Help - need a new boiler

TomsMom

We have just completed on a house and will be refurbishing over the next few months. The previous owners moved out about 6 weeks ago.

Had a Corgi guy in today to check the boiler as no paperwork has been forthcoming from the previous owners, it is a Worcester Bosch about 13 years old. However, the boiler is kaput and not worth repairing.

Looking for suggestions of a replacement please.

Corgi guy says he's recently bought a Baxi HiLine from Stacks for just under £400 + VAT for himself and is suggesting that. Reviews of Baxi boilers aren't particularly good.

I know Worcester Bosch are probably the Rolls Royce of boilers, and Vaillant are pretty good but are they really worth the price?

Would really appreciate some advice.

Canucklehead

Good morning: Do you want a combination, open-vented or system boiler? Good products in all 3 categories are available from Vaillant, Viessmann and Worcester Bosch (the OH installs the 2 'V's' as they have stainless steel heat exchangers rather than aluminium). You need to get 3 quotes from RGI's recommended to you by a source you trust and compare specification like for like. Ideally, a typical install should include a powerflush, Boiler Buddy or Magnaclean, scale inhibitor(on combi in region with hard water), lagging(insulation) of HW pipes, TRVs and programmable roomstat if required, completion of Benchmark book, and notification of the installation to Building Control...your RGI can do this through CORGI .
Cost of the installation will be dependent on the site survey results, specification and your location in the UK.

HTH

Canucklehead

TomsMom

Thanks very much Canucklehead.

Our Corgi guy is someone who our son has worked with (son is a tiler and installs kitchen and bathrooms too) and recommends his work. We live in a fairly remote area where finding tradesmen is like looking for rocking horse droppings! We are having a bodged loft conversion rebuilt and asked two local "respected" builders to come and quote (probable cost £30,000 plus) and neither have turned up. We have been recommended a builder from 60 odd miles away who has turned out to be a fantastic guy with whom we have an instant rapport and feel we can trust. He brought along a portfolio of jobs he has recently done and an A4 sheet of names and telephone numbers of clients who we can contact and check his work. And he apologised for being 2 minutes late - now that's a good start :rotfl:

We will get BG to come and quote as well as our Corgi guy.

Not sure which system at the moment. There's just the two of us in a 3 bed house with lounge, kitchen/diner, utility, bathroom and en suite. There will be 2 showers and 1 bath. We live in Wales on the coast and have very soft water. Any suggestions or should we wait and see what BG and Corgi guy suggest?

And I take it Baxi perhaps best not considered then?

Many thanks for your quick reply, much appreciated.

Canucklehead

Good morning: You're off to a good start.. always handy having trades in the family.;) I definitely wouldn't recommend a Baxi. The RGIs would be best placed to recommend what would suitable for your DHW/CH demands but I would go with an unvented cylinder for the DHW at mains pressure (if mains flow/pressure is sufficient...a combi,even the Vaillant 937 or WB 42 CDi could struggle if more than one HW drawoff is used at the same time (both boilers would also would require good mains cold and gas supplies).
Let us know how you get on.

HTH

Canucklehead

27col

I should be extra nice to this saint of a builder, he sounds like a member of a very exclusive club. He obviously cares about what he does and how he does it.
Make sure that you have supplies of chocolate digestives available at all times.

coolagarry

With anything that has a large labour cost built in to fit it, I always go for the best possible item as the capital cost doesn't add a huge percentage to the total cost and hopefully you will get a very efficient, trouble free boiler.
I worked on that principal when I had to have my boiler renewed.
It was a vaillant and has proved to be extremely reliant and efficient.

TomsMom

27col wrote: »

I should be extra nice to this saint of a builder, he sounds like a member of a very exclusive club. He obviously cares about what he does and how he does it.
Make sure that you have supplies of chocolate digestives available at all times.

:rotfl: Will make sure there's a good supply of biccies!

He's a cutie too, wish I was [STRIKE]10[/STRIKE], [STRIKE]20[/STRIKE] oh go on then 30 years younger!

And guess what.......... his men (there will be 6 altogether) don't like talking on the job :eek: , they prefer to get on with it and they don't take tea breaks :eek:

TomsMom

Canucklehead wrote: »

Good morning: You're off to a good start.. always handy having trades in the family.;) I definitely wouldn't recommend a Baxi. The RGIs would be best placed to recommend what would suitable for your DHW/CH demands but I would go with an unvented cylinder for the DHW at mains pressure (if mains flow/pressure is sufficient...a combi,even the Vaillant 937 or WB 42 CDi could struggle if more than one HW drawoff is used at the same time (both boilers would also would require good mains cold and gas supplies).
Let us know how you get on.

HTH

Canucklehead

Hi Canucklehead

Corgi guy recommended a condensing combi, 30kw, 100,000Btu/h, DHW flow rate of 14.

We're considering the Vaillant Ecotec exclusive 832 which has 31.4kw, DHW output 107,200Btu/h and DHW flow rate of 12.9. Needs 0.5 bar pressure for maximum flow rate. Property has good mains pressure.

Need this done by next Monday as builders are starting and will be camping out at property and need the hot water for showers etc. Old boiler not worth repairing. Hopefully boiler can be ordered locally tomorrow (at a good price through contact of our son).

As there are just the two of us and as far as bath/shower are concerned, there will be just the one used at a time. We are used to calling "don't use any water, I'm having a shower" from the property we are in at the moment, even turning on a tap stops water to washing machine!

What do you think? Is this boiler suitable?

Canucklehead

TomsMom wrote: »

Hi Canucklehead

Corgi guy recommended a condensing combi, 30kw, 100,000Btu/h, DHW flow rate of 14.

We're considering the Vaillant Ecotec exclusive 832 which has 31.4kw, DHW output 107,200Btu/h and DHW flow rate of 12.9. Needs 0.5 bar pressure for maximum flow rate. Property has good mains pressure.

Need this done by next Monday as builders are starting and will be camping out at property and need the hot water for showers etc. Old boiler not worth repairing. Hopefully boiler can be ordered locally tomorrow (at a good price through contact of our son).

As there are just the two of us and as far as bath/shower are concerned, there will be just the one used at a time. We are used to calling "don't use any water, I'm having a shower" from the property we are in at the moment, even turning on a tap stops water to washing machine!

What do you think? Is this boiler suitable?

Good morning: As you will have 2 showers and 1 bath, I wouldn't recommend a combi despite your 'coping mechanism';) The Vaillant Eco TEC plus combi range is excellent but I think a Vaillant system boiler with an unvented cylinder would be your best option. Make sure your CORGI holds a G3 certificate for unvented hot water cylinders (this will be indicated on the back of his CORGI card).

HTH

Canucklehead

TomsMom

Canucklehead wrote: »

Good morning: As you will have 2 showers and 1 bath, I wouldn't recommend a combi despite your 'coping mechanism';) The Vaillant Eco TEC plus combi range is excellent but I think a Vaillant system boiler with an unvented cylinder would be your best option. Make sure your CORGI holds a G3 certificate for unvented hot water cylinders (this will be indicated on the back of his CORGI card).

HTH

Canucklehead

Thanks for that Canucklehead.

The second shower is en suite to the guest room so only used once in a blue moon so effectively it's just one bath and one shower.

Is there anything you would recommend as we don't really have room for a cylinder as well.

The previous occupants were just a couple (and at one time they had a lodger) and they had a Worcester 350 combi.

I've been here on Vaillant's website which gives recommendations for typical house types, ours being semi-detached with 2/3 beds (second one down) and although there's a couple with cylinders recommended there's also combis recommended.

Sorry, don't mean to sound argumentative Canucklehead as I know you are giving good advice, OH's just getting a bit desperate to find something that can be purchased and installed by Monday so we don't have to put the builders off.

Local plumbing place is trying to recommend Glow-worm saying they're made by Vaillant and also have the stainless steel heat exchanger but can't find decent reviews for them whereas Vaillant have lots of great reviews.

Canucklehead

Good morning: No problem;) Another option from Vaillant is a storage combi if you want to go down that route....regardless, stick with Vaillant. We have a combi in our own home by choice (only one bathroom though).

HTH

Canucklehead