I have a boiler to replace, groan.

It is a 30 year old Ideal that is 15" wide and floor standing, fitted
between kitchen cabinets.

I have narrowed it down to a rather expensive (£650) Ideal Mexico
slimline 445.

Any other suggestions please?

Rob


Replace 'spam' with 'org' to reply

It is a 30 year old Ideal that is 15" wide and floor standing, fitted
between kitchen cabinets.

I have narrowed it down to a rather expensive (£650) Ideal Mexico
slimline 445.

There are very few floor mounted boilers available, most of which are either
ancient designs about to be outlawed, or storage combi boilers, which
aren't.

Exactly what width can you play with? Alternatively, is there a different
location available, on a wall, perhaps, that allows you to recover valuable
space down below?

Assuming not, and sticking with the same manufacturer, the Ideal Icos (which
the smallest version of at 12kW is fractionally less powerful than the
Mexico Slimline 445 for the same price) manages 390mm, which is fractionally
above 15". It may not save you any money and you might need to box it in,
but if it fits, it will be vastly more efficient than the Mexico dinosaur.
You can also get much higher power versions with modulating burners and
pumps built in for not much more.

Christian.

On Wed, 20 Oct 2004 15:11:46 +0100, "Christian McArdle"
wrote:

It is a 30 year old Ideal that is 15" wide and floor standing, fitted
between kitchen cabinets.

I have narrowed it down to a rather expensive (£650) Ideal Mexico
slimline 445.

There are very few floor mounted boilers available, most of which are either
ancient designs about to be outlawed, or storage combi boilers, which
aren't.

Exactly what width can you play with? Alternatively, is there a different
location available, on a wall, perhaps, that allows you to recover valuable
space down below?

Assuming not, and sticking with the same manufacturer, the Ideal Icos (which
the smallest version of at 12kW is fractionally less powerful than the
Mexico Slimline 445 for the same price) manages 390mm, which is fractionally
above 15". It may not save you any money and you might need to box it in,
but if it fits, it will be vastly more efficient than the Mexico dinosaur.
You can also get much higher power versions with modulating burners and
pumps built in for not much more.

Christian.

Is the Mexico that rubbish?

The one I am removing is presumably the predecessor to the Mexico and
has been in reliable service since 1973.

I have been replacing combi boilers in my rented property on an
average of every 4 years - hardly good value then are they?

Thanks for any help.
Rob


Replace 'spam' with 'org' to reply

"Kalico" wrote in message
...


Is the Mexico that rubbish?

Yes.

The one I am removing is presumably
the predecessor to the Mexico and
has been in reliable service since 1973.

It came out in 1970, named after the 1970 World Cup.

I have been replacing combi boilers in my rented property on an
average of every 4 years - hardly good value then are they?

Sounds like you are using naff combi's or more Likely they are not installed
correctly. Even the cheapest combi should give 10 to 15 years if serviced
and maintained correctly.

"Kalico" wrote in message
...
I have a boiler to replace, groan.

It is a 30 year old Ideal that is 15" wide and floor standing, fitted
between kitchen cabinets.

I have narrowed it down to a rather expensive (£650) Ideal Mexico
slimline 445.

Any other suggestions please?

Does the boiler have to go in the same place? How about the loft? The
airing cupboard cam take a floor mounted Worcester Bosch HighFlow, or on the
back wall an Alpha CB50 high flow combi, gthen no cylinders or tanks.

As you are replacing a boiler, you may as well explore other options that
will improve your system as a whole.

"Kalico" wrote
| I have been replacing combi boilers in my rented property
| on an average of every 4 years

I have lightbulbs that last longer than that!

Owain

On Wed, 20 Oct 2004 22:06:01 +0100, Kalico wrote:

On Wed, 20 Oct 2004 15:11:46 +0100, "Christian McArdle"
wrote:

It is a 30 year old Ideal that is 15" wide and floor standing, fitted
between kitchen cabinets.

I have narrowed it down to a rather expensive (£650) Ideal Mexico
slimline 445.

There are very few floor mounted boilers available, most of which are either
ancient designs about to be outlawed, or storage combi boilers, which
aren't.

Exactly what width can you play with? Alternatively, is there a different
location available, on a wall, perhaps, that allows you to recover valuable
space down below?

Assuming not, and sticking with the same manufacturer, the Ideal Icos (which
the smallest version of at 12kW is fractionally less powerful than the
Mexico Slimline 445 for the same price) manages 390mm, which is fractionally
above 15". It may not save you any money and you might need to box it in,
but if it fits, it will be vastly more efficient than the Mexico dinosaur.
You can also get much higher power versions with modulating burners and
pumps built in for not much more.

Christian.

Is the Mexico that rubbish?

The one I am removing is presumably the predecessor to the Mexico and
has been in reliable service since 1973.

Reliability and efficiency are not the same thing.

I used to have a GW Galaxy BBU - never fails (not even a thermocouple!) in
14+ years!. Probably wasted £2000 of gas during those years.


I have been replacing combi boilers in my rented property on an
average of every 4 years - hardly good value then are they?

Should have fitted a proper boiler, care to mention the name(s)?:
Bet it wasn't something that cost over £500?

I look after the heating at a number of flats.
So far out of 6 17-year old Vaillants and 10 12-year
old Vaillants ONE has been replaced.


--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at www.diyfaq.org.uk
Gas fitting FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html
Sealed CH FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/SealedCH.html

On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 09:31:17 +0100, "Christian McArdle"
wrote:

I have been replacing combi boilers in my rented property on an
average of every 4 years - hardly good value then are they?

There is something wrong there. Perhaps you have one of those plumbers that
refuses to install inhibitor? Did you standardise on a model with known
problems, like the Suprima?

Christian.


Tell me about it. I have come to dislike, but tolerate the damn
things.

First, I had a Worcester 240 that needed the engineer to it twice.
First time within 12 months so a free replacement of the diverter
valve. Second time after 13 months so they tried to charge me for a
new gas valve. I refused to pay for it and they have yet to take me
to court.

The worst one was a Potterton Puma, installed well by a good gas
engineer who is also a friend, so I have no reason to think he cut
corners. After 3 years it had to be replaced due to a leaking heat
exchanger dripping onto the main circuit board.

Of course, being in the electronics business, I know these boards are
probably costing them about £6 a piece from the far east, but they
wanted £200 or so for the board and similar stupid money for another
heat exchanger. They refused to listen to protests that it shouldn't
have failed like this after three years.

So, we replaced it in August with a Worcester 24i which has had
Worcester out to it twice already. First, it was venting throught the
pressure release valve pretty much permanently, causing the pressure
in the system to drop so it shut down (oh! how I love those calls from
tenants). They replaced the valve but about 2 weeks later it refused
to work again. This time they said it was a faulty circuit board,
causing the boiler to overheat.

Unfortunately, the engineer showed the tenants how to reset the thing
when it overheats so now they may just do that and not let me know if
it keeps playing up again.

I'd love your thoughts. I am minded to reject the boiler and demand a
replacement as my gut instinct is that it is very much a Friday
afternoon machine and it will only be a matter of time before
something else goes on it. Usually, they wait until over 12 months
old though, so maybe this one is being well behaved!

Of course, even if they accepted it was a dud they are unlikely to pay
for the plumber to replace it. What joy!

What do you all think? I appreciate your expereince.

Thanks
Rob


Replace 'spam' with 'org' to reply

In message .uk, Ed
Sirett writes
On Wed, 20 Oct 2004 22:06:01 +0100, Kalico wrote:

Is the Mexico that rubbish?

The one I am removing is presumably the predecessor to the Mexico and
has been in reliable service since 1973.

Reliability and efficiency are not the same thing.

I used to have a GW Galaxy BBU - never fails (not even a thermocouple!) in
14+ years!. Probably wasted £2000 of gas during those years.


I have been replacing combi boilers in my rented property on an
average of every 4 years - hardly good value then are they?

Should have fitted a proper boiler, care to mention the name(s)?:
Bet it wasn't something that cost over £500?

I look after the heating at a number of flats.
So far out of 6 17-year old Vaillants and 10 12-year
old Vaillants ONE has been replaced.

Vaillant 242 here

16 years old, replaced the fan and secondary heat exchanger

(although there is now a strange fault which has defeated EVERYONE)

--
geoff