"alexbartman" wrote in message
...

Hi

It looks as if my boiler is finally giving up the ghost....its 18 years
old and the thieves at BG have just written to say they can no longer
get parts for it. Whilst it take this warning with a pinch of salt,
I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that I shoudl replace it anyway.

So...the current set up is traditional boiler - cold water tank in the
loft and hot water cyliner in the Airing cupboard. I have just
finished two new bathrooms with pump-assisted mixer shower in one and a
nice Power Shower unit in the other - all the other plumbing is very
standard with the boiler feeding 10 radiators.

So now the question is - what is the most cost efficient way to replace
the boiler?? I think I want to avoid a combi system as this wont be
compatible with my lovely new showers (??). Anyone got any views on
what to buy and where to buy it?????

A combi, well any mains pressure system, will not be compatible with only
one of your showers. Your existing cylinder and tanks are probably old by
now too, so a rethink is on the cards as you have a major expense and
upheaval whether you like it or not. May as well do it all.

Replacing one shower mixer is no big thing. This removes the noisy and
potentially troublesome shower pumps. Just because they are newish, doesn't
mean you have to keep them. You are now in a position to reassess the whole
system, so look objectively. I would consider a mains pressure system, that
is if your mains supply can cope. You may be able to uprate the mains
supply from the road to the house reasonably cheaply too, and well worth
doing.

Then you have a choice of one box solutions, the cylinders and boilers all
in one case, matched perfectly for efficiency by expert engineers, instead
of some plumber mismatching a cheapo off-the-shelf cylinder: Potterton
Powermax, Ideal Istor, Viessmann, Worcester Bosch Greenstar Highflow,
Gledhill Gulfstream 2000; all floor mounted, and a wall mounted Alpha CD50.