Combi boiler - advice needed

Hi,

I've decided that I would like to get a gas combi boiler (condensing, modulating) for a 3 bed house with 1 bathroom and 1 downstairs toilet. Currently there would be only 2 people living there so not a huge demand on hot water. I've had a few heating engineers out to give quotations. None were enthusiastic on the combi boiler option but agreed that the water pressure seems adequate (if not terrific) and the space-saving aspect could make it worthwhile.

None of them seemed at all au fait with combi boilers although all were competent qualified heating engineers, at least I assume so as they were Bord Gais registered installers! For example, they were unaware that some combi boilers can store hot water. I rang Heat Merchants, Chadwicks and Heiton Buckley but none seemed to have a clue about them and said they don't stock storage combis.

Although I really want to get one, I'm starting to worry that if I did manage to find one that did the job, would I find a heating engineer able to service it as I gather they are quite different to system/regular boilers.

The house currently has little demand for hot water but this will change in the future with the addition of a second bathroom. I read that restricting the output of taps that don't need a high output (e.g. bathroom basin, toilet cisterns) and using a storage combi with high flow rate and power can help overcome problems.

Regarding brands, I've read recommendations for Alpha, Worcester Bosch and for Vaillant. Wouid anyone agree or disagree?

Can anyone offer any words of wisdom and if you think a combi might indeed be the way to go, recommend a reliable model that will meet my needs - or at least the hot water-related ones . Also, any recommendations for an installer familiar with combis would be welcome.

Thank you,
g

Fitting a combi of any type is easy, deciding the best one is hard, precision heating used to sell a ariston genus 30+(not condensing) which would do what you want with stored water and combi, i find the type of boiler you are looking for can work well, but they can be difficult to work on for engineers that have not seen this type before as they have different characteristics when fault finding, also beware your system water must be clean and be kept clean as there is a small heating coil within this type of boiler which can block which can be a pain. My advise would be to keep things as simple as possible, the boilers i know that have a good reputation are viessmann(precision heating ltd,Dublin) i think they do a five year warranty and Worcester Bosch(heat merchants).

Have a look at rvr.ie who supply a storage combi with in-built 45 litre tank , it is a zeus boiler made in Italy.

Thanks for your replies. I'm checking out those suggestions.

I couldn't find the Zeus boiler on the Sedbuk database - any idea why?

Also, is it true that a storage combi won't overcome the limitations of the mains pressure? I spoke to a guy this morning who estimated my mains pressure at about 15L/min but said it could drop to 10-12L/min at peak times. Does that mean I won't never have a decent shower?

A combi with stored water will not improve pressure as you can't get out what you don't put in, what it does is store the water at about 60c, so initially you are not using the heat exchanger, so you can open the tap fully and let the maximum flow rate pass threw the boiler, once you have used up the stored water then normal combi rules apply so the faster the flow rate the less heat picked up as the water passes threw the heat exchanger.
The minimum flow rate for a ariston combi is 2.5 l/m, the boiler will give you a temperature rise of 35c over the incoming mains water temperature at 12.5 l/m.

Thanks for that Gary.
I checked out Precision Heating and they are almost the only place I contacted that seemed to know what they were talking about - I'm quite keen on the Viessmann even though it's dear.

I also contacted rvr.ie - are you associated with them John? I saw an engineer with a similar name mentioned on their website. I spoke to a lady in sales who was rude and unhelpful. She wasn't able to answer my questions and she was reluctant to put me in touch with anyone who could so on that basis I probably won't go with them.

In case anyone else is looking for a combi boiler, I'd also suggest contacting System Link (I think that's what they're called) - they used to be Taney Distributors. They do Vaillant boilers and again, seem to know their stuff.

Thanks again for the replies,

g

I have no connection of any sort with RVI but I knew someone who fitted one of their boilers and it works fine.If you found them rude don't deal with them.

Thanks for the clarification John. I think you're right, if I'm coughing up a lot of money I'm not going to give it to someone who treats me rudely. Anyway, my search for a boiler continues.

I work for Heiton Buckley and I can suggest a guy in our head office who deals with specific plumbing requests. If you pm me i can give u his details.

Hi, we are a company that services and commissions - gas, oil and biomass boilers, we have an extra service to advice people what the correct boiler(s) are for their particular needs. We will advice where to get the boiler and which ones are the most suitable for you requirements. if you need help contact us.

Viesman is the mercedes of boilers and it is really the best of the best, just a little advice as it is a really good make. I was in a hurry yesterday, sorry