Estimate for replacement of Servowarm Supreme boiler
- Thread starter jdey
- Start date
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Is the 'instant hot water heater' in your bathroom actually legally sited? If it's got electric power there are serious restrictions on where it can go. was the installer proposing to put a combi in the bathroom? If so it has to be more or less in a 'locked box'.
Not sure about the legality (or not) of the pre-existent hot water boiler. With so many building regs now, is anything legal? I suspect that I'm being too honest already. I can imagine only a tiny minority of people accepting the £7k estimated cost of destroying and rebuilding their house that this law requires in many cases.
The installer was proposing to replace the hot water boiler in the bathroom with a combi.
Personally, I see the lowest cost option as a condensing boiler in the existing position in the living room, if I have to take a condensing boiler. It'll be a pain to pipe to the drain, and I don't much like the thought of my house resembling a kettle, but at least the existing pipework should be able to be reused, and I'll just need to box in the boiler and cover the gap where the old boiler was with some kind of shelving unit.
If I go for the combi option in the bathroom then it'll either be:-
1. illegal
2. involve pipes up to the study and consequent ripping up of floorboard and carpet to connect to old pipework plus covering the gap where the old boiler was in the living room.
3. A major disappointment as I prefer the hot water and heating to remain independent
The other alternative in the kitchen would:-
1. involve pipes up to the study etc.
2. Removal of 2 of my kitchen units
Nice of the government to pass their Kyoto commitments on to the citizen.
The installer was proposing to replace the hot water boiler in the bathroom with a combi.
Personally, I see the lowest cost option as a condensing boiler in the existing position in the living room, if I have to take a condensing boiler. It'll be a pain to pipe to the drain, and I don't much like the thought of my house resembling a kettle, but at least the existing pipework should be able to be reused, and I'll just need to box in the boiler and cover the gap where the old boiler was with some kind of shelving unit.
If I go for the combi option in the bathroom then it'll either be:-
1. illegal
2. involve pipes up to the study and consequent ripping up of floorboard and carpet to connect to old pipework plus covering the gap where the old boiler was in the living room.
3. A major disappointment as I prefer the hot water and heating to remain independent
The other alternative in the kitchen would:-
1. involve pipes up to the study etc.
2. Removal of 2 of my kitchen units
Nice of the government to pass their Kyoto commitments on to the citizen.
Ok, I've read the guidelines again, and come across Appendix D, which exactly mirrors my house i.e. mid-Victorian Terrace, boiler in living room, 1.5m from Neighbours property, patio at back of bathroom. For each option, a score of 1190 is given, meaning I don't need a condensing boiler. Hurrah!
http://www.odpm.gov.uk/pub/731/Guid...tProcedureforDwellingsPDF1258Kb_id1130731.pdf
Just goes to show, it pays to do some research. The 1st quoter I had told me that it was mandatory to have a condensing boiler, and that he'd have to change my entire system as it was too old to cope with a condensing boiler. He quoted me £5000 just for the plumbing work!
http://www.odpm.gov.uk/pub/731/Guid...tProcedureforDwellingsPDF1258Kb_id1130731.pdf
Just goes to show, it pays to do some research. The 1st quoter I had told me that it was mandatory to have a condensing boiler, and that he'd have to change my entire system as it was too old to cope with a condensing boiler. He quoted me £5000 just for the plumbing work!
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As always, be careful what you wish for!
You're happy to have 'avoided' a condensing combi in the living room. Well OK - but what are your best long-term economic alternatives? You still have to decide what your replacement boiler will be and given the age and probable condition of the rads and pipes, your options might easily turn out to be 'New boiler now, new rads and pipes real soon!'.
If your water heater is working OK, is not too old and has no electrics, then there's no reason why it should not go safely on for a while yet, or at least be repairable.
As far as your information reveals, your only objections to a condensing system boiler appear to be: pluming from the flue, lack of condensate drain options (in my experience, for a ground-floor installation, if you can fit an external flue you can usually dig a condensate soakaway below it!) And as has been pointed out, not all condensing boilers demand a pressurised system - although pressurised is better technically.
Are you sure you're not throwing the baby out with the bathwater, or, more accurately, investing in a marginally-cheaper baby now with the unavoidable prospect of a more expensive one very soon after?
You're happy to have 'avoided' a condensing combi in the living room. Well OK - but what are your best long-term economic alternatives? You still have to decide what your replacement boiler will be and given the age and probable condition of the rads and pipes, your options might easily turn out to be 'New boiler now, new rads and pipes real soon!'.
If your water heater is working OK, is not too old and has no electrics, then there's no reason why it should not go safely on for a while yet, or at least be repairable.
As far as your information reveals, your only objections to a condensing system boiler appear to be: pluming from the flue, lack of condensate drain options (in my experience, for a ground-floor installation, if you can fit an external flue you can usually dig a condensate soakaway below it!) And as has been pointed out, not all condensing boilers demand a pressurised system - although pressurised is better technically.
Are you sure you're not throwing the baby out with the bathwater, or, more accurately, investing in a marginally-cheaper baby now with the unavoidable prospect of a more expensive one very soon after?
"If your water heater is working OK, is not too old and has no electrics, then there's no reason why it should not go safely on for a while yet, or at least be repairable.
"
The hot water boiler in the bathroom is very new. I'm guessing it was installed when the previous owners re-developed, which was about 3 years ago.
"You're happy to have 'avoided' a condensing combi in the living room. Well OK - but what are your best long-term economic alternatives? You still have to decide what your replacement boiler will be and given the age and probable condition of the rads and pipes, your options might easily turn out to be 'New boiler now, new rads and pipes real soon!'.
I reckon I'll be in the house for about 7 more years. Some plumbers say old systems can handle modern boilers, others warn of impending doom. As my hot water boiler is an instant heat type, I'm already saving energy there, so I don't think the energy savings that I'll make annually with a condensing boiler justify the cost. The 1 quoter I had, said that the pipes would pop due to the increased pressue of the condensing boiler, but respondents on here have pointed out that I can get an open vented boiler which is under the same pressue. As there's no apparant consensus on this, I'd plump for the cheaper option. Can you explain why I'd need to replace all the pipework. I'd imagine that leaks would appear at the weakest point which would be the radiator valves? I'm not as bothered about replacing radiators, getting TRVs, room thermostat etc. but it's the replacement of the pipework which costs the hassle. Other cost savings that I make are the cost of the boiler, and the installation cost, as well as the ongoing maintenance costs. Apparantly condensing boilers are less reliable than ordinary boilers, and as they're more complex, common sense would suggest that this is true.
"As far as your information reveals, your only objections to a condensing system boiler appear to be: pluming from the flue, lack of condensate drain options (in my experience, for a ground-floor installation, if you can fit an external flue you can usually dig a condensate soakaway below it!) And as has been pointed out, not all condensing boilers demand a pressurised system - although pressurised is better technically.
"
I'm only going with what the guidelines say. They warn that the plume shouldn't obstruct walkways or patios, should be 2.5m away from a boundary etc. It creates a picture of my house looking like steamboat willy blasting unsuspecting pedestrians who pass by on the pavement. Again the guidelines set mininum standards for the location of the soakaway.
If the original plumber hadn't got a bit greedy and tried to flog me a whole new central heating system, then I probably wouldn't have done so much research in to this subject.
"
The hot water boiler in the bathroom is very new. I'm guessing it was installed when the previous owners re-developed, which was about 3 years ago.
"You're happy to have 'avoided' a condensing combi in the living room. Well OK - but what are your best long-term economic alternatives? You still have to decide what your replacement boiler will be and given the age and probable condition of the rads and pipes, your options might easily turn out to be 'New boiler now, new rads and pipes real soon!'.
I reckon I'll be in the house for about 7 more years. Some plumbers say old systems can handle modern boilers, others warn of impending doom. As my hot water boiler is an instant heat type, I'm already saving energy there, so I don't think the energy savings that I'll make annually with a condensing boiler justify the cost. The 1 quoter I had, said that the pipes would pop due to the increased pressue of the condensing boiler, but respondents on here have pointed out that I can get an open vented boiler which is under the same pressue. As there's no apparant consensus on this, I'd plump for the cheaper option. Can you explain why I'd need to replace all the pipework. I'd imagine that leaks would appear at the weakest point which would be the radiator valves? I'm not as bothered about replacing radiators, getting TRVs, room thermostat etc. but it's the replacement of the pipework which costs the hassle. Other cost savings that I make are the cost of the boiler, and the installation cost, as well as the ongoing maintenance costs. Apparantly condensing boilers are less reliable than ordinary boilers, and as they're more complex, common sense would suggest that this is true.
"As far as your information reveals, your only objections to a condensing system boiler appear to be: pluming from the flue, lack of condensate drain options (in my experience, for a ground-floor installation, if you can fit an external flue you can usually dig a condensate soakaway below it!) And as has been pointed out, not all condensing boilers demand a pressurised system - although pressurised is better technically.
"
I'm only going with what the guidelines say. They warn that the plume shouldn't obstruct walkways or patios, should be 2.5m away from a boundary etc. It creates a picture of my house looking like steamboat willy blasting unsuspecting pedestrians who pass by on the pavement. Again the guidelines set mininum standards for the location of the soakaway.
If the original plumber hadn't got a bit greedy and tried to flog me a whole new central heating system, then I probably wouldn't have done so much research in to this subject.
Here's your one-time, not to be repeated, offer of the week....
I'm going from Central London past Wimbledon (potentially) to Morden later today.
If you want a free outline quote, call me. 07958972051
I'm going from Central London past Wimbledon (potentially) to Morden later today.
If you want a free outline quote, call me. 07958972051
Thanks. I'll bear you in mind. Currently, I've had 1 quote from a Corgi-registered plumber, and I've got 2 more quoters coming in the next couple of days who are part of the government-run Trustmark scheme. No guarantees but they at least promise to give you written quotes and have a complaints process. I'll see what those guys have to say for themselves. It's not an emergency at the moment as I still have heat, the boiler leaks when cold and looks like it's been doing that a while
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