new boiler part 2: potterton?

[Fred]

Hi,

So British gas went to look at the house and were trying to talk me into a Potterton boiler. Are these any good? I was thinking of asking for a Valliant as I had heard they were more expensive but very reliable.

The existing set-up is a combi. The old boiler has failed twice: July

2012 and March 2013 and each time it has left the tenant without hot water, so I was considering not having a combi and having a cylinder instead. The chap hasn't given me a quote for that but seemed less enthusiastic about it, claiming it would double the price. I'm sure I could have done a lot of the install: loft tanks, cylinder, etc myself but I live so far away that it isn't really practical.

There is a rule of thumb that a boiler costs about £1000 and today whilst looking for something else entirely, I did see some Potterton combis in a store for £860ish.

There is a joke that to find the cost of installing a boiler, ask British gas and subtract one thousand pounds. Now BG have told me it will cost £2000. If the boiler will cost £1000, that's only £1000 for labour. Is that bad?

I thought a simple swap might take two days, so I suppose that's £500 a day. Is £200/day about the going rate for a plumber (in the Midlands). if so, I guess BG is perhaps twice what it should be.

What do you think I should do? Is a Potterton worth considering?

Do you think I should stick with a combi for simplicity of install? After all, if it is new and guaranteed, it should not break soon and if it did, it would be guaranteed.

Perhaps I could convert it to a cylinder at a later date myself? I presume I would use the CH side of the boiler via valves to heat both the CH and the cylinder indirectly and not use the DHW side of the combi at all.

TIA

[Phil L]

Fuck british gas off completely, and forget about the potterton - it's a rented property and it's unlikely to be looked after at all, also, it could get removed and sold on ebay the day after it's fitted, so go for a cheaper option. I don't know where all this 1000 and 2000 crap has come from - I paid less than 300 for my boiler from B&Q 4 years ago, fitted it myself and it's still working - a brief google tells me that a potterton combi can be had for less than 600:

I fitted it myself as it was a swap, although I had to re-route a few pipes as they were on the wrong side - even without all the proper tools and experience, I did it in less than a day, so two days for somone who has all the gear and knowledge is a bit far fetched

I agree that it's not possible for you to fit it yourself as A) you don't live near there, and B) I assume you aren't qualified, so what you need to do is phone half a dozen gas safe plumbers who live in that area and ask them for a price for supplying and fitting a boiler - they get them cheaper than you, so for EG, a 750 boiler will be theirs for 600, meaning that they've made 150 before they start, this gives them the incentive to fit it a bit cheaper

[geoff]

In message , Fred writes

I told you the other day

1/ steer clear of british gas 2/ look for who is giving the longest warranty 3/ that's it

[harry]

The only benefit of a combi boiler is they are far cheaper to install as a new installation and can be installed by idiots. Anyone that removes a traditional installation and fits a combi is also an idiot (or been advised by an idiot).

The downside is (as you have discovered) they are inherently unreliable and expensive to repair. A load of shit to use the technical term in fact.

What you replace the existing one with depends on whether you are prepared to take the long term view and have the money or not.

[John Rumm]

It will likely double the materials cost... Slightly less labour to fit an unvented cylinder, but then again, they cost more so the total cost probably the same.

Take the BG price and divide by two might be closer!

Seems excessive for a like for like swap.

For a rented place, go with something with a long warranty, and make sure whoever fits it does what is required to make sure its valid! (proper water treatment etc)

There is nothing stopping you using a combi to heat a cylinder - and actually has a number of advantages in some circumstances. You can still have high pressure hot water for showers etc, but also fast bath filling, and backup from an immersion etc.

[Fred]

Thanks. The boiler had a temporary repair to keep it going while I sort this out. Things are moving slowly. I've had a look on the bosch and valliant web sites and certain models have a 7 year warranty. Does anyone know of any longer warranties than this? If anyone an suggest any other makes, I am happy to look at those too but I'm completely ignorant of boiler manufacturers ;(

The problem comes when I click on the "find an installer" button. They all seem to be local one man operations. Not living locally, I don't know a way to find out which ones are good and which ones are not, so I don't know whom to ask to go round and quote.

[geoff]

That seems to be about it

Where is it?

[Fred]

Wolverhampton, West Midlands.