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[Taxi_Driver]

At the moment i have an open vented central heating system...

I could buy a open vented boiler (ive decided on the make) for about £800 and pretty much leave the plumbing alone....

Or I could buy a sealed system boiler for about £1k and let the plumber rip out the pump (pump in the boiler instead) , the 3 way valve (that ive only just replaced) and alter the plumbing so that the boiler has hot tank feed/return going to it and radiators feed/return going to it...

Searching online has thrown up some interesting results.....

So, which is better/more efficient? Or isnt there any difference?   

Plumber wants to convert the system to sealed......but im guessing he may be biased as its more work for him....even tho he says he can do it in a day.......

[martin42]

Sealed system,no need for tanks and cylinder ,might be worth doing a drugs test on plumber before he starts tho 
A day to convert and strip out used to take 2 off us a day and a bit including making good etc.

[Taxi_Driver]

Sealed system,no need for tanks and cylinder ,might be worth doing a drugs test on plumber before he starts tho 
A day to convert and strip out used to take 2 off us a day and a bit including making good etc.

Im not having a combi boiler.....so hot water cylinder stays...

[Marks DTM Calib]

Unless you want the space, stick to the setup you have and get a standard boiler.

If hes insisting on a system boiler then find a better plumber.

As for the vented/sealed, you can easily convert your system to sealed by adding a few bits to it and keep the standard boiler, not hard to do. It only needs a filling loop, expansion vessel and pressure relief valve.

[chrisgixer]

Our condensing boiler was popping and banging due to air in the system later found to be a leak in under floor pipes. The plumber sealed the original system by fitting a pressure vessel, the pressure gauge then confirmed the leak.

So that type of boiler is sealed or vented capable. The water tank the previously fed it was small. Minimal space saving.

So I wonder where the plumber is coming from with this too.

[Kevin Wood]

Some say that sealed systems need more maintenance because they need the occasional top up. My opinion is that if they start dropping pressure, they highlight a problem rather than masking it by continuously replenishing the system with water, thus, you do something about it before the system suffers. I would go sealed but, as said, the system boiler issue is completely unrelated. Pretty much all boilers these days will work with either setup and you don't need to go to a system boiler for a sealed system.

I'd stick with a header tank for now and, if you decide to go sealed later, it's £50 worth of plumbing bits and an evening's work.

[Taxi_Driver]

Thanks for the replies 

Food for thought