Combi in the Attic

[canoas]

I've had 3 new boiler quotes, 1 quote has suggested to place the combi in the Attic, reason for this is the current old combi is in the kitchen and the flue pipe extends way too far (against regulations) and their is really no place to bang a hole in for new shortened flue, British gas suggested to move the boiler near the celing joist in the kitchen extension, but from what I can see is if the boiler/flue is placed here that would leave about 1-2 yards of space directly to garden doors from living room and disturb my summer time beers/reading/sun with smoke pouring out! So attic makes sense to me, saves space for starters. I've had a look at the regs and I need a loft ladder installed, boards are already up there and rails.

Ok, if I go the Attic. How will he install the flue out the roof, I thought he would need scaffolding? Anyway that's not my issue. Also I am a little worried him drilling through the kitchen/bedroom celing who knows what problems he might run into. What about electrics? Do I need the boiler isolated or run connected to the switch under the stairs, problem is the board only has 8 switches full populated....anyway after this job I'm getting the house re-wired I suppsoe the Electrican can sort this out.

My general question is Attic new combi boiler- would you recommend?

 

[ALEC1]

just because it can doesn't mean to say that it should be done...

an attic is not a good place for any boiler as air accumulates at the highest place.

then there is the inevitable "**** happens" risk... the public then proceed to blame the person who put the boiler there rather than the person who wanted it there...

 

[EFLImpudence]

I've had a look at the regs and I need a loft ladder installed, boards are already up there and rails.

As an aside, this regulation always seems odd to me.

Obviously it does not apply to carpenters.

 

[canoas]

just because it can doesn't mean to say that it should be done...

an attic is not a good place for any boiler as air accumulates at the highest place.

then there is the inevitable "s**t happens" risk... the public then proceed to blame the person who put the boiler there rather than the person who wanted it there...

what type of disaster do you mean for example, just so I think about these, a gas leak?

 

[ALEC1]

a water escape...

all sorts of things happen, when you take a boiler to pieces, and water can and does escape. Its very rarely catastrophic, but its a pain when it does, making an already stressful job even more stressful.

tanks on the other hand have 6 connections and overflows and require limited maintenance, making them much less contentious...

 

[kidgreen61]

British gas suggested to move the boiler near the celing joist in the kitchen extension, but from what I can see is if the boiler/flue is placed here that would leave about 1-2 yards of space directly to garden doors from living room and disturb my summer time beers/reading/sun with smoke pouring out!

Why would the boiler be running in the summer?

Why would it have smoke coming out of it?

Now wrong with boilers in lofts, choice is yours

 

[ALEC1]

as said it can be done... but everything has to be trawled through the house, taken probably up a ladder, increasing the work load by a margin...

if you have an alternate location get a quote for both...you may be lucky and some people may not mind...but they may not be about when the magna clean starts leaking!

thats not to say that people who do put boilers in lofts will disappear, but the drama can be any time after the install...

 

[mrcrow]

My general question is Attic new combi boiler- would you recommend?

br gas also suggested this but fortunately i had an attached garage on my bungalow
my take is that when it needs servicing...it may be better to be really accessible and for things like resetting temperatures, and topping up after a bleeding session
also i learned how to empty the siphon after a really bad winter when the condensate froze up
really though i would always want to look my boiler straight in the eye and be there when work was being done
the downside was it took some time for the hw to come through as the kitchen and bathroom were at the other end of the floor layout
cheers
geof

 

[Whitespirit66]

tanks on the other hand have 6 connections and overflows and require limited maintenance, making them much less contentious...

Tell that to a friend of mine. Went away for four days. In that time, the ball somehow became detached from the arm of float valve (corrosion or similar I think) and the loft tank started to fill.

But the overflow will save him - I hear you all cry. Not in this case. The ball floated on the current of the water over to the overflow and blocked it.

Result = total devestation from up to 4 days worth of water through house. Still drying out 2 months later.

 

[ALEC1]

I wouldn't say that at all... Storing water or putting a boiler up there is nuts in opinion


As said it can be done, but that doesn't mean it's wise...

 

[Mark Br]

Nothing wrong with a boiler in a loft, sure it's more work for an installer, lugging it up there and then spending all day on their knees, but that's not really your problem.

I'd say that nearly 50% of the boilers I fit nowadays are in lofts. Never had a problem. Only thing I'd suggest is another filling loop with an external pressure guage (where old HW cyclinder was?) so you don't have to go in the loft to top it up and to keep an eye on it.

Alec - I can't think of any case for your arguments. "Air collects at highest place" - fit an AAV then if the boiler doesn't have one built in.

"Waters spillage when servicing/repairs" - the boiler will be at the highest point of the system so less of a problem than if it was in the kitchen!

 

[Steelmasons]

A boiler in loft is out of site and out of mind , I usually charge a bit more for servicing/ breakdown when in a loft space.

 

[mogget]

I don't think anybody's mentioned this already - another problem can be the frost stat bringing the boiler on at unwanted times during the winter.

 

[TCCHeating]

I don't think anybody's mentioned this already - another problem can be the frost stat bringing the boiler on at unwanted times during the winter.

If its in the attic a pipe stat should be installed on the return to stop this from being a problem.

 

[mogget]

Aha ok. Thanks.