how old is my boiler?

2»

Comments

  • Yes, we were told to turn thermostat down, but also the pump was on 1 so that's gone up to circulate more water, but chap said its just old, he's not the first to say its on It's last legs! I know there's sludge in it, when I moved in 6 years ago there was a blockage shortly after, and British gas tried the power flushing line, but so did my independent round the corner guy!
  • cepheus
    cepheus Posts: 20,053 Forumite
    This may be of interest,

    How old should your boiler be before you replace it?

    it provides a link to a database which lists the efficiency of boilers, even discontinued ones!

    it is easier to go to 'view boiler database' then 'gas boilers' then 'refine search' before entering your search term.
  • it sounds to me like your boiler is " kettling "

    or local boiling

    sludge and scale trapped in the heat exchanger bottom,
    is causing local boiling,

    the air is not free to boil in water,it is boiling in pockets of
    scale/sludge,

    clean your system, put fernox f3 in for a week,
    shut off all rads bar one

    drain and refill and drain with clean water,
    add fernox f1
  • Problem being I can't turn the downstairs radiators- they're stuck on!
  • Gloomendoom
    Gloomendoom Posts: 16,550
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    SailorSam wrote: »
    The older boilers are less efficient, so the newer ones should be more economical to run.
    Bur i'm beginning to wonder if that's true, my combi is broken at the moment and they're saying it might need renewing even though it's only 8yrs old. Is it more economical to have a more efficient boiler if they last less than 10yrs.

    No, it's another green con. In the long term the modern "high efficiency" boiler costs more than a traditional boiler and uses more of the world's valuable resources.

    I will only replace my 37 year old Potterton when I am forced to. I'd buy another if I could.
  • missprice
    missprice Posts: 3,735
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    Forumite
    edited 18 December 2011 at 5:38PM
    No, it's another green con. In the long term the modern "high efficiency" boiler costs more than a traditional boiler and uses more of the world's valuable resources.

    I will only replace my 37 year old Potterton when I am forced to. I'd buy another if I could.

    thank you
    I am of the same opinion that its a con. my very old (30+ years) boiler is still going strong and in the time I have lived here it has needed 2 valves at around £70 each (just to add been here 15 years)
    would tell you what make but cant remember and with nasty kidney infection back I wont leg it up the stairs to have a look..
    its in a cupboard upstairs and nicely dries four towels or pairs of jeans overnight, and saves me the bother of using the dryer for several hours in winter, so it may well use a little more gas than a new all singing and dancing condesing boiler but it saves me hours of electirc drying time
    and as a bonus it keeps the upstairs a bit warmer, cos I have no rads up there.


    cant help OP but can say the valve that broke did make a awful clattering noise when the heating kicked in, which is how I realised it was broken
    63 mortgage payments to go.

    Zero wins 2016 😥
  • cepheus
    cepheus Posts: 20,053 Forumite
    edited 18 December 2011 at 6:17PM
    I have hung off for various reasons, but to be fair, I think many new technologies have teething troubles and the problems were due to inexperienced fitters and servicers as much as the boilers themselves.

    There are numerous reports that the German brands such as Bosch and Valiant are reliable. As might be expected they have been doing this for decades and would consider expelling almost a third of your energy up the exhaust then moaning about gas bills as ludricous.

    See this thread from 2006-2011

    http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=310812

    This report from 2005 seems to confirm this as well
    Mr Cooper says his firm has avoided problems by limiting their list of recommended suppliers. His maintenance offshoot, which looks after 10,000 domestic boilers, limits itself to just one supplier - the German firm Worcester Bosch. He says he is considering including another German firm, Vaillant, on his list. "We are looking at it at the moment. I have to say the German brands are ahead of the British machines by a mile."

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2005/apr/02/consumerissues.jobsandmoney
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 342.5K Banking & Borrowing
  • 249.9K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 234.6K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 607.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 172.8K Life & Family
  • 247.4K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.8K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards