Combi Boiler - Eliminate electric shower needs?

Howdy folks.

I'll be as brief as I can here;

Building an extension and revamping a few parts of the house in the process. As part of the extension i stuck on a bit of space for an extra bathroom/shower, and for the hot water tank to go.

Hot water tank is currently on the 1st floor and i want to move it to the extension on the ground floor. Got a price of €1,900 to do so from a plumber. Idea was to move it so i could use the room it takes up on the 1st floor as a storage room, or knock into it down the line to free up space.

This plumber then does a lot of no-showing and so I get another plumber instead to quote for the same job.

New plumber explains he can quote me, but I'm just 'moving old shite around' and that I'm best to get rid of the tank altogether and get a combi boiler (I already have a gas boiler but only really for heating).

He suggests a new 32kw combi boiler and says it'll defeat the need for electric showers etc as i have decent water pressure anyway.

Prices me at €4,200 for the new boiler and also to first-fix the extension (kitchen, bathroom etc), but i can claim a €750 SEAI grant. I like his approach, he seems level headed and i reckon he makes sense.


However, I've never had a combi boiler before and until he mentioned it, i never even knew it was a thing. So I suppose what I'm wondering is, can anyone here tell me if a combi boiler is as good as i'm lead to believe? I'll have 2 showers in the house, but very unlikely both will ever be used at the same time. I have a bath, too, which is used occasionally.

I like the combi boiler idea because getting rid of the water tank altogether will mean I can stick a bigger bathroom downstairs (as i was sacrificing space for the water tank, but that'll be in the bin, now). This really appeals to me.

However, a combi boiler sounds just marginally too good to be true from the way he described it, and as the old saying goes...


So I was wondering if anyone could nudge me in the right direction or give a little advice here?


Sorry for the long post.

Cheers

K.Flyer

In a nutshell, a well set up gas combi boiler with water supply pressures and flow rates set up correctly are the absolute "dog's".
The problem is getting someone who knows exactly how they are meant to be set up and doing the job right.
More often a cold water supply tank feeding a pump which in turn feeds the boiler and services is the reliable way to go.

1983ish

I put in a combi when we renovated and it’s brilliant. Only downside is if your in the shower and someone runs a tap it’ll divert the hot water.
Building regulations say you should have a 200 odd litre storage tank but that defeats the purpose of having a combi.
Instant hot water is a real plus

The suitability of a combi is dependent on the original installation its being fitted to.

Combis were originally designed for flats and only found their way in to houses as the technology got better but the hot water performance of a modern combi can leave some larger homeowners displeased as it's not what they thought it would be.

On a combi installation I would first want to know exactly what my water working pressure is as that is the deciding factor not forgetting cold taps being opened can effect hot water performance. With low incoming mains some installers will fit break tanks and pumps which I'm not a fan of but can work.

A larger gas line may be required

I'v always fitted a electric shower along with a combi as having a secondary source of hot water is important, I would look at the distance between the taps and the boiler as long pipe runs can make using a combi difficult, .

I think a combi to feed all the hot taps and showers you have could prove to be difficult, you may have to compromise your use of hot water, which a lot of home owners are happy to do.

Personally I would stick to stored hot water which gives a better platform to give you hot water without compromise and would have a immersion back up if ever your boiler failed.

whosedaddy?

Hi gary71.

pretty much in same boat as OP. To combi boiler or not to combi boiler.
Is there a way to find out the water pressure yourself? And what would you consider sufficent.
On the topic of pumps. I have seen/heard various examples of very noisy pumps in the past, and i wouldn't want any of those.

I like the idea of combi boiler for hot water on tabs, I like the idea of NOT having a noisy electric pump shower in my bathroom, but replacing this with a noisy pump whining every time someone opens a tap or showers, makes me uncomfortable. (unless its ouside in a boiler house and mostly annoys the neighbours)

@1983ish, where in the building regs does it say that about the 200l storage tank?

/Daz

Sleeper12

whosedaddy? wrote:

@1983ish, where in the building regs does it say that about the 200l storage tank?

In Dublin you have to have a storage tank. I'm not sure about the rest of the country. I think in Dublin you are to have a storage tank large enough to store your water needs for 24 hours.

There are some great quiet water pumps on the market now. Ours is inches from my head as I sleep, just on the other side of a stud partition. My daughter showers early every morning and it does not wake me up.

whosedaddy?

Sleeper12 wrote: »

In Dublin you have to have a storage tank. I'm not sure about the rest of the country. I think in Dublin you are to have a storage tank large enough to store your water needs for 24 hours.

There are some great quiet water pumps on the market now. Ours is inches from my head as I sleep, just on the other side of a stud partition. My daughter showers early every morning and it does not wake me up.

Yeah on the cold water side.
I wasn't sure whether 1983ish referred to a hot water tank. As he linked it to the instant hot water.

Any makes you could PM me in case public recommendations are not ok here.

Sleeper12

I don't do gas but plenty here will be able to recommend.

Edit: I just realised that you were talking about the pumps. I have a Stuart Turner 3 bar brass body pump. It a Monsoon. Excellent quiet pump and comes with a 5 year warranty

whosedaddy?

whosedaddy? wrote: »

Hi gary71.

pretty much in same boat as OP. To combi boiler or not to combi boiler.
Is there a way to find out the water pressure yourself? And what would you consider sufficent.
On the topic of pumps. I have seen/heard various examples of very noisy pumps in the past, and i wouldn't want any of those.

I like the idea of combi boiler for hot water on tabs, I like the idea of NOT having a noisy electric pump shower in my bathroom, but replacing this with a noisy pump whining every time someone opens a tap or showers, makes me uncomfortable. (unless its ouside in a boiler house and mostly annoys the neighbours)

@1983ish, where in the building regs does it say that about the 200l storage tank?

/Daz

Combis when fitted correctly in the right environment are a beautiful thing but when fitted incorrectly are a hindrance.

The first time I saw a Combi I’d be happy to fit in a House was a 38kw boiler that could run two taps at once full bore with steam coming from both taps but I’d still be worried about the distance between the boiler and the furthest tap as opening and closing the tap changes the temperature of the water leaving the boiler which can get a bit confusing due to the distance/time delay to the furthest tap.

I don’t understand a large break tank/pump being fitted with a Combi as it limits the amount of hot water when the whole selling point is unlimited hot water.

To answer your question on water pressure I’d go back to my point on two taps being opened with little or no drop off in pressure/flow if you do find it drops off it can drive you to drink.