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