New house purchase - Boiler required

magicoi · 22 Sep 2015 at 10:39

Morning,
I am buying a new home in full knowledge that I will need to replace an 18 year old boiler - Protherm 60-80 CI. with a new A rated boiler.

The house is a large 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom property with a very large water tank in the loft and the boiler in the downstairs hallway under the stairs.

The current boiler is, I understand, a system or conventional boiler. My intention is to get a replacment 'system heat only' condensing boiler as due to the size of the proerpty a combi boiler would not be appropriate.

What im really looking for is recommendations for which boilers I should be considering. Im assuming that it will be a case of getting the existing boiler disconnected and the new one fitted in its place with little to no pipework ammendments. I note that a different flue may be needed though..

Thanks for any suggestions in advance!

magicoi

Hedge · 22 Sep 2015 at 11:29

I just suggest you get 3 different fitters around and gather some input.

Its the best way to do it
.

blueboy2001 · 22 Sep 2015 at 12:51

Consider switching to an unvented system - it will usually give you a much better more consistent HW pressure - if someone flushes the toilet your shower doesn't slow to a trickle. If you've got or are going to get mixer taps you'll need a balanced cold feed, essentially the cold feed runs up to a pressure regulator which feeds both the tank and cold taps so your hot and cold water is at a consistent pressure otherwise the tap can push cold water into the hot supply due to pressure differential. This can mean addtional pipework depending on the existing layout because your cold taps may be fed from the mains.

Even if you don't go unvented, it may be worth replacing the tank. The older designs are much less efficient. I changed one in my 1980's house about 10 years ago and depsite the new one being 15% bigger it heated up far quicker because the coil was bigger.

In terms of boilers, Worcester or Vailant are considered good brands but it's all down to how well its installed.

One thing I would say is don't scrimp on the spec of the boiler - I'd always buy a slightly larger one than the calculations require because it's better to run a larger boiler turned down than a smaller one flat out IMO.

magicoi · 23 Sep 2015 at 07:35

I was thinking about Worcester boilers so good to hear reinforcement that they are good!

bushmins · 23 Sep 2015 at 08:10

Worcester definitely, great boiler and great customer service. I would never get a Valliant boiler after my last one. Terrible boiler and terrible customer service.

amkan13 · 23 Sep 2015 at 08:26

I'd recommend a system boiler with an unvented system too, the hot water flow is brilliant and I wouldn't go back to a combi.
Get a plumber in to check your water pressure in your property, this will dictate which kind of system you can go for afaik if water pressure is too low you cannot get a unvented system
In terms of brands you won't go wrong with a valiant, potterton or Worcester-Bosch.

Brozart · 23 Sep 2015 at 08:31

I personally like Vaillant and Worcester boilers. Like others have said, get a few quotes - I had 5 plumbers up before I got a decent price recently. If you are struggling you could always go with British Gas and pay the bill monthly but you will be paying a lot more overall.

Most importantly make sure they are gas safe registered:
http://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/help/check_a_business_or_engineer.aspx

Valo · 23 Sep 2015 at 16:08

Another vote and happy Worcester owner here.

I had my whole system replaced 18 months ago with a Worcester boiler and it's been great. I would agree with all the advice you've had so far regarding using a local independent gas fitter. If you do decide to go with a Worcester make sure they are an accredited Worcester installer as that can gain you an enhanced warranty on the system.

I've got an 8yr Guarantee as long as it's serviced yearly.

magicoi · 23 Sep 2015 at 16:54

Thanks for all your replies! Worcester certainly look like the way to go & I will look into local registered fitters etc

I have a pic of the water cylinder which I will post up this evening. Its in the loft and was the cause of my initial confusion as to what type of system is currently in place. Its not your typical copper dome topped cylinder in the airing cupboards normally found in an airing cupboard but is a large flat topped cylinder and looks fairly new, probably in the last 5 years. Also it should be said that the vendor is a pain so cant ask her!

I suspect it could already be an unvented system. Would this be possible with the type of boiler in place? Appreciate without a pic it could be hard to tell!

magicoi · 23 Sep 2015 at 19:05

Not sure if this size requires a spoiler tag but anyway, this is the tank in the loft

Participant · 23 Sep 2015 at 20:19

Normal hot water cylinder with immersion heater imo. You can just see the hot take off behind the immersion heater entry, there are no expansion vessels or other paraphernalia visible that you'd expect with an unvented cylinder.

I agree that unvented is generally the way to go with a property that size, but a few things to be aware of:

- The cylinder needs to be LARGE - even running two showers concurrently at 15L per minute means a 300L tank minimum for two ten minute showers. On the upside, the worst it'll ever be is what the water flow and boiler can deliver on the fly.
- Make SURE the plumber has tested for flow (~25L per min) and pressure (~2.5bar). An unvented system with poor pressure and flow is a miserable experience.
- The best your shower will ever be is what the main can supply, so if you want a whizz-bang all angles of attack monsoon shower, think water tank plus high pressure pumps.

b0rn2sk8 · 23 Sep 2015 at 22:10

Got an un-vented system in my house. The only downside is now having a shower elsewhere you remember how **** gravity fed/electric systems are.

If I moved I would have to put serious thought into if I was willing to put up without one.