Briank Posted March 3, 2007 Share Posted March 3, 2007 Our old gas combination boiler is on its last legs and we will soon have to replace it. A local firm have quoted 3000€ - 3500€ to replace it. Is this a good price (includes installation)? Also they have recommended a boiler with a ballon inside for the hot water. I can't see the point of this as with a combination boiler you only heat the water that you use. Can anyone explain the need for a ballon in a combination boiler?Many thanksBrian K (86) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fulcrum Posted March 3, 2007 Share Posted March 3, 2007 [quote user="Briank"]Our old gas combination boiler is on its last legs and we will soon have to replace it. A local firm have quoted 3000€ - 3500€ to replace it. Is this a good price (includes installation)? Also they have recommended a boiler with a ballon inside for the hot water. I can't see the point of this as with a combination boiler you only heat the water that you use. Can anyone explain the need for a ballon in a combination boiler?Many thanksBrian K (86)[/quote]I don't know whether you really want a gas boiler or maybe that's what you're used to but If you install an electric tank (cheauffe eau) instead of a combination boiler. The tank will cost max 350€ (plus an installation charge) for a 150litre and the electricity will cost around 500€ per year if heated by normal price electricity. Plus which, you don't need annual inspections with an electric tank. I don't know the cost of gas to run the combination but I don't think its that cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briank Posted March 3, 2007 Author Share Posted March 3, 2007 If we have an electric ballon we will still have to have a gas boiler for the central heating so I don't this that is the solution. The ballon in the new gas boiler will heat the water using gas as now but it stores an amount of water which presumably it keeps hot ready for use. I still cannot see the point of having this small ballon.Brian K (86) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerdesal Posted March 4, 2007 Share Posted March 4, 2007 The amount of stored hot water in the combi unit will no doubt be small. You will not (presumably) be using the CH in summer, therefore why not have a chauffe-eau to give you hot water then, possibly heated overnight at cheap rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briank Posted March 4, 2007 Author Share Posted March 4, 2007 We don't really have room for a chauffe-eau. Last year from the middle of March to the middle of December the gas cost us 440€ for heating and hot water so it doesn't work out expensive. We can't see the point of the small ballon in the boiler so will probably go for an ordinary combi boiler. Can someone give us a rough idea of the cost including installation. We have 15 rads but six of them are hardly used and we only have showers.Thank you.Brian K (86) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gluestick Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 For a like-for like exchange € 3-3.500 sounds a tad expensive.A new basic boiler costs circa € 1.200 (conduit de fumée) or € 1.400 (ventouse) TVA inclusive; can't see how the fitting could cost € 2.000 including TVA?Chauffaugistes and Plombieres, however, are noted for wishing to supply top-end kit and charging accordingly: they also -naturally - tend to recommend makes on which they have the best discounts!Pays to shop around, as always, unless one is happy paying for a load of bells and whistles which only actually work if considerable - and expensive - extra kit is fitted, like flow detectors and mapped programmers and programmable thermostats.The small built-in ballon is for a "buffer" DHW supply, during times of constant demand, bearing in mind that the logic will be (Usually) switching between DHW and CH Demand, constantly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre ZFP Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 We had a combi replaced 6 years ago (a Duval boiler) for an all-in price of a bit under1000 euros. This was a like-for-like replacement so I presume the installation was very simple. It is very basic and I'm not entirely happy the way the shower works but is fine for the central heating and everything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teamedup Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 I have had experience of 'instant' and 'balloon' combi boilers in the recent past. The balloon is better for hot water. I much prefer it, especially for running a bath. And as we have natural gas, both worked out a lot cheaper than using a chauffe-eau electric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel Prett Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 Expansion.All combi's have a small "ballon" inside them you they are also 99% wall hung if you are being quoted that much and the boiler has a "ballon" in it and it is free standing it could mean its not a combi as known in England but a combi as known in France normal central heating boiler that heats water as well." Ballon eau chaude incorporé" as apose to "chauffage seul".Hope this is of help.Mel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briank Posted March 5, 2007 Author Share Posted March 5, 2007 At the moment we have a CH boiler for central heating and it heats water as we need it. This is what we would like the new one to do as well. TU you say a ballon is better for running a bath but if I remember correctly from the brochure that we were shown I wouldn't have thought that there was enough water in the incorporated ballon to fill a bath. The boiler is much the same size as our combi now so the ballon wouldn't have a very large capacity. We normally have showers so this might not be too much of a problem. However we don't want to pay for top of the range. We just want a boiler that will give us CH and instant hot water and works using a thermostat and programmer. The boiler we have now works fine but we have been told there is a problem with the circuit board and the programmer no longer controls the heating. It is fifteen years old so probably not worth repairing and a new one should be more economical to run.Thanks for all the advice.Brian K (86) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerdesal Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 If the boiler works fine and its a programmer / controller fault, would it not be easier and cheaper to replace the controller? Boiler manufacturers generally ( I think) do not manufacture their own controllers but source them outside. As I understand it a controller / programmer is basically an electronic piece of kit which gives an electrical output to tell the boiler when to switch on/off and which valves to operate when. ( You can probably tell I am not an electronics guy!!!!!).Maybe a second opinion is called for with a bit of lateral thinking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patf Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 There are some new regulations about "eco-friendly" combi boilers which specify the type you are talking about in order to be able to claim a tax allowance. The plumber needs to fill in forms to say this is what he has installed, then he gives you a copy to include with your declaration d'impots. This is how I understood it anyway. There was a discussion about this on this forum in ?Nov last. We had one installed in Nov. Price similar to the one quoted for you. Pat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teamedup Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 House in England has instant and we have to run a bath slowly to have a hot bath. I mean slowly. We get there but it takes time. In France with the balloon we just run a bath. I never have to think about running it, it just comes out hot enough. AND my does my husband like red hot baths. I don't know how it works, it just does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fussy Posted May 15, 2007 Share Posted May 15, 2007 dont know if this is the right place to ask this but we had a ecofriendly combi boiler installed last year and forgot to include it withour tax can we do it next year or have we missed out now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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