3-bed semi central heating: combi vs. conventional boiler?

A plinth mounting fan-assisted heater?

Have you thought of options like kickspace heaters that go under kitchen units (fed from the CH but usually with electric fan assist)?

John Rumm wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@brightview.co.uk:

Until I read Owain's post (and yours) I didn't know they existed. They look like a good possible solition... Thank you....

Owain wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@m3g2000vby.googlegroups.com:

Fantastic! I didn't know such things existed. Thanks for that...

We have one in our kitchen and it's very good, undersized a bit but it works OK on boost; make sure you size it so it can run on low (and quiet) fan speed.

I have a Vaillant combi. It is a non-condensing one, one of the last before= only condensing combis could be installed. I installed it myself. It has j= ust developed its first fault after nine years of operation without any ser= vicing or intervention.

This would have been a biggie though, as no hot water or CH was being deliv= ered. The fault-funding flow chart arrived at the conclusion 'change pcb', = which would have cost a good deal I reckon if it were not for the fact I'm = an electronic engineer and tracked the problem down to an arcing relay, whi= ch I fixed myself. Still, nine years of fault-free operation isn't bad.

I took the cover off to inspect the burners whilst I was at it and it was c= lean as a whistle inside except for a collection of dead mossies. Nor did i= t have the sort of cover seals that need replacing. Vaillant aren't the top= brand and are nor immune to problems but I would recommend them.=20

I do hear it's best not to buy a new model of combi when it comes out - pro= blems can occur that they fix for later production models. Probably best to= buy a design that is reasonably mature.