On 20/05/2017 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.

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.

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!

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?

Should be OK unless you have hand washing OCD. Combis are adequate for
small or medium flats/houses unless you have more than one bathroom.

--
Max Demian