Condensing Standard Boiler to Combination Boier- Worth Doing

[The Incredible Hulk]

Gents,

I had a plumber out to quote for replacing my existing Glow Worm 40e Condensing Boiler. He is preparing a quote for a suitable (Worcester sp?)Bosch Unit but in the interim he strongly recommended that I change to a combination unit, his logic was that I would no longer have the upstairs storage tank etc and thereby have a system less likely to have multiple failure points (we live in a hard water area). I'd never even thought of this and wondered if this sounded like 'good' advice to the DIY Not community?

The plumber also mentioned the possibility of having to upgrade the gas supply pipe to 22mm? He stated that although the house would have such a pipe to the cooker he wouldn't know until the job was started if he could tap into this or have to run a new pipe from the meter and as such would provide an extra quote if this had to happen. Do you usually have to wait until the job is started before you know about this?

Appreciate any advice, I don't often purchase boilers so don't have the experience as to what is normal - so to speak

kind regards, Kevin.

P.S. The chap also should me a Bosch card with his picture which detailed the training etc he'd been on for the company and was therefore registered with them- is this a good sign?

 

[bab]

If he's registered & approved by worchester bosch u can apply for an extended free warranty thats a bonus. Cant see why he cant decide about the gas pipe though, sounds iffy. If u only have a 40,000btu boiler now i wonder waht size combi he gona fit. whats up with the glowworm that require changing & how old is it.?

 

[gas4you]

Combi's are not suitable for everyone.

It depends on your hot water usage. A combi will only supply one hot outlet at a time and is either hot water or ch, never both.

I think it's rubbish to argue that your hard water area makes it best for a combi, combi's will be affected by the same hard water.

You will gain the space in the airing cupboard, but will have no heat in there.

If he really is a Worcester registered installer you will benefit from a 5 year warranty on the boiler he fits. I take it he forgot to mention that?

He should work out the gas pipe size before doing the quote, from the distance it has to travel from the meter and boiler and what other appliances are using the same supply.

I doubt very much your existing pipe will be able to be used and may even have to be upgraded to 28mm.

Get another installer in to quote and check up on this one.

 

[superdupergasman]

Combi's defo save on space and you are not storing water in the house.

The gas supply is a must as most worcesters say that you must not down size the gas supply and their connection is a 22mm one....the gas supply must go under the floor therefore your installer cannot see how far it goes in 15mm upsteam to the meter so is a fair shout.

However ask to see where the pipe goes if he springs it on you mid job as he might just be wanting to get the job with a good price then add extra's on.

 

[The Incredible Hulk]

I thought the pipe was a bit iffy but didn't want to get off on the wrong foot until I'd checked with others. The Glow worm is nigh on 11 years old and leaks badly, there is an old post on here by me. Its kept going for about 9 months with this leak but the opinion on hear was it was likely to be the heat exchanger and in the long run would be better changed.

The plumber did mention that if I bought before February I would get an extended warranty of 5 years and the company cover the heat exchanger for 10 years.

regards, Kevin.

 

[bab]

might be wrong to read between the lines but i smell BS abot b4 feb. Sounds more like ive no work so i wana rip u in Jan. We dont have a good reputation in this trade, CANT see why.

 

[gas4you]

Me too, I haven't heard of this scheme coming to and end in February

 

[JohnD]

Surely hard water is likely to clog up a combi with scale, but will not affect a system boiler?

Lots of installers seem to like combis.

I like cylinders. If (sorry, when) your combi breaks down you will have no hot water. If my system boiler breaks down I just use the immersion and wait patiently for a repair.

I am just a householder.

 

[Gasguru]

Lots of installers seem to like combis.

That's 'cos lots of installers don't understand wiring up heating controls and aren't Part P. Truth is many installers don't understand much at all and a combi is more straighforward for them.

 

[bab]

as an installer i agree. 2 cylinders in my house & no combi.easy to fit dont mean best.

 

[bengasman]

The story about extended warranty only until feb smells.
I only fit combis unless there are 3 bathrooms likely to be used simultaneously. Worcester cdi 37 and 42 will happily feed 2 decent showers at the same time. No doubt that at some point I will get a customer who regrets having disposed of cylinder, tanks, remote pump, valves and what have you, but so far everyone I have changed to a combi is happy and prefers the new setup.
If I look at the questions posted for help dealing with failing valves, pumps, steaming tanks and blocked rads and compare that with people sitting in the cold because they opted for a cdi, it seems obvious where the highest chance of problems is.

 

[doitall]

For starters we don't know the size of the property or it's occupancy.

I wouldn't fit a combi from choice anywhere other than a flat, and certainly never in a hard water area.

The downside with all modern boilers is their reliability or not as the case will be, at least a cylinder will give you something when the boiler is in the depressing mode, better still install an un-vented cylinder.

Finally the gas pipe is more likely to be ok with a system boiler, I would tell him to give a separate quote now to replace the gas in 28mm, after he's started he can charge what he likes otherwise.

Got me Christmas card from Worcester and the 5year promotion is not about to end, I would say it's permanent to encourage engineers to do their training.

 

[JohnD]

, it seems obvious where the highest chance of problems is.

Or perhaps it shows where the majority of old and neglected systems are?

Do you come across many 30-year old Combis that are still in worling order, and are slowing down a bit with a simple problem like sludge in the radiators or a worn-out pump?

 

[bengasman]

For starters we don't know the size of the property or it's occupancy.

bit unlikely to be a 8 bed detached if it now has 12 kw boiler

Got me Christmas card from Worcester and the 5year promotion is not about to end, I would say it's permanent to encourage engineers to do their training.

did i understand wrong that you have to buy at least 50 boilers a year from them to be on the preferential treatment list?
sure hope i will never have to work that hard
if doing their course is the only requirement to get extended warrantee, i will sign up tomorrow. just finished doing a poxi for a friend
that was the last time. had a nice big scrape on my hand before the job really started because those clowns can't be bothered de-burring the frame.
promax, junkmax more like it.
am more faithful to wb than to gf

 

[doitall]

Yes once you have done the training you can offer the extended warrantee.

Log on to their web site www.worcester-bosch.co.uk, and you can see a distant learning program which is very impressive with virtual reality boilers etc, you can also get a CD training disc.