I have lived in my house for 32 Years and still have the same boiler Ideal Standard E Type and works fine but Her indoors wants the Kitchen re done and so the boiler has to go. I understand that I need to get a Combi but I want one that will have a good long life and as trouble free as this one has been. Any comments would be appreciated and I thank you in Advance. Cheers all.

Yan, February 2010

You do NOT have to get a combi - you have to get a condensing boiler and all boilers sold today - Combi or not Combi are condensing boilers - waste heat is used to partially warm the water.

A combi is good for a small house and delivers mains pressure water to the hot taps. A combi is easier to install in a new house because it requires no loft tanks and pipes. Not necessarily so if it's a replacement boiler.

A combi is more complex than a regular boiler and will therefore be less relaible. A combi does not need a hot water storage tank and therefore you lose the the protection of an immersion heater for hot water. A combi can have problems filling a bath quickly - 20 minutes is not unheard of.

I would never consider a combi. Others think they're OK.

In many trade forums engineers speak well of Worcester Bosch boilers. Any new boiler may well require a new gas pipe to be run to it - the regulations now require 22mm rather than 15mm gas pipe - this may add to the cost.

Expect to pay at least £3000 for a new boiler - unless you go with British Gas when it will probably be double.

Reading on here many people seem to have problems with Wireless-operated room-thermostats. Quite why anybody would want one of these things is a mystery to me. Overly complex, unreliable and with no particular advantage to the user.

Consider TRVs on your radiators when the work is done - add £200 or so.

Good luck...

Peccavi, February 2010