Combi boiler right for us?

Ideal are having a laugh if they are quoting 18 ltrs per min @ 35 Degree rise......and so are you if you think you will get that - will be 12 - 13 tops.

20ltrs per min is unvented cylinder performance, or you might get away with a storage combi.....

For the money id go unvented

Seriously? A £2200 budget to replace a back boiler and supply and fit an unvented cylinder?!

He didn't say that was his budget, just he would like it to be under £2200.

Doesn't that make £2200 the budget, then? Not trying to be facetious, but it seems silly to recommend something that will cost well in excess of £2200 when this is the upper end of what the OP has/is willing to spend.
 
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If it ain't broke, don't fix it, if your current back boiler is working, leave it, if it is serviced annually it will be fine, if you do buy a new combi I can guarantee it won't last 25 years as your current boiler.
 
Just to add my two old pennies worth, I do install boilers of many shapes sizes and types, and without wishing to muddy the waters any more than have been already, lets get one thing straight about Combination Boilers.

They provide Heating OR Hot-water. NOT both at the same time.....

By this I mean that if your household tends to run one long shower straight after another (when the family descends on you at Xmas?), or indeed a bath, then another, then another, your radiators will cool off. Whether you notice a dip in inside air temperatures is down to the individual.

Also, do pay attention to the Manufacturers specifications about hot-water output rates, some of them 'inflate' their flowrates by using a 30degree temp rise, this week, your incoming cold-water temperature is unlikely to be above 5degrees, so even a quoted rate of 15litres/min at 35degrees (say) would not be adequate for bathing/showering or doing the washing-up!

A decent bath will take up to 30minutes to run Dec-Feb.

I fit a lot of combination boilers, and advise my customers of this BEFORE I get the pricing guides out.

My favourite? Viessmann 100 series. Not at the bargain basement end of boilers but, you get what you pay for.

Also, as regards powerflushing, I for one would not consider installing a combi without powerflushing the system properly, installing a magnetic filter, and using only Fernox/Sentinel inhibitors to the water system at the end of the job.

As to whom to get to do the job, recommendations only from people whose opinion you trust, and if you were to invite me in warmly and offer a cup of tea while I have my tape measure out and discussing YOUR needs, I may even accept YOU as customer!

Just my take on things.

Best of British

DH
 
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Oh my, what a minefield!

I really don't want to end up with a worse supply of hot water than we have now. :confused:

With a system boiler, do you have to wait for them to reheat water as we do now? Or would the size of cylinder installed mean you shouldn't run out? And what sort of money are you looking at for installing such a system? Obviously a rough guide here bearing in mind the size of house concerned.

30 minutes to run a bath? :eek: :eek: WHAT??
 
Yes I did say 30minutes, thats at this time of year with a low incoming cold water temperature (exceptional weather conditions? I do hope so, rivers are full of melt-water still), depends of course on just how deep you want to fill it, and, you ideql temperature too, and, if you have a cast iron bath , and a lot of people still do, it'll rob the heat away from the first few minutes worth of input.

Combi's were bought over from the continent and snapped up by the volume house builders. Think about this, no tanks in trussed roof type of roofspace, no need for an 'airing cup'd full of cylinders, pumps etc), goes almost anywhere these days, quick to install, looks shiny&new to potential new house buyers, its a winner all round isn't it?

Combi's have a huge percentage of the market, so they can't be all bad eh?

Someone somewhere will ask me what system I have at home.

Baxi Inset BackBoiler with a horribly inefficient coal effect Gas Fire, about 4 moving parts, I service it every three years or so whether it needs it or not.

Am I in a hurry to change it?, No.

DH
 
How would a combi cope with installing a shower? Is it a mixer shower you install with these? :oops: There's only 3 people in the house, and people stopping over at Christmas time etc etc is almost an impossibility.

Got someone I know coming out tomorrow to have a look for me.
 

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