Lewisham Park, London, UK
The old boiler was in a bathroom, and was giving a few problems. The Ocean Alpha sounds like a UK design, but is really an Italian unit rebranded with a modern name. After 12 years it was ready for the skip.
Ocean Alpha 240P – the skip awaits…..
The job was interesting (and we try and feature the interesting ones here, there are loads of jobs that are too similar to feature on this gallery) because our customer wanted an especially shallow depth combination boiler that could be concealed in a 300mm deep wall cabinet.
Enter the new Worcester Bosch CDi Compact! This was launched in March 2013 and represents an important step for Worcester Bosch, being their first brand new gas boiler design for over 7 years. They are very pleased with the aluminium heat exchanger, which uses a ‘stir welding’ construction technique which is described as revolutionary. More details on their web site!
Template is attached to the wall
From our point of view, it allows us to put boilers where they haven’t been before, because of the shallow format, giving a front to back depth of just 280mm.
Worcester Bosch Compact pipe jig being tightened. And lazy photographer.
Being a Worcester, some aspects of the design make you wonder if anyone in product management at HQ has ever installed a boiler in a house. But ease of installation is not as important as performance and reliability, two areas where the Worcester Bosch brand excels. Although this is a new model, we have confidence that it has been rigorously tested and trialled.
I’m sure we only fitted one to the wall?
The new unit is also a little shorter than the Alpha, and aesthetically better too!
Only decorating needed now
The days of seeing a line of wall units in a kitchen, with one deeper than the others and ruining the look because it is concealing a boiler, are now over. However, like all Worcester aluminium based boilers, provisions must be made for ventilation, and this normally means removing the top and bottom panels from the cupboard carcass. This is normally an invisible modification.
New CDi Compact control panel
Back to the job in hand, we completed the work, fortified with customer coffee! Our customer has already decorated around the boiler (because it is smaller) and has sent a picture of the completed job, which I will share with you here.
Now decorated; the pipes and the boiler will be in a vertical cupboard incorporating a built in WC cistern when the bathroom is remodelled.
Hi Simon,
Just wanted to thank you again, we’re really enjoying the constant hot water! The bath fills in half the time and you can open the tap all the way now!
All really amazing for such a compact boiler.
