General Chat

is that the tiny elbow shaped piece just peeking out from the brickwork?

Good point Detective. We haven't with ours yet but it is sheltered from any cold winds where it is. I'd forgotten but have heard of it though from the chap who does our servicing. I suppose some lagging would stop it if it was a problem?

Interesting thread - our boiler is limping along until spare parts aren't available/it's uneconomical to repair.

I'm not in a position to give a personal opinion BUT...at least one GR member has mentioned having to go outside and whack a frozen outlet pipe - possibly from a condenser boiler?

Does any one have similar experiences or was that member unfortunate?

I had mine fitted two years ago and am still trying to decide if I like it or not:-) Sometimes I wish I'd had a conventional boiler fitted instead.

The water takes ages to run hot! My washing machine is cold fill only and I have an electric shower, and as I live alone and am retired the issues are irritating but I can live with them.

I had storage heaters before, and although I like the flexibility of the central heating for some reason I don't get the 'cosy' feel I did with the heaters.

My boiler was put into the airing cupboard and it is HUGE, so takes most of the storage space I hoped would gain.

The one advantage of the boiler I have is that it came with a ten year guarantee so will very likely see me out ;-)

I had a combi boiler fitted two years ago.

Have been very pleased with it. I don't understand above comments about it taking ages for the hot water to come from the tap. It takes about 10 seconds on mine. Maybe the modern ones are better.

It is true that if someone in the house runs another tap while you are in the shower then the flow in the shower will be affected, because all the water is drawn from the mains supply, instead of from a storage cylinder.

Where there are only two adults living in a house this shouldn't be a problem. Just don't run the tap while someone's in the shower.

I've always found the temperature of the hot water to be adequate, and this is adjustable on the boiler.
The only difference I noticed is that the force of hot water filling a bath is not as good as from a hot water cylinder, but not a problem.

Also I find the combi boiler to be very economical, which is important as mine runs off a LPG tank which is more expensive than mains gas.

All in all I'm very pleased with mine, and have no regrets.

Tec :-)

We had a combi boiler fitted about 2 months ago. We like to have the hot water available whenever we need it but I do miss my airing cupboard, especially at this time of year.
We do have a problem with our downstairs shower since the combi boiler was fitted. The shower is for our daughter who is disabled and when we put her in it, it started to bang so loud that next door heard it. It was so bad. The only way we can stop this noise, is to run the sink tap and turn the water pressure down while the shower is in use. The gas board have been back and can not understand the problem.
Any idea anyone

Sylvia

My mil lived in sheltered acommodation, and there were so many complaints from residents about the combi boiler performance when they were first installed they were ripped out and replaced with the highest power version available. The power rating of the replacements was more than usually needed in a five bed detached - and all for a one bed bungalow....!

Hot water came through in about three seconds and the ch radiators went from cold to hot in about thirty seconds.

Didn't cure the problem of trying to run more than one tap, though hardly a problem with only one resident living there.

We've had one since we moved into this bungalow new 14 years ago. Everyone is right about the hot water being slow to come through which is annoying when you are on a water meter! I sometimes fill the kettle or a can to water the plants while the hot water is getting through. We can adjust the water temperature on the boiler itself. It also runs the power shower, but water pressure drops if other appliances are on as GL says.

I have heard they are expensive to repair, but ours hasn't cost much yet. The biggest plus point for me was the drop in gas bills compared to where I lived before with an old style boiler and it only taking 20 mins from cold to get the place warm and cosy!!

I missed the hot water tank in an airing cupboard at first, but am glad not to have one now. No more leaking hot water tanks or cold water tanks and pipes in the loft to have trouble with!!! Plus, if you already have an airing cupboard you could just have the hot pipes run through it or put a radiator in it instead. :-)

Thank you, some very helpful replies there.

Combi and condensing means two different things, not alternatives.

A combi boiler has no hot water tank and the hot water is only heated when you turn on the tap. It is not suitable for large houses or families as it has limited capacity.

A condensing boiler uses waste heat in flue gases to pre-heat cold water entering the boiler. Water vapour produced during combustion is condensed into liquid form hence the term 'condensing'. This improves efficiency, especially where the boiler ir running continually.

Most new boilers are of the condensing type, irrespective of whether they are combi or traditional with water tank.

All new domestic boilers conventional or combi are condensing boilers now, there are special situations where a non condensing can still be fitted but you have to jump though hoops to do it.

So any boiler you have will be condensing and so more efficient.

As to combi v storage.

Combi pros
Hot water any time day or night.
Good shower pressure from mains (in fact you cannot fit a "power shower" on a mains fed combi
Compact, frees up cylinder space.

Cons
No airing cupboard.
Only one hot tap at a time will work well (although you usually get some sort of trickle at the other) and using the mains water can affect it if you have poor mains pressure.
I do find that there is a small delay each time you run water so even if you have run hot to the tap recently you may get a short surge of cold water coming through.
As above you need a fairly good mains supply.
Bath takes a bit longer to fill as there is a limit on how fast the water can be heated.

Storage pros
Hot water in the cylinder if you have run recently you will get a quick supply of hot and it will continue till you run out.
You get an airing cupboard.
Bath fills quickly, because the water is already hot so can fill as fast as the taps will allow.

Storage cons.
Can only get a couple of baths in a row before the water has to heat up, if some beggar has been washing the car or hand washing they may have nicked all the water.
Cylinder takes up space.
Only water at preset times.

As far as heating the house there is in practice no noticeable difference, I fact a combi will switch of from heating the radiators while giving hot water but as the rads stay hot for a long time people never even notice it.

One final point as you can imagine the hot water has to get from the cylinder or combi to the tap so you don't want a combi stuffed in the loft supplying your ground floor kitchen sink two floors below!


;-)

Or the opposite - friends of my daughters - whilst she was therel one of them was having a shower - then one of them went to the loo which took the cold water away and scalded the unfortunate one in the shower!

I like the combi boiler with hot water always available, but I do miss the having the hot water tank!

The tank was in the hall cupboard and I loved being able to dry things in there.
Especially damp clothes and shoes :-( :-(

I agree with Sheila though.
My combi boiler is about 5 yrs old and hot water does sometimes take ages to come through
It is man enough to run the power shower so long as no other water is running at the same time... that includes the washing machine or dishwasher as the pressure in the shower drops

I had one in a small new-build house I bought in about 1992. It was great for heating - very efficient - but found that hot water took ages to come through and wasn't hot enough for my liking (though you can turn up setting). My sister has one in an older house and says the same. I was also advised not to run a power shower from it as it wasn't man enough for the job but I'm sure modern ones are better! We have one in part of the house, heating lounge and a self-contained bedroom with en-suite wet room and it's great - no problems with water temp or speed and we run a shower off it, although this is boosted by a pump. Well advised to have a CO monitor nearby.

Does anyone have a combi boiler? If so are you pleased with it? what are the advantages over a condensing boiler? What are the disadvantages?

We are having to replace our 11 year old boiler which is the old style and are not sure what to do.