Combi, system or regular boiler?

reggieroo_2

Right I'm in need of a new boiler as I have been without one since Xmas.

I have a few questions I need answering so I can make the right decision on which type of boiler to go for & what set up to have.

I'll start with my house info so to give an idea of what might be best for me & my new family ( a new baby on the way in 6 weeks :j)

3 bed detached bungalow, nine radiators, one bathroom & a toilet/cloakroom. Also an open fire in the lounge with a back boiler ( currently disconnected). The system I have in place at the moment is a regular boiler with the hot water tank in the airing cupboard & water cistern in the loft. Also we run on LPG gas bottles as we have no mains gas in the village.

The boiler I have at the moment is around 25 years old & gave up the goose last Xmas, leaving us with no central heating as we couldn't afford a new boiler. I've still had hot water as I have just used electric to heat the tank when needed. I bought some cheap oil filled radiators & had a coal/log fire every night to get us through the Winter. Now Summer's coming to an end & a new baby on the way I need central heating again.

I've been thinking about hooking the back boiler back up with a neutraliser to a new regular boiler to save on LPG costs. I had a chap out the other day & told me that the back boiler will only heat the water as it's not that big & to work out if it will make me any savings over the year. I have a coal/log fire nearly every night in Winter so thought it would be wise to use the back boiler so I'm not just wasting the energy.

I was then thinking doesn't your hot water heat up anyway when your central heating is on, which would be on most of the Winter anyway?
So is it worth the extra expense of hooking up the back boiler as the water would already be hot wouldn't it?

So this is the dilemma I having & I'm not sure what to do as I've had a few people out & have all told me different things. I bascicly want to keep fuel bills down to a minumum as we will struggle more than ever now with a new baby on the way.

Do I go for a combi boiler for their efficiency (so i'm told) or system boiler( I like the thought of still having hot water in the event of a boiler breakdown), or hook up the back boiler (at extra cost) with a regular boiler to try & keep LPG bills down?

Bit of a long post I know but wanted to give as much info to people in order to get the right advise.

EliteHeat

What is the make, model and problem with the old boiler?

reggieroo_2

EliteHeat wrote: »

What is the make, model and problem with the old boiler?

The make & model is Ideal WLx propane boiler by Stelrad group.

The casing seal has gone & water is leaking out all over the place. Had a few people look at it including an emergency call out at Xmas & was told its way past its best & not worth fixing even if they could get the parts.

ormus

vaillant do a LPG condensing combi boiler for 800/900 quid.

EliteHeat

reggieroo wrote: »

The make & model is Ideal WLx propane boiler by Stelrad group.

The casing seal has gone & water is leaking out all over the place. Had a few people look at it including an emergency call out at Xmas & was told its way past its best & not worth fixing even if they could get the parts.

I had one which went the exact same way and yes, not really repairable.

A decent cheapy boiler would be the Baxi solo HE. It's 'A' rated, has a 2-year warranty and does not require a permanent live supply or pump over-run, so the wiring is fully compatible with the existing supply.

It's a days work for someone to do if they use rapid setting cement for the brickwork, or, more likely two easy days.

Shouldn't cost too much but make sure the quote includes cleansing and ideally pay a bit extra for a magnetic filter - if there is room for one.

Can't advise on the solid fuel stuff - but that can get complicated.

reggieroo_2

I've been thinking about a Worcester bosch boiler as I've been told they are the most reliable. I want a good boiler & don't mind paying for a good reliable one, just the high installtion costs I don't like.

What sort of price should you expect to pay & which system is cheapest to install? Straight replacment of the regular boiler or a new install of either a combi or system boiler?

ormus

as a rough budget price around here, a replacement boiler can cost say 1k and installing it 500 quid/1k.

BG price can be any telephone number you can think of.

reggieroo_2

ormus wrote: »

as a rough budget price around here, a replacement boiler can cost say 1k and installing it 500 quid/1k.

BG price can be any telephone number you can think of.

We had a quote from Calor Force for £3800 just to replace the current regular boiler!

The cheapest quote so far was £2600 for a combi boiler install, I still think that was too high! The same chap wanted £4800 to replace the current regular boiler & hook up the back boiler!