Combi or Conventional Boiler

[madasabadger]

Hi

We are trying to decide between getting a combi boiler and a conventional boiler. We've had several quotes for both, with one bloke thorougly recommending a conventional condensing boiler rather than a combi.

The house is a 1950's/60's 3 bed semi,

Roughly 5m side to side by 7.20m front to back with a large consevatory out back.

Double glazed and Insulated in the loft but no cavity wall insulation.

Currently there are just the two of us but that may change in the next few years.

The combi is the cheaper option but will it be enough to heat the house and provide hot water for 2/3 people?

(If we went the combi route we would get an electric shower).

cheers

L.

 

[cross thread]

combi easier of the two as far as installation goes.if only one bathroom then it would be my choice, but buy a good one bosch,vaillant

 

[JohnD]

If you get a combi, then on the days when it is out of order, you will have no hot water.

If you get another system boiler and keep your hot water cylinder you can use the immersion heater if the boiler breaks down.

 

[Alfredo]

"(If we went the combi route we would get an electric shower). "

For why? Combis do brilliant showers as you've got mains pressure hot and cold. Electric shower are pretty dreadful by comparison.

In this three bed detached house with four hot taps and four occupants..parents and two very tall kids, the combi is just great. Its a six year old Vokera Linea 28, and just through the wall from it in the bathroom is a Trevi Therm shower. I have a programmable thermostat (Danfos) and Thermostatic Rad valves and the system is really very good and easy to live with,and been no trouble since we put it in.

Get a decent quality combi with a good hot water flow rate and you are laughing.

Alfredo

 

[madasabadger]

combi easier of the two as far as installation goes.if only one bathroom then it would be my choice, but buy a good one bosch,vaillant

So far we have been quoted for a Worcester Greenstar 28kW Junior Combi, A worcester CDI 30 Combi, a Potterton H>R 70,000BTU Conventional boiler and an Ideal combi & conventional boiler.

 

[madasabadger]

Electric shower is just in case the boiler goes wrong then we still have hot water to wash ourselves with.

I thought that combis were meant for smaller flats and houses where as conventional boilers were for large houses? or is that not the case with newer combis?

The combi option is very tempting because of the cost and ease of installation. I just want to make sure it is going to be up to the job.

Cheers

L.

 

[ChrisR]

Bet you could make good use of the space you'd gain if the HW cylinder were taken out. . I'd use a combi, at least 28kW for a good shower. If you put in an electric shower it would be nice for insurance, if a bit ugly.

 

[Alfredo]

No, combis are fine in detached houses, just as long as you get one with a decent capacity...28kW. They are economical as they only heat the hot water you use.

Combis are not suitable for houses with multiple bathrooms or any with a lot of hot taps as they can only really supply one hot tap at a time. In day to day use this is no problem for most households, except when Mrs Alfredo is in the shower and i turn on the downstairs kitchen sink taps

Alfredo

 

[Paul Barker]

Well it's about 2 years since I did my part L but back then they said there was no research which proved that instant dhw was any more economical than stored in a bs1566. Do you have a reference for the evidence based practice you propose?

 

[corgiman]

as a breakdown engineer I hate combis

at least with a conventional you can flip the old immersion and give the punter some water while you wiat for the manufacturuer to over charge and make you wait forever for the part you need

and if you want more pressure at least with a conventional you can whack a bigger pump on the beggar

I hate bloody bleeeding tossy combis I do

 

[Alfredo]

Come again? Not entirely sure what Mr Barker is saying in his last post.

As for combi hating, I can go with that when you are stuck with one in bits trying to fathom the damn thing out, but conventional boilers are not that far behind these days in unfathomability..after all, most of them are combis with the Plate to Plate taken out, the PCBs and gas valves are pretty well identical.

I've seen big improvements in combis, and there is quality at the top end..(Buderus) and mine works well (Vokera). I am mostly a service and breakdown engineer on a contract where we have pulled out hundreds of old BBUs Ideal Concords and Warm Airs, and mostly replaced them with combis over the last seven years. I get to see the same folk every year and do straw polls about how much they like/hate their combis. About one in 30 hates their combi, and the rest love them. These are low wage earners in the main, and they have noticed the gas savings compared with the old system..somewhat rubbed out by the rises of the last year I suppose

We can fix about 85-90% on a same day first visit, but then we keep the spares for the commonest problems, which helps a lot. We get the occasional mess-up, but who doesn't.

Alfredo

 

[corgiman]

Come again? Assuming its me you are addressing??

Alfredo

who me??

i was replying to the OP

 

[Alfredo]

Ah!! That bit was supposed to be deleted and not posted at all Corgiman....must be a combi computer I have here

Alfredo

 

[corgiman]

LMAO

bet its a poxi

 

[JohnD]

I heard Viessman were very good, that right?