which boiler system?

sam1970

I am very confused and I will appreciate advice. I live in a 4 bed detach. house and looking to do loft conversion (to create more space for kids). Heating wise we have old system (not sure about name..may be open vent) where we have two tanks (one in loft and one in airing cuboard). We replaced the boiler when we moved in 10 years ago and replaced all radiators 3 years ago. As we are looking for loft space we would like to get rid of the tank there and also go for abigger boiler due to increasing heating needs (Loft) and was hoping to go for combi but I was told it might not be good idea..What is the best way to get rid of the tanks and have a descent heating system?..thanks

huckster

You would be best to have a atleast 2 gas safe registered installers come around to identify your needs, recommend a system and the cost of installation.

The rules will have changed since the last boiler change. You now have to have a boiler that meets certain efficicency standards and there are rules about how they are installed.

Therefore I don't think you will get any recommendations online because someone qualified needs to carry out an inspection and to speak to you about what you want. They will then go away, come up with details of what they recommend and then post full details to you. If you get several firms quoting and giving you specifications, you can see how they differ.

You need to make sure the installation is going to be as best that you can achieve. Some installers do some ugly work e.g a neighbour has had a pipe added around the outside of their house to drain condensation water, rather than add a pump. With mine there is a pump using an internal drainage point, without an ugly pipe going around the house. Ask questions about the exact installation work that will be done. Do some online research about the boiler they are recommending. Valliant boilers appear to have good reputation.

a&akay

Sounds like an open vented system as you say. The loft tank is likely the feed and expansion (F&E) tank to your CH and hot water system. The latter is likely to be a coil in your hot water cylinder. The tank in the airing cupboard feeds your hot water cylinder when you draw off hot water. There's no connection between the 2 tanks apart from the cold water feed into them if so. You can easily have this F&E tank in the loft moved to where you can cope with it in the new attic. It's simply a matter of moving the tank and re-connecting the cold water feed to it, the feed to the CH system (which will likely have a pipe in the shape of a U over the tank as well) and the overflow for when the ball valve seal perishes and starts to drip water. For this reason the F&E tank needs to be accessible. Install a 15 mm flexible hose with integral shut off valve to its cold feed. I'd recommend installing a gate valve in the feed pipe from the tank and in this U bend if they're well separated. (the U bend and the water level in the F&E tank needs to be above any new radiator(s) in the attic). That way if your radiator valves start leaking you can close these valves and the vacuum created when you take off a radiator valve will stop a significant leak of water while the problem's sorted (only one break in the system is allowed). Insulate the loft space well, ensuring there's good ventilation on the cold side of it to stop condensation issues. I'd be surprised if your boiler can't cope with this additional room load as it should have been sized for the coldest winter days to your existing room set-up with an additional allowance on top.

sam1970

Thanks for the reply..the tank in the loft Is surrounded by many pipes and we really would prefer to get rid of all that..also we would like to get rid of the other one as we will knock off the ironing cubboard to expand the family bathroom. Do you think we can get away with a combi boiler?

Plumber90

How many bathrooms do you have and will there be any going in the loft extension?

sam1970

Hi.. We have two (one ensuite) and we will add another ensuite into an extension we are planning to build (hence I said we will need a bigger boiler anyway)..no bathrooms in the loft

bridgedino

Plumber90 wrote: »

How many bathrooms do you have and will there be any going in the loft extension?

No doubt you'll fire off a 'pm' offering a quote for the work yourself.

squeekswhenwalking

Your lifestyle is the most important thing to consider, ie are several showers etc likely to be used at once, as this will be the main drawback of a combi boiler. If so and you are desperate to loose the tanks and cylinder, consider an electric shower for one of the bathrooms.

Plumber90

bridgedino wrote: »

No doubt you'll fire off a 'pm' offering a quote for the work yourself.

Already done 😎

Plumber90

You will be far better off with a boiler and unvented cylinder. If you go for a combi you will end up regretting it.

sam1970

Plumber90 wrote: »

You will be far better off with a boiler and unvented cylinder. If you go for a combi you will end up regretting it.

So what this entail? Any space occupying cylinders or tanks? Please excuse my ignorance