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Another 'help me' thread. This time about domestic Gas Boilers


Colinjb
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I am trying to sort out the riddle that is my home and right now I am having some boiler issues.

 

I live in a 3 bedroom terraced house. It currently has two boilers.

 

One is located behind the fire in the lounge. It's an ancient EMI Housewarmer 2 35/45 which is a combination fire and back boiler which powers the central heating.

 

The second (A Glow-worm Ascot 1.4S) is in the kitchen that looks after all tapped hot water.

 

The central heating boiler is on it's last legs. The Kitchen one is working rather well though, never had any problems.

 

Can these two boilers be combined into one unit?

And, heaven forbid, how much would this kind of work cost!?

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I am trying to sort out the riddle that is my home and right now I am having some boiler issues.

 

I live in a 3 bedroom terraced house. It currently has two boilers.

 

One is located behind the fire in the lounge. It's an ancient EMI Housewarmer 2 35/45 which is a combination fire and back boiler which powers the central heating.

 

The second (A Glow-worm Ascot 1.4S) is in the kitchen that looks after all tapped hot water.

 

The central heating boiler is on it's last legs. The Kitchen one is working rather well though, never had any problems.

 

Can these two boilers be combined into one unit?

And, heaven forbid, how much would this kind of work cost!?

 

Your best bet would be to install a combi. You could have it running just the central heating initially if you don't want to lose the Ascot yet.

Then have the hw taken off the combi at a later date. I would advise you just rip both and have it all done in one hit. Would be cheaper labour wise that way and both appliances are almost obsolete parts wise anyway.

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Your best bet would be to install a combi. You could have it running just the central heating initially if you don't want to lose the Ascot yet.

Then have the hw taken off the combi at a later date. I would advise you just rip both and have it all done in one hit. Would be cheaper labour wise that way and both appliances are almost obsolete parts wise anyway.

 

So a combi boiler will be able to handle both the hot tap water and central heating. Ok.

 

I would therefore be paying for:

New Boiler.

Removal of the old ones.

Re-pipping the central heating lines from underneath the fireplace to the kitchen to the combi

A new thermostat arrangement

Labour

 

Is that about right?

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So a combi boiler will be able to handle both the hot tap water and central heating. Ok.

 

I would therefore be paying for:

New Boiler.

Removal of the old ones.

Re-pipping the central heating lines from underneath the fireplace to the kitchen to the combi

A new thermostat arrangement

Labour

 

Is that about right?

 

Yep, that about covers it.

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Yep, that about covers it.

 

I think I need to have a little weep over the money i'm about to lose.

 

At least I have an idea what would need to be done now. No chance of you driving up to Coventry to do the work I take it? :p 400 quid sounds excellent! ;)

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I think there was another poster from the midlands who J9 drove up to help out, so although you're asking in jest, he'll probably help out if you offer him some beers and accomodation!

 

That could be done! Just hope he doesn't mind if the accomodation is themed for a 2 year old child. (after a few beers I wouldn't care just so long I could fit in the bed...)

 

What type/brand/spec of combi boiler should I be looking at. Any you would recommend J9?

Edited by Colinjb
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So a combi boiler will be able to handle both the hot tap water and central heating. Ok.

 

I would therefore be paying for:

New Boiler.

Removal of the old ones.

Re-pipping the central heating lines from underneath the fireplace to the kitchen to the combi

A new thermostat arrangement

Labour

 

Is that about right?

 

I had a new combi fitted in October (no choice, otherone was dead) and TBF it's made a big difference. House is warmer and therm useage is down.

 

With some serious haggling I got it for a "fair" price but it was still eye wateringly expensive but will pay for itself over 5 years if my calculations are correct.

 

Nothern Gas did mine.

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Colin,

 

To save a few bob ask the installer to give you a discount if he (or she) leaves you to dispose of the pipes. I got about sixty quid cash for our haul and all for spending less than an hour cutting the fittings off and taking it to a scrappies.

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So a combi boiler will be able to handle both the hot tap water and central heating. Ok.

 

I would therefore be paying for:

New Boiler.

Removal of the old ones.

Re-pipping the central heating lines from underneath the fireplace to the kitchen to the combi

A new thermostat arrangement

Labour

Is that about right?

 

To be fair, we're all paying the price for that

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That could be done! Just hope he doesn't mind if the accomodation is themed for a 2 year old child. (after a few beers I wouldn't care just so long I could fit in the bed...)

 

What type/brand/spec of combi boiler should I be looking at. Any you would recommend J9?

 

Specification is largely down to size of house and the amount of hot water you're likely to use (a higher spec boiler will provide a greater flow of hot water). For a three-bedroom terrace house you won't want anything extravagant.

 

I'm not an expert, but I know a few gas fitters (none anywhere near you though, unfortunately!). Consensus seems to be that the best makes are Weissmann and Bosch - I'd heard of Bosch's quality falling a bit recently though. Don't just go for the cheapest option; quality is worth the extra money.

 

One final point; you'll save on gas bills once you've replaced the archaic units you currently have. A new condensing combi boiler will be rated at 98% efficient or higher, whereas you'll be lucky to get 50% efficiency from the back boiler.

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Colin,

 

To save a few bob ask the installer to give you a discount if he (or she) leaves you to dispose of the pipes. I got about sixty quid cash for our haul and all for spending less than an hour cutting the fittings off and taking it to a scrappies.

 

So you get to the scrap value of the copper, and you want the installer to discount you for the privellge? Like that's going to happen.

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That could be done! Just hope he doesn't mind if the accomodation is themed for a 2 year old child. (after a few beers I wouldn't care just so long I could fit in the bed...)

 

What type/brand/spec of combi boiler should I be looking at. Any you would recommend J9?

 

Go for Vaillant if you can afford or it Worcester as a very good alternative.

 

Also, please ignore Deppo when he says I will come and do jobs for people on this forum. I never have, it's a little wind up he likes to do.

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Go for Vaillant if you can afford or it Worcester as a very good alternative.

 

Also, please ignore Deppo when he says I will come and do jobs for people on this forum. I never have, it's a little wind up he likes to do.

 

have you stopped doing jobs for people? Sorry J9 and sorry forum, I just seem to remember J9 sorting a few people out back in the days when Keith was in charge. Maybe this is another thing that has changed?

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Go for Vaillant if you can afford or it Worcester as a very good alternative.

 

 

How good are the Baxi ones? I've found a good price on many of them (a bit cheaper then the vailants.... but naturally I've no idea how they would function.)

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Go for Vaillant if you can afford or it Worcester as a very good alternative.

 

Also, please ignore Deppo when he says I will come and do jobs for people on this forum. I never have, it's a little wind up he likes to do.

 

Just to back-up that advice; I have a Worcester combi boiler which is now approx 12 years old. I have it safety checked every year as part of my Homecare service and every year the Engineer tells me that it is WELL above the efficiency standard required (as in it hasn't degraded or become less efficient over time) and they all say that they are one of the most reliable ...HTH in your choice.:)

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How good are the Baxi ones? I've found a good price on many of them (a bit cheaper then the vailants.... but naturally I've no idea how they would function.)

 

The efficiency of your old boiler will be around 50-65%. A modern condensing boiler will get over 90% so you will get a massive saving on your gas bill by having a new one installed. Given that you want it to last as long as possible and that a big proportion of the cost will be the labour and pipe work, go for the best boiler you can - it will pay for itself in a few years.

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So you get to the scrap value of the copper, and you want the installer to discount you for the privellge? Like that's going to happen.

 

did for us. got a quote for the whole job first then asked the discount for leaving the pipework in the loft, knocked £75 off the bill.

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  • 2 weeks later...

All sorted now.

 

A Worcester Combi Greenstar Junior 28i (chosen over a Vailant on the fitters recommendation) has just been installed. Total cost for getting rid of the old and installing the new, £2,000.

 

Could have been far worse!!

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