Looking for a new combi boiler.

Is there much difference between the different brands quality wise?

I would rather pay a bit more for a more reliable one.

Thinking of a Worcester 37cdi, is it a decent choice?

Not a combi! That’s my recommendation.
If you have to then valiant or Worcester. I’m a Worcester person myself!

As a landlord I like worcesters, long life (well at least all the ones I bought in the last 10 years have been) , reliable, cheap/easy to fix when they go wrong, easy parts sourcing..

Interested in your opinon on combi’s Bear? Why? Learn me.

Mechanical engineers I work with seem to think Worcester and Baxi are the ones to go for. Combis do seem to have a reputation for abysmal life spans though – seven years average before major repair or replacement rings a bell.

As Zimbo said combos have limited life span and when they go wrong no hot water. Most people have a back up heat source and those with a cylinder will probably have an immersion as back up for hot water.
Reason I like Worcester is fitted them for a while and most still going. Fit more than any other make but repair less than any other make. Parts usually next day at worst.

7 years sounds bad, mine, all worscesters, are in student houses:

28 cdi bought in 2000. had new fan 70 quid, air pressure switch thing 15 quid and the pressure releif valve 15 quid.
28 cdi bought in 2003, air pressure switch
highflow 400 bought in 2003 needed a new board after 18 months replaced under warranty by worcester bosch

so 12, 8, and 8 years all still going strong, and getting thrashed by students who have the heating on continuously and shower every 5 mins…

Yeah, maybe all the junky Heatraes etc. of this world bring the average mean time to first failure down. I think the OP should be reassured that Worcester is the way to go!

well I’m not sure my three are an accurate sample, but my brother is plumber and he reccomends worscterss too..

Worcester have a great warranty as well.

I fit Worcester Greenstars and Vaillant Eco Tecs, both great boilers.

I personally have a system boiler with unvented hot water cylinder, the wife loves the pressure from the shower and if the boiler goes tits up I’ve an emersion back up.

virtually exclusively i fit WB. 90% combis either 24i jnr or 30 si in 7 years working for myself never had to repair a boiler i ve fitted.. and thats why i fit em.

So, bare with me while I get this right.

Combi boilers are less favoured than another type of water heating system.

However, if you must have a combi, Worcester are a good brand to consider.

I’ve a new build coming along, allegedly….
And I think the builder has spec’d a Combi.

My previous property had a large insulated cylinder and a seperate boiler.
Is this a superior system ?, if so, why ?.
I am well a dunce when it comes to this sort of thing, so looking for some knowledge here.

Installers tend to favour combis as cheap, 5 pipes out the door, mains pressure hot water etc.

However they have limited hot water production, unless you spend a lot of money.

No back up supply of hot water should you have a boiler failure.

Not all combis are solar compatible, if you are doing a new build then you really should consider this. Do you need a combi on new build, have you got underfloor heating, will a heat pump work? Not saying it is the correct choice, but you should be getting the options.

If you installer is not qualified in any of the renewables he is not going to advise you to fit them. Likewise if you get a specialist renewables company they might not be able to fit a gas boiler so will advise you against it even though it may be the best option.

So Solo, where are you in the country as you need some advice, there are a few people who specialise in this sort of thing. You will pay for it however, BUT if the house is for yourself and you want to get it right then you need to consider things very carefully.

The construction industry is sometimes not the best for impartial advice. It is one of the reasons that I am qualified in gas, oil, heat pumps, solar thermal and biomass. Like to think I can give impartial advice to my customers (although must confess am very interested in the biomass side).

But even if you end up with gas, then heat only boiler and unvented cylinder is my favoured method, PROVIDING you have the available pressure AND flow from the water main.

Bear.

Thanks for that.

I’m in Coventry now.
Its a new build by a national builder.
I’m not sure if I get a say so on what they include.

Yes, I intend to live in it myself.
I don’t mind making a nod in the direction of green-ness and all that, but not to the extent that I might be complicating things.

I’m very much a fan of fit-n-forget.
So anything which may be tempremental or unreliable isn’t for me, no matter how green it might be.
I lived in my last property for about 12 years and the boiler was / is fine.
I once replaced some electro-mechanical valve thingy, with a little lever on the back and a few wires coming out of it.
IIRC, the replcement was quite cheap, like less than £20.

I’m also undecided about fuel sources.
The fluctuation in Gas prices that I hear about, as a consequence of whatever Russia is doing.
Does make me think, but I’m renting at the moment and being all electric seems to be expensive.
Furthermmore, and I may be out of date here, but I have heard that the energy required to produce a photovoltaic is greater than that which it will deliver in its service lifetime.
So I’m not sure I want to plaster the roof with solar panels either.

Apologies if this is a bit if a hi-Jack, but seems like theres some knowledgeable types here and I need to know more.
🙂

DONT buy any sale ones from B&Q or Screwfix etc.

Buy a Worcester if you are struggling.

Make sure its the right capacity for your house. i.e. My house is a 3bed semi and I have a 30c. A 24c would be for flat-sized properties etc.

So bear you heat up a tank of water every day ?

I currently have a vented tank heat only system and think its the work of the devil Compared to my previous 2 houses with worchester ad grant combi oil fired boilers

I only drive 2 hot taps from the tank and it takes for ever to get hot water from the hot tank to the tap

I have to run the heating at some point everyday for some time to get hot water unless i go round and turn all rads off at valves this is proving to hammer my oil tank

Im a low hot water user though so that is probably why i like combis – big house high water use with multi bathroom then there is probably a better solution

Trail rat – you shouldn’t have to run the heating to get hot water.

What about the fact your oil fired combi fired up to keep the ‘heat bank’ charged to ensure you had hot water on demand?

There are building regs re how long to deliver hot water.

Shouldnt – but i do , or run immersion

Used to use 500l a year . Currently hammering through my 500l at a rate despite heating with woodburner

Im changing out so genuinely interested in options – tempted by a heatstore and backboiler plus normal boiler with a much better controller. Or a grant combi outside.

tempted by a heatstore and backboiler plus normal boiler with a much better controller. Or a grant combi outside.

Nope, you’ve lost me there.

Is there really a Best set-up / solution for heating and hot water in a house ?.
I want the best, most reliable, most durable system.
Does’t necessarily need to be the cheapest.

you shouldn’t have to run the heating to get hot water.

that’s what I said last time he posted it.

t_r there is something very wrong

I want the best, most reliable, most durable system.

depends on:

Mains water pressure & flow rate
Availability of mains gas
Space in premises for tanks and thermal stores
Other fuel preference
Plans for solar.

There isnt a one size fits all, thats why theres loads of different systems.

Fuel price comparison
http://www.nottenergy.com/energy_cost_comparison/

Im still not a fan of GSHP or ASHP and the data is flawed as it assumes constant maximum COP (i.e. ratio of elec energy in to heat energy out, which I disagree with)

And, true to form, Ive put the most common ones in a graph:

I prefer a combi personally – I can stand under the shower for as long as I like without ever having the worry it is about to go cold.

For that reason alone I think they are better than tank systems.

But I WOULD like a power shower now and then.

We have a high-flow combi which gives excellent pressure in the shower. Combined with a thermostatic mixer, you never have to alter the temperature either.

We replaced our old system boiler nearly 2 years ago.
After a lot of research I went for a large Vaillant combi and took out all the tanks etc.

We could have got away with a smaller one but have appreciated the larger capacity, although it’s highlighted that some of the pipes could do with being larger diameter as we get a drop in pressure in the smaller ones upstairs if a downstrairs tap is used. We’ll address this when we re-vamp the bathrooms.

We had a problem after a month where a pump started making a noise, but it was replaced FOC by Vaillant within 2 days of registering a warranty call. Since then it’s worked flawlessly and is rather quiet.

Wasn’t the cheapest option but the chaps who installed it commented on it being a very good boiler.

We have a high-flow combi which gives excellent pressure in the shower.

Yeah the pressure from ours is okay but we are on a shared supply so if anyone further down the street turns a tap on the flow does drop considerably.

Bear – whereabouts are you based? We’re hopefully moving into a new house in Oxford in a few weeks, which needs lots of working including a heating revamp. Not sure which option to go for yet, but would like to consider solar water heating as an option and will be in need of some good advice at some point.

Not local to Oxford for sure, however I do get about the country a bit on courses seeing friends etc and would be happy to pop by and advise if I can tie it in with a trip.

mail me timATj-twren.eclipse.co.uk if you are interested.