An Expensive Weekend.

[Chelsea14Ian]

Paid for our moorings (for three months)and our tolls.Just over eight hundred pounds.Then had our boiler checked,unfortunately it's seen better days.Will need a new one,about 2.5 k.Still it's only money.The boiler is over twenty  years old.On the plus side,we hope to sell in about two and a half years time.We a new boiler may help.Now all we need is six numbers now!

Ian

[Baitrunner]

3 months? We’re to next? Normally cheaper to pay a year upfront. 

Can sympathise on the boiler. Ours was over 25 yrs old. Still working, but parts like hens teeth. Not sure the new one is any better, but at least it’s fixable. 

[Chelsea14Ian]

I prefer to  pay three months at a time 

[ChrisB]

6 hours ago, Chelsea14Ian said:

I prefer to  pay three months at a time 

Everywhere I moored always wanted a year up front. But I am with you, much prefer the flexiility of a rolling 3 months instead of being "locked in" to a place for a year even if it worked out dearer.

Think what potential savings there are when you decide to give up ownership, as I have done.

[OldBerkshireBoy]

13 hours ago, Chelsea14Ian said:

Paid for our moorings (for three months)and our tolls.Just over eight hundred pounds.Then had our boiler checked,unfortunately it's seen better days.Will need a new one,about 2.5 k.Still it's only money.The boiler is over twenty  years old.On the plus side,we hope to sell in about two and a half years time.We a new boiler may help.Now all we need is six numbers now!

Ian

House boiler- Yes? Then don`t get talked into having a combi boiler as they don`t suit all. Wouldn`t go with BG and their expensive powerflush either.

[DAVIDH]

We replaced our aging (20 years plus) boiler a couple of years ago and though the cost was not attractive, I have to say those statements that a new boiler will pay for itself over time are true (in my case).  Our gas bills have dropped significantly, helped also because the new thermostat which goes with it now only puts the heating on when the threshold temperature drops. I know that's logical but the old one was never so efficient. 

[SteveO]

We replaced our 26 year old Ideal Standard just before Christmas with a shiny new Worcester Bosch appliance. Initial indications are that it uses around 10% less gas than the old one, so it will be a while before it  repays my £2000 investment.  I wonder if a new thermostat is in order? 

[oldgregg]

12 hours ago, SteveO said:

We replaced our 26 year old Ideal Standard just before Christmas with a shiny new Worcester Bosch appliance. Initial indications are that it uses around 10% less gas than the old one, so it will be a while before it  repays my £2000 investment.  I wonder if a new thermostat is in order? 

Yeah I think unless you have a 1980's floor-standing model then you won't see a drastic increase in efficiency, and actually combi's are much less reliable because there's a lot more complexity in a much smaller package.

But they do give you convenience of instant hot water, and therefore you only heat the water you actually use rather than heating a tank you may or may not touch during a day.

With an intelligent thermostat you can save a fair few quid too, certainly, as they know when you're not in and whether it's going to be cold outside.

[Regulo]

My Ideal Standard boiler is now 38 years old - and still going as well as the day I first fired it up. Never had any parts needing to be changed in all that time. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. My neighbours either side have been through 9 boilers between them in that time, and one of theirs is now on the blink. Today's boilers are over-complicated, for what they are. Yes, you can readily get parts, but for how long? It doesn't seem that parts stay available for long nowadays - usually until the manufacturers decide it's time we all bought a new boiler.

[eddybear]

We are in the process of having new gas central heating fitted and chucking out the old night store heaters which have been in the bungalow 28 years and now costing on direct debit £250 per month and they want to put the price up to just over £300.

With the dual fuel allowance and the new heating system, I should be spending only about £100 per month, as for the boiler were going for a multipoint and fitted by a plumber friend who really knows his stuff, So hopefully I will have more money left to spend on that floaty thing in Norfolk  

[oldgregg]

I think in that scenario you are going to be quids in pretty quickly.

Is that £250 a month on an Economy 7 tariff?

[OldBerkshireBoy]

18 hours ago, SteveO said:

We replaced our 26 year old Ideal Standard just before Christmas with a shiny new Worcester Bosch appliance. Initial indications are that it uses around 10% less gas than the old one, so it will be a while before it  repays my £2000 investment.  I wonder if a new thermostat is in order? 

Re the stat and other stuff, this came into law April 2018

http://registeredgasengineer.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Boiler_Plus_Are_You_Ready.pdf

[SteveO]

4 minutes ago, Pumpmedic said:

Re the stat and other stuff, this came into law April 2018

http://registeredgasengineer.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Boiler_Plus_Are_You_Ready.pdf

Interesting how marginal some of the so-called improvements are.   Nothing more than a fig leaf in some cases.

[OldBerkshireBoy]

Causing installers all sorts of hassle from customers who think they are trying "to sell extras" though.

[SteveO]

Fortunately we didn't go with the Combi boiler, just a condensing one, so our existing controls were deemed to be acceptable.

 

[Siddy]

Didn't know about the Boiler Plus info, I swapped my controller which was a Honeywell optimised which switch on temps at different time of day so the house didn't drop below 16c and if it did the heating came on.

I upgraded to the Honeywell Evohome system so each room works on it's own and optimised, so today working from home I told my office to be at 20c so the rest of the rooms stayed set at 16c. So far I've saved on gas and not had the mail saying your direct debit is going up.

For any system to work your raditors need to be sized correctly to start with. When I moved in here a few year back the room window is 3m wide and had a 1.2m radiator single+ panel and the room never got passed 22c all night. I swapped that to a 2.5m double+ panel and it to temp in 30mins and just pulses during the evening.

[grendel]

my house - ever since we got cavity wall insulation and built the conservatory on the back, the house is heated by the downstairs toilet radiator (about 18" square) set on 2, the hot pipes run under the floor in one bedroom and there is a heated towel rail in the bathroom, upstairs is currently 20.5 degrees, using just those heaters

[Chelsea14Ian]

I may have opened a can of worms.Apart from being a Chef,I'm not much you of anything else.Painting is about my limit. Our house was built in 1901,is far from easy to keep warm.We are unable to have cavity wall insulation because the way the house is built. We have been quoted a price for a combi boiler. Some  of you suggested this was not a good idea.I want this sorted ASAP. 

[Matt]

Worth pointing out that I don’t think a combi is any good if you have more than one shower or a pressurised system.

That’s about the limit of my knowledge although I can change a 3 way motorised valve. 3 times in 7 years, each time just outside the 2 year warranty!


Sent from my iPhone using Norfolk Broads Network

[ranworthbreeze]

I replaced my old boiler (a free standing) to a combination boiler, I still have my hot water tank and can use the immersion heater just for hot water in the summer I find this the best of both worlds.

Regards

Alan 

[oldgregg]

3 hours ago, Matt said:

Worth pointing out that I don’t think a combi is any good if you have more than one shower or a pressurised system.

They're not designed for properties with more than one bathroom, and yes a pressurised system (assuming you mean pressurised DHW) is a fundamentally different concept.

Plumbers love them though as they're quick to install and don't require them to do much thinking. Perfect for the 'British Gas' type installers with limited experience.

[OldBerkshireBoy]

As mentioned above re new boilers and showers, agree some plumbers just throw a combi in as it is easy money however without prior testing of water pressure and flow rates problems such as hot water going cold if somebody opens a cold water tap whilst you are in the shower can occur.

I am a trusted member of a good plumbers forum so if anybody is interested in learning more send me a pm and I`ll send the link to it.

[SteveO]

Our son-in-law had a combi system but, when the boiler died, he replaced it with a conventional condensing boiler and a very large hot water tank. This, sadly,  has taken some of the pleasure out of my visits as I no longer hear his shrieks and curses when he is showering and I inadvertently open a tap 

[KaptinKev]

For me combi boilers are a pain in the back side, and customers and other plumbers have agreed with me on this one. Having a basic boiler with gravity hot water system and pumped central heating with a header top up tank, is the best way to go in my opinion.

[Maxwellian]

I have had combi boilers for years now, latest is Worcester Bosh. Never had any problems. We run one shower off the latest one and with plenty of water pressure get a slight drop in flow with no change to temp. If you spec correctly you should not have a problem. Specing properly may of course tell you a combi will not suit your requirements, but fit mine perfectly