Combi boiler upgrade advice

[dtokez]

Hi all, not that long moved into a new place which has a Worcester 350 combi fitted. It needs to go, recently leaking and very tired!

Not sure what would be the best way to go now for value for money, British gas and the like or use a private installer / company? Should I stick with a combi, are they the most efficient? I'ts a small to medium 3 bed detached house.

I'd quite like a nice controller, I'm a sucker for gadgets! What brands should I consider? Condensing or non condensing?

Thanks

edit... the vaillant ones look pretty nice, are they good?

 

[45yearsagasman]

For starters you don't have a choice, it's all condensing,
A combi would be the obvious choice as the existing system is combi already.
There are numerous controller options including weather compensation.
Get a quote from the big boys and then from a local indy.
I have no opinion on make or model, other than to say, both Vaillant and Worcester offer decent boilers with decent warranties.

 

[dcawkwell]

Once you get a quote from British Gas you'll soon decide to get another from someone local.

 

[ianmcd]

The larger companies like BG and the like often sub-contract their installs out a 3rd party anyway wouldnt be the first time I have quoted for an install and customer decided to go with BG and then I turn up to carry out the work anyway on behalf of BG and the customer is paying a few thousand more for the privellage

 

[dtokez]

Thanks for the advice, I will get the big dogs round first then for a quote. But doesn't sound like I'm going to be impressed with the outcome!

So combi's are the most efficient then?

 

[dtokez]

anyone? Are combis the most efficient these days?

 

[Whitespirit66]

anyone? Are combis the most efficient these days?

Horses for courses. Combis are good if you won't have several people using hot taps and showers at the same time. If you do, the combi can't keep up with demand, as it heats the water on demand as it passes through the boiler.

If you will have times of high hw demand, you need to think about stored hw in a hw cylinder - heated by a system boiler.

The heating side of things should be OK for your purposes with a combi - it's the hw demand you need to consider.

 

[dtokez]

Hi, thanks for the reply!

Its only me and my lady at the moment, and no sign of any kids yet so I guess a combi would still be the way to go, especially seems as we already have one fitted.

Are there any brands that are known to be more eco friendly than others, or any that are prone to breaking down?

thanks

 

[easyas123Viessmann]

As you may tell from my name I am biassed towards Viessmann. Look at there Vitodens range and investigate weather compensation, it's the business. Great boilers. With combination boilers big is better. Hot water is always limited to low flow compared to a cylinder. I installed a Viessmann boiler for the guy who wrote the regulations for energy conservation with regards to heating. (Chess) he explained that the test used for rating the efficiency of combination boilers was flawed. A combination boiler fires up each time you call for hot water and needs to heat up it's main heat exchanger each time as part of this process. In comparison a system with a hot water cylinder time controlled will heat up just once depositing it's heat to the cylinder. Modern cylinders are so well insulated that the heat loss from the cylinder is less than from the multiple heating up of the boiler heat exchanger. However this is not so much I of an issue in the winter as the boiler is often already hot from running the heating. Properly installed and timed the cylinder system is the superior system by far.

 

[petertheplumber12]

I can't remember the the model but I do know that vaillant and I think glow worm who are now both the same company offer a combi with high output on hot water with an additional small storage capacity (10 liters i think) that is instantly available hot water while boiler is firing up. it stands away from the wall a little further but it is a cheaper option than converting to conventional boiler with say a system boiler and an unvented hot water cylinder.

 

[petertheplumber12]

easyas I know nothing about viesmann I just had a quick look at 1 of the models manual to see what they look like, but that doesn't tell me how easy they are to work on, and what price range of boilers do they fall under, high end middle?

 

[Dan Robinson]

I installed a Viessmann boiler for the guy who wrote the regulations for energy conservation with regards to heating. (Chess) he explained that the test used for rating the efficiency of combination boilers was flawed

I remember that course.... in Bracknell was the one I took a long time ago.

Complete waste of time. The day off work wasted, diesel burnt getting there, and the carbon used to make the certificate made it even more pointless.

To say a cylinder is more efficient than a combi (universally) is totally bonkers.

 

[Mike_W]

I installed a Viessmann boiler for the guy who wrote the regulations for energy conservation with regards to heating. (Chess) he explained that the test used for rating the efficiency of combination boilers was flawed

I remember that course.... in Bracknell was the one I took a long time ago.

Complete waste of time. The day off work wasted, diesel burnt getting there, and the carbon used to make the certificate made it even more pointless.

To say a cylinder is more efficient than a combi (universally) is totally bonkers.

Same here and I only had to travel half a mile.

 

[easyas123Viessmann]

The building research labs would be interested in your technical update as they are probably less qualified to establish the facts than your self. After all they must be bonkers.

 

[easyas123Viessmann]

Peter the plumber. Hi. Easy to work on. The latest Vitodens 100 is close to perfect for both the installer and the breakdown engineer. I almost hope they go wrong so I can work on them. The 200 is the king of boilers no other boiler available in the UK comes close. The 200 has many very advanced features that need a patient and intelligent approach. Such as weather compensation. Weather compensated zoning. Hydraulic separation for multi zoned systems with flow rates above the max rate for the boiler. It's perfect for use with underfloor heating. Most of these concepts are wasted on many UK installers and a lot are scared of them. Go to Telford and have a look. I first got into viessmann when visiting Estonia. I asked a friend why he choose Viessmann, his reply, 'in Estonia if you don't have Viessmann you die' it's not true of course I use a wood burning mass storage heater and I'm still alive. But if I had gas I would have a viessmann