I have an old conventional gas boiler that needs replacing in a 4 adult, 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom, semi detached in Bromley.
I'm unsure whether to choose another conventional boiler and keep the cylinder & water tank or go for a combi.
I read somewhere that a combi is only a good idea if the water pipe into the house is 22m or more (don't know how I would tell without lifting floorboards).
The water pipe under kitchen sink looks like 15mm.
I also had a new power shower installed a year ago that cost £350 inc labour.
So is that removed and redundant if I get a combi?
Seems a waste of money.
My usual plumber is on holibobs, so can't ask him atm and don't think he's gas safe registered in any case.
Worcester, Viessman, Ideal, Vaillant, Baxi look the best in that order.
I saw a company online called Heatable which have truly outstanding reviews on Trustpilot.
They couldn't have better reviews if they wrote them all themselves.
Has anyone used them/heard anything about them?
https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/heatable.co.uk?b=MTYyNjE1NTczODAwMHw2MGVkMmFkYWY5ZjQ4NzAyYTg5ODFmMDg(Apologies for asking)
Comments
Hot water at mains pressure.
It is essential for us as I’m extending a room into the airing cupboard the cylinder is in & I also want the room in the loft from the water tank for when I force a train set on the kids but also need to keep it out of their unsupervised reach!
If you have a new HWC as well then you have enough storage for several showers as older ones will tend to fur up over several years.
However, Dicky you are not getting into the dirtbox.
It's not failing yet, but no plumber will service it on the grounds it wont like being disturbed, they just check the combustion efficiency, emissions and if they reckon it won't kill me they let me carry on.
This is not a big house and it mostly just has me in it. It's the first time I've had a combi and I love never running out of hot water, nor having to heat water unnecessarily. On the downside, in the winter the capacity of the boiler to heat the water is limited so running a bath needs just the hot tap or it won't be hot enough. The new boiler will be a Vaillant with 10 year guarantee, and I may well sell the house next year anyway.
But here's the thing. A recent leak at a neighbour's (number 36) caused her to turn off the stopcock in her house. Suddenly I had no water (number 30). And a quick chat with my neighbours at 24, 26, 28 and 34 revealed that none of them had water either. It turns out that all 6 houses are supplied with water via one 15mm pipe running through 36 and disappearing through the floor to run behind the other houses with a spur to each. 32 has his own supply, connected directly to the mains, so he is fine.
The houses were built in 1790 or so, the water pipe probably went in around 1900, and every single house has been extended rearwards over the top of it since. It's a nightmare.
But oddly none of us have poor water pressure even though it's one teeny tiny pipe that serves us all. Might help that we are at the bottom of a hill, but my boiler manages to pump hot water up to the second floor radiator perfectly well, and the shower is a lot better than many for pressure.
shower still be decent as long as your flow rate into house sufficient which would need to be checked before install👍
Ideal, baxi, potterton are ok mid range.
Worcester very good but bit to much plastic inside for me and a shit to work on. Reliable tho and great marketing and freebies for us engineers.
But
You cant beat a vaillant . Love em. Soild built and almost silent.
Ripping it all out and getting one of these installed in a couple of weeks along with supposedly state of the art electric heating. I'll let you know if I've been sold a pup!
https://www.northwestheatingsolutions.co.uk/sunamp-hot-water/