Am I chosing the right boiler/system?

[Valkary999]

Hi,

I'm about to commence a major refurb/extension on our recently acquired 1950's home. The work will include replacing the 25 yr old boiler/hw tank and single bathroom in the existing house. If all goes to plan we will have a new system providing GCH/HW to a largish 4 bed house (2100sq ft), with 1 Bathroom (incl Bath+shower), 1 En-suite (incl shower) and cloakroom. kitchen, utility etc.

I have agreed prices with the builder (who will sub contract this aspect), but I want to specify to the builder the boiler to use, as I've seen developments where the combi boilers supplied are cheap & cheerful and cost a fortune to maintain in years to come!

A gas engineer I met recently recommended a Vailiant EcoTec 937 powerstore combi boiler (with Timeswitch140 and VRT50 thermostat). Obviously different engineers prefer different brands, but is this a good quality system/setup for this size house? (I do know the Vailiant is a large beast - I'm assuming I can put this on the garage wall which is adjacent to the kitchen?)

As an alternative I have noticed some posts also refering to Alpha systems being superb - does anyone know what would be an equivalent system from Alpha, and/or would the new Alpha systems be better than Vailiant?

Finally (for those of you patient enough to read my long winded post!), do you have an idea of the premium that I might have to add on for putting in a decent system, rather than say the "deal of the month" at the local trade counter that is probably included in my agreed price?

Any advice gratefully received

 

[Agile]

You should really tell us the number of people who live there and if they like showers or baths.

I would normally suggest an unvented cylinder if there are more than two people living there and two bathrooms which are likely to be used at the same time.

Tony

 

[Biggles..]

The 937 is a good boiler, change the timeswitch and stat to a VRT360F.

Dave'll give you his opinion in a mo.

 

[gas4you]

Yes the 937 is about the best at the moment if you want to go down the combi route.

I agree forget the Timeswitch 140 and VRT 50 room stat. These are antiquated compared to the boiler you are fitting them on.

As yor property is over 1500 2 feet you will need to have the heating divided into at least 2 heating zones, usually upstairs and down.

One of Vaillants weak points at the moment is that there electronics will not allow 2 zones to be connected with their modern state of the art controls, even with a VR65 centre.

Usually in these circumstances I would fit the Siemens REV 23 programmable optimising room stats which can be specified as wired or wireless. These will then control the zone valve you need for each heating circuit.

 

[Valkary999]

Thanks for the advice on the combi - I had assumed that the advice from my chosen builder to go for a combi was the right one, although one of the builders who originally quoted for the work suggested using a megaflow system, so I'm now wondering which is the right system to go for.

Is a megaflow system the same as a system with an unvented cylinder?
And does it cost approximately the same/more/less?
And based on the size of house/useage (it'll be used by 2 adults and 2 teenagers) should I use a combi or a megaflow system!!??

Many Thanks

Andy

 

[Doctor Drivel]

You should really tell us the number of people who live there and if they like showers or baths.

I would normally suggest an unvented cylinder if there are more than two people living there and two bathrooms which are likely to be used at the same time.

He has 1.5 bathrooms. The 937 will be more than adequate, as will the W-B 440 floor mounted job, as will many other floor and wall mounted combis

Unvented cylinders require an annual service and it is irresponsible to steer people towards these when superior, safer and service free alternatives are around. See the thread on the Pandora Heat Bank.

//www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=103416

 

[kevplumb]

You should really tell us the number of people who live there and if they like showers or baths.

I would normally suggest an unvented cylinder if there are more than two people living there and two bathrooms which are likely to be used at the same time.

He has 1.5 bathrooms. The 937 will be more than adequate, as will the W-B 440 floor mounted job, as will many other floor and wall mounted combis

Unvented cylinders require an annual service and it is irresponsible to steer people towards these when superior, safer and service free alternatives are around. See the thread on the Pandora Heat Bank.

//www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=103416[/QUOTE]

wa wa wa wa wa and of course wa wa

why don't you button it most of the lads posting have forgotten more than you will ever know salesman

 

[Doctor Drivel]

You should really tell us the number of people who live there and if they like showers or baths.

I would normally suggest an unvented cylinder if there are more than two people living there and two bathrooms which are likely to be used at the same time.

He has 1.5 bathrooms. The 937 will be more than adequate, as will the W-B 440 floor mounted job, as will many other floor and wall mounted combis

Unvented cylinders require an annual service and it is irresponsible to steer people towards these when superior, safer and service free alternatives are around. See the thread on the Pandora Heat Bank.

//www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=103416[/QUOTE]

wa wa wa wa wa and of course wa wa

why don't you button it most of the lads posting have forgotten more than you will ever know salesman

Whatever they forgot, it was not enough or relevant. Sad but true.

 

[gas4you]

I would surprisingly, , recommend a Vaillant Ecotec Plus 600 series boiler, a Vaillant Unistor unvented cylinder, and a couple of Siemens REV 23 optimising, programmable room stats if you want to go down that route.

I would suggest at least the 210 litre size and the Unistor does not need an annual service other than the ptrv and prv checking to make sure they work ok which is a 10 min job that can be done at the same time as the boiler service.

 

[Valkary999]

So which system, in your professional opinion, is most suited to the house, the 937 combi system+2(?) Siemens REV23 room stats, or the Ecotec Plus 600 + Unistor cyclinder + 2 REV23 stats?

 

[Doctor Drivel]

So which system, in your professional opinion, is most suited to the house, the 937 combi system+2(?) Siemens REV23 room stats, or the Ecotec Plus 600 + Unistor cyclinder + 2 REV23 stats?

937