Combi or conventional boiler????

[Dapper_C]

My old Baxi back boiler (about 20 yrs old) is on its last legs and needs replacing.
For my 3 bed property, I decided on a Worcester Bosch Greenstar 30 CDI combi boiler.
In getting quotes, one plumber mentioned that my mains Flow rate was quite low at only 13 litres per minute (1.8bar). He said I should be aware that filling a bath could take longer than at present, even longer if other appliances are being used, i.e. washing machine etc.

Based on this, would I be better of upgrading to a new conventional boiler or a combi? The instant hot water from a combi is appealing but are the drawbacks worth it?

[raysparx1]

If you have the room, i would always go for conventional boiler, combis, are great while they are working, but if you have boiler and hot water cylinder at least if boiler does break down you can still use immersion heater to get hot water, others may not agree, but that is what I would do.

[The Builder]

.........there's no "correct" answer to this Dap..............matter of preference. Combis are great, but a pain if several people are tapping the system at the same time.
If your cylinder and roof tank are OK, then a boiler replacement is the cheaper option.
Also, consider an unvented system...........new cylinder full of hot water at mains pressure.............cylinders are pretty huge, and hold a lot of water..............still needs conventional boiler, but it's a more expensive system though :o(
Price versus convenience.............. :o)

[gasman]

I agree with raysparkx and the majority of CORGI engineers will back me up that the conventional system boilers are far better than combi boilers. The only reason they are so popular is because they are cheap and easy to install, compared to a system boiler and un-vented cylinder set up. The modern cylinders take only 10-15 mins to heat up and will stay very hot all day and night. so cheaper to run aswell because the boiler does not need to fire up to full rate for every minute the washing machine is on or the time it takes to draw a bath, Pots washed & showers used ETC....

[cruella]

I hate my combi boiler.
I would much rather have my old type of boiler.
The bath takes ages to fill, if at all, If someone has the hot water tap on in the kitchen, there appears to be none flowing to the bathroom.

[yummum]

i love our combi boiler we had installed over 2 years ago! the shower has never been so hot! it does change temp a little when using another source, but no complaints!!

[sense4all]

I live in a place with a healthy bar of pressure, less than two years passed before I bought a new sealed system conventional boiler to replace that 'new' combi - drove me mad. I do have a largish house but even so it was a shambolic episode.

[wee willie]

stick with the conventional
your house is already set up for it
combi are not great in my oppinion

[Twenty20]

It's a matter of personal choice. After having both systems I'd go for the combi every time. Bath does take slightly longer to fill but thats easily outweighed by the endless supply of hot water.

[Dapper_C]

Thanks for all your posts guys. Some interesting points raised there. Decisions decisions.....
I was all set for a combi and doing away with the cylinder and tank but you've given me food for thought.
I've had 5 plumbers pop in for quotes and advice. Two have recommended a conventional system based on my flow rate and 3 have said a combi would be just fine. Although, I'm not sure whether they just wanted a bigger job.
With my outlay set to be in excess of �2000, I just want to make sure I make the right choice.