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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Combi boiler or conventional?

45 replies

Vole3 · 17/02/2014 07:07

Ok, not strictly AIBU, but I am in a bit of a quandary as to which way to go to replace old gas boiler that went phutt at the weekend.
Must say I'm glad we have an immersion heater for the water!

Opinions please

OP posts:
KissesBreakingWave · 17/02/2014 07:55

Combi. Can you even still get traditional boilers?

Joysmum · 17/02/2014 08:27

Combi, no water tank and more efficient.

Dawndonnaagain · 17/02/2014 08:29

We had a combi. Okay, hot water whenever you require it, but if somebody turns a tap on when you're in the shower, heavens you know about it!

CrohnicallyFarting · 17/02/2014 08:31

We don't have that problem with our combo boiler dawndonna in fact, my parents' conventional boiler was worse.

vj32 · 17/02/2014 08:32

We've got a new combi (about 2 weeks old!). My parents have an old one and have to wait quite a while for hot water. Ours really is nearly instant - certainly no longer to wait than the traditional boiler it replaced. We paid for a good one though.

youmakemydreams · 17/02/2014 08:34

The part of me that loves hot baths says conventional.
Yes combi is instant hot water and more efficient but I hate running a bath from one. They are usually set at a maximum temp and take ages to run any kind of bath and they are always quirky. Turn the tap on too far or not far enough you aren't getting the right pressure to get the hot water running through.

gnoomi · 17/02/2014 08:34

Depends how big your system is. If you have a biggish house/ a couple of bathrooms you'll need a vented condensed system as combis don't have enough capacity. The new systems are much more efficient than the old boilers.

FranSanDisco · 17/02/2014 08:36

Combi. My 70 yo mother has just swapped to one and had her immersion removed. She can't believe the constant hot water even though we've been telling her for years.

Dawndonnaagain, My shower has something fitted in it which means if the water pressure drops (someone flushing loo for example) the temperature remains the same so no cold water shocks.

Oriunda · 17/02/2014 08:38

Combi. Hot water on tap. Take out old water tank and create extra storage space. No water tank bursting and leaking everywhere.

wonkylegs · 17/02/2014 08:39

Depends on the size of your house and how you use hot water.
All boilers are condensing boilers now but you get condensing combis and condensing conventional.
We have just put in a Worcester Bosch conventional with a megaflow cylinder - we chose this for a few reasons. Our house is getting a bit big for a combi, (22 large rads) they struggle at this size/no of bath rooms/rads. Also i hated the pressure drop off on the combi when having a shower and somebody flushed the loo/put dishwasher/washing machine on.
We put in the combination above because this gave us an efficient boiler that had enough output to cope when it's very cold or has high demand and with the megaflow we got the mains pressure hot water for a fantastic shower.
The Worcester Bosch website has a good calculator which you can put the details of your house & how you use heating/HW and it will tell you what solutions are suitable.

Chippednailvarnish · 17/02/2014 08:40

Have a 2 year old combi in our three story house, no issues with running baths and showers.

Go for the highest "powered" one available for your size property and you should be fine. We have a Bosch Worcester fitted by one of their installers, if that helps?

wonkylegs · 17/02/2014 08:40

It gives you options for both types & the benefits / drawbacks of both.

Trills · 17/02/2014 08:42

Combi boiler. And ditch the immersion.

You turn the tap, wait a few seconds, ta-dah - hot water.

None of this "turning the water on" or "waiting for the tank to fill up" or "remember there's 4 people that want showers".

FluffyDavis · 17/02/2014 08:44

I'm no expert but we had a traditional boiler and megaflow system fitted a few years ago.
There are six of us showering/bathing daily and have never run out of hot water.
We can run 3 showers, taps, washing machine etc with no loss in pressure.
My dh turns the system off if we go on holiday and we can still get v.warm water when we return days later!
Modern systems are v.efficient now.

crazykat · 17/02/2014 08:48

I'd say combi. We used to leave the immersion heater on so we always had hot water. However even though we had a decent size tank I couldn't bath the DCs within an hour of DH getting home as there wouldn't be enough hot water for him to get a bath ( very mucky job so needed as soon as he gets in).

Since we've had the combi its not a problem though we use the new shower more than the bath and its always hot enough, even for DH who usually looks sunburned after a hot shower. We don't have a problem with the shower going cold if the hot tap is run downstairs, the shower is just a bit less powerful but still fine to shower.

The electric bill is also less and the gas didn't I up as much as I expected.

specialsubject · 17/02/2014 10:04

don't confuse combi with condensing. It is the latter that is almost impossible to avoid.

no combi here, but we have space for a hot water tank and hence an airing cupboard. Could still have a hot bath in a power cut, as I'd seen it coming and heated the water earlier!

just two of us but a tank lasts a day even with a power shower, as we know that a shower is give minutes not 20. It was a new boiler last year though. When we have guests the tank does four baths/showers.

Pobblewhohasnotoes · 17/02/2014 10:19

Combi. We had ours just over a year ago, instant hot water. We visit the in laws and have to have to showers in gaps due to having to wait for more water. Much prefer our combi.

We got our hot water tank taken out the airing cupboard And now have more room.

Sallyingforth · 17/02/2014 10:29

I much prefer my conventional. When our water was cut off recently we still had a tank full of hot water, and cold water in the loft.

BlackeyedSusan · 17/02/2014 10:52

conventional. combis can still be erratic with hot water flow. there is no airing cupboard to air clothes so you have to use a drier or radiators so wait 3 days. there is no back up water supply in a tank when the water goes off.

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 17/02/2014 11:46

Combi and make sure your shower is thermostatically controlled.

OhGoveUckYourself · 17/02/2014 11:49

My gas bills are much less now that I have a combi boiler and the constant hot water is great. I do agree about the reduced water flow in running a bath, it takes forever but hey, not a problem if you prefer showers.

OwlCapone · 17/02/2014 11:54

There is no airing cupboard to air clothes

If you already have an airing cupboard simply put a small radiator in it. Takes up much less space than a whopping water cylinder.

I love having hot water on demand.

BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack · 17/02/2014 11:58

Depends on how big your property is - I think combi's were originally invented for use in flats although am sure they have moved on by now.

We had a combi boiler when we bought our bungalow....hated it and missed my airing cupboard - we went back to a conventional boiler and it is so much better. I like my baths very deep and very hot and the combi just didn't cut it for me.

Original poster
Vole3 · 17/02/2014 12:18

I have 12 rads in a 4 bedroom, 1 bathroom house.
I have a lakeland heated airer so don't need the airing cupboard for drying.
I just wanted to avoid the mess (and sorting out the loft) involved in removing the tanks.

OP posts:
Nancy66 · 17/02/2014 12:30

Combis have massively improved in last decade - Worcester are probably the best and you'll get 15-18 years out of a good one.

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