Needing help in replacing ye olde boiler - where do I start?

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Good evening all, I'm hoping I can get some help from the wealth of knowledge here.

We had a gas leak today and called out Transco who confirmed the leak and condemned the boiler. In the past 2 years there has been at least 4 separate leaks from 2 areas and so it's finally time to call it a day and replace it.

Now, I have virtually no knowledge of what is good or bad and have no idea of where to start?.... So I'll begin with describing what we have.

It's a regular terraced house (typical box) with 3 bedrooms (1 is a reasonable size with 2 small ones) 1 living room, 1 kitchen, 1 bathroom and a hallway.
There are 8 radiators. 1 large double (about a metre and a half wide) 1 large single (about metre and half wide) 2 medium singles (about a metre wide) 2 small doubles (about half a metre wide) and 2 small singles (about 750mm wide).

The pipework is microbore, 8mm I think it is?

And the boiler is/was a Baxi WM381RS CHB.

The system is an open system with a header tank in the loft and a hot water storage tank in the cupboard in the bathroom.

As I understand it, in Scotland any new boiler must be a self condensing combi boiler?

A combi would be a lot better for us as we currently have to run the system to get hot water at the tap. Having hot running water would be a fantastic upgrade for us. We have an electric shower so there's no need for a shower running off the system (I can't afford the expense of it anyway). Also, by getting rid of the storage tank the extra space would be very handy.

As ever I'm on a budget. 3 kids and a wife to support off one wage isn't easy. But I do realise that this is something we would find extremely difficult to live without.

All I know is that a friend said "Vokera are good". That's it!

Also, am I better to source and buy the boiler and associated other parts (what else do I need?) and get a CORGI registered reputable fitter to fit or should I do the whole lot through a company?

Sorry for going on a bit, I'm in a tight spot just now and your help/time is very much appreciatted.

Niall
 
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Sorry, forgot to add that on the boiler it states "heat input - 15.15kW Heat output - 11.14kW"

I'm not sure if this information is useful or not?

Thanks
 
I would advise a Worcester Bosch or a Vaillant as they are very good,, also the Viessman ..

You can supply yourself but be aware the Fitter wont get involved with problems as he aint supplying !!
 
so many models to choose from!

Are you allowed to ask if there's any fitters on the forum who can do a quote for us?
 
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What area are ya ??

Im not sure how the forum feels about it but Im sure someone will be along soon to say if its ok !!
 
I'm 5 minutes from Glasgow airport, just outside Renfrew.
 
Good plan! I was having a look at some of the models available. I'm not sure if I have this right or not? but it looks like I need a fairly small combi. Currently I have an output of 11.14kw and some of the smaller ones are about 18kW

Am I correct in thinking this is suitable for me? I'm hoping so as the higher rated ones are a fair bit more expensive......
 
It depends if your going for a combi or a separate boiler and hot tank !!
 
get the biggest you can afford as output determines hot water flow rate, heating side can be adjusted down to suit your needs
 
aha! Thanks for that.

I do want to get rid of the storage tank so looks like a visit to the bank manager is in order....
 

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