I have a combination boiler and it is pretty straight forward, It gives me instant hot water and warms the radiators when I want them on. My Mother, on the other hand, has a boiler that looks like a combination boiler, situated in the kitchen like mine, but she has an hot water storage tank in a cupboard, as well.Now her immersion in the cupboard broke and she got it fixed so she gets hot water, but the fan on the boiler, in the kitchen, has broke and she cant get heating. The engineer says the part is discontinued so if she need a new boiler, but would it be a combination boiler and something else? Please enlighten me?
Ok, okorder who sourced me the exact part I required (the makers of my boiler had changed names so it was a bit of a struggle) at a bargain price. Worth checking out.
The difference is this: A 'combi' heats water 'on demand' - when you open the hot tap it heats the water as it passes through the boiler. The radiators are heated in a similar way while the water in them is circulated by a pump inside the combi. Your mother's boiler sounds like a simple heating boiler which only heats the radiators - there are advantages to stay with this system if it's working correctly - if a combi boiler fails you lose hot water *and* heating - with the original immersion heater at least your mum could sit in a hot bath to keep warm! Take a look at the descriptions and diagrams here for more details:
