Gripe of the day - What is yours?

[SV650rules]

Originally Posted by svenrico

Just pointing out that a combi boiler ,which doesn't require a cold water tank in the roof space, is a different thing to a condensing boiler.

Combi boilers and system boilers are both condensing..
https://boilerhut.co.uk/condensing-or-combi-boiler/

We have a Vaillant condensing system boiler linked to an unvented ( pressurised ) Heatrae Megaflo hot water tank, which is the Rolls Royce of home systems. You get as much instant hot water as you need even if you turn every tap on in the house at the same time. Also hot and cold water are at the same pressure ( normally set to 3 bar / 45 PSI ) so power showers are not a problem. We don't need any cold water header / expansion tanks in loft either - Combi boilers are OK for small houses and flats, but are far more maintenance intensive and complicated than system boilers ( the hot to cold water heat exchanger gets bunged up just like your kettle ). A pressurised water tank costs more to begin with, but they are trouble free and high flow, and with the standard of insulation on modern tanks the heat loss in minute, and anyway any heat lost helps to heat the house.

[Dave20046]

Originally Posted by SV650rules

Combi boilers and system boilers are both condensing..
https://boilerhut.co.uk/condensing-or-combi-boiler/

We have a Vaillant condensing system boiler linked to an unvented ( pressurised ) Heatrae Megaflo hot water tank, which is the Rolls Royce of home systems. You get as much instant hot water as you need even if you turn every tap on in the house at the same time. Also hot and cold water are at the same pressure ( normally set to 3 bar / 45 PSI ) so power showers are not a problem. We don't need any cold water header / expansion tanks in loft either - Combi boilers are OK for small houses and flats, but are far more maintenance intensive and complicated than system boilers ( the hot to cold water heat exchanger gets bunged up just like your kettle ). A pressurised water tank costs more to begin with, but they are trouble free and high flow, and with the standard of insulation on modern tanks the heat loss in minute, and anyway any heat lost helps to heat the house.

I remember when combi's became law for new installations and a lot of people rushed out to buy the old type. Sounds like they were onto something, what are your bills like?
I'm just weighing up flow rates actually and difference between a combi that can run 1 shower and 2 is quite a lump £ . Think I'll run the odds only one shower will ever be going at once.

[SV650rules]

Our DD with Octopus is £98 a month, we also use gas for cooking and our gas bill in summer is +/- £13 a month, winter or summer our electric bill hardly varies from around £50 a month ( and every light bulb is LED ). Remember that is for a 5 bed house with 2 showers and room thermostats set to 21degC. Combi boilers became popular mainly because of their perceived efficiency, but any condensing boiler nowadays is around the 90% mark, builders like them because they took up less space than a conventional boiler, but if your combi breaks down you get no hot water, with a hot water tank you get stored water and the ability to use an electric immersion heater until the cowboy ( sorry heating engineer ) arrives to relieve you wallet of its contents. There is a lot to think about these days when deciding on a boiler, and out-and-out efficiency is not the only thing, ongoing cost of ownership and reliability are big factors compared to maybe saving a few % on your gas bill.

https://www.boilerguide.co.uk/articl...iler-pros-cons

https://www.thegreenage.co.uk/should...-with-a-combi/

[Craig380]

Originally Posted by SV650rules

We have a Vaillant system boiler with unvented hot water tank ( fitted by builders 23 years ago when they built the house ) had to have 3 new fans fitted ( builders fitted it with flue sloping back towards boiler, which meant condensed water continually dripping back into boiler onto top of heat exchanger case - flashing into steam and making the fan bearings go rusty - the bearings you can get from pretty much anywhere for about £5 but plastic fan is glued onto its shaft and you need to destroy it to remove it ) fans cost about £200, easy to fit though.

When I figured out what was happening I reversed the slope on the horizontal bit of flue to let the water drip outside - the fan is still running quiet so fingers crossed.

Heh, we have a 20-year-old boiler on a gravity feed system with header tank. For the past 10 years I've been taking the casing off and lubricating the bronze fan bearings twice per year with a little gear oil. Keeps it running smooth and quiet

[SV650rules]

@Craig 380.

Tried doing that on vaillant but they are steel ball bearings, just shielded not even sealed. They are impossible to get to even with fan assembly out of boiler - the acidic fumes just sent them rusty, I had to pretty much destroy the fan to get to bearings, and although they they are cheap as chips there is no way the fan will ever go back together.

[DJ123]

Originally Posted by Dave20046

Cannot bring myself to do that, they ripped off my gran (8k for a rebadged Ideal boiler? which spent most of the first two years not operating until they finally gave up on warranty and had a local fitter out who found a problem with the installation) and took me to court over a gas supply billing error that was entirely their own fault.

Ouch. Fair doos on not using them for those issues.

[Adam Ef]

Woman reversed into my bike parked outside the shop at work today. I shouted and tapped on her window and told her she was backing into it. She looked at me and then continued to reverse. Then got out. I pointed out that she was pushing my bike and she responded with "I know... that's why I got out of my car!" Made no sense at all. She had loads of space in front of her. Luckliy I stopped her at the point she'd forced the front wheel into a full right lock as a second later and it would have been on it's side. The one day recently I've decided not to cycle to give myself an easier journey and the roads were mayhem full of people pulling out without looking everywhere and then this just after I got there. Next time I'll be cycling again hidden away on the the old Railway Path cycle track away from the herds of morons.

[SV650rules]

Logic has never been womens strong point...

[Adam Ef]

My daughter is amazingly logical.

[Dave20046]

Originally Posted by DJ123

Ouch. Fair doos on not using them for those issues.

Cheers appreciate the boilers may be better these days (that was 5 years ago) but they were a (nasty) brickwall about the 'debt', it came about from a £43 underpayment on a homemove because they used an estimate (dated after my move-out date) instead of the actual readings I gave them,by phone, on the evening of the move. It spiralled, because despite it being a homemove for some reason they were sending the bill to both the address I had vacated and also their own head quarters for some reason (where someone signed for a letter to prove it had been delivered ). Even though I knew I was right and could have (and probably should have) paid the £43 I didn't owe for an easier time it was slightly stressful when the bailiffs kept turning up. I have phone recordings of them assuring me the bailiffs should never have been called for a disputed debt and had been called off ...they still came again the following week.
I pity any vulnerable people caught up in that.

For that reason, even though there's a possibility others are as bad I urge everyone to go to anyone else - Bulb or Octopus supply cheaper and more renewable energy. Ovo customer service is much better.