Combi boiler replacement - Piglet John advice, please.

[ohmymimi]

Piglet John, I'd be very grateful for your advice. I live in a small, end terrace, two bedroom bungalow. My Vaillant combi boiler (in airing cupboard, with vertical flue) is being replaced next Friday as part of my Housing Association routine maintenance programme (boiler replacement at 15 year intervals). My new combi will be an Ecotech with a room thermostat (current system is TRVs only).

I'd appreciate a brief rundown of the replacement procedure you'd expect the heating engineers to follow, please. Also, what is the optimum position for the room thermostat? I have an semi open plan living room/kitchen area, so I'm assuming it would be most effective in my living room, as that frequently benefits from the extra oven heat from the kitchen? If so, would the both the TRVs on kitchen/living space rads. need to be disabled/removed (and if they go, could I have/need a TRV on the small hall rad.?

I'm concerned about how the work will be carried out due to the experience of a couple of elderly neighbours. One had a combi replacement for a hot water tank; the combi has been placed sideways on in the airing cupboard, the controls are only viewable/accessible by a skinny, agile person getting into to the a.c. The other had the room thermostat fitted in a largish hall, which is has no rad. and is the coolest area of the bungalow.

[PigletJohn]

The room stat must be in a room with a radiator that is turned on, so most often in the main living room. It should be in a room that does not have other sources of heat such as a stove or a big cooker, because they will trick it into thinking the house is warm.

The room with the stat should have no TRVs, or they should have their heads taken off, and the lockshield valves should be screwed down so it is the slowest room to warm up.

The boiler you mention that is sideways on was probably not installed in accordance with the manufacturers instructions, which probably specify access space for maintenance and repair. This is incorrect and grounds for a complaint. You can look up the installation instructions online.

[ohmymimi]

Many thanks, Piglet John. I've downloaded the installation instructions. I'd already suggested my neighbour speaks to her housing officer about the boiler positioning.