Boilers

Here you will find a range of the top branded domestic boilers like Main, Potterton and Vaillant. The most popular type of boiler are the combination boilers. Due to regulation all new boilers fitted must be condensing boilers. A condensing boiler is also called a high efficiency boiler as they ensure that the least amount of gas is used. The main benefit as they give you instant hot water as well heat your radiators for you without taking up that much space. The downfall is that if two hot water taps are turned on at the same time the flow of hot water or the water pressure is reduced. The larger the power of the combi boiler the more this effect is reduced. The power of the boiler is normally measured in kilowatts (or KW for sort) Most manufactures use the kilo watts of the boiler as part of the product name. For Example; Vaillant ecotec pro 24. The 24 means 24kw here and would be able to power any thing up to a 3 bedroom house with 1 bathroom. A larger house would require a larger boiler.Another type of boiler is called a system boiler. The way this works is that it heats up your radiators for your heating and for your hot water, a large tank (sold separately) called a cylinder is heated up and would feed all of the taps shower and baths in your house. Normally you would use a programmer to tell the boiler when you need hot water. There is no drop in pressure when using this type of system boiler but this option is not ideal if you are limited for space as you need to fit a boiler and a cylinder. If you use up all the hotwater in the cylinder then you need to wait about 20 minutes for the water to heat up again. The cylinders store a lot of water and if you buy the right size it shouldn't run out. The last and least common type of boiler are the heating only boilers, also called conventional system boilers or open vent boilers. They work the same way as the system boilers as explained above but the main difference is that the water in your cylinder is filled by an additional tank which is normally in the loft. This third tank must be above the cylinder to feed water into it. This system can be used for a quick replacement for an existing boiler without changing much pipework. Or if your mains pressure is low. Normal system boilers have a pipe that goes directly from it from the mains water pipe. All boilers need what is called a flue. It is a special pipe that connects to your boiler and takes out the carbon monoxide and other dangerous gases outside. Flue pipes can go straight up vertically or go out to the side horizontally. Plume kits are also available which go on the end of the flue and help clear the gases from windows and doors. The prices here are all without the flue and need to be bought separately dependant on your situation. Please look at the section boiler packs which show the prices of all boilers with a flue pipe.