Combi Boiler vs Hot water Cylinder

[mikemikemi]

You house sounds very similar to mine, 3 bed semi with open plan living room/dining room.

I've just had a combi put in on Monday, worst time of year for it (coldest day so far). Went with a bosch as they come highly recommended.

Anyway, the new boiler plus a radiator/system flush has done wonders to the warm of house. I opted against the tank as I prefer the option of having hot water on demand as opposed to heating a tank.

I agree with OiD, my plumber also noted that the water pressure off your main feed is the deciding factor. You can up your pressure though as there should be a valve where the main feed comes in.

[spiral out]

10L a minute doesn't sound great but should provide a decent shower with a combi, but it does depend on the actual water pressure if that is to low then it won't be any good.

[Saracen]

When our boiler packed up, oh brother was I thankful for a cylinder and immersion heater, as it took several weeks to get the new boiler .... and 3.5 days of work for the plumbers to install it, as it had to be moved because building regs had changed. Grrr!

At least, with the cylinder, we had hot water, and a couple of halogen heaters provided basic room heat. Otherwise, December with no heating or hot water would not have been much fun.

For me, unless there's a very convincing reason to go combi (like no place to put a cylinder) it's cylinder every time. It also makes for a mice, toasty airing cupboard for the washing.

[Saracen]

....

You see, the water in the loop of copper pipe, that goes into the boiler and then into the tank to jheat the take, is the same water.. it stays in a loop all bar any minor leaks, which are refilled by header tank. The hot PIPE heats the water.... the water itself conducts heat via the pipe coil in the tank.

....

Minor pedantic point .... not all systems use a header tank. Mine, for instance, is a sealed, pressurised system. If there's any minor leaks (and we did have one, drip by drip from a dodgy valve) the pressure slowly drops. In which case, open a pair of valves, re-pressurise to the required level, and then, as soon as convenient, get the leak fixed. I check pressure every few weeks, and maybe once or twice a year it needs a minor top-up.

[muddyfox470]

My current set up is a Grant Combi Boiler [Oil] and 6 radiators in what is now a 2 bed semi. I had to start from scratch, put all new plumbing throughout, along with the CH. Only thing that really made up my mind was to create the space for the hot water cylinder.

If I had to do my central heating again I would...

Get a service boiler, which tends to mean a smaller boiler unit and a separate hot water cylinder with an immersion heater, so if your gas goes off [or your boiler breaks] for whatever reason you have still got hot water. The problem is that having a seperate hot water cylinder is that you will have to put in extra pipes and find a second space for both bits of equipment.

It all depends on personal preference, but a hot water tank can serve multiple taps without too much loss of pressure unlike the combi. I get a reduction in hot pressure when cold is running elsewhere, with a hot water tank you wouldn't get this.

Just my 2p

[Having just read other posts I gues sthis just echoes what Saracen said, this advice has come from my hindsight and colleagues advice of building their house from scratch]

[mikemikemi]

When our boiler packed up, oh brother was I thankful for a cylinder and immersion heater, as it took several weeks to get the new boiler .... and 3.5 days of work for the plumbers to install it, as it had to be moved because building regs had changed. Grrr!

At least, with the cylinder, we had hot water, and a couple of halogen heaters provided basic room heat. Otherwise, December with no heating or hot water would not have been much fun.

For me, unless there's a very convincing reason to go combi (like no place to put a cylinder) it's cylinder every time. It also makes for a mice, toasty airing cupboard for the washing.

LOL, ditching the cylinder was one of the reasons we switched to a combi, we replaced it with a small radiator, loads more room in the airing cupboard now.