Combi Boiler for a 4 bed house?

[4yearsnosleep]

We just had a local plumber round to discuss the work that we need on our extension. Our current boiler is 18 years old and likely not up to coping with the new underfloor heating.

I figured we would just replace ours with another standard boiler, however he has recommended at Viessman 111 26kw storage combination boiler. He has fitted several on our street (he lives on our street) and has said that they're more efficient and can easy cope with 2 showers at once. I admit losing the tanks in the loft and airing cupboard is appealing, plus it would improve the pressure of the showers.

What are your thoughts? Yay or nay? Are there any downsides to the Combi?

Thank you

We have Worcester combi boiler in a 4 bed house and it is absolutely great . The Viessman 111 26kw storage has great reviews from tooltalk.experttrades.com/viessmann-vitodens-111-w-dhw-storage-combi I don't think you can go wrong really OP.

My friend has a combi (not storage) and doesn't really have anything good to say about it..... but they can't run 2 showers at once, they can't use a shower pump (they have poor water flow) & they have solar panels that can't be used to heat it.....

It's a big investment cash wise (I was hoping to do the boiler after the extension as it's running fine at the moment, but if we switch to a combi, it would mean quite a lot of disruption which I'd rather do alongside the extension. Plus our boiler is 18 years old so probably should be replaced ....

I can't honestly say anything bad about our boiler tbh. I had a back boiler years ago which was great but we had to store the hot water in the tank and the difference in the hot water being on tap is immense. I wouldn't want solar panels because I worry they are going to fly off the roof (taking half the roof with it) on a windy day lol. Our boiler was about 20 yrs old when we had it changed and I would recommend a combi to anyone. Have a look at some reviews first and try the Money saving expert site . They will be able to reassure you l am sure OP. Good Luck!

Try in here OP forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=39

Thank you 😊

We had a combi in our last house, it was great and coped with 6 people and three bathrooms. I would definitely recommend one

I have a 4 bedroom 2 bathroom house with a combi boiler and love it.

I hate water storage tanks, having to regularly heat water that you might not use up and potentially running out of hot water if you so use it all up.

We’ve had combis for nearly 35 years - a Vaillant first, for about 30 years, & now a Worcester Bosch, which is way more efficient.

The 2-showers-at-once (2-anything-at-once really) was more of an issue with the old one - running the kitchen taps used to almost shut down the shower altogether. It’s much less of a problem now, & also we have a thermostatic mixer on the bath so even if the flow does reduce the temp stays the same pretty much.

And never running out of hot water is wonderful, esp at times like Christmas when we have 6+ people here!

Also you can drink the water from any of the cold taps, & yes, mains shower pressure is fab 😊

Thank you for all the good reviews. Seems like a great option

We have a combi in a 2 bathroom 4 bed house with underfloor heating but it is a very big boiler. Don’t think a smaller combi designed for a smaller house would be up to the job. Definitely do some research

The one we've been recommended is pretty huge, it'll effectively take up the same space as the hot water tank in the airing cupboard

I hate my combi boiler. If this was our forever home I would be ripping it out and putting in a hw tank again. Strangely all the new builds by us are no longer being installed with combis but he tanks.

We are in a 4 bed with a Worcester combi which is apparently more than adequate for our size of home according to 3 different ch engineers.
I am thankful I'm not on a meter as we waste gallons of water just waiting for warm to reach the taps. Forget ever washing your hands in warm water ever again unless you have several minutes to wait and watch cold water flow down your sink.

Wasps do you have an eco setting on? With that switched on, takes a bit of time for the hot water to reach taps. With it off, there seems to be a small store of water kept hot and it’s instant to the taps.