British Gas boiler type

[cwassall]

I have had a new boiler fitted in my house by British Gas. I filled out a form online saying I wanted a combi boiler, they asked me a few questions about my home and then said they needed to do a video call. As I was working away, my brother did the video call at the property. The quote came through, price was ok so I gave the go ahead. Boiler was installed.

My brother has just sent me pictures and they have installed a regular boiler not a combi?!

The house has one bathroom with an electric shower and 5 radiators. Everything I have read about boiler types including British Gas own website states a regular is best for large houses with multiple bathrooms. Mine hasn’t even got a shower that runs off the boiler as it’s electric.

Now I don’t know what to do as the boiler has been installed. I think they have chosen the completely wrong type, I assume just for ease of install.

What can I do now? Help me…

 

[RandomGrinch]

Can you post the picture here?

 

[cwassall]

Can you post the picture here?

Haven’t got my actual picture as it’s on my partners phone but this is the same as they have fitted

 

[RandomGrinch]

Where does the hot water to the sinks come from?

 

[cwassall]

The house has a water tank in the loft and a hot water cylinder, the old boiler was 20 years old hence why I wanted to have a new combo boiler.

 

[RandomGrinch]

I'm not a C/H pro, and I'm sure others will comment, but my opinion would be that they have replaced like for like; converting to a combi would have required extra plumbing and extra cost, that would have had to be discussed during the video call. The type of boiler to be installed should also have been listed on the quote.
Through unfortunate circumstances, it seems that you have missed the opportunity to get exactly what you want, but I don't believe that is purely down to BG.

If you still want a combi, contact BG and you may be able to negotiate a solution; but it will probably cost you more money.

 

[cwassall]

Thanks for your advice/opinion.

I’m not expecting them to be very helpful now that it’s been installed, we can’t even see the quote as it was online and has now disappeared. I’ll be calling them tomorrow to discuss. Just annoying when you asked for a combi, paid £2500 and haven’t got what you asked for.

 

[JohnD]

A combi is not necessarily better. What are the features you wanted?

 

[sxturbo]

I agree with Grinch.

I don't think it's solely a bg issue, hopefully you can get a suitable resolution

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

The house has one bathroom with an electric shower and 5 radiators. Everything I have read about boiler types including British Gas own website states a regular is best for large houses with multiple bathrooms. Mine hasn’t even got a shower that runs off the boiler as it’s electric.

If you needed a complete new heating hot water system, then what you call a 'regular' boiler system, would cost you much more to have than a combi boiler system. A combi is the poor relation. Which type is the better system, is more dependent on how you use your heating and hot water.

If the house much of the time is unoccupied, used irregularly, then a combi might suit that usage better, because hot water is quickly available, whereas - a stored hot water system might involve a delay of 30 minutes, before a bath worth of hot water would become available.

The big advantage of a stored hot water system, is that the flow rate can be much faster, as the water is not having to be heated on the fly.

I suspect what as happened, is that BG made an assumption that you already had a combi installed, and may have quoted for a like for like swap. It might be worth your contacting BG, to ask them for an explanation of what happened, but think carefully before insisting on them swapping you over to a combi.

A combi boiler is much more complex internally, than a heat only, so more to go wrong, more expensive to fix when it does. Any work on the boiler with need the services of a gas engineer, whereas on a heat only boiler, much of what can go wrong outside the boiler, can be tackled DIY, or by a plumber.

 

[Madrab]

If you weren't there, didn't discuss anything, didn't get anything in writing and then paid the money without checking then I'm afraid there's really nothing you can do about it. Unfortunately, if you wanted specifics then it should have been you that took the video call

You can call BG and discuss it with them, be nice and see where you get with it but I am just about certain you won't get it swapped out unless you can prove it is completely wrong and wasn't what was agreed.

 

[Fred Blogs]

You got a half decent regular boiler. They are a bit more expensive to run because they heat water in a tank rather than what you are actually using at the time, if that makes sense. But if you had a regular boiler in the first place it would have cost you thousands more to re-plumb for a combi. Also, in my opinion, combi boilers and these fangled heat pumps are rubbish in comparison to a regular condensing boiler.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

They are a bit more expensive to run because they heat water in a tank rather than what you are actually using at the time, if that makes sense.

Not necessarily - A combi has to fire up, every time you need even a cupful of hot water, which is wasteful of gas and water, whilst you wait for it to get hot and increases wear on the boiler.

In addition, a combi has to be sized to at least have a high enough Kw to be able to instantly heat the water. Having too large a boiler for the CH demands, will also be wasteful of gas.

 

[JohnD]

You got a half decent regular boiler. They are a bit more expensive to run because they heat water in a tank rather than what you are actually using at the time

incorrect

 

[bernardgreen]

Time for a history lesson

CBFF - Overview and History of Combination Boilers