I inherited a Worcester Bosch 280 boiler when bought this house recently. I find the hot water tap has to run for ages before anything like hot water appears! Is this commonplace for this type of system? An awful lot of water is wasted down the plug hole compared to my previous hot water tank system which gave almost instant hot water.

stageman, February 2011

Thanks for the answer "Carefree" which means I will have to put up with running away all that water. Just seems a waste to me - and I am paying for it through my water meter!

Stageman, February 2011

The hot water delivery generally is slower than a cylinder system, but the wastage of water is a popular misconception.
If you imagine a cylinder positioned where the boiler is now, the same physical length of pipework must be emptied of cold water before the hot comes through, it's just that a cylinder system empties that same pipework of cold water quicker therefore giving the impression that the combi is wasting water.
Ideally however, the combi should be positioned as close to the hot water usage as possible.

Carefree, February 2011