Boiler woes...shower woes...

[Myhouseisamoneypit]

When I moved into my house I noticed that my mixer tap in the bathroom (the type that you lift lever to open tap and then left/right for hot/cold) would occasionally need to be opened and closed a few times before the hot water is triggered. Now, a few months later, to trigger the hot water throughout the house I need to turn the hot water temp control to zero, open a tap and then turn the dial clockwise. The boiler is in the bathroom so if I'm in the kitchen I have to boil a kettle to wash up. Even doing this means I have to endure a lukewarm shower or bath - not ideal with 2 toddlers!

I've called my plumber who has said that whilst it can be fixed, I should consider getting a new boiler. Now my problem is I don't foresee being here for many years (hopefully). But, I need a boiler that we can depend on. My current one is a very old Baxi combi with a small red container underneath (water storage?).

I'm being driven mad by DH using water in the kitchen whilst I try to shower. I imagine I'll have to stick with a combi but is there anything that avoids the loss of water when more than one person is using it? Can anyone recommend one that's cheap but reliable?

Whilst I'm at it, the shower thermostat doesn't work - it never has. When the boiler worked I'd have to set the hot water temp on the boiler to get desired temperature on the shower. As we will have to replace the boiler we may as well think about doing the same with the shower. I eventually want to redecorate the bathroom and change the suite although I don't know if I should wait until then to change it?

We have no idea of the shower make and the valve is concealed so it will all have to be removed. Any ideas on an affordable, reliable shower? Concealed or exposed (really don't want to have to remove tiles again if it goes wrong)?

Thanks and apologies for the long winded post.

if you are looking at an electric shower they are only about £100, although obviously there will be installation and maybe wiring.

I really would replace that boiler - it is telling you that it is going to conk out and you can guarantee it will happen at the worst time possible!

Also, assuming you are the homeowner, you won't be able to sell the house without proof of the boiler being serviced. (I think, I know we had to wait on that buying our house).

I think I'm right in saying that if you are in Scotland then you can still get the £400 boiler scrapage money, but it has finished in the UK.

I will be getting a new boiler - the last thing I want is it to break down mid-winter. I'll be here for a few years so I will need a good, reliable boiler. Is this possible without having to part with a lot of money?

fill a bucket at the kitchen cold tap, time it, calculate how many litres per minute it delivers. If you have a garden tap, take the same measurement there. It will be useful to know. Tell us.

The red vessel you mention is a pressure vessel intended to keep the boiler pressure at a reasonable level instead of going up and down a lot when it goes hot and cold. If it is external to the boiler it is usually because you have a large house, or the vessel inside the boiler has failed.

Pigletjohn I will get back to you, I have 2 sick children who keep waking up...

Ok, kitchen tap at full flow delivers 22 litres per minute. I don't have a garden tap, although that is another thing to deal with (eventually).

Now, the red vessel is external and we certainly don't have a large house, it's a Victorian 2 bed terrace. It's not very large - about 30cm diameter and 40cm in length.

I've always assumed the heating was also affected, but have now tested it as it was a little chilly, it is working so it is just the hot water.

22lpm is quite good. If you look at boiler specs you will see not all have enough power to deliver that much hot water, so you could get quite a powerful to take advantage of your good water flow. Perhaps your old lead incoming water pipe has been replaced by a new plastic one already.

Most probably your old boiler is not powerful enough to give that much hot water without the temperature dropping. Probably the hot basin tap is hotter than the hot bath tap.

Or, if you have room, you could have a pressurised cylinder such as a Megaflo. Nothing else is as good, provided you have adequate flow.

You may need to have some of your old internal pipework replaced with larger if the flow to the hot taps, esp. bath, is much below the 22lpm.

Your gas pipe between the gas meter and your boiler may need to be replaced with a larger one, if it is 15mm or half inch, unless it is very short. A competent installer will assess all your pipe sizes, especially if you prompt him, and will also measure the water flow.

Baxi is not a top quality make.

There is a lot of disagreement, but Worcester Bosch is certainly one of the best. Vaillant seem to score slightly lower on reliability and customer satisfaction in the Which tests, IIRC. They do canvass thousands of members, so they ought to have a better idea than the average gasman who might visit a few hundred boilers in a year.

I have a Viessmann which is another good brand, but not so many installed in UK so you need to be sure there is at least one Approved Installer in or near your town.

Cheap and Reliable don't go together.

Thanks PigletJohn, you've been really helpful. I've not measured the basin water flow but I think it is almost as good as the kitchen whereas the bath/shower is quite slow.

The boiler is currently housed in the bathroom where it is taking up a whole floor to ceiling cupboard (I really could do with reclaiming some of that space for storage). But, I guess this means I do have the space for a Megaflow?

Is a new boiler & pipes a big job? At the moment my pipes are noisy when the water is closed at the tap and the toilet makes groaning noises

Anyone had a Megaflow installed in a small house? I say I hope to move on to somewhere larger eventually, but if that is not possible we will look into a loft conversion as we are a family of 4 in a 2 bed.

the low flow at the bath hot tap may have been arranged deliberately so that the bath water is hot enough. A low-power combi can't deliver a lot of hot water; the more water you put through it, the less hot it is. On the other hand, a bath might hold 100 litres of water, so you want to fill it quickly.

This is one of the reasons I am not an advocate of combis in all homes.

Thanks again. So would a powerful combi be as good as a Megaflow? The bath flow is really quite slow as well as the shower, would the combi improve this?

I think a Megaflo is even better, and has the advantage that you can heat it with an immersion when the boiler is out of order, or if you get solar panels.

But try to get recommendations for good local installers who will look at your needs, and your water supply, and your budget.

The bath flow depends on the capacity of the pipes inside your house, as well as the supply to your house.

Individual Bristan pillar bath taps will generally allow greater flow than a joystick mixer, if the flow is available.