The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 20/05/17 13:35, Terry Casey wrote:
I note it says in the wiki that: "I need a new one, what should I
get!" comes up in some form almost every day on uk.d-i-y, but
couldn't find enough information to clench the deal, one way or the
other. My wife and I are living in a two bedroomed bungalow - there's
nobody else living there except the cat! The central heating is old
- if the pencilled date on the back of the controller I replaced
recently is anything to go by it dates from 1996.


Does it work though?


We had a quote recently from a local plumber who advocated a combi -
which I've always been convinced from various things I've read
(probably here) that they can be problematic - but he said that
modern combis are much better than their predecessors and would be
highly suited to our needs. He also pointed out that he has a combi
in his 4 bedroom property and has no problems with it.


He has a deal with comnbi supplires.

We then got another quote from someone who is clearly prejudiced
against combis! Apart from additional strain on the old pipework -
which we are well aware of - he said that the increased pressure can
damage the non-return valve in dual fill washing machines (ours is
currently a dual-fill Hotpoint) but that we wouldn't be able to run
hot water from two taps at the same time!

Well thats ******** too.

This could be a worry if we couldn't wash our hands (or whatever)
every time the washing machine was filling or the other is running a
bath. Can this really be true?

Mate, the combi I have here currently wont even supply enough hot
water to drive ONE hot tap, bath or shower.,

All this proves is that you have low mains pressure


Quote No. 1 includes an Ideal Logic+ 30kW boiler whilst No. 2 is for
a Worcester Bosch 15ri boiler. No. 1 includes quotes for both combi
and non combi options (but does give any indication of which
non-combi boiler would be fitted) and No. 2, as might be expected,
doesn't have a second option! How do these boilers compare - assume No. 1
would use a non-combi
version of the same boiler?

All comments gratefully received!

Terry


Bite the bullet and do the proper job, Mains pressure hot water tank
fed from whatever boiler you have and if in a hard water area all fed
via a pukka ion exchange softener.

Then never have a hot water shortage ever again

Yes, cos storing hot water in a tank until you use it is better than having
it on demand.
My combi is ten years old, never been serviced and supplies continuous hot
(hard) water every time the tap is turned on, likewise the mixer shower,
which is powerful enough to actually hurt if it's on full.
No water softener ever been in this house
To the OP, get a combi if you have reasonable mains pressure, if it comes
out of the tap like someone having a ****, go the other option