Are new combi boilers Quiet ?

These are my own views and others may disagree.

1. Noise, quality end boilers like WB, Vaillant are quieter than the cheaper end and sone claim noise as low as 46db but all this is subjective to the individual hearing, general ambient noise and the placement of the boiler. So all considered further away you can place it the better.

2. Combi vs system. Again my views. IMHO, I prefer system boiler with a separate hot water cylinder. Combis in my opinion have more to go wrong. The diverter valve, flow switch and the extra heat exchanger that are not present in a system boiler. Where space is at a premium, like flats, then a combi makes perfect sense but since you already have space why not use it. Agreed that a system boiler in say a S plan system requires 2 x two port valve and a bypass valve but these are a lot more reliable than the extra parts in a combi.

3. Agreed that a hot water cylinder is not as efficient as heating just what’s required but with modern insulation the difference is not huge. Plus an immersion heater in the cylinder gives you redundancy if the boiler fails for any reason.

4. Plumbers like fitting combis as it’s less work ! No extra piping to cylinders, the cylinder itself, no extra valves etc. it’s all in one box.

I myself have a system like the one described but other members of my family have combis mainly because of the space considerations, namely nowhere to place a cylinder/tank.

 

Combi every time....

Not sure which make / model is quietest though..

 

43db under ideal conditions, measured likely from 1 meter distance. Much of the noise people finding irritating are often from resonance of surrounding material (like cabinets surrounding the boiler), vibrating pipes usually insufficiently clipped), expansion and contractions. Fan noises can also add.

as I said before most quality boilers are generally quiet enough and even the economy end like vokera are not too bad these days.

 

Baxi IMHO are perfectly OK, but I have no data on their reliability. But this is like asking a range of people what their fav ice cream flavour, sports person or car is. You will get a dozen answers. Every plumber and gas fitter has their favourite, driven by their own experience of fitting, ease of repair, manufacturers support etc. no doubt your own plumber has his or her opinion. Which magazine tests appliances but often I am surprised at their Best Buy.

Every car I though was a good buy and bought got the thumbs down from Jeremy Clarkson and he claims expertise in motoring journalism but for me have served extremely well !

 

For one person a combi is by far the best/cheapest to run. Even with insulation, you're still keeping a tank of hot water hot to have instant hot water available. As others have said, there is no backup immersion, no warm airing cupboard, but good quality combis are very reliable. Also very quiet. Don't skimp on the install - make sure your plumber ensures all the existing pipework, valves etc are fully serviceable. A combi works on a pressurised heating circuit but a standard boiler with tank doesn't - the heating circuit can top-up from the small header. It is possible a small weep on a radiator can go unnoticed and will dry as it weeps. If this is used with a combi you will get a continual pressure drop. Yes combi's are more complex, but FWIW we've had 2 worcester combi's in 2 houses over the last 15 years with no issues.

 

Eeeek

 

???

 

Good point you make on noting leaks through drop in pressure. But You can have a regular boiler running a pressurised system too with no header tank.

 

I know but as this is 25 years old I guess not......