Ferroli F30 Upgrade

[racey1979]

Hi all,

We recently moved into a property with a Ferroli F30 combi boiler and despite horror stories on the net, it has been okay until now. The hot water flow was great and the rads got really hot.
However, it has started playing up and the AA have been today and had to order some parts to get us back up and running. Two thermistors and a flow switch I believe. The engineer said the boiler was around 15 years old and advised us it might be a good idea to start thinking of replacing it in the near future.
I have been looking at Worcester Bosch Greenstar Classic boilers but not sure which size to go for. On the website it states all of them have a central heating output of 30kw so is it all down to hot water flowrate? I want a good flow rate as there is nothing worse than standing under a trickle of a shower. I live in quite a large 3 bed semi detached house with a single story extension to the rear and single story side extension. I have 9 rads, and may want to add another rad at some point. I was thinking of the of the Greenstar 38 CDI. Does this sound like a good choice?

Any help/advise greatly appreciated.

Andy

 

[Agile]

Combi boilers are sized on the hot water output.

If you are happy with your existing 30 kW and its correctly set then another 30 kW boiler should be adequate.

Your house probably only needs about 12 kW so that is an irrelevant aspect when boiler sizing.

Depending on the number living there I would normally recommend a stored hot water system as combi boiler are more suited to small flats and where only up to two live there.

Tony

 

[racey1979]

Thanks for the reply, there are only two of us but fitting a cylinder and swapping to a standard boiler is not something I want to do. There is a tool on the Worcester Bosch website that matches a boiler against your old boiler and a Ferroli F30 comes up with Greenstar 36cdi compact which has a central heating output of 24kw. The how water flow seems good, more than the Ferroli, it gives 12.9 l/min at 40 degree increase vs 12.3 l/min at 35 degree increase on my boiler.
However, Im not restricted for space so don't really need a "compact" boiler. I can imagine the parts are really crammed in making them more difficult to work on? So perhaps the Greenstar classic would be a better choice. Theres so many boilers and different people recommend different manufacturers. Valliant, WB, BAXI............its doing my head in!

 

[Agile]

And for a house I would recommend a cylinder!

But if you have so much faith in Worcester boilers and their web advice, one wonders why you bother to ask here! I am sure one of their listed installers will recommend a Worcester boiler which will be what you want to hear.

Most on here are independents and so we can consider the whole market as we are not tied to just one maker.

Seems a bit pointless comparing differently quoted DHW flow rates!

Tony

 

[racey1979]

Im not stuck to Worcester Bosch whatsoever I was mearly asking for a good equivalent boiler to replace my old Ferroli with a good hot water output. I just thought that they were one of the better brands. I want the job to be fairly simple as so dont want to fit a cylinder.

Thanks

 

[Agile]

You only fit the boiler/system once so its better to get it right the first time. In my view a cylinder is far better. Nor so much for just two people but if its sold or rented to others with the more usual 3-4 people. You do know the limitations of a combi do you?

Do you really have any reason to like Worcester boilers and think they are a "better" brand? Or have you just been persuaded by all their advertising?

Most independents on here will not like Worcester boilers much and would suggest an Intergas, Viessmann or Vaillant as far better boilers.

Tony

 

[racey1979]

This is the thing, I know a numer of people that fit/service boilers and they all have different views as to which is best. Some swear by Vaillant, others WB or Baxi. The internet is the same, no brand seems to stand out which makes it more difficult to choose. A friend of mine had a new Vaillant fitted last year and I went round to see him about it last night and he said it had broken down 6 times since being installed. Saying that my last house had a Vaillant and it never missed a beat in 3 years that i was there, but the water flow was a bit poor. The old boiler is getting repaired tomorow so guess ill just wait and see. I may look into the cylinder option like you suggest I just dont like the idea of having to wait for my hot water!

Thanks

 

[Agile]

This is 2015! You don't have to wait for hot water!

Water heating is controlled by the timeclock and cylinder thermostat.

So the cylinder is hot when you want to use it.

Furthermore there is always an electric immersion heated backup should the boiler fail which enables you to wait until weekday office hours to get it fixed as the most economic rate.

Currently most better boilers now have at least five years warranty.

Few boilers ever fail often unless fitted to a dirty system without power flushing it.

Tony

 

[racey1979]

Okay, thank very much for your advice.

To be honest, the rads are all screaming hot with no cold patches and the hot water flow is very good so the system is probably fairly clean.

Would you still recommend power flushing the system before fitting a new boiler regardless? Or could I just flush the system myself by draining down, adding cleaner, leave for a week or so and then drain and flush again? Like explained here...........

http://www.diyfixit.co.uk/central-heating/cleaning-a-central-heating-system.html

 

[Agile]

All that is required is to fit the new boiler on a "clean" system.

It all depends on the water at present. If a sample is totally clear then just adding cleanser for the appropriate time for the particular brand is all that is needed.

If any bits in the water then power flushing is really necessary.

Its a judgement for the installer who should then accept responsibility for any consequences although of course once paid they are rarely seen again.

Tony