Baxi Back Boiler - worth Changing?

[Wazz]

Hi all,
I have just bought my first house (3bed semi) and need help with a decision! I am hearing and reading different opinions and really need it put in plain english.
The house has a failry new (a gas man thinks about 3years old) Baxi Back Boiler in the lounge. The hot water tank is in the main bedroom taking up a lot of space. It has an immersion heater and the cold water tank is on the floor of the loft. The house is empty and needs replastering in many places.... so before I do... Do I change to a combi boiler or stick with what I have.
The common things I am hearing are... The shower off the current system will be rubbish, the system is old and not a good selling point, takes up a fair bit of space and it will cost a lot to change to a combi system. Im quite a hands on person and do a lot of work myself... But I dont know much about heating systems or plumbing... so its going to be expensive!
But, is the exsisting system easy to get parts for? It works! Has an immersion heater. If its not broken... why fix it?
A combi then... More desirable when I come to sell? Better shower pressure and I can reclaim bedroom and loft space and while the house is empty, its a good time to change. (money isnt a massive issue) I know some of my plumbing will have to be redone due to pressure changes etc...
Im really wanting to know from the experts out there... if it was your house... would you change to a combi boiler and briefly why?
Thanks in advance!!!
Wazz

 

[gas4you]

If the bbu is only about 3 years old then it should last for at least another 20 if serviced correctly!

The choice then is down to your personal wants. Yes a combi will give a better shower as it is going to work on nearly mains pressure, yes a combi will take up less space and give you your cupboard back, depending on where you site it. Yes a combi will be cheaper to run. Yes you will have no tanks in the loft.

But with a combi you will need a larger gas pipe from the meter to the boiler, you will get only heating or hot water, not both together, but this is not really an issue to worry about, yes all your eggs are in one basket and if it breaks down you will not have heating or hot water until it is fixed, unlike now where you have the immersion as a back up for hot water.

As an approximate guide bbu's out and combi in usually comes out around £2300 + VAT, including upgrading all system controls to best practice and a full 2 year warranty on your boiler.

Costs across the country will vary.

If it was my house I would fit a system boiler and an unvented mains cylinder, but you would not gain any space and this is the most expensive option. Add about another £1000 to the above price.

So to sum up you don't need to change it, but can if you so desire

 

[Dan Robinson]

Yes, not only are back boilers horrible, they are grossly inefficient, potentially dangerous and a pain to service.

A combi boiler of 30+Kw would be fine for a single bathroom. Heating capacity is an irrelevance. Typical back boiler is 55% efficient. Typical well installed Combi - 80% efficient for hot water - up to 92% for heating.

Which make and model is an installers preference - for some reason people like Vaillant and Baxi, but to be honest I would touch my exs' with one. My preferred brands are Atmos or Worcester Bosch - in that order.

A typical conversion takes 3 to 4 days unless a major powerflush is needed.

Price depends heavily on location, system orientation and gas pipe.

When I bought my house I condemned and killed the back boiler on principle whilst the estate agent was there - they had a glade plugin to mask the smell of gas!!!!

P.S. Did not see the "3 year old" bit; but I would still consider changing it if money is not an obstacle.

 

[gas4you]

Typical back boiler is 55% efficient. Typical well installed Combi - 80% efficient for hot water - up to 92% for heating.

If its 3 years old it will be band D certified at 78% Sedbuk. When I spot test my Vaillants flat out on hot water they give around 86% -88% efficiency on FGA

Always Vaillant, WB second (sorry Craig )

A typical conversion takes 3 to 4 days unless a major powerflush is needed.

One man 3 1/2 days inc full powerflush max

Price depends heavily on location, system orientation and gas pipe.

Agree

 

[Wazz]

Those replies were quick!

The 'not having heating or hot water at the same time' bit, I assume thats only a problem if someone is, for example havinga shower when the hot water is due to come on?

Thanks!
Wazz
Still Confused

 

[baxpoti]

Yes, not only are back boilers horrible, they are grossly inefficient, potentially dangerous and a pain to service.

A combi boiler of 30+Kw would be fine for a single bathroom. Heating capacity is an irrelevance. Typical back boiler is 55% efficient. Typical well installed Combi - 80% efficient for hot water - up to 92% for heating.

WHAT!
Back boilers are not horrible, they're virtually invisible.
The latest run at 78%+ efficiency (not allowing for the heat in the chimney keeping the central part of the house warm).
All boilers are 'potentially' dangerous.
The back boiler is a very easy boiler to service, unless your just use to a FGA and afraid of getting your tools dirty!

 

[gas4you]

Yeah but unless you have a shower for around 30-60 mins you will never notice it

I always give my customers all the fors and againsts of combis then let them decide

 

[Dan Robinson]

All boilers are 'potentially' dangerous

Agreed, but what is more prone to CO escapes? Or a room sealed boiler?

Typical back boiler is 55% efficient.

I wrote that befOre I noticed OP said it was 3 years old.

I stand by everything else I wrote. BBU's are nasty - like most of the other boilers produced by the people that make them.... IMHO


Now how's that for setting the cat amongst the pigeons?

 

[JohnD]

...if it breaks down you will not have heating or hot water until it is fixed

"when"

I'm surprised a 3 bed house hasn't got a convenient place for an airing cupboard with a cylinder in it


Combis are a bit inconvenient if one person is trying to run a bath or have a shower while another is trying to run hot water to wash up or something.

And very inconvenient if you have a separate shower and bathroom or ensuite that two people may try to use at the same time.

 

[ollski]

Keep the back boiler, maybe flush tha system replace the rads and fit trvs. Cold tank in the loft, fit a power shower, co detector in the front room, service it once a year and think about replacing it in 2037.

 

[Agile]

A nice new combi will be a good selling point if you plan to sell whithin two years.

Its far cheaper to to fit it while the house is being redecorated.

I would advise a professional install while you concentrate on the building and decorating work. Just get an acceptable make of boiler.

Tony

 

[Wazz]

thanks for all the replies...
Still a very mixed bag of opinions.
Lets say I keep the current system, would it hard to move the hot water tank to the loft and then raise the cold water tank to improve shower perfomance?
thanks!

 

[gas4you]

No, but you will need lots of headroom to get the cold storage tank above the hot water cylinder

 

[Wazz]

Ok, I have decided to change to a combi boiler, after all my plan is to do up the house and sell in a few years.
so I look in the local paper, look for a heating engineer whos corgi registered and get a qoute... is there a way I can check hes not a cowboy and he is corgi registered?
Anyone looking for work in the south manchester area?
Lastly... I have seen a few threads of what a corgi installer should be doing... as a DIYer... is there anything I can do to speed up the install or prepare for the work to start?
ta!

 

[gasright]

Word of mouth is always the best way to find out if an RGI is any good or not. Have any of your friends or family recently had a boiler installed?

failing that use the CORGI web-site to find the installers that are nearest to your postcode.

oh and DO NOT INSTALL AN IDEAL, RAVENHEAT OR BIASI

Always aim for the best boiler that you can afford a couple of hundred £ more could make the difference between a peaceful life or not stop hassle with your heating.

hope this helps