BACK BOILER CONDEMNED - WHICH COMBI?????

[Bodd]

The tops boilers will give a good flow rate if the house /flat has a good working pressure.
Still yes the Home owner has to adapt to a different system he has now.

Theres lots of pro's an cons to a combi alot of cons have rightly been mentioned, Id fit a Unvented system any time. but sometimes a combi ticks all the boxes.
Having an electric shower helps in the hot water department.
Small house = No Cylinder / tanks creates more storage.
No old unhealthy storage tank in loft + less lilkley to have a major flood.
Cheaper to fit as sometimes having a new boiler may mean to renew Cylinder,
that can lead on to renewing storage tank
new controls
That then leads onto lagging all the pipe work.
It all adds up to more than a cost of a combi.

Good Boilers

Stick with the big boys with a good back up service. You cant go wrong with them.
Worcester
valiant


Main are not a bad mid range boiler.

Avoid
Ideal
ferroli
Biasi

As for Engineer who condemed back boiler, only he knows the condition
its a little unfair to suggest he don't know what he's doing.

Bod

 

[Mike2007]

boilers are more efficient on gas and a little bit safer


Compared to what?

A bonfire in the garden

Ok, I meant COMBI

 

[JohnD]

more efficient?

rubbish.

 

[davebgas]

No BBU (except the new BBU HE) is more efficient than a combi.

 

[swbjackson]

! A mate told me to sell my own cylinder as it is copper and can be worth a bit too!!

Make sure that you tell the guy doing the work this before he prices the job. I use the value of the scrap on a job to offset the cost of rubbish clearance so will charge accordingly more if the customer wished to keep the cylinder.

 

[stem]

Combi’s are more complicated than heat only boilers so they have more components inside, thus increasing the possibility of a failure. They are not suitable for DIY repairs, which should be carried out by suitably qualified people and with parts from the manufacturer. On the other hand, heat only boilers can have a lot of components externally mounted. Pump, motorised valve(s), programmer etc., these can be easily replaced by a competent DIYer or local plumber, and with any manufacturers parts obtainable from local plumbers merchants. The advantage with a combi, is for the installer who doesn't need to engage the services of an electrician for wiring the external components. (maybe they will pass the cost saving on to you)

Combi's can be a slow to get hot water to the taps if the boiler is starting from cold when a tap is turned on. Here's the sequence.

Turn on tap - Boiler fires - Delay whilst boiler heats up - Heated water transferred to heat exchanger - Heat exchanger warms up - Transfers heat to water supplying taps - Water travels along pipe to tap, and eventually the user. There is a preheat setting that fires the boiler every so often to keep it warm just in case you need some hot water, but a lot of people seem to see this as wasteful and don't use it.

If you keep your hot water cylinder, you can also have an immersion heater to provide hot water when the boiler fails. (and it has been known!)

 

[bolshy]

Whatever the OP decides on, if it's not a new condensing BBU, it wont be fitted in the builders opening, so there will be a fair bit of pipework alteration to be done. And a power-flush. So it's not going to be a cheap job anyway, if it's done properly.
An extra £200 - £300 in the big scheme of things may be money well spent in getting a better boiler with a long, well supported warranty, whatever the make or type.
I know money is tight for many people, but saving a few hundred quid on the boiler and installation may be false economy. Last thing the OP needs is to be facing this situation again in 3 years time. Food for thought, anyway.

 

[dcawkwell]

Perhaps he should actually clean the boiler out then instead of looking at the flame!!!!
Good grief. A new boiler indeed.

My mums back boiler is 40 years old and will go another 40 years.

 

[bolshy]

Perhaps he should actually clean the boiler out then instead of looking at the flame!!!!
Good grief. A new boiler indeed.

My mums back boiler is 40 years old and will go another 40 years.

+1.

In most cases, these BBUs are only replaced because the owners don't like the dated fire fronts, and want something more contemporary.
There may not be much wrong with the existing boiler a good strip and clean won't sort out. The rope seals can be replaced with new. Wouldn't do any harm to get a second opinion.

 

[DP]

When combi goes belly up and no heat and cold water from hot tap, that is when realisation delivers a sound kick in the backside

 

[Bodd]

Some are missing the point hear

Op says funds are a little short they may have a small house and the back boiler may be buggered. Combis may not be best option in most cases but some times they are.
Op has asked can you recommend s good combination boiler? .?????????

But saying this if your funds are short you may want s second opinion on the bsck boiler.

 

[OwainDIYer]

We have electric shower - I prefer showers - we are water metered so we dont have many baths!!

That is usually a good argument for a combi as they offer mains pressure showers that are much better than an electric shower, and as gas is about one-third the price of electricity per kWh cheaper to run in energy use.

In a smaller house the gain in space through not having a cylinder is often well worth having too.