Combi boiler fitted

[Simon Finnigan]

Hi all, the boiler is on its way out, and i`m about to start ringing round to get a new one fitted. I`m looking for someone to come in, remove the old boiler and install the new one. I`d also like a newer control panel and thermostat, ideally one that would let me easily change the time it comes on (I`m fed up of having to cycle through 20 hours in 10 minute increments when I`m on earlies :-) ).

We want a decent boiler - not a bargain basement job, a decent, efficient one that will last for a long time, and the same for the controls. We`re in the Liverpool area, and are looking for rough ideas of cost, any tips for brands etc to look out for, and ideally recommendations from other people in this area for people they`ve had in to do a good job.

We`d also really like it if the person fitting the boiler was able to remove the gas fire in the living room and cap the pipe off. is this likely to be possible (I assume so because they`ll have to be corgi registered etc, but not sure), and if so again what kind of cost would we bo looking at?

Any help will be gratefully received!

[DIY]

Worcester Bosch make good boilers. As for cost, it depends on a lot of factors but will probably be between,500 and 3,000 notes to decommission your old boiler and gas fire, and install/connect up a new one. It is unlikely that the gas pipe from the meter into your house is large enough for a combi, so a new and larger diameter gas pipe will need to be run from the meter to wherever you have the boiler installed.

[DIY]

"DIY" should have typed: will probably be between 1,500 and 3,000 notes

[Simon Finnigan]

Sorry, should have mentioned that it`s a combi boiler being taken out. The pressure vessel is on the way out, and because of where and how it is mounted, it needs the entire 10 year old boiler to be taken off to be fixed, and then remounted. That`s a lot of labour, and cost for the part, and a big repair on an old boiler. I`d rather pay more and get a decent new boiler fitter and start again - this combi came with the house, and was one of British Gas`s best, fitted by the previous owner.

There is already a bigger gas pipe running from the meter to the boiler location, and hot and cold water pipes in and out as required.

[David W.E. Roberts]

Do you currently have a combi fitted? If so, which one?

There is a lot of difference between replacing a combi and replacing another type of boiler. I hope Worcester Bosch are O.K. because we had one fitted recently :-)

Removing a gas fire and capping off the pipe should be trivial if you are having other work done as well. Hopefully a couple of hundred at most added to the bill, possibly quite a lot less.

Any gas work will have an overhead cost of testing the system after installation to make sure there are no leaks - IMHO this can take longer and cost more than a lot of minor gas works. So the removal of a fire whilst the gas is off, and a test combined with the test for the new boiler, should as I said be a trivial extra cost.

If the wiring for the old thermostat will support a more modern version then again not a massive cost.

The experts will be along in a bit, but £1,000 to £1,500 should hopefuly cover replacing an old combi with a new one.

Changing from a system boiler to a combi with all the extra pipework will cost more.

If the old boiler is not in a place where the latest boilers can legally be fitted then your costs go even higher.

We paid around £4,000 to have a complete new central heating system, combi boiler in the loft, and old Baxi back boiler for traditional tank fed system removed.

HTH

Dave R

[Ed Sirett]

You can leave the existing expansion vessel and add one elsewhere maybe?

See both SealedCH and BoilerChoice FAQs.

Combi to Combi with a Wireless/Wired programmable thermostat. The gas fire removal should get hidden in the other costs.

[Doctor Drivel]

Atmos - Dutch, but sold in the UK. The best. Will last as long as you. Very simple and very reliable.

Intercombi and the Multi (floor mounted high water flow job) The Intercombi is the only boiler that does not need a condensate drain.

[Doctor Drivel]

Middle of the road along with Vaillant. The RRs are Atag, Atmos, ACV, Buderus, ECO-Hometec, Viessman.

[Doctor Drivel]

Have the pipes cleaned. Fit a Magnaclean filter on the CH return to the boiler.

[DIY]

In that case, judging by what I and others in my area have paid, you are probably looking at 1,000 notes. According to the plumbers who fitted my new combi this summer, combis have a life expectancy of around 10 years.

[Doctor Drivel]

Nonsense! They can last as long as the parts are available. Good quality combis will outlast us all.

[ARWadsworth]

Exactly what I did when my friends packed in.

That is how I knew :-)

Asthetics and space did not matter as the boiler was in the garage.

Cheers Ed. You save my mate a load of hassle and money.

Adam

[dmc]

I have visions of Trigger and his broom...

[dmc]

ah, handy. That's exactly what I want to do soon. Right down to a manky Baxi back boiler in the front room.

Where abouts in the UK are you out of interest?

I'm also pondering thermal stores - I like the idea but I'm not sure the loft would be a suitable place (at least, not without a load of extra strengthing).

Want to get rid of the hot water tank in the spare room as we currently have a 2.5 room house and the 3 year old is outgrowing her .5 room :-)

Darren

[Ed Sirett]

The last three I have a little knowledge of, IMHO the Buderus is not bad but it's not in the ECO-Hometec league. Anyway by the time we know the true answer to this question the answer will be academic.

[News_Groups]

It is economical to replace parts if they are relatively low cost items and if the labour charges are low (assuming this is not DIY but paid for CORGI labour as it is a gas appliance) but there comes a point when the cost of repairs are so great (expensive parts and labour costs) that repairs become uneconomical, especially if such repairs only result in a limited increase in the boiler's lifespan. Each of us has to decide how much good money we are prepared to throw after bad.

[Doctor Drivel]

Good quality combis have little that wrong on them. Economically repairing a budget model is another matter. People should not put all combis in the cheapo bracket.

[Doctor Drivel]

Buderus are good boilers. You can exchange the heat exchanger in a matter of minutes. It clips in. True they are in the ECO-Hometec league, but better than Vaillant which is mid range. I though Buderus just fits in top the top class by a whisker. Buderus are owned by Bosch, so W-Bosch engineers service them. Buderus are big on the Continent.

My favourite combi is the Atmos (well the Intergas range) - comes with a weather compensator too. Not cheap, but this sort of quality and design never is, but you can get a good deal if you look around. A very simple well thougt out boiler made like a tank. The whole back panel is the heat exchanger. They only go to around 12.5 litres/min. Higher flows you use the Multi.

[David Hansen]

On Wed, 10 Oct 07 17:39:37 GMT someone who may be [e-mail] (dmc) wrote this:-

Assume that one contains anything from 175 to say 300 litres of water and you can work out the loading.

Personally I try and put hot water sources as close to the tap which is used the most as possible, which is generally the kitchen tap.

[dmc]

Well, I can work out the weight...I suspect I'd want to defer the clever bit to someone else :-)

Saying that, there is already a reasonably sized cold water tank up there. That probably holds more than I'm giving it credit for. Maybe a thermal store isn't such a silly option.

In principle, I agree. Not all that practical here though really and even if I did, I'd then want a decent size hot run up to the bath/shower (or I suppose a pump...hmmm).

Sticking the lot in the loft and removing the huge double airing cupboard just sounds a perfect solution to our lack of room. One I'll be inversigating next year I think.

Out of interest, how many people have their boiler in the loft? Seems sensible to me but the corgi I had around giving our baxi its (hopefully last ever) service was rather anti the idea. "the frost stat keeps it running and wipes out the efficency gain" appeared to be his main complaint. Surely building some sort of insulated "shed" in the loft would be a cheap solution to that (if it's really a problem - I'm not convinced)

Darren