Strange hot water/heating system

catlady28

Hi

I recently viewed a house that had a hot water/heating set up that i'd never seen before.

There was a working combi boiler but also a hot water cylinder with an immersion heater (that was in use as it was hot when i checked it!) and a cold water tank in the attic. This seems really unusual to me, as I thought the gravity fed system+immersion would be removed when you installed a combi?
We asked the vendor about it but he was really confused and didn't understand what I meant?!

The homebuyers report came back and highlighted this as an urgent thing to investigate, and after speaking to the surveyor he said he'd never seen anything like it before!

Does anyone have any idea what could be going on with it? And how much roughly it would cost to remove the gravity fed system?

Thank you.

keystone

Are you sure its a combi and not a heat only boiler? The only way to be able to give you confirmation on that is make and model number please. Its also not beyond the wit of man to fit a combi and used as heat only with a conventional set up.

The homebuyers report recommendation just shows how little the people that write these things actually know. Its not urgent at all.

How big is the house in terms of bedrooms and bathrooms? Combis have their limitations, can only supplly one hot drawoff at a time and are really only suitable for smaller properties. You may be better off leaving it as it is.

Cheers

catlady28

it's a valliant ecotec 618.

The house is not big, just a fairly standard three bedrooms, one bathroom over three floors.

Thanks.

macman

In the case of the cold water tank, it's common practice to leave the old galvanised ones in place, because they don't fit through a standard sized loft hatch, and are such a faff to cut in two. Did it have water in it and was it still mains connected?
I can't account for the hot water tank at all though. Does sounds like a combi that's been set up to run a conventional system.

keystone

The Ecotec Plus 618 is a system (heat only) boiler not a combi. Its Vaillant by the way

Cheers

catlady28

The Ecotec Plus 618 is a system (heat only) boiler not a combi. Its Vaillant by the way

Cheers

Ohhhh thanks! Makes a lot more sense now! Strange how the vendor was adamant it was a combi, and the surveyor thought it was as well!

Will having a system like that be more expensive to run compared to a combi boiler? I've only ever lived in places with combis.

Thanks.

keystone

If the number started with an 8 it would be a combi version. No idea - depends on how you use it tbh. Ask the vendor about his usage and costs.

Cheers

Edit: Just because its a condensing boiler doesn't mean it has to be a combi.

diywhynot

Have someone competent look at the system and advise. Photos?

macman

No, a conventional boiler will not cost more to run than a combi, assuming that the hot water tank is properly lagged to minimise heat loss.

ValHaller

catlady28 wrote: »

Will having a system like that be more expensive to run compared to a combi boiler? I've only ever lived in places with combis.

Cost will be about the same. If water pressure is poor, this system will be superior.

SuzieSue

catlady28 wrote: »

Strange how the vendor was adamant it was a combi, and the surveyor thought it was as well!


Thanks.

I wonder if the vendor was getting confused between combi and condensing but the surveyor shouldn't have.