Best boiler fr 4 bed, 1bath, 1 shower, family with 2 kids?

[essexmick]

A Combi I am told will suffice, but you can't run 2 showers, and with 1 shower running, another tap is not going to deliver a great deal.

A Megaflo on the other hand will deliver a lot more, but you don't get the benefit on instant hot water.

I'd be interested to know the experiences of people who have a similar sized house and family?

I'm particularly interested in whether people have found Combis to deliver what they need, and if so, what model has worked for them?

I'm also interested to know peoples' experience of the Megaflo, what size of cylinder they'd recommend and whether they have come across any problems?

Regards and thanks in advance to anyone who comments.

 

[Simon Anderson]

I will probably be going against the grain on here. I have a large house that has about 12 rooms and a large hallway. I have 3 bathrooms (2 showers) and 17 rads. I have a combi (Baxi Duo Tec 40 HE) - this was my first ever combi and I have previously had normal heating systems with a hot water tank and a megaflow system.

This is the best system that I have used and am delighted with it. Granted if I am in the shower and the washing mashine is on and someone flushes the toilets you will feel the pressure drop. However, it is just a pressure drop, the temperature of the water has never ever altered.

I think we are lucky in that according to the last plumber that serviced my boiler the key to a combi working well is reasonably good mains pressure. The power I get from my combi showers is as good as the megaflow system but the real benefit is that it is the most efficient system that I have ever run and I have hot water whenever I want. The megaflow at the end of the day is a cylinder that runs out of water.

Not by design but we tend to run appliances such as washing machines and dishwashers when we are up and about and not when we are showering and we rarely find a situation where both showers are running at once. There may be some slight adjustments such as those that people may need to make for a combi to work, but I firmly believe it is worth making those adjustments for the benefits that it offers.

Just my opinion and as I say there will be many on here that disagree with what I have said here, but it works for me.

 

[Kev F]

I'd always advise an unvented cylinder but yes a Combi can sometimes work, if there is more tha 2-3 people in the house I'd advise against a Combi. The Atag a325ec Combi is worth a look if you do want a combi

 

[essexmick]

I'd always advise an unvented cylinder but yes a Combi can sometimes work, if there is more tha 2-3 people in the house I'd advise against a Combi. The Atag a325ec Combi is worth a look if you do want a combi

Not many people talk about the 'Atag' - whats it got that the others don't have?

 

[essexmick]

I will probably be going against the grain on here. I have a large house that has about 12 rooms and a large hallway. I have 3 bathrooms (2 showers) and 17 rads. I have a combi (Baxi Duo Tec 40 HE) - this was my first ever combi and I have previously had normal heating systems with a hot water tank and a megaflow system.

This is the best system that I have used and am delighted with it. Granted if I am in the shower and the washing mashine is on and someone flushes the toilets you will feel the pressure drop. However, it is just a pressure drop, the temperature of the water has never ever altered.

I think we are lucky in that according to the last plumber that serviced my boiler the key to a combi working well is reasonably good mains pressure. The power I get from my combi showers is as good as the megaflow system but the real benefit is that it is the most efficient system that I have ever run and I have hot water whenever I want. The megaflow at the end of the day is a cylinder that runs out of water.

Not by design but we tend to run appliances such as washing machines and dishwashers when we are up and about and not when we are showering and we rarely find a situation where both showers are running at once. There may be some slight adjustments such as those that people may need to make for a combi to work, but I firmly believe it is worth making those adjustments for the benefits that it offers.

Just my opinion and as I say there will be many on here that disagree with what I have said here, but it works for me.

Got a similar recommendation off another forum:

" I have 5 bed 3 bathroom 3 storey house. I turn the hot tap on and hey presto hot water. I have 3 thermostatic showers, 1 bath, 5 sinks & 2 outside taps.

Don't understand people that seem to think cylinders are the best thing since sliced bread. When realistically are all these going to be used at the same time? Even when i am the bath still fills with hot water, the showers still run without the need for you to run around in it and people can still wash their teeth.

My gas bill for the 3 months this summer was £15. Yep £15 i can post a pic if you want. I have a gas hob also.

I have 8 or 9 rads and 3 towels rads. Ill be adding 2/3 more rads in an extension soon and it'll all run off the same boiler without problems or incident I'm sure. P.S. its a Vaillant 837 so not massive.

Any registered gas fitter that "tells" a customer a load of nonsense shouldn't be in the job. Don't believe the hype. Forgot to mention....they're probably the same ones that say you need a "powerflush"!"

The funny thing is, I have hardly ever heard anyone say, "You know, I got this system, and it was a let down, I recommend you get something else".

What does this mean?

Perhaps that most people make do and find happiness with whatever they buy.

And perhaps.... that....

Both Combis and Megaflos can work in 4 beds and bigger?

 

[Dan Robinson]

There's no great mystery over having a functional combi in a large house as long as ALL the pros and cons are understood along with the technical limitations of the appliance.

A typical 4 bed house will never need the full heating capacity of a combi of any size. Although an extra expansion vessel and LLH might be needed to enable it to work reliably.

 

[Corgigrouch]

Not many people talk about the 'Atag' - whats it got that the others don't have?

Earth shattering awesomeness..

 

[Dan Robinson]

If I was putting a combi in a largish house then it would be the Atag a325ec.


Hung a 140kw one today. Very shiny.

 

[Elkato531]

You know what you should do Mick, forget all the asking for advice. You think you are researching but you are more likely to get confused by loads of different answers and they could all be reasonable points of view. Get 3 or 4 quotes, go with the one you feel most comfortable with (not necessarily the cheapest), and trust them to use their experience to make the best decision based on your requirements. If you choose someone local to you who will also take on the long term servicing and maintenance then they will have a vested interest in giving you good advice and a decent product.

 

[Dan Robinson]

Good advice there.

 

[essexmick]

You know what you should do Mick, forget all the asking for advice. You think you are researching but you are more likely to get confused by loads of different answers and they could all be reasonable points of view. Get 3 or 4 quotes, go with the one you feel most comfortable with (not necessarily the cheapest), and trust them to use their experience to make the best decision based on your requirements. If you choose someone local to you who will also take on the long term servicing and maintenance then they will have a vested interest in giving you good advice and a decent product.

I think that's right, at the end of the day you've got a let whoever it is you ask, do their job.

I just know with other products (laptops for example) it helps to do a bit of research, its easy to pay top dollar for junk.