Worcester 350 question

[AMEdinburgh]

I have two elderly Worcester 350 wall mounted combis, side by side, in the bit of a Victorian house, in which we live, one for each floor.

I think it's coming up to time to replace them.

My question is whether the current equivalent uses the same piping jig and flue spacing or am I facing either a pipework alteration or worse, new flue drillings. Last time, there was a bit of whinstone in the path of one of the 24" long cores which took hours to get through.

If everything has to go, I might look at other brands or one larger boiler. If not, then it could well be two more Worcesters.

Would anyone be able to help?

Thank you in anticipation.

 

[Dan Robinson]

You should be OK on the flue cores, but the pipe work will need slight alteration. Nothing to onerous though.

You'd be nuts to go for another Worcester though. Look at Intergas.

@PullerGas should know some good installers in your area.

 

[AMEdinburgh]

Thank you Dan. They have been less than perfect over the years and at least with two we've always had heating and hot water somewhere. I'll have a look at the Intergas website

 

[Dan Robinson]

Intergas blow WB out of the water. The Eco RF boilers have remote control and engineer management out this month after prolonged testing in Holland. Can't wait.

Look on my You Tube channel for vids on how they make it and what makes it special. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUmvj1odTKEkifbzTD72x43V6s0K1B_Qm


And no, I don't work for them.


@Razor900 might be able to give some more insight.

 

[Razor900]

//www.diynot.com/diy/threads/forum-rules-general-info.19448/

Are you sure you want two combis rather than a cylinder and one or two system boilers?

 

[AMEdinburgh]

We have enjoyed the simplicity of the combi, Razor, over the past 20 years. Provides a good shower through a Mira Excel in the bathrooms and is quick enough to fill the (acrylic) bath. We did remove a 90l tank from a structural cupboard in the upper third of the utility room but I had my eye on that for a mechanical ventilation system box as it would be easy to duct into four contiguous rooms

 

[Razor900]

I did post our local reps name and number for you, sadly it seems the mods don't allow useful posts

If you PM me I will send you his details

 

[Dan Robinson]

You coming to PHEX @Razor900?

 

[Razor900]

You can get the number for Alex from the pdf

Dan I'm going to try and get down for Thursday

 

[AMEdinburgh]

I've had a look at the Intergas website and I now have two more questions for the experts - sorry.

One of my boilers runs the upstairs and the DHW and CH supply and return go up behind the boiler into a finished bathroom directly upstairs so changing that aspect of the pipework is troublesome, as the boilers are high up on the wall, with only a modest gap between their tops and the ceiling. The Intergas installation drawing looks to me to show an expansion vessel hard up against the wall and the boiler directly on it's front service. Does that mean it has to be bottom fed for all connections.

Secondly the Intergas flue is shown at 4" whereas the old Worcester is 5". How are the 24" long holes in the wall reduced in a way that would allow subsequent boiler replacement and keep the draft/insects out. Is a reducing sleeve made for this purpose and if so, what is it called?
Thank you in anticipation

 

[Dan Robinson]

Not sure I get problem 1. Pictures? Anyway, should not be a problem for the installer who would probably use am external vessel anyway.

Problem 2 isn't a problem. Rubber seals ate provided and a bit of sand and cement. Again, nothing for the installer to worry about.

 

[AMEdinburgh]

Back on the thread due to a year of inactivity on the replacements, with other priorities, the old 350s struggling on.



is the situation we have at present with the boilers high up above the window. I have 960mm from ceiling down to the top of the pipe boxing in and about 1070mm to be within the box. The WB 350s are about 315mm deep which allows an adjacent cupboard door to open across them.

The left hand boiler CH supply and return and DHW go upwards into the bathroom above, which we are at present remodelling and have the floor up so now would be the perfect time to upgrade the boilers, as I quickly realised last year that there was no such thing as an easy swap, as the flues would need to be re drilled higher and the pipework upstairs altered.

You tried to help me last year, Dan and perhaps you or someone else would know whether there would be enough room to get the flue of the Intergas ECO RF 36 in the height I have available. Their website says the case is 710mm for the RF36 model.

It also appears quite shallow at 240mm, which is very useful as the WB replacement is too deep at 370mm. Can, in effect, a hollow boiler support be built to allow the pipes to go upwards behind the boiler.

Thank you in anticipation of any guidance.