Hi. I've just had a quote from a plumber for a new gas boiler. I don't understand much about the ins and outs of central heating, so apologies for any vagueness.
We have an old gravity fed system which we wish to replace with a combi. He told us the tanks need to come out, some earthing work is required and the total price for labour and the boiler is =A31760. ( It seems he has a fixed price ) The boiler is a Baxi and that alone will account for =A31050 of the =A31760. I believe he said it was a 80,000 btu boiler. It will also be powering 11 radiators in a small traditional victorian terrace.
This is the crux, is this claim he made true: "Hot water pressure will be close to mains cold pressure. You'll have a great shower with a heat regulator, so the heat and pressure will be constant even when the heating is on or whatever." To demonstrate, he turned on a cold and a hot water tap ( from existing tank ) and said the pressure would be somewhere between the two in the new system.
The shower and labour would cost an additional =A3190. From what friends with combis tell me, I was under the impression that the heat output from the shower would jump all over the place as people turn on and off taps elsewhere in the house. I had been planning on a 10.8kw electric shower, but he said it was pointless.
Also, he recommended the radiators be changed as they are 20-30 years old. He said he could flush them out with chemicals, but it wasn't ideal. Without measuring, he quoted roughly =A31000 for the new radiators and installation.
Many thanks in advance. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Cheers.