condensing boiler heat water into cylinder v combi

phil_51

Hi,

My mother has just moved into a small bungalow which has Baxi Solo condensing boiler which is only 2 years old fitted by British gas.

This heats the hot water which goes into an Vented insulated Immersion cylinder and heats the radiators.

She has had a combi boiler for the last 15 years and would like a combi boiler fitting as she says it only heats the hot water when she needs it, which is correct but IMO is really not worth spending £2k to get new combi boiler.

Is there much difference between heating the water into Immersion cylinder versus a combi boiler heating the water ?

Any websites I can show her or costs to heat a tank of water ?

Are Condensing conventional boiler more efficient than a Condensing combi bolier ? Are they cheaper to repair ?

thanks.

macman

It would be absurd to rip out a 2 year old boiler just to fit a combi. It would take years to recoup the cost, even assuming a marginal economy from the combi, but a properly insulated hot water tank will lose very little heat anyway.

gas4you

I agree with macman.

The main difference she will notice is that the pressure from the hot taps will be less than what she is used to with a combi.

garethgas

I agree.
Personally, I'm not a fan of combi boilers but equally, others are so its pretty much an individual choice.
My current boiler is a small wall mounted one which is 25 yrs old. Water hasn't been switched off for over 20 yrs...even on hols!
Last two bills were £63 and £66.
In 25 yrs its broken down twice but I had the parts here for it
You might find someone else come on here that will say the complete opposite but at least you'd be making a more informed decision.
There are many engineers with the same experience and qualifications as me who have the opposite view.
I don't think its a case of I'm right and they're wrong, just a different opinion.
Also, there are some well meaning but mis informed posters on here that you'll need to identify and ignore. :beer:

HappyMJ

gas4you wrote: »

I agree with macman.

The main difference she will notice is that the pressure from the hot taps will be less than what she is used to with a combi.

I think you mean more than what she is used to. I have a hot water cylinder and the pressure is very high. I can fill a bath in under a minute. Other homes near me with combi's it takes more than 5 minutes to fill a bath.

OP - The heat losses from a cylinder are about 2kWh per day but at this time of year the heat contributes to the house heat and is not wasted.

macman

With a 2kWh per day heat loss, that's 7p per day or about £25pa.
So that £2,000 investment will take about 80 years to recoup, assuming all the other running costs are the same-which is a big presumption anyway.
Can anyone recommend a combi that will last 80 years?

gas4you

HappyMJ wrote: »

I think you mean more than what she is used to. I have a hot water cylinder and the pressure is very high. I can fill a bath in under a minute. Other homes near me with combi's it takes more than 5 minutes to fill a bath.

OP - The heat losses from a cylinder are about 2kWh per day but at this time of year the heat contributes to the house heat and is not wasted.

No I mean what I said.

She is in a bungalow, so a standard hw cylinder fed from a loft tank will not have more than the minimum 1m head, therefore less pressure.

If it is an un-vented cylinder, or she lived in a house the the answer could/would be different.

Note I'm talking about pressure and not flow rate.

ed110220

gas4you wrote: »

No I mean what I said.

She is in a bungalow, so a standard hw cylinder fed from a loft tank will not have more than the minimum 1m head, therefore less pressure.

If it is an un-vented cylinder, or she lived in a house the the answer could/would be different.

Note I'm talking about pressure and not flow rate.

Surely a bungalow is a house, a single-storey house? :rotfl:

karl-123

keep the old system

ROY47

karl-123 wrote: »

keep the old system

I wish I had

I hate hate hate :mad: :mad: :mad: the new combi boiler I had fitted 5 yrs ago

would go back to old type back boiler / hot water tank type of system tomorrow if I could afford it again

phil_51

thanks everyone.

Will discus with her (gulp) and will ask a plumber to install a shower pump to feed a new mixer shower.