrap is re-used. With more and more emphasis being put on the sustainability of construction projects, the obvious green credentials of copper are becoming more important to specifiers and contractors. Choosing copper makes environmental and economic sense!

You get what you pay for

Newark Copper Cylinders like to keep our customers fully informed, so it would be unfair for us to mention all of the advantages of copper, without mentioning the disadvantages... don't worry, this won't take long.

the only disadvantage of copper is that it is slightly more expensive to buy than stainless steel, but with hot water cylinders, you really do get what you pay for! If you decide to pay that little bit extra, you will end up with a much higher quality unit than if you opted for the alternative.

Copper Corrosion Information

Whether copper comes from a mine or whether it is recycled, it is required to go through a purification process which must give a minimum purification of 99.99% for it to meet British standards (BS EN 1653). Basically, it is the quality of the water that is the issue with cylinder corrosion, not the quality of the copper.

It is almost impossible for us to predict the life expectancy of any one cylinder, because it depends on the aggressiveness of the water in a particular area as well as whether the water is hard or soft. In an area with water which is pH neutral, we would expect to see a cylinder lasting around 10 - 15 years or even longer. To further combat corrosion, the new British standard BS 1566-1: 2002 states that we now have to fit a thicker base to our cylinders, because the bottom of the cylinder is where any corrosive minerals or deposits would tend to reside, so for example, a grade 3 cylinder is always fitted with a grade 2 base.

We would also like to emphasise the importance of proper flushing procedures once cylinders are installed, as any acidic flux left in the internal pipe work will pass into the cylinder and reside on the internal surfaces. Since the regulations mentioned above came into force in 2002, we have had only two cases of accelerated corrosion which were both found to be due to insufficient flushing.

With regards to bore-hole water, we have known of instances (before 2002) where grade 1 cylinders have corroded within two years due to the aggressive water conditions in areas where the water has a high peat content.

If you are not sure about the quality of your water, we would recommend getting it tested prior to purchasing any water storage equipment.

For any further advice please do not hesitate to Email us, or call us on 01636 678 437.