Reviews of combi boilers - Ferroli, Potterton, etc

[jl-heating 10]

so do i but the combination boilers are cheaper overall,

if you go for the tank and cylinder type there is the extra cost of lagged cylinder,extra controls and rewire,lagging jackets in the roof space etc.. and the boilers are the same price as a combination boiler depending on model chosen..

 

i upgraded a back boiler unit last week to a traditional y plan and it worked excellent. and the week before fitted a couple of boilers in a big house, again tanks and cylinders..

so people do still go for that arrangement.....

 

but people go for the cheap option as rule and that is a combination boiler i am afraid.

 

also a lot of newly qualified plumbers dont even know what a conventional system looks like so they wont offer that option..

 

so really it depends on who you call to what options are available..

[Complete-Heat 10]

If it isn't too far off topic - could you fill us in on why you decided on a combi? Call me old fashioned but I just prefer the old "hot water tank" style.

 

As John said, cost and performance come into play. With a system boiler and hot water cylinder youve got to upgrade all the ancillary components to meet Part L regulations (room stat, cylinder stat, most often new rewiring, lagging) - this can add up.

 

The trend with house extensions, loft conversions, ensuites, power showers, often means that the standard hot water cylinder cant cope with the demand. Higher kilowatt combis with big flow rates are becoming the norm from manufacturers.

[mel77 10]

i had this same problem when i need a new system and people tell you different ones depending on what they fit.

 

In the end i went with a Vokera, plumbers wern't over keen on it but it had good reviews a 2 yr guarantee and A grade efficiency. Ive had it 2 years this year and not a single problem.

 

They say Baxi and WorcsterBosch are the best boliers.

[sarrahleap 10]

Ahh, the ol' money question - I hadn't realised there was much in it - I just thought that the combi is fashionable because it's the "latest and greatest".

My experience though, is that there tends to be a longer time lag before the water coming out of the tap warms up than with an old hot water tank-type system.

I appreciate that's going to vary from one installation to another though.

Then again, I'm always being told I'm just impatient!

[rosaespanola 10]

If it isn't too far off topic - could you fill us in on why you decided on a combi? Call me old fashioned but I just prefer the old "hot water tank" style.

 

I can't get the F&E tank high enough to allow me to have a radiator in my attic room, and it gets absolutely freezing in there in winter. There's only someone in there a few nights a week, but we have to use an electric heater (and we have the most economical one we can fin) and my electric bill for Sept-Dec was over £500! I only spent £300 in an entire year in my last house...

So I decided a combi boiler was the only way to go, if I didn't want to be shelling out that much money on running the electric heater!

[monty789 10]

Sorry to hijack the thread but I was wondering how much it is for an annual boiler service?

[jl-heating 10]

I can't get the F&E tank high enough to allow me to have a radiator in my attic room, and it gets absolutely freezing in there in winter. There's only someone in there a few nights a week, but we have to use an electric heater (and we have the most economical one we can fin) and my electric bill for Sept-Dec was over £500! I only spent £300 in an entire year in my last house...

So I decided a combi boiler was the only way to go, if I didn't want to be shelling out that much money on running the electric heater!

you could of pressurized the system and removed the f&E tank then the attic would of been fine .

[sarrahleap 10]

I can't get the F&E tank high enough to allow me to have a radiator in my attic room, and it gets absolutely freezing in there in winter.

Freezing attic room... gotta say, sounds to me like it's worth looking at redoing the insulation in that part of the house!

I appreciate that can be difficult, but if the attic is open to the rest of the house, and the attic is losing heat through the roof, then heat from the whole house is going to be lost!

It might not be easy, but it might be the only real long term solution.

[jl-heating 10]

my lad is in the roof i fitted a plinth heater which works on the heating so actually blows the heat round the room .. work excellent .. they do a cheaper version that is electric .. very ££££££££

 

the central heating addon only uses a small fan and the heat from the radiators... very much like the ones they use over shop windows .. but fitted in a recess.

[low_carbon 10]

My experience though, is that there tends to be a longer time lag before the water coming out of the tap warms up than with an old hot water tank-type system.

 

Sarah,

 

I think I read in the Sheffield Telegraph that someone in Sheffield has invented/patented a device that only allows the water to flow from a combi boiler when it is hot enough. This is the one thing about combi boilers that has always bugged me - the waste of colder water before the hot comes out of the tap.

[Complete-Heat 10]

Sarah,

 

I think I read in the Sheffield Telegraph that someone in Sheffield has invented/patented a device that only allows the water to flow from a combi boiler when it is hot enough. This is the one thing about combi boilers that has always bugged me - the waste of colder water before the hot comes out of the tap.

 

Even with a 'boiler and hot water cylinder' there is always a 'slug' of cold water before the hot arrives.

 

It is more noriceable in combis, especially when the system has been installed incorrectly and cheaply. The best example is when someone says they have had a new combi installed and the hot water at the kitchen tap is hot BUT takes ages to warm at the bath tap. Usually, the installer has left the 22mm pipe from the old hot cylinder to the bath in place instead of running new 15mm.

 

Alot cheap combi's also have a low flow rate.

 

Go for a reliable, good quality combi. They will have a high flow rate and a 'pre-heat' mode (which do the same as the new patented device)

[dan1919 10]

I know there's a big thread about boilers on here, but it doesn't answer my particular question.

I'm planning to have a new condensing combi boiler fitted at some point in the next few months, and I'm currently getting plumbers out to do me quotes. There's a fairly substantial difference in price between some of them (so far - lowest £1790, highest £2300) but they all fit different makes of boiler so I don't want to just go for the cheapest quote and end up with a boiler that turns out not to be very good. Does anyone have any experience of any of the following boilers?

- Ferroli Domicompact 24

- Potterton (not sure which specific one)

- Baxi

 

Any recommendations for particular ones to avoid?

 

If anyone wants to recommend a plumber as well, I'd be glad to hear it. So far I've arranged for quotes from Paul at Heating Solutions, Stuart at Sheffield Heating & Mechanical Services, Kingfisher Gas Services and Simon Fletcher Plumbing & Heating.[/

 

I had a Ferolli fitted 3 years ago and it breaks down on an almost weekly basis...they are cheap but there is a reason for this THEY DON'T WORK!