Condensing Boiler Vs Standard System (and City Council views)

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bizz1

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Hi,
We had a plumber in to qoute us on a gas fired central heating system. He quoted us for the bog standard heating system. But when we asked about the condensing boiler option he indicated that the city council don't like / approve of the condensing system due to the fact that it is plumbed directly to the mains. My brother who is a carpenter and jack of all trades reckons this is a fob off as the plumber does not want to deviate from the traditional system which he knows best?

We're based in Drimnagh..has anyone else come accross this issue and if so what were the reasons given and final course of action taken.

The flip side of the coin is is that if the mains pressure is weak for some reason then the condensing action will be poor resulting in a bad water / heating system

Thoughts / opinions etc are much appreciated

regards
 
You are mixing up two things. A condensing boiler is simply one which is very efficient and has a relatively low temperature flue exhaust (because the flue gas condenses back into liquid). A Combi (short for Combination) boiler gives almost instant hot water, and is used in a system where the hot water is at mains pressure and not stored in a hot water cylinder.

It is, of course, possible (and common) to have a condensing combi boiler.

If you already have adequate hot water storage (i.e. a large enough tank) and if you are not bothered about getting mains pressure hot water, then a standard (i.e non-combi) condensing (or non condensing) boiler would be fine. All things being equal, a condensing boiler is of course more efficient.

Bear in mind that if you instal a combi boiler, you may need to replumb more parts of your existing hot water supply as well as your central heating.

If your plumber doesn't appreciate that combi and condensing are two separate attributes, I would be a little reluctant to use him, or to be a little fairer, I would be slow to hire him to do anything other than the 'standard' set-up with which he is familiar.
 
bizz1 said:
Hi,
We had a plumber in to qoute us on a gas fired central heating system. He quoted us for the bog standard heating system. But when we asked about the condensing boiler option he indicated that the city council don't like / approve of the condensing system due to the fact that it is plumbed directly to the mains. My brother who is a carpenter and jack of all trades reckons this is a fob off as the plumber does not want to deviate from the traditional system which he knows best?

We're based in Drimnagh..has anyone else come accross this issue and if so what were the reasons given and final course of action taken.

The flip side of the coin is is that if the mains pressure is weak for some reason then the condensing action will be poor resulting in a bad water / heating system

Thoughts / opinions etc are much appreciated

regards
Click to expand...
Yes I went thru this a few months ago when I spoke to 3 different installers-2 of them on the Bord Gais list-and I was essentially talked out of the Condenser Boiler option.I just wanted to replace an old boiler that was acting up.
One guy on the list told me that you would not put a Condenser Boiler into an existing older system but rather build the system around the boiler-he went on to give technical reasons why that seemed plausible-he also indicated that he had had problems in the past with such installations.It was noticable too that the other guy on the list also became very cagey when I asked about these boilers.
I actually rang Bord Gais for a definitive answer and I got a very curt:
"We have no issues with these boilers"
In the end these guys scared me off and I went for an ordinary Micron Gloworm.
Now-there is clearly an issue with the approved installers I spoke to and Bord Gais-but apart from 1 phone call I did not have time to pursue it-maybe u will and I'd love to know how u get on.
 
If you check the key post on heating there is a lot of information on these systems
The regular boilers are only about 70% efficent while the condensing boilers are up to 90%. The website www.sedbuk.com gives a good list of the efficency ratings. The Glow Work shows at about 70-80% for some older models.

COndensing boilers are mandatory in England for new installations and upgrades. To install a regular boiler you need approval to show it is needed.

They should be more common here but perhaps Bord Gais should be pushing them more.
 
Bord Gais as I have said are promoting them but my question is why are their approved installers showing such reluctance to install them?
 
"One guy on the list told me that you would not put a Condenser Boiler into an existing older system but rather build the system around the boiler-he went on to give technical reasons why that seemed plausible-he also indicated that he had had problems in the past with such installations."

It appears either that you were unlucky enough to have the same plumber as OP or there is widespread confusion out there as to what exactly a condensing boiler is. It is perfectly possible to slot a non-combi condensing boiler into a 'standard' central heating installation, and it would require no extra work compared to the Micron Gloworm.
 
We had a similar experience

On and off we have used the same plumber for over 15 years.

A couple of years ago our gas boiler started acting up & I decided to replace it with a condensing boiler rather than pay for spares & a body to fix the old one.

Plumber tried to talk me out of it.

I was having none of it & ordered a Vokera from Chadwicks

Plumber turns up & connects it up

Turn on.

Works first time.

When plumber see the condensate streaming out his jaw drops

Turned out he had never installed a condensing boiler before

I suspect there are many more like him
 
On reflection, perhaps my earlier comments are a little harsh on the plumbers of Ireland. Certainly, my own profession has some of the same problems. When I was an apprentice solicitor, in the '80s, the boss used to hand probate files to me, complaining that he didn't like dealing with them since 'That New Succession Act' - which had been enacted in 1965.

People don't like change, and I suppose we should try to make allowances for this.
 
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