In article ,
"PC Plod" writes:
I am just starting to think about replacing my boiler so no doubt this will
be the first of a few question posted here.

I live in a 1990 built 4 bedroom detached house. My existing boiler which
is now getting on for 18 years old is rated at only 50,000 btu/ 14.65kW. I
say only because when I look at websites for boilers I apparently need a
larger output. My existing boiler serves a Flowmax thermal heat store, so
the tank is full of central heating water while the hot water runs through a
copper tube inside the tank which serves all taps at high pressure. The
boiler is only set at 50% with the room and tank thermostats controlling the
temperatures

It works great so I intend to keep it. So the first question is do I really
need a higher output heat only condensing boiler.

The higher outputs you'll see on many modern boilers are because
they are combis, so they have to have enough power to instantly
heat a stream of shower/bath water. For a stored system like you
have, this isn't the case. However, a stored system can take a
more powerful boiler without any negative effects, and it would
give you a faster heat up from cold.

Start by reading Ed's Choosing a Boiler FAQ...
http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/BoilerChoice.html

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]