BAXI bermuda back boiler - time to upgrade ?

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Hi all

We are in the process of getting quotes for a new upstairs bathroom. We have a BAXI bermuda back boiler and fireplace, with a hot water cylinder in the airing cupboard and cold and expansion tanks in the loft. Me and my wife discussed about changing the boiler, but at the time we decided that we would keep it as it seems to be working fine (for the most part!), and so we purchasd an electric shower to go in the new bathroom.

After speaking with several installers, they have pointed out that we have some leaded pipes in our upstairs bathroom as well as going up to the loft tanks (and maybe more?). Two of them have suggested returning the electric shower and changing the boiler at this stage to enable a better showing experience using mains pressure hot water, and for a more efficient system.

We have two bathrooms, 3 bedrooms and a loft conversion, and there are 4 of us (and sometimes additional guests). We are not sure on the condition of our pipework and rads, and if they are up to the job of being pressurised or if they would need replacing as well. Another consideration is that we have laminate flooring from our front door, through the kitchen to our back door so this may complicate matters for new pipework.

We would like to be able to use both showers and taps simultanueously (thinking forwards to when the kids are older), so if we were to replace the boiler I think we are looking at a heat only or system boiler.

I have little experience with CH an HW systems so any advice on what to do would be appreciated !

Thanks

Paul
 
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Depends quite a bit on the physical layout of things but you have a few things to consider;

Electric showers are not very good- avoid if you can.

Mains pressure hot water (if your mains pressure is good) is excellent BUT carries an overhead of a statutory annual service/inspection by an appropriately qualified person- minimum £100

Get rid of the lead (remember lead has a significant cash value, haggle your installer down to a sensible price then remind him/her that you will dispose of the scrap) but don't stress about it too much- you aren't drinking from hot water pipes so it isn't a show stopper.

Is your new upstairs bathroom going to be the 2nd or 3rd bathroom? If 3rd then it all gets a bit iffy...

IF the pipework going upstairs can be relatively easily modified I'd suggest the following;

Intergas combi boiler

Use the combi bit to supply hot water to kitchen tap and to the bathroom that you use all the time (ideally the highest)

Retain the hot water cylinder (with 2 port valve) serving the 2nd (ideally lower) bathroom, fire it up when you have a house full. Don't get blinded by science- the cylinder is a radiator with a heat loss of about 3 kw, with an appropriate control system it can work fine on the heat side of a combi. This will keep the 2 showers/baths separate from a heat point of view.

Don't worry about pressurising existing rads, unless they and the pipework are a thousand years old it'll be fine.
 
Use the combi bit to supply hot water to kitchen tap and to the bathroom that you use all the time (ideally the highest)

Retain the hot water cylinder (with 2 port valve) serving the 2nd (ideally lower) bathroom, fire it up when you have a house full. Don't get blinded by science- the cylinder is a radiator with a heat loss of about 3 kw, with an appropriate control system it can work fine on the heat side of a combi. This will keep the 2 showers/baths separate from a heat point of view.

Thanks very much for your reply. The new bathroom is the second - 1 up and 1 down. Could you tell me what would be the reason &/or benefits to going this route, rather than opting for a sytem boiler ? Why do you suggest the Intergas brand boiler? One guy I had a quote from was recommending glo-worm and the other one was suggesting a Viessmann or Ideal although he did say he could fit anything I wanted.
 
Your baxi BBU is one of the most reliable boilers ever made, modern boilers hate dirty system water, your BBU wont skip a beat with dirty water, new ones will not work with it, your existing system water will be very contaminated, if you decide to change for a new boiler make sure the system is properly cleaned, a magnetic filter is not the same thing
 
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Hi all

We are in the process of getting quotes for a new upstairs bathroom. We have a BAXI bermuda back boiler and fireplace, with a hot water cylinder in the airing cupboard and cold and expansion tanks in the loft. Me and my wife discussed about changing the boiler, but at the time we decided that we would keep it as it seems to be working fine (for the most part!), and so we purchasd an electric shower to go in the new bathroom.

After speaking with several installers, they have pointed out that we have some leaded pipes in our upstairs bathroom as well as going up to the loft tanks (and maybe more?). Two of them have suggested returning the electric shower and changing the boiler at this stage to enable a better showing experience using mains pressure hot water, and for a more efficient system.

We have two bathrooms, 3 bedrooms and a loft conversion, and there are 4 of us (and sometimes additional guests). We are not sure on the condition of our pipework and rads, and if they are up to the job of being pressurised or if they would need replacing as well. Another consideration is that we have laminate flooring from our front door, through the kitchen to our back door so this may complicate matters for new pipework.

We would like to be able to use both showers and taps simultanueously (thinking forwards to when the kids are older), so if we were to replace the boiler I think we are looking at a heat only or system boiler.

I have little experience with CH an HW systems so any advice on what to do would be appreciated !

Thanks

Paul


Keep as is
Get the boiler serviced by someone who knows what he is doing.
System is simple, and it works and is belt and braces. Nothing modern comes close to it
Do fit better controls to economise on gas consumption
 

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