Gas boiler advice
- Thread starter maxman
- Start date
North West Surrey
Timely thread everyone!
I'm in the throes of organising a replacement boiler for my Mum's retirement flat.
The only contractor I've managed to get out (not the best time of year to have a breakdown) has recommended a Worcester, but thankfully not a combi.! Should I ask him about others? My concern is that most tradesmen tend to have a brand they usually use, and may not be so keen to fit a different one and time is of the essence!
Will watch this space.
I'm in the throes of organising a replacement boiler for my Mum's retirement flat.
The only contractor I've managed to get out (not the best time of year to have a breakdown) has recommended a Worcester, but thankfully not a combi.! Should I ask him about others? My concern is that most tradesmen tend to have a brand they usually use, and may not be so keen to fit a different one and time is of the essence!
Will watch this space.
Worcester bosch any time, yes they cost more but the backup service is far better and can get a guarantee between 7 and 10 years. With 2 bathrooms i would keep cylinder and fit conventional boiler and upgrade where posible and use a worcester registered installer for the extra guarantee
Exactly what Silverzedtom said.
Worcester Bosch! I've fitted three. (Vaillant + Veissmann also well regarded but less presence in UK so plumbers will be less familiar.)
I haven't personally used but looked in to Worcester Bosch Wave. Well integrated and does things like monitor the weather to put more heat in to the house if cold outside (to automatically compensate and keep house at same temp). Only downside is if you want multiple zones (e.g. for underfloor heating) which is why I haven't fitted.
If there are only two of you combi is fine. System is way nicer. Loads of HW on tap, option to heat water with solar panels if you get the right cylinder. Megaflow style cylinders are great - well insulated and mains pressure hot water. I can strongly recommend Telford cylinders (I have a Tempest in my current house). They are space efficient and made in the UK.
I think you have to fit a magnetic filter now for guarantees to be valid but it is a no brainer if you're not changing rads.
It is great to free up space in the loft when you get rid of old tanks.
A big investment but if well fitted a good CH system is a great thing to live with and is likely to pay for itself over not too many years.
BTW the boiler i replaced in my current house was fitted in 1976. We were all a little scared of it but it was pretty reliable!
Worcester Bosch! I've fitted three. (Vaillant + Veissmann also well regarded but less presence in UK so plumbers will be less familiar.)
I haven't personally used but looked in to Worcester Bosch Wave. Well integrated and does things like monitor the weather to put more heat in to the house if cold outside (to automatically compensate and keep house at same temp). Only downside is if you want multiple zones (e.g. for underfloor heating) which is why I haven't fitted.
If there are only two of you combi is fine. System is way nicer. Loads of HW on tap, option to heat water with solar panels if you get the right cylinder. Megaflow style cylinders are great - well insulated and mains pressure hot water. I can strongly recommend Telford cylinders (I have a Tempest in my current house). They are space efficient and made in the UK.
I think you have to fit a magnetic filter now for guarantees to be valid but it is a no brainer if you're not changing rads.
It is great to free up space in the loft when you get rid of old tanks.
A big investment but if well fitted a good CH system is a great thing to live with and is likely to pay for itself over not too many years.
BTW the boiler i replaced in my current house was fitted in 1976. We were all a little scared of it but it was pretty reliable!
Valliant own Glowworm.
I would go with a Valliant personally. They come with a great warranty. Had out Combi in for 3 years now. No issues.
We had a leaking WB which had rotted the base plate. WB replaced the faulty part but refused to replace the base plate / casing. We (the heating company) replaced the whole boiler FOC and Stephen (the owner) tool it up with WB.
Do get a power flush and a Magna Clean as above.
Really work it to keep the system clean and going well.
I would go with a Valliant personally. They come with a great warranty. Had out Combi in for 3 years now. No issues.
We had a leaking WB which had rotted the base plate. WB replaced the faulty part but refused to replace the base plate / casing. We (the heating company) replaced the whole boiler FOC and Stephen (the owner) tool it up with WB.
Do get a power flush and a Magna Clean as above.
Really work it to keep the system clean and going well.
maxman said:Wildfire and 85genius you have thrown a spanner in the works as I was under the impression that Worcester/Bosch were more expensive but ultra reliable.
Thanks again for all the information as that was the point of the post.
Tim ,I can see where your coming from,my boiler is at least 25 yrs old and on borrowed time ,a bit like me :
If it breaks down we don't want to be without heating/hot water for weeks and making a panic buy boiler which I will later regret.
Yeah mine will probably konk out when it minus 10 outside, I might think about changing if it hits 20 years. I would want something that would last more than 6 years though which seems to be the suggested lifespan of today's boilers which seems crazy to me so whatever I go for it will be as simple as possible so long as it heats the radiators
Tim.
We are in the process of moving and our Ideal Mexico boiler had to be checked/serviced as part of the sale, it's 18 years old and is showing no signs of wearing out in the next few years. The service guy said it was so clean inside and it should see at least another 10 years.
The property we are moving to has a back boiler (remember them) but I plan to do some re-development, so a new heating system will be needed.
Not sure about the combi route or to stay with traditional a system, so this thread is very interesting
The property we are moving to has a back boiler (remember them) but I plan to do some re-development, so a new heating system will be needed.
Not sure about the combi route or to stay with traditional a system, so this thread is very interesting
Firebobby wrote 'Not sure about the combi route or to stay with traditional a system, so this thread is very interesting'
If you have the space, I'd go with the traditional route with an airing cupboard, we'd be lost without ours and we had the wall mounted boiler fitted inside the airing cupboard. Probably easier for us being in a bungalow.
Depending on where you fit the boiler, another consideration is the noise it makes, our W-B is very quiet and situated in the central part, was previously in the kitchen and was a disturbance.
If you have the space, I'd go with the traditional route with an airing cupboard, we'd be lost without ours and we had the wall mounted boiler fitted inside the airing cupboard. Probably easier for us being in a bungalow.
Depending on where you fit the boiler, another consideration is the noise it makes, our W-B is very quiet and situated in the central part, was previously in the kitchen and was a disturbance.
I will be fitting a completely new system, so will have a good look into it.
I work for the local water authority and have to deal with customers who have issues with water pressure etc. I get called to quite a few properties who are suffering from issue with their combis's not working, which normally turns out to be a flow restriction on the mains inlet. Another problem with non storage properties is when mains burst, which happens a lot in winter. Having a couple of hundred ltrs in the loft is rather appealing then
I work for the local water authority and have to deal with customers who have issues with water pressure etc. I get called to quite a few properties who are suffering from issue with their combis's not working, which normally turns out to be a flow restriction on the mains inlet. Another problem with non storage properties is when mains burst, which happens a lot in winter. Having a couple of hundred ltrs in the loft is rather appealing then
While the combi boiler sounds like a great idea, there are two concerns I have.
The first is like in my Mum's scenario where the boiler just dies - with no hot tank to put an immersion heater in you've got no hot water!
Then if you live somewhere like I did in the late 90s where they regularly dug the street up in the early hours of the morning (so had the street main isolated) with no cold tank you couldn't even make a cup of tea!
The first is like in my Mum's scenario where the boiler just dies - with no hot tank to put an immersion heater in you've got no hot water!
Then if you live somewhere like I did in the late 90s where they regularly dug the street up in the early hours of the morning (so had the street main isolated) with no cold tank you couldn't even make a cup of tea!