Price of boilers

David_Aston

It seemed to me that regular gas boilers would be cheaper than Combi's to buy. I am talking about simply purchasing, without any thought to fitting, or integrating into a system.
In this, Google is not my friend. Certainly could be me. When Ah whut lad, it was possible to put a phrase into Google between speech marks, and it would produce some kind of exact result. Not now apparently. Just been on the worcester Bosch site. No prices that I could see.
Anybody point me in the right direction please?

David_Aston

Ok, in fairness I have just been on the Potterton site, and there are prices quoted. Just need to work out differences between "system", "regular", and "heat only boilers".

spadoosh

There normally very similar in prices. I think combis are that prevalent now that theyre cheaper due to mass production.

I think youre struggling with the worcester site because they dont sell boilers through it. Its a 'contact our engineers service'.

Thats not to say you cant buy them, just youll have to do it through a third party or contact directly to order.

eg.
https://www.screwfix.com/c/heating-plumbing/boilers/cat6660001?brand=worcester_bosch#category=cat6660001&brand=worcester_bosch&page_size=20&page_start=20&sort_by=price

In all my googling years ive never had to use the quote feature, ive just googled compare boiler prices and found this link about 3 or 4 rows down.

http://www.directheatingsupplies.co.uk/heat-only-boilers

Lets you filter by brand and the manufacturers websites will have all the finer details you need.

David_Aston

I should have thought of PlumbNation. A wealth of info. Combi's not necessarily cheaper than regular, it appears.

CashStrapped

Combi boiler - This is what a lot of people install these days. Often because it is easy for the installer, and it saves a bit of space. It allows you to have hot water and heating on demand and it should not run out. It is a pressurised system so hot water is at mains pressure. The flow of hot water is slightly restricted by how fast the combi can heat and maintain that heat. Everything is combined into one unit so they are more complex, hence more to go wrong. Designed for smaller properties where space is an issue. Often struggle if more than one outlet is used at the same time or there is more than one bathroom. Due to more work required to fit and remove old installation, can be more expensive to install.

*you can get combis with a mini storage tank inside. This is designed for slightly larger properties and are designed to mitigate the short comings of a standard combi but avoid having to install a full sized tank.

System boiler - A modern version of a traditional boiler. This requires a hot water tank. But it is a pressurised system so does not require open vented tanks in the loft. Everything is pressurised and pumped. Hot water is at mains pressure! Should give a higher hot water flow than a combi as hot water is stored. More suitable for larger properties with higher demand, more than one bathroom. Boiler is not as complex as a combi. It just heats water, valves external to the boiler control what to heat; heating, hot water or both. More expensive to install as it requires the old system to be removed and a pressurised tank to be installed at further cost.

Heat only boiler: This is a direct replacement for a traditional boiler where you have an unpressurised copper tank and cold water storage in the loft. As this is not a presssurised system, hot water is usually at low pressure (as per any traditional system) determined by gravity (how high up the cold storage tanks are). Very simple boilers, therefore should be very reliable as they just heat the water (few complex internals). Valves external to the boiler control what it being heated. Heating, hot water or both. Probably the cheapest option in terms of replacing an existing traditional boiler.

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All of these boilers are modern condensing boilers and are very efficient to run.

Some say the combi will be most efficient as it only heats what you need. Where as the other two store heat in tanks. While this is true in theory, there are other factors which can affect efficiency and this depends on how well the system is used. A combi can be used in a manner which would cause it to be inefficient (and often are).

David_Aston

OK guys, thank you very much.
Will have a look round your links Spad.
Cash, that is a comprehensive guide to the boiler types.
I only really involved myself in this, when last week, my dear Sis told me that her boiler was Kaput, according to her new "best friend" plumber Rachel. At the point where Rachel was saying, "combi", total price £2500, and that's it, I did think that a basic boiler could have been a cheaper option for Sis.
Anyway, the job is done. I am hoping that Rachel will have given my sister full info on using the system, and I will have a chat with her, (Sis, not Rachel), in a day or two.

CashStrapped

I think that your sister needs another opinion from someone other than "Rachel".

Edit:

Oh...I just realised the job is done.....oh well....

David_Aston

I thought that myself Cash. However, if it's done, and Sis is happy, who are we to to be concerned!