Central Heating Boilers.

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trapperjohn

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So the old Worcester Bosch 28CDI of 1998 vintage is giving us some grief at the moment and we are out of maintenance contract. (My fault took a gamble that it would not break down as it has been very reliable thus far - Murphy's Law strikes)

This week it has had replaced over a 3 day period by Worcester Bosch on their call out charge.
New Printed Circuit Board as it was original. (Thats was the first engineers fix)
New Fan, A new bit of plastic pipe at the top of the boiler innards and a new high pressure switch. (Second engineers fix)

Same original fault happened again today. The hot water symbol (a tap) flashes (quite quickly) either when the heating is on and no hot water being drawn or on just the one occasion when hot water is being drawn. The "burn" does stop when this happens. It can be re set by switching the boiler off and back on again at its on/off switch.

So new boiler beckons me thinks. Any help gratefully received. Thanks to John and stratman for their help thus far. I reckon we should be getting a new boiler its just which one. WB, Valiant or Baxi. The panels thoughts please. Some cracking warrantie offers out there at the mo.

Thanks in advance.
 
I had the same boiler replaced in January. I had a lot of problems with it cutting out and it wasn't heating the house as it should. Got a Vaillant 838 Exclusive fitted and wow what a difference. After 15 years I'd say your boiler has run its course
 
Thanks Harry. That's two members on here with recent Valiants. Stratman is the other from a different thread.
 
I'm in a similar position with needing a new gas boiler. Current is an Ariston that I installed myself almost 17 years ago when I first moved in. It's become unreliable and fails to maintain the flame. I've managed to 'frigg' it over the winter as it will light after a few quick jabs of the hot water switch. It stays on ok once warmed up but it's meant getting up to some cold mornings.

I've been tempted to just replace it myself but as we may be downsizing in a few years, I'm worried that I won't have the regulation bit of paper as I'm not gas safe registered. Quotes of £2.5K and £3.5K to install a £1K bit of kit seems a bit strong.

But to answer the OP. After reading revues and visiting forums like Plumbing and Central Heating Forum - DIYnot.com - DIY and Home Improvement I've come down on the side of Vaillant, with a stainless steel heat exchanger. Worcester Bosch second although they seem to have some 'Friday afternoon' problems and an aluminium exchanger. Baxi don't get a very good revue, from what I've read.

Although the boiler swap is quite straightforward, there's the added extra of 'power flush' and thermostatic rad valves that are required to be fitted. I am, at least, fortunate that I have a drain, close to the boiler position, as that's also necessary for the modern condensing boilers.
 
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My advice is get rid of the combi boiler and install stored hot water in some form and a regular condensing boiler.
 
My advice is get rid of the combi boiler and install stored hot water in some form and a regular condensing boiler.

Both Vaillant and Bosch do the above but they do take up extra space.
FYI I paid £1800 for boiler, flue, roomstat, timer and fitting. It was a reasonable one out one in fit so straight forward for the engineer. Using a Brand approved fitter you can get upto 10 years warranty so I'd hunt around and weigh up you options
 
My advice is get rid of the combi boiler and install stored hot water in some form and a regular condensing boiler.

That's the set-up I installed 17 years ago. The downside is, the water has priority over the heating so every time the hot water cylinder drops below the set point, you lose heating to the rads which, on a cold morning means the house may not warm enough or you will need to set the heating to come on earlier.

I got round that by using the immersion heater for hot water so the heating supply is uninterrupted (until the recent problem). We're on LPG so the cost difference isn't so significant.

It's decision based on lifestyle and occupancy.
 
I should add John, that I've had two "one for one" swaps recently, done for £200 each, labour only, including landlord certificate.

I'm happy with that, as was the fitter, who got £200 for about 3/4 of a days work.

If you're replacing a combi with a combi and have the appropriate gas supply already in place (22mm to the boiler), you shouldn't expect to pay much more for a single fitter. Condensate pipe is pence and easy to install as your current boiler isn't a condensing combi.
 
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I should add John, that I've had two "one for one" swaps recently, done for £200 each, labour only, including landlord certificate.

I'm happy with that, as was the fitter, who got £200 for about 3/4 of a days work.

If you're replacing a combi with a combi and have the appropriate gas supply already in place (22mm to the boiler), you shouldn't expect to pay much more for a single fitter. Condensate pipe is pence and easy to install as your current boiler isn't a condensing combi.

Does your guy travel?

I'm loath to hand over £1.5 - £2.5 for what's essentially a day or two's work The gas pipe is 15mm for the last 6M and the pipe positions won't match exactly but no big deal. Maybe I should look for a Polish installer.
 
It will be combi for combi and we have 22mm gas pipe. You wont believe some of the quotes Im getting. Try Circa 1650!! I know the boilers are only around 800 and Im not trade.
 
It will be combi for combi and we have 22mm gas pipe. You wont believe some of the quotes Im getting. Try Circa 1650!! I know the boilers are only around 800 and Im not trade.

Does that include the necessary power flush?'

I'd be happy at £1650 for similar size (30Kw) boiler.
 
I've been tempted to just replace it myself but as we may be downsizing in a few years, I'm worried that I won't have the regulation bit of paper as I'm not gas safe registered. Quotes of £2.5K and £3.5K to install a £1K bit of kit seems a bit strong.

So long as you don't touch the gas you can do your own install. Just bring in a gas fitter to connect up and pressure test the gas supply and certify the installation. If it's sited in the kitchen or bathroom you technically need a sparks to connect and test the electrics.
 
What difference will that make?

It was meant tongue in cheek as popular thinking is, they're less expensive. Has it hit a nerve? :)
 
So long as you don't touch the gas you can do your own install. Just bring in a gas fitter to connect up and pressure test the gas supply and certify the installation. If it's sited in the kitchen or bathroom you technically need a sparks to connect and test the electrics.

Thank you for that info. Would that arrangement satisfy the regulations, do you know? Presumably I'd need to arrange it with an agreeable gas safe fitter beforehand.
 
That's the set-up I installed 17 years ago. The downside is, the water has priority over the heating so every time the hot water cylinder drops below the set point, you lose heating to the rads which, on a cold morning means the house may not warm enough or you will need to set the heating to come on earlier.

I got round that by using the immersion heater for hot water so the heating supply is uninterrupted (until the recent problem). We're on LPG so the cost difference isn't so significant.

It's decision based on lifestyle and occupancy.

I have a 200 litre cylinder which can take a maximum of about 14Kw of heat energy, to heat it to 85c from bottom to top, so at 55c for the 100 litres a boiler coil heats, that makes about 4.5Kwh of heat energy required maximum.

The boiler is 23.5Kw output so heating a tank full of water takes a maximum of 11 minutes, which is very little impact on the central heating, but also with a three way valve, both are supplied.

I also use solar to heat the DHW so for a significant part of the year the boiler has very little work to do to heat the DHW.

In my experience, it's the way to go for reliability and efficiency.
 

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