New Boiler

[ldoodle]

Hey,

Expansion vessel gone wrong in current Glow Worm 30ci. Cost to replace is about £250 + vat, plus fitting.

It's 10 years old now and probably never been serviced since install (except when we moved in last year)! So it could very well start costing us money year-on-year to keep running.

So, going to replace it: it's between the Ideal Logic+ Combi 35kW at about £1,100 and the Worcester Greenstar 36cdi Compact at £1,200

That's boiler and flue only. Already have Honeywell CMT927 programmer. Or is there another contender in that price range I should be looking at?

Thanks

PS: Does anyone know what the Glow Worm 30ci offers in terms of water flow rate. It's not enough for 1 shower head and 1 tap running simultaneously so I don't want a like for like!

 

[gasgas]

Intergas which has no plate heat exchanger and the water flow rate through the boiler is in 15mm copper so there is a low flow resistance. You might benefit from 28mm gas supply pipe if it isn't already there.

 

[ldoodle]

Thanks.

I've found that the Glow Worm 30ci has a water flow rate of 12.1 l/min. I think the 2 I posted above are over 14.

Is that going to make much of a difference - we have in mind adding another bathroom down the line so would want both showers to be usable at the same time.

Should I be looking at something that has 16+ l/min water flow rate on the DHW side?? The 38cdi classic is only £30 more...

 

[dcawkwell]

Probably only needs pumping up.
Or you can add an external expansion vessel.
Get someone else out they are ripping you off.

 

[Piers1989]

have you considered another Glow-Worm?
the ultracom2 35 cxi can give a 35 degree rise at 14.6l/min
the ultracom2 35 store can give a 35 degree rise at 19.7l/min however this is a storage combi so larger in size.

thats if you do replace the boiler... if you have it serviced correctly there isnt any real reason that it should begin to cost you unexpected amounts. try speaking to Glow-Worm directly in regards to replacing the part, they might be able to offer a repair as well as a service plan that covers repairs.

Changing the boiler isnt always the only option

Piers

 

[stardanny]

All the boilers hot water flow rate does not mean anything, it's all depend on what the incoming water main flow is.

I would go for vaillant boiler.

Daniel.

 

[muggles]

£250+vat plus fitting isn't overly out of the way for an expansion vessel on this model, they are expensive unfortunately. However, there is another option available to you - you could have an external vessel fitted for around £40.00+vat plus fitting

I wouldn't touch the Ideal or the Worcester with a very long bargepole - my experiences with broken Logics are well documented on here, and the Worcester might be easy to install but it'll be an absolute pig to work on, Worcester have long had a reputation for not being very good at designing boilers with servicing/maintenance in mind.

If you're looking to run two showers simultaneously in the future then you should start thinking about making the switch to a system boiler and a hot water cylinder, as even the most powerful combi will struggle with two showers. You need to know your incoming mains flow rate before any decision is made on a new boiler though - it's no good buying something that can run at high flow rates if your mains can't keep up

 

[Agile]

No combi is going to run TWO showers together. Your gas-safe installer should be telling you that. But perhaps he just wants the job because he is short of work?

That's even if the dynamic flow rate was adequate.

Your repairer presumably did not bother to try to repressurise your expansion vessel? Over 95% of those I see can be repressurised

Its amazing what the prospect of a big job like fitting a new boiler will cause some to do!

Tony

 

[ldoodle]

Probably only needs pumping up.
Or you can add an external expansion vessel.
Get someone else out they are ripping you off.

That was done before Christmas. He didn't mention external vessell. He did say we could temporarily half-drain one of the rads and use that. We have heating off now anyway so won't bother.

Online prices for the vessel are about what he quoted. He genuinely seemed shocked when he told us.

 

[ldoodle]

have you considered another Glow-Worm?
the ultracom2 35 cxi can give a 35 degree rise at 14.6l/min
the ultracom2 35 store can give a 35 degree rise at 19.7l/min however this is a storage combi so larger in size.

thats if you do replace the boiler... if you have it serviced correctly there isnt any real reason that it should begin to cost you unexpected amounts. try speaking to Glow-Worm directly in regards to replacing the part, they might be able to offer a repair as well as a service plan that covers repairs.

Changing the boiler isnt always the only option

Piers

No, haven't considered another Glow-Worm. No real reason why.

Phoned Glow-Worm, they wanted half as much just to send someone to look at it - parts and labour on top. They mentioned annual service plan which was stupid money - over a 7 year period would cost just as much to buy a new one with 7 year warranty.

A major reason for changing is to get better flow rate. I'm not sure what our incoming mains pressure is, but I can say we have our stop-cock open only about 20% because otherwise water from the kitchen tap bounces off the sink and hits the ceiling.

Another reason is the Ideal 7 year warranty is only if installed and registered before 30 June 2014. Worcester is 31 December 2014.

 

[ldoodle]

No combi is going to run TWO showers together. Your gas-safe installer should be telling you that.

To be fair, he did. Not as bluntly, but he did. He also laughed when I asked about switching back to system + cylinder because I might want 2 showers in the future.

"You would never do it", he said. His apprentice chirped in with "never been asked before".

Guess people must be happy being able to only run 1 water outlet at a time, or happy with pressure drop.

 

[ldoodle]

That's even if the dynamic flow rate was adequate.

Your repairer presumably did not bother to try to repressurise your expansion vessel? Over 95% of those I see can be repressurised

Apologies - I thought I put it in the OP. It was re-pressurised before Christmas, along with having the PRV replaced.

As to the incoming flow rate, see my previous comment about our incoming mains pressure.

 

[ldoodle]

Just to add: Installer #2 (35kW Logic+) has given a price of about £1,200 supply and fit, which includes flue and mechanical clock (already have CMT927 so don't need anything else).

The Worcester is about £1,200, supply only from Installer #1.

 

[Dan Robinson]

hhhmmm.... expensive plastic crap or cheap and nasty metal crap....

 

[ldoodle]

Any recommendations then Dan?