I had another guy round, he took one look at the flow from my cold tap and said the pressure was at least 4 bar without even measuring it, so he reckoned I didn't need an expanded main just yet. (Only one bath, and a shower.)
When we get work done, he said we may as well get the builder to replace the main with a 25 mmm plastic, since he'll have the front drive up anyway, and as then we may have up to three baths eventually.
He quoted for a Vaillant 628e Thermocompact, and was quite reasonable, (British Gas were taking the piss I suspect) however, I've just checked and it's non condensing.
I'm wondering whether it's worth getting a Vaillant ecomax pro 28 E, because the only difference I can see is that it's condensing.
This is not a meaningful measurement. The important one is the flow rate. If a plumber/heating person had visited me and done the above, I would immediately exclude him from the list of possible contractors. This is harsh, I know, but it demonstrates a basic lack of understanding. The static pressure is irrelevant.
I would suggest measuring the flow rate at a tap near the rising main e.g. kitchen sink tap and see what you get. This can be done using a container like a bucket of known size and timing how long it takes to fill. If you get 30 litres/minute or more you are in good shape, 20 or more and it is probably OK but could do with work, less than 20 and upgrade is definitely needed.
That is true. The materials are cheap so this would make good sense.
British Gas always take the piss. Undoubtedly you have heard the expression "Never give a sucker an even break". Unfortunately a lot of the great British public still think that there is something to be gained by dealing with this organisation and they are therefore able to get away with unreasonable mark-ups.
Definitely. A conventional boiler will achieve an efficiency of
78-80%, whereas a condensing one will achieve 90-91%. At current energy prices this would take a while to recover, but with a good quality make like Vaillant, you will be looking at a lifetime of 15 years plus and in that time gas prices will certainly have risen.
It is more than likely that from next year, building regulations will prohibit the use of conventional boilers anyway, by setting a minimum efficiency of 86%
I wouldn't go as far as irrelevent, as the flow rate and static pressure are likely to be related. A high static pressure will cover a multitude of inadequete pipework sins. Obviously, he should still have got the bucket out, though, for the proper test, as there are some sins that even 4 bar won't cover.
Definitely. If you can get it installed on the cheap, then go for it. Consider fitting a water meter at the same time. Unless you are into gardening and use the hose a lot, you tend to save money over unmetered service, especially on large underoccupied houses (you mention having 3 baths in the future).
Yes, but the Ecomax isn't exactly cheap. For some reason, Vaillant seem to have blind spot for condensing boiler pricing, with a much larger differential than the others.
I'm very happy with my Worcester-Bosch Greenstar 28HE, which is a couple of hundred quid cheaper than the Vaillant and a very good make. 750 quid including VAT. Even cheaper are the Glowworm SXI, Ideal Icos etc. All reasonable midmarket makes around 700 quid inclusive.
I don't know whether it's true but I read elsewhere that there is a problem getting hold of Vaillants at the moment becasue the workers in their factory are on strike.
I think it is harsh because with experience of different flows and pressures you can get a very good idea weather the flowq rate will be up to the job by opening the tap. I agree that he expressed it wrongly though. However the fact that he even went to the bother of checking puts him into the best end of the field. IMHO.
The trouble is that the difference for the Vaillants is around 400. I think that there might be several other makes which do 28kW condensing system boiler for _under_ a 1000 quid.
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