Do you remember 1987?
It was the year that Margaret Thatcher was re-elected, making her the longest continuously serving Prime Minister since Lord Liverpool in the early 19th century. The British economy was enjoying an excellent recovery, with unemployment figures at less than 2,700,000 and, at 4.2 per cent, inflation was low.
1987 was also the year that Terry Waite was kidnapped, the King’s Cross fire happened and the British ferry MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsized while leaving the harbour of Zeebrugge.
And the winds which swept across southern Britain during the October Great Storm – which Michael Fish famously told us not to worry about – left the worst-hit areas totally devastated, uprooting millions of trees, ripping roofs off buildings, destroying cars and 23 people lost their lives.
The Channel Tunnel was given the go-ahead, The Queen opened the Docklands Light Railway in London (the first driver-less railway in Great Britain), construction work began on the extension to the M40 motorway between Oxford and Birmingham and IKEA opened its first British store, in Warrington.
CoventryCity won the FA Cup for the first time in their history with a 3-2 win in the final over Tottenham Hotspur. England striker Peter Beardsley, then 26, became the most expensive player transferred between British clubs when he completed a £1.9 million move from Newcastle United to Liverpool.
The England cricket team’s tour of Pakistan was nearly brought to a premature end when Captain Mike Gatting and umpire Shakoor Rana rowed during a Test Match.
As for music, Kylie Minogue’s single I Should Be So Lucky was released, as was the Pogues’ Fairytale of New York, featuring Kirsty MacColl. Bon Jovi’s Livin’ on a Prayer was the year’s biggest hit song worldwide. Michael Jackson released Bad, and George Michael’s Faith was his first solo studio album.
UK number ones included Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up, Tpau’s China in Your Hand, Pump up the Volume by Marrs, Steve Silk Hurley’s Jack Your Body, Madonna’s Who’s That Girl and La Isla Bonita, Starship’s Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now, Star Trekkin by The Firm, Whitney Houston’s I Want To Dance With Somebody and The Pet Shop Boys’ Always On My Mind and It’s A Sin.
In fashion, Smiley faces adorned jeans, t-shirts, caps, badges and everything else, and became the internationally recognised symbol of Acid House. Nike Air trainers, containing a revolutionary plastic bubble filled with gas, became such a fashion accessory that wearers were regularly mugged for them.
Karaoke emerged in Britain from the super clubs of Tokyo.
Dirty Dancing, Fatal Attraction, Full Metal Jacket, Good Morning, Vietnam, Predator and Wall Street were on our cinema screens.
Interestingly, 1987 was the last year where all the digits were different numbers. They will all be different again in 2013.
Births in this year included musician Joss Stone, journalist and model Chloe Madeley, tennis player Andy Murray.
And 1987 was the year Megaflo, manufactured by Baxi’s sister company Heatrae Sadia, was launched.
Megaflo eco is the market leading unvented hot water cylinder in the UK – and has really become the generic term for unvented water heating.
But where did it all begin? Let’s take a look back at the history of unvented water heating, and the launch of the iconic Megaflo brand 25 years ago.
Unvented cylinders ensure a powerful, consistent flow of hot water at high pressure to all taps and showers, without a significant loss of performance if used simultaneously. Unvented systems give invigorating showers and fast-filling baths in homes and in hotels – but were only introduced in the UK relatively recently.
British people didn’t experience unvented hot water until the 1970s, when many started to holiday on the continent in countries such as France and Spain.
Unvented systems have been used in European countries since the end of the Second World War, when post war construction was taking place. And so, as many European hotels had pressurised hot water systems installed, British holiday-makers first started to enjoy fast-filling baths and powerful showers.
Yet back home the technology wasn’t legally allowed – even though, ironically, pressurised water heating was actually invented in England around 1880.
But during the 1980s the restriction placed on the use of unvented water heating in the UK started to be seen as a barrier to trade, and was subsequently reviewed. In 1985 the Water Bylaws changed, and unvented water heating was allowed in the UK for the first time.
And, as a result of this revolutionary change, 25 years ago – in 1987 – the Megaflo unvented cylinder was born.
Megaflo was originally sold by a company called Hotflo – based in Stanmore, Middlesex, and owned and managed by Walter B Jacobs. The company sold a range of unvented water heaters, from small, instant point of use products to large 2,000 litre calorifiers, and its team of just three people included Steve Rickards, Heatrae Sadia’s current commercial director.
The first ever version of Megaflo was stainless steel – even back then – though the coil and pipework were made from copper. The expansion vessel was external, with its patented internal air gap and floating baffle (still a unique feature of the product today) not being introduced until 1988. This internal air gap accommodates expanded water, which means the product has a neat, self-contained design.
In 1993 Heatrae Sadia acquired Megaflo – as well as Steve Rickards – and production moved to Norwich, where the coil and pipework were quickly upgraded to stainless steel.
Though unvented systems were legally allowed in the UK from 1985, lack of experience and knowledge about pressurised systems meant the average UK plumber didn’t know how to install an unvented system, and so the market didn’t take off at first.
In 1992, however, the unvented market was given a real boost through the introduction of Building Regulation G3. This put huge emphasis on safety and applied a minimum level of competency; the first time this had actually happened to a water heating product. And, thanks to such stringent safety requirements, unvented hot water cylinders have enjoyed an excellent safety record.
So developments that occurred in the 1980s and 1990s revolutionised water heating in the UK, and changed people’s expectations forever. With access to a system that provides plenty of hot water, powerful showers and fast-filling baths, showering under a trickle of lukewarm water, or waiting half and hour for a bath to fill, have become things of the past.
Since 1987 Megaflo has been the UK’s market leading unvented hot water cylinder, despite increased competition. The product has always been renowned for high quality, durability and trouble-free operation. Manufactured from Duplex stainless steel, it has high resistance to stress corrosion cracking, fatigue and erosion, and doesn’t require a protective coating or a sacrificial anode.
For longer life, each Megaflo eco cylinder undergoes comprehensive, state-of-the-art post weld treatments. Not all manufacturers carry out this important process, but we believe it is vital, and we have invested millions of pounds in our post-weld facilities.
Megaflo eco cylinders are the perfect partners for Baxi Solo HE and Baxi Megaflo System Compact GA boilers, and the solar version of the cylinders can be installed with Baxi Solarflo solar thermal hot water system.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Megaflo!
For more information please visit the Megaflo website.
