I'm thinking of changing my old Ocean Style ff combi and was informed that you have to fit a condensing boiler, since april 2005. My point is why do the manufacterers still produce the conventional combis if you shouldn't fit them and more to the point could I replace mine with a conventional type. Cheers.
Condensing or what?
- Thread starter The Dirkbox
- Start date
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There are some exemptions to the requirement for condensing boilers, but fairly strict conditions have to be met to qualify. You can get details from the odpm web site. Plus the condensing requirement does not apply to commercial premises.
In practice many conventional boilers are installed in contravention of the regulations, but before you decide to go down that path you should consider possible repercussions. These have been discussed before and you should be able to find something if you search on condensing boilers.
In practice many conventional boilers are installed in contravention of the regulations, but before you decide to go down that path you should consider possible repercussions. These have been discussed before and you should be able to find something if you search on condensing boilers.
Yeah I was told of the points system.But there can't be that many exceptions to clarify the manufactureres to still churn them off the production lines? I installed the Ocean with my dad and had a corgi pal connect it to the gas. I've only replaced 2 diaphrams in 12 years, which is brilliant (in my eyes). However i've got a niggling leak from a pipe which connects to the pressure stat and if I end up having to fork out for spare parts, it seems I may as well plump for a new boiler. I don't know whether to go for another alpha or what. Is there any I should steer clear of?Cheers
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Well, to be honest I don't know how many production lines are producing how many boilers for how many people - to me, it's irrelevant.The Dirkbox said:
I agree!The Dirkbox said:
I don't know what a pressure stat is.The Dirkbox said:
I'm not convinced of the logic that leads to that conclusion.The Dirkbox said:
This part I will have to leave to the installers; I'm not one - I just repair them.The Dirkbox said:
Well i have a dhw pressure stat and diverter assembly on my boiler i thought this would be a standard component in any old combi.My point was that i have a small leak on the dhw side, i'm not losing pressure, I have changed the o rings and also the retaining plate and i still have leak. My only other option is pressure test the pipe and if not then this would suggest to me that i need a new pressure stat (big chunk of molded plastic with diaphram and so on in).This I should of explained in the first place. With the age of the boiler and the possibility of forking out for biggish components i was just looking for a few leads into which make of boilers i should look.
Correct - I don't! I work on only those parts that the law permits me to, according to my interpretation of the law (which is shared by CORGI), and I do so competently.Agile said:
So, I don't touch the gas supply, any gas carrying connection, the gas valve, the flue, the flue fan, the pilot (where there is one), or the thermocouple (where this is one).
To be extra sure, I don't even touch the vent (for a non room-sealed appliance) or give any advice on the vent, other than to refer the client to a CORGI registered engineer.
And for those CORGI engineers who want to argue about the law, we've done that to death on other topics, so I won't be discussing it here no matter how much you shout at me.
There's some very touchy folks on this web site. I only asked for advice and i get the law quoted to me. I understand the law. I was explaining my plight. I would say i was a competent person ,others might disagree, but i know where i stand and if it put my family at jeopardy i would call in a plumber(also a competant person). The last time i looked at my diverter assembly it was not connected to the gas, maybe it's evolved since the last time i looked ,but i doubt it.Now, that said, any advice on combi boilers i should steer clear of or should contemplated looking at.
Um, not really, and certainly not any more so than in the world outside this forum.The Dirkbox said:
No - the law was being quoted to me actually.The Dirkbox said:
A plumber would be of little use - you would need a heating engineer.The Dirkbox said:
There was a little hint of sarcasm there - if you didn't mean it then I apologise, but if you did, then perhaps you should reconsider your method of asking for advice?The Dirkbox said:
A fair question that deserves a fair answer. The only general advice is that they tend to be more complex than non-combi boilers, and that this seems to result in a lot of reliability problems at the cheaper end of the market.The Dirkbox said:
For example, if you search for "Potterton", "combi", "Puma", "Suprima", "Glowworm", "Micron", for starters, you will probably find a wealth of information from some frustrated owners. That said, many problems are down to the build quality of the factory fitted PCBs, and there are many revised PCBs that significantly increase the reliability of some combis.
Some of the boiler installers, one of whom I'm not, will probably give their positive opinions about their experiences.
Alpha's are still quality boilers. Or Worcester bosch. Try and avoid anything too italian / from B&Wixs.
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