Pipes too narrow for a combi?

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Last year, I had two quotes to fit a new boiler in a first floor flat I own. One plumber (Corgi registered) said I could have a combi but British Gas claimed that the diameter of the incoming pipe to the building was too small. As this is just a flat, I can't replace the main supply pipe but I have since learned that the fellow in the ground floor flat has a combi and it works fine. So, now I'm confused. Is it possible that a combi on the ground floor might work where one on the first floor might not? Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but as most of you know, I'm a complete novice when it comes to plumbing.
 
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Are you talking about the gas supply? if so, of course it can be upgraded/enlarged.
 
it works fine
There's unfortunately more to it than that.
The BG man is probably right, though perhaps he meant the pipe from the meter to your property.
Lots of posts here on pipe size - a vexed issue.
 
EliteHeat said:
Are you talking about the gas supply? if so, of course it can be upgraded/enlarged.

Yes, I realise that, Elite, and if it was a (freehold) house, I'd do that. As it is I just own a flat in the building and the incoming pipe is, therefore, communal and the property of the freeholder.
 
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ChrisR said:
Well that's YOUR pipe, it isn't communal.

That's a good point, Chris. I'd guess the real problem is the areas it snakes through to get to my place. That will include the communal hall and possibly someone else's flat. I'll check up on this, though. Many thanks.
 
Wouldn't necessarily have to be replaced all the way to boiler, maybe just the first half of length from meter. Needs proper calculation done.
 
I've just put a combi on the end of a steel pipe which is buried in the fabric of a purpose built block.
My first reaction to the suggestion was negative - too big a risk becuase you never know how resistive the pipe is going to be. There are tables and formulae giving predictions to 3 decimal places , but you can find they're out by a multiplier around TWO!
I was lucky though, in that there was already a (smaller capacity) boiler there, so I could carefully measure the pressure drop that was causing in the supply pipe, and do my sums from that, which turned out about right.
I will add that with both ends of the gas pipe disconnected, I put the hoover on BLOW at the boiler end, and a load of rust flew out of the pipe.
 
If it was one rising main then would not this be at street pressure with his meter in his flat, then he could access pipe work easily :confused:
 
gas4you said:
If it was one rising main then would not this be at street pressure with his meter in his flat, then he could access pipe work easily :confused:

yes but what if the other properies used the taps

Pressure drop

:)

I am assuming its 20mm diameter or less mind

:)
 
NickStone for gawd sake tell us where your meter is! Is it down at ground level or in your flat!
It would be unusual for an engineer to make pronouncements about the shared bit, which is before the meters. That's at some unknown higher pressure.
 

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