Big boiler recommendations and installers in South Cambs?

[AstonZagato]

I have a large boiler. When I bought the house 18 years ago, it was a floor mounted thing that was the size of a large chest freezer. We replaced it about 8 years ago with a Keston C110 (it apparently kicks out 110Kw). It consumes industrial levels of gas (I'm not kidding - when I try to "compare the market" I get errors telling me that we can't possibly use that amount of gas).

It started going wrong after a year and has malfunctioned consistently every few months.

It has just been condemned! The service engineer has slapped a DON NOT USE sticker on it and disappeared.

DON'T EVER BUY A KESTON.

So what are the current best boilers out there that are man enough for our needs?

Any good people in the South Cambs / North Herts area that can quote?

[AstonZagato]

Thanks.

It's a Georgian house with 8,000ft2, high ceilings, drafty (but listed) windows. The architect specced the 110Kw boiler when we renovated the ground floor, so I'm guessing some informed thought went into it. Our consumption went down when we fitted the new one. We have too many radiators for British Gas to give us their domestic service contract.

However, I will definitely google theses ME firms and try to contact them tomorrow.

[AstonZagato]

To be clear, 8,000 sq ft. Couldn't work out how to create a superscript 2 in the forum.

[AstonZagato]

The Keston had two boilers inside a single shroud, I seem to recall.

[AstonZagato]

Sheepshanks said:

People seem to expect modern combis to only last 8-10yrs but 8yrs for yours seems pretty poor. Are the people who've worked on it Keston "specialists"?

No idea - my wife organised it. I do recall that Keston have been useless when it has gone wrong in the past.

JPJPJP said:

Is biomass an option, or does that work out more £ than mains gas? Maybe some sort of chp system to put a bit of leccy out to the grid even?

Not sure it is. The boiler is in the rear of the property and access is a challenge (it backs on to a walled garden).

Grandad Gaz said:

You're into a commercial installation with that size building. Two or three "normal" size boilers feeding into a manifold would be the best solution.

It won't be cheap!

Yup. The choice of lube is salt or sand...

[AstonZagato]

fastgerman said:

Replacing our Keston on Wednesday, British Gas turned it off physically for being unsafe - http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

I've never heard a good word said about Keston. Best of luck!

guindilias said:

I specced an ATAG 115kW recently - together with all the headers, insulation, valves, controls etc. it came in at about £7500 without installation.
That was using a control system that plugs in to the boiler in place of the standard control panel, can control 3 pumps and 3-ports individually - so pretty versatile.

Might simplify the current set up which has 5 timers and 9 zones,

Boarder1 said:

Just sent you an email.

Thanks, I've passed the details to my wife who is at home today.

GRL said:

Worcester have a 120kW unit (GB312) ~ £5k or Ideal make a Imax Extra unit that may be worth looking at.

There seem to be a few brands with suitable units. Potterton, Viessmann are a couple I have heard of but there seem to be a bewildering array of brands - I want to buy once on this purchase!

I did come across an interesting concept. Flow Energy. http://www.flowenergy.uk.com. They use gas to generate electricity for the house/grid and use the waste heat energy to heat the home. I might start a different thread as I might not find anyone venturing into this thread on the concept.

[AstonZagato]

I don't have a floorplan. It has a lot of rooms. It has 11 loos (it used to have 12 but we got rid of the gardener's loo). Seven beds, seven reception rooms, cellar, pool house.

[AstonZagato]

dirkgently said:

[
fk me, you belong on PH Do you have a goatee?

No goatee. Should I grow one?

The reality is that I paid not very much for it 18 years ago. If I'd paid that in London back then, I'd have a far more valuable asset now. But it is a lovely place. We've been very happy here.

[AstonZagato]

The offending boiler


Timers:


some of the pipework:


Front of the house (for the curious):
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[AstonZagato]

It was the old boiler house (only accessed from outside) so the plumbing could be as agricultural as it liked (no idea how old it is). We turned it into a boot room and lost the gardener's loo in the process. The pipes were just covered in a cupboard. When we did that we elected to keep much of the pipework as it was going to be a nightmare to redo it all. I'll grab some pictures later.

[AstonZagato]

I'm waiting on a couple of firms but another recommendation would be good.

[AstonZagato]

The boiler cupboard closed:



And open:

[AstonZagato]

The early feedback I've had on CHP is that it works best in an environment where there is a 24/7 need for heat and power (nursing home/hotel/hospital). In a domestic setting, the efficiency isn't quite there. However I want to see more figures on it.

[AstonZagato]

Interesting idea. The trouble is that the heating for the pool is quite far from the house. So far that we run it on oil rather than gas.

Biomass isn't a runner as access would be challenging.