Help needed with new boiler quotes and types

victor2

We had our old non-condensing boiler and hot water tank replaced with an Ideal Logic 35 combi last year. Installed by a local Ideal accredited installer and got the 10 year warranty. It does require annual servicing by a gas-safe engineer, but I'd do that anyway.

Cost us £4K, included installing an extra radiator and it took 2/3 men 3 days to do.

Bendy_House

Hi Agy.

You seem to have it pretty much in hand - especially for someone with 'brain fog'!

As much as I like a good shower - so wouldn't normally entertain a combi below 30kW - with only 3 radiators, you may well be best going for a 25 or 28kW model - one that can modulate down to, say, 5 or 6kW.

It might be worth emailing a well-regarded boiler manufacturer and asking them for their thoughts on this too - ie tell them how many rads you have (and rough sizes), size of flat, so how large a combi can you get away with?!

Keep us updated, Agy.

knightstyle

Just a thought, opp do you get any benefits? if so look at the ECO scheme.
Plus my DD has recently had a new combi boiler fitted, she paid £2200 to a local company for a Veissmann with a 10 yr g'tee and she did a lot of research before choosing.

agylk

I have a power shower so that’s not really an issue.

agylk

This is what the private guy replied regarding a system flush

We can run a mains flush on the system as part of the original price however if the system is badly sludged up then it will need a powerflush.

We can power flush the system for an additional £350plus vat including chemicals and machine hire.

I’m surprised he never even mentioned the flush before.

agylk

The 800 guys are the eco scheme. Taking the responses here into account Plus all the things I had to clarify with them, I no longer trust them at all. 

victor2

Whoever you go with, and whichever boiler you get. Make sure you get the extended warranty most popular manufacturers offer. Sometimes the warranty requires that the boiler is installed by an accredited installer. You can always check with the manufacturer of the boiler you choose if the installer is approved to fit it.

Bendy_House

agylk said:

This is what the private guy replied regarding a system flush

We can run a mains flush on the system as part of the original price however if the system is badly sludged up then it will need a powerflush.

We can power flush the system for an additional £350plus vat including chemicals and machine hire.

I’m surprised he never even mentioned the flush before.

I don't know of any boiler manufacturer who doesn't insist on a powerflush or full system clean before providing their warranty. AfaIk, it is a requirement. It surely would be for any extended warranty over the 2 years being offered?

I really think you are best going back to stage one, and find new authorised installers of your chosen manufacturer, so that you can benefit from the supposed peace of mind of a loooong warranty.

Bendy_House

agylk said:

I have a power shower so that’s not really an issue.

By 'power shower', do you mean it's pumped from your hot cylinder? If so, don't forget that you will no longer have this cylinder full of hot water, but your domestic hot water will now be supplied instantly on demand from your combi boiler. Your combi is supplied by water direct from the mains, and not from any stored water inside your house.

The big difference in use is, the amount of hot water that can now come out of your shower will be determined by the power - in kW - of the combi. So, a 30kW combi can provide a few extra litres per minute of hot water more than a 25kW jobbie. And 35kW combi a few extra lpm more again (but that's getting silly-big for a 1-bed flat with 3 rads).

This is why the size of a combi is so important; it's mainly about the amount of hot water it can deliver.

If you currently have a pump on your shower, then this will not only now be redundant and serve no purpose, but it should really be removed from the circuit. So, do you have a shower pump fitted?

victor2

Bendy_House said:

agylk said:

This is what the private guy replied regarding a system flush

We can run a mains flush on the system as part of the original price however if the system is badly sludged up then it will need a powerflush.

We can power flush the system for an additional £350plus vat including chemicals and machine hire.

I’m surprised he never even mentioned the flush before.

I don't know of any boiler manufacturer who doesn't insist on a powerflush or full system clean before providing their warranty. AfaIk, it is a requirement. It surely would be for any extended warranty over the 2 years being offered.

I really think you are best going back to stage one, and find new authorised installers of your chosen manufacturer, so that you can benefit from the supposed peace of mind of a loooong warranty.

That's exactly how it was with my Ideal boiler installation last year. I have actually had a minor problem covered by the warranty too, and Ideal sent an engineer out to fix it without any quibble. They didn't even need to see any paperwork, as they had it on record, since the installer had registered it with them.