My Baxi Bermuda back boiler has given up the ghost. As I have been here 3
years and was planning on installing a Combi system anyway, this is a timely
occurence (thank God its not deepest winter!). I would like some advice on
the type of Combi that would be best for my property / usage? I have an end
terraced house, with Gas Central heating running off the boiler, Cold water
tank in loft, Hot water storage tank in airing cupboard, 2 bedrooms, 5 rads,
with an electric shower and towel rail radiator in the bathroom. As I mainly
take showers, with the occasional bath, I`m not too bothered about flow
rate for bathwater, although I DO know I could get a decent rate with some
Combis anyway.. If I have a Combi installed, what options would I need to
look at for the shower, can I change it for one to run off the Combi, or
will the current electric one suffice? I have to say, its been a bit
temperamental recently, going freezing cold, then scalding hot, with no one
else running water anywhere (I live alone), so I will be looking at changing
/repairing (?!) it anyway..
[I`m not DIY minded where water systems are concerned, so a plumber relative
will be doing all this for me, so answers in terms I can understand,
please!]

TIA
--
Carolyn

Carolyn wrote:

the type of Combi that would be best for my property / usage? I have an end
terraced house, with Gas Central heating running off the boiler, Cold water
tank in loft, Hot water storage tank in airing cupboard, 2 bedrooms, 5 rads,
with an electric shower and towel rail radiator in the bathroom. As I mainly
take showers, with the occasional bath, I`m not too bothered about flow
rate for bathwater, although I DO know I could get a decent rate with some
Combis anyway.. If I have a Combi installed, what options would I need to

Sounds like an ideal setup for a combi then...

look at for the shower, can I change it for one to run off the Combi, or
will the current electric one suffice? I have to say, its been a bit
temperamental recently, going freezing cold, then scalding hot, with no one
else running water anywhere (I live alone), so I will be looking at changing
/repairing (?!) it anyway..

Sounds like you would be better off running a shower off the combi. Even
the smallest combi will deliver a better shower than the best electric
shower. A quick and easy solution might be to change the bath taps to a
mixer set with an integral shower.

[I`m not DIY minded where water systems are concerned, so a plumber relative
will be doing all this for me, so answers in terms I can understand,
please!]

If you want to be scientific about your choice of boiler you could sit
down and work out the heat loss for the house (not difficult - ask if
you want details of how). That would tell you how much power you need on
the CH side. Having said that chances are that most of the combis
available will have enough by the sounds of it.

There is a useful program you can download he

http://www.sda.co.uk/qsedbuk.htm

That has a database of many (all?) of the available boilers and their
stats.

The other choice to make is between a "standard" combi and a condensing
model. The latter will cost more to buy, but is more energy efficient
and hence will actually cost less in the long run (say 5 to 7 years to
reach payback time). Finally a combi that can "modulate" its output is
good. This will allow it to reduce its output to match the actual
demands placed on it, rather than having to run flat out all the time.

--
Cheers,

John.

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In article , Carolyn
writes
My Baxi Bermuda back boiler has given up the ghost. As I have been here 3
years and was planning on installing a Combi system anyway, this is a timely
occurence (thank God its not deepest winter!). I would like some advice on
the type of Combi that would be best for my property / usage? I have an end
terraced house, with Gas Central heating running off the boiler, Cold water
tank in loft, Hot water storage tank in airing cupboard, 2 bedrooms, 5 rads,
with an electric shower and towel rail radiator in the bathroom. As I mainly
take showers, with the occasional bath, I`m not too bothered about flow
rate for bathwater, although I DO know I could get a decent rate with some
Combis anyway.. If I have a Combi installed, what options would I need to
look at for the shower, can I change it for one to run off the Combi, or
will the current electric one suffice? I have to say, its been a bit
temperamental recently, going freezing cold, then scalding hot, with no one
else running water anywhere (I live alone), so I will be looking at changing
/repairing (?!) it anyway..
[I`m not DIY minded where water systems are concerned, so a plumber relative
will be doing all this for me, so answers in terms I can understand,
please!]

TIA
This type of boiler, when properly serviced (important since it's open
flued), and with corrosion inhibitor up to strength will go on for ever
and ever. There is very little to go wrong. I had one installed in 1976
when the house was built and the only reason I ripped it out is because
the monkeys that built the house did a really bad job of the class-2
flue blocks in the wall. BG are currently trying to frighten owners of
these (on 3*) by saying that the manufacturers have stopped m aking
parts - this is rubbish. If you really want to change it anyway, fine,
get a nice condensing combi - but make sure your water and gas supplies
are good enough. Combis (up to 28Kw) need a 22mm gas feed and the meter
location (and hence the length of this pipe) is a limiting factor.

--
Andrew

"Andrew" wrote in message
...
In article , Carolyn
writes
My Baxi Bermuda back boiler has given up the ghost. As I have been here 3
years and was planning on installing a Combi system anyway, this is a
timely
occurence (thank God its not deepest winter!). I would like some advice
on
the type of Combi that would be best for my property / usage? I have an
end
terraced house, with Gas Central heating running off the boiler, Cold
water
tank in loft, Hot water storage tank in airing cupboard, 2 bedrooms, 5
rads,
with an electric shower and towel rail radiator in the bathroom. As I
mainly
take showers, with the occasional bath, I`m not too bothered about flow
rate for bathwater, although I DO know I could get a decent rate with
some
Combis anyway.. If I have a Combi installed, what options would I need
to
look at for the shower, can I change it for one to run off the Combi, or
will the current electric one suffice? I have to say, its been a bit
temperamental recently, going freezing cold, then scalding hot, with no
one
else running water anywhere (I live alone), so I will be looking at
changing
/repairing (?!) it anyway..
[I`m not DIY minded where water systems are concerned, so a plumber
relative
will be doing all this for me, so answers in terms I can understand,
please!]

TIA
This type of boiler, when properly serviced (important since it's open
flued), and with corrosion inhibitor up to strength will go on for ever
and ever. There is very little to go wrong. I had one installed in 1976
when the house was built and the only reason I ripped it out is because
the monkeys that built the house did a really bad job of the class-2
flue blocks in the wall. BG are currently trying to frighten owners of
these (on 3*) by saying that the manufacturers have stopped m aking
parts - this is rubbish. If you really want to change it anyway, fine,

OP: "My Baxi Bermuda back boiler has given up the ghost."

get a nice condensing combi - but make sure your water and gas supplies
are good enough. Combis (up to 28Kw) need a 22mm gas feed and the meter
location (and hence the length of this pipe) is a limiting factor.

For a typical combi you can have roughly 20 metres* of 22mm pipe, or much
longer lengths using 28mm pipe so apart from the (non-trivial) hassle of
getting new pipe in under floorboards or wherever there isn't any practical
limit on location.


* equivalent length, counting each elbow as 0.5 metre.