Central heating.

[lozz]

Hello.
anyone anything about combi-boilers on here?
our central heating boilers fubard.. its blown another pcb board (siemens crap) theyre two hundread quid a throw
and its on its 3rd and last one,
boiler was a heat only jobbie made by potterton,. runs with 3 tanks in the loft and 1 large copper immersion tank
do combi-s run with these tanks or do they need taking out,

[kevtherev]

Combi boilers don't need the tanks so they will go.
combi works by heating the water as you use it so as soon as a hot tao is on it will heat that water and when switched off so does the boiler. much more energy efficient . we currently have an old gas back boiler which is thirsty but while it works i can't justify getting rid.
If the tank is copper and not one of these reinforced plastic jobbas don't let the plumbers take it!! Weigh that in ya self

[lozz]

Cheers mate.
iwas hoping to leave it all where it is but ah well,

The old boiler was good but everywinter so far its burnt a pcb board out so icarnt justify keeping it
plus its mega hungry - upto 60 quid a week to run the thing.

the tank is copper, its probably worth frig all tho so iwill let the pikeys have it along with the boiler

[scotty73]

If you drain it all off surely you could leave it there if it's to much agro to remove it?

It's basically hot water when you need it unlike the old immersion tanks that heat up gallons of water in one go.

[steve_earwig]

I'd have thought a copper hot water tank would be worth a fair bit, enough to make it worth weighing in anyway. I'd expect the scrappers know the value of limescale though...

Are they metal or plastic tanks? Why 3 of them? I guess one must be for the c/h but the other one? I know you live in a mansion but...

[lozz]

The copper boiler will come/rip out easy.
its just the other tanks one is metal and the other two a massive things.
idont fancy leaving them up there but imight have too.

after doing some research, im going to have to loose a radiator or two also. combi aint man enough to run this
Victorian shed. and its the biggest combi icouid find made by some company called BIASI

[lozz]

Idont know why theres 3 tanks steve,
been told years ago the house was running Arga's oil fired so the tanks might be meant for that
theyre still plumbed in tho

even the plumber don't know, he rekons the plumbing is industrial not domestic.
the pipes for the rads are mild steel not far off as thick as scaffold tube

[scotty73]

Idont know why theres 3 tanks steve,
been told years ago the house was running Arga's oil fired so the tanks might be meant for that
theyre still plumbed in tho

even the plumber don't know, he rekons the plumbing is industrial not domestic.
the pipes for the rads are mild steel not far off as thick as scaffold tube

Hang on are you Freddy Krueger? i have a vision of you living in the basement of an old boiler house with escaping steam wearing a red and green striped jumper scaring the bajesus out of school kids in their sleep.

[Welly]

This PCB that keep blowing, have you checked the board for dry joints? I fixed my PCB about 4 years ago with a blob of solder!

Have a look on "keep the heat on" website for spares prices - it might pay you to just fix what's there to get you through the winter until you can get a *very* detailed look at replacing the main items (imagine buying a boiler only to find it can't manage the load).

[lozz]

This PCB that keep blowing, have you checked the board for dry joints? I fixed my PCB about 4 years ago with a blob of solder!

Have a look on "keep the heat on" website for spares prices - it might pay you to just fix what's there to get you through the winter until you can get a *very* detailed look at replacing the main items (imagine buying a boiler only to find it can't manage the load).

ive solderd them that many times its unreal.
its just a Garbage boiler that frys them, ihad it running briefly last night it tried to fire up then the board locked out
its completely f*c**d (ifeel sorry for anyone that's got apotterton boiler.theyre going to have a cold or expensives winter )

picked up the new combi and bought all the bits from plumbers merchant just gotta wait for mr plumber to have aday off work
so he can come and fit it withought mr v.a.t man and big boss knowing

[lozz]

Idont know why theres 3 tanks steve,
been told years ago the house was running Arga's oil fired so the tanks might be meant for that
theyre still plumbed in tho

even the plumber don't know, he rekons the plumbing is industrial not domestic.
the pipes for the rads are mild steel not far off as thick as scaffold tube

Hang on are you Freddy Krueger? i have a vision of you living in the basement of an old boiler house with escaping steam wearing a red and green striped jumper scaring the bajesus out of school kids in their sleep.

nah not me
ive got a cellar but ionly go down there when irealy have too even the spiders don't go down there

[GingerMagic]

Just to throw in my 2p's worth - I recently replaced my old boiler ( the house one, not the bedroom one ) and has a gas range cooker installed.

Now, I guess my old boiler was crap because once the new boiler was in, along with the range, my gas bills went down...

Boiler was £450 and it was a straight swap - no messing around with tanks etc. It may not be as efficient as a combi but it is less trouble and still much better than the old one.

[Doggy]

You don't need a combi boiler and given the choice, I wouldn't have one.
You need a damn good reason to justify not having a condensing boiler, (almost impossible), but it doesn't need to be a combi.

From what I've heard Biasi are worth avoiding.

Normal tankage would be:

1. Indirect hot water tank,
2. Domestic header tank, (provides the 'head' to push the hot water out of 1. to the upstairs taps).
3. Central heating header / overflow vent.

[lozz]

Iwas told different mate.
the chap iknow that does the plumbing jobs works for Housing association/council
theyre using Biasi. and the Breakdown rate on these units seem fair.
he recommended getting one,. but knowing my luck who knows

[grasmere59]

I work on commercial boilers but dabble from time to time with domestics,i wouldn't have a combi in the house,at least with still having a hot water cylinder if the boiler fails you can switch on the immersion and still have hot water,if a combi fails you have nowt.My boiler in my house is over 20 yrs old and I made it up from secondhand bits then and it's still chugging along happily,the most expensive part on it if it did ever go wrong is about £70. O.k it might use a bit more gas than a combi/condensing boiler but the cost of repairing/ replacing it/altering the pipework etc far outweighs the savings.