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It’s a fact that there are negative myths about installing a combination boiler in your home, this article aims to Expose these ,and explain possible solutions. Lets take the “Combination Boiler Myths Exposed and Explained” and do exactly what the title describes.
Are you thinking of changing your boiler from an old vented system with an up to date ‘A’ rated combination boiler. If you’ve been put off by these myths then read on as we have got five of the most popular problems below.
1. Combination Boilers are not suitable for a large home
There is a rumour out there that the hot water output,known as flow rates, from a combination boiler is not adequate for the larger home. This is not the case and people with 5 bedroom, 1 bath and 2 shower homes are running with no issues. This all from one combination boiler alone.
There are storage combis on the market which have there own built in tank of hot water, which is preheated. So when the tap is opened the stored water is instant hot water which can also be heated . Flow rates off these boilers can be as much as 25 litres a minute.
With the output to the radiators beign as high as 42kw then this will easily heat the larger home also with no issues.
Answer to this issue :- Fit a storage combi or a power store combi.
2. Hot water takes longer to reach the taps
This was an early complaint with combination boilers but not one that we’ve come across in our years of installing. This was mainly down to incorrect sizing of boilers with the amount of mains cold water incoming to the boiler. It really takes no longer than the hot water that comes from a cylinder.
However, lots of modern boilers have a Preheat facility now that heats the hot water so its ready to be used. This ensures almost instantaneous hot water when the tap is opened .
Answer to this issue : – Fit a combination boiler with a Preheat Facility
3. Filling a Bath Takes Longer With a Combi Boiler
Combination boilers come in different size outputs- pretty much like cars have different sized engines. They look the same from the outside but some have more power than others. Each output gives you a different hot water water flow rate. Ideally The Boiler needs matching with the incoming cold water supply .
This rumour is still doing the round after all these years, it is true when combi boilers are not sized correctly to the incoming mains cold water supply. Or if the combination boiler fitted gives less hot water flow rate than the customer had from there old system.
So if you have the incoming mains water flow , then if the combi boiler is matched accordingly then the bath filling should be fine .
Examples – Generally a 24kw combi boiler will give you 10 litres per minute of hot water. Whilst a 30 KW combi boiler can give up to 13 litres of hot water per minute.
Answer to this issue – Have a larger output combi fitter with a higher hot water flow rate.
4. Immersion heater has now gone so i don’t have a hot water back up.
This is true but there are now longer warranties and these combi boilers and they are far more reliable than the very first combi’s. Most boilers now come with warranties of at least five years with some manufacturers offering 15 years.
These warranties are now offered as manufacturers are so confident in there tried and tested boilers and that they wont let you down. We fit boilers by Ideal, Vaillant, Glow worm and Vokera . These have been fitted by us for a long while and have proven to be reliable and able to suit all budgets.
Answer to this issue – Buy the boilers with longer warranties
5. My incoming water pressure is poor so i cant have a combination boiler fitted .
This is issue can be in a number of places , here are a few examples – your incoming water supply pipe has been damaged, in a block of flats and your house is last on the supply line, or the main supply pipe feeds numerous houses and again you’re last on the line .
Let me explain what i mean by “last on the line”. If youre in a block of 20 flats that are all supplied by one 42mm main supply line. If ,at 8am, in the morning everyone turns a shower on and your the last tapping off the pipe then your water supply will be affected and have less pressure and flow rate.
These may be able to be sorted by contacting your water supplier as they are obliged to provide you with water at a certain pressure and/or flow rate.
Answer to this issue – It can sorted by using a mains cold water booster pump or contacting your supplier , or in extreme cases a cold water break tank.
Conclusion
From the above it can be seen that most of the issues can be over come if your system is designed and thought about correctly. Usually there is a solution which can suit every household and work for you. It is worth the effort as combis are the most popular boilers for heating and hot water . They can also be called the most convenient.
BHW heating hope this has helped you if you were wondering about whether to have a combi boiler fitted or not.
If you have any concerns about wheter a combi boiler is right for you or not then please contact us and we can arrange to come and carry out a survey at your conveniance.
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