Cost to replace a low pressure system boiler with a high pressure combi?

Geoff_W

I have a 12 year old Vaillant EcoTec boiler together with all the ancilliary equipment (hot water cylinder & thermostat, pump, 3 way diverter valve, header tank in the loft and another huge cold water tank for my Aqualisa shower). The boiler is serviced annually by a local plumbing firm who have always provided excellent service. Over the years various external parts have needed replacing (pump, diverter valve etc). Last year there was a problem on the hot water cylinder when two of the connections began leaking. When our plumber arrived he was hoping it was only leaking seals rather than a faulty tank, and he had been considering how to broach the subject of replacing the whole system if the tank was kaput. Fortunately the tank was OK so it only cost the price of a call out.

However, this has started a family discussion about whether to convert to a combi boiler and get rid of all the tanks in the loft as well as the hot water cylinder. Our plumbing firm has quoted £5,800 for a Vaillant EcoTec 832 Plus and £5,300 for an Ideal Logic 30 Max. Both boilers are rated at 30kW and come with a 10 year warranty. The price includes the removal and disposal of all the redundant equipment, upgrading the Aqualisa control unit to a high pressure version, uprating the gas supply pipe from the meter in the garage and the supply of a wireless programmable room thermostat.

Now I appreciate costs will have risen a lot over 12 years, but when the Vaillant was installed it only cost £2,000, albeit for the boiler replacement only.

Do people think the quoted costs are reasonable?

PS We are two retired people living in a 3 bedroom detached house.

[Deleted User]

If you want a comparison quote, you could always ask someone like Boxt - I’ve never used them so can’t comment on the service or quality but it would give you another number at least.

EssexHebridean

Maybe see if family/friends can recommend another firm you could get a quote from, or look on Checkatrade? 

deanos

Prices have shot up this month, i paid £2100 for my Worcester in Sept, its gone up to £2980 on Boxt now i presume because of the winter rush  , i didn't use them but a local company price matched Boxt and they were the cheapest online company i could find 

Im sure you could get it cheaper than 5k

ariarnia

prices can vary a lot depending on where you are in the country as well as what exactly you;re asking them to do. we recently paid 1000 for a builder to do a job that a friend who lives in a city paid nearly twice as much for less than 2 years ago (and prices have generally gone up not down since then so the difference was likely actually higher). i would say general rule of thumb is get three like for like quotes if you can then go with the company that feels most able rather than cheapest. 

markin

A combi isn't the only way to get mains pressure hot water, getting a megaflo tank should be far cheaper.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/heatrae-sadia-megaflo-eco-145dd-direct-unvented-unvented-hot-water-cylinder-145ltr-2-x-3kw/987fp

Reed_Richards

The years of gas boilers are numbered.  When they eventually go you may find that the replacement is not capable of acting as a combi boiler and you will be back to having a hot water cylinder, albeit probably a different one.  Meanwhile an option you should consider is having an unvented cylinder with "mains pressure" hot and cold water.  This would bring many of the benefits of the option you are considering (including no more tanks in the loft) but should require a "system" boiler that would be cheaper than a combi.  

Miser1964

>Do people think the quoted costs are reasonable?<

As you're replacing a vented system with a combi, you should have been quoted the costs of a power flush and fitting a magnetic filter. Many combi suppliers warranties are conditional on a power flush.

Also you should always get the manufacturers room stat/programmer and it must include weather compensation to optimise combi efficiency. Vaillant have a pretty good system for their own combis and using their system extends the warranty, IIRC.

As there's two people in the home, a combi should be OK to run one shower at a time. You only need a hot water cylinder with hot water priority from the boiler to run two showers at the same time. 

Ask your supplier how they've come to the conclusion you need a 30kW boiler. A good supplier will have assessed the heat loss from your home based on rooms, size of windows, insulation etc.

There a bit more to getting the most from a combi than just being handy with a blowtorch! 

 

scobie

I’ve just (last week) had a 16 year old combi boiler replaced by 28w Alpha EcoTec.   Total cost including installation was £1503.  

markin

Combi boilers are rated for instant hot water demand, The number of showers/baths.

gndalph

Last month I had my 20 year old conventional boiler replaced with a Worcester Bosch 28w combi. All the old tanks were removed and a new control system installed. Total cost inc VAT was £2300. 

I found a local sole trader who had excellent reviews and did a great job. Far cheaper than any of the bigger companies out there. If you can find a local sole trader who is trustworthy I think you’d get much cheaper quotes. Try next door.co.uk for your neighbourhood, that is where I found local tradespeople and neighbours recommendations.