Back boiler dilema

milkybars

We're renovating our house to live in for at least 5 years. We have a back boiler with an unsightly fire front and can't find a compatable replacement fire front. The boiler, although needing a service in 2 months, is fully functional and has no problems. We've had a number of similar quotes for installing a new boiler in the atic and the back boiler removed but two heating/plumbing experts have said we may regret getting rid of it and the energy efficiency of combi/condenser boilers aren't what they claim.

We have the money spare so that's no problem. Really we talking asthetics and sellability when we decide to move on.

Part of me thinks leave it in, its reliable and try to work with the horrible fire front when decorating. The other part thinks if I don't do it I'll regret it. If I was viewing a house and needed little else doing, I'd be horrified to see a dated fire front. Or worse still we'll get all the decorating done then it'll go bust and we'll have to replace with a modern boiler leaving a mess of our hard work and costing more money to put the ruined decor right.

What would you do?

jackieb

You can get compatable fire fronts but they can cost about £750. Is it a Baxi boiler?

Back boilers are never as efficient as the newer boilers. I'm surprised you've been told otherwise.

milkybars

Yes its a Baxi Bermuda 552.

When I asked why the plumber said "Condenser boilers are tested for their efficiency when they are condensing but according to our usage (in the winter an hour of heating in the morning and evening) they would hardly be condensing.

Now I don't know what to believe.

The extra space gained from removing it and removing the chimney breast would be nice but I usually go for a more practical approach than purely for looks.

meerustar

We have a back boiler and an unsightly fire. I live in a council house and the council are removing ALL the back boilers in the area and replacing them with combi boilers in the airing cupboard ...

From what I remember, when I asked wny they were being replaced they said something along the lines that there is an open flame at the back of the boiler (pilot light) and that goverment recommendations are to remove all these for some safety reason or other.

Not sure if this is a compulsary thing in the future, but might be worth looking into if you have the money available to replace.

edgex

all gas boilers will have a pilot light.

the issue with replacing a back-boiler with one in a different location is having to have all of the pipework replaced:
the gas
new flue
water to boiler
water from boiler
pump electrics


we had our back-boiler replaced with a new back-boiler & new firefront, theres some pretty nice designs available now. previously we had the pump & h/w tank replaced, & so the whole system is more efficient than it was.
as for efficiency, it always depends on your usage.
you could have the most efficient boiler in the world, but if you have to have it on all day, because you havnt insulated properly, it cant be better than a not so efficient boiler on for a few hours a day.


some baxi firefronts:
http://www.fireplacesareus.co.uk/baxi_bermuda_firefronts.html

pds_2

milkybars wrote: »

We're renovating our house to live in for at least 5 years. We have a back boiler with an unsightly fire front and can't find a compatable replacement fire front. The boiler, although needing a service in 2 months, is fully functional and has no problems. We've had a number of similar quotes for installing a new boiler in the atic and the back boiler removed but two heating/plumbing experts have said we may regret getting rid of it and the energy efficiency of combi/condenser boilers aren't what they claim.

We have the money spare so that's no problem. Really we talking asthetics and sellability when we decide to move on.

Part of me thinks leave it in, its reliable and try to work with the horrible fire front when decorating. The other part thinks if I don't do it I'll regret it. If I was viewing a house and needed little else doing, I'd be horrified to see a dated fire front. Or worse still we'll get all the decorating done then it'll go bust and we'll have to replace with a modern boiler leaving a mess of our hard work and costing more money to put the ruined decor right.

What would you do?

We did the same about a year ago. I have seen my gas bills reduce by about 25 % plus the convenience of a combi. Dont know how you would regret losing a back boiler?

ormus

we did the same some 3 yrs ago now. got rid of the baxi and installed a new combi.
gas bills are down by 30% ish. and the CH is better.
beware that you can only change the fire front on some baxi models.
and they are very expensive. approx the same as a new combi boiler!
ps.
my new gas fire cost just 99 quid.

Magenta_Wolves

Hi milkybars - I'm in exactly the same situation as you, and just don't know what to do - lt works perfectly just looks horrible. I've even painted the fire black - with the correct paint I might add!

We've not had any quotes as yet but I'm thinking it will be quite high!

jackieb

ormus wrote: »

we did the same some 3 yrs ago now. got rid of the baxi and installed a new combi.
gas bills are down by 30% ish. and the CH is better.
beware that you can only change the fire front on some baxi models.
and they are very expensive. approx the same as a new combi boiler!
ps.
my new gas fire cost just 99 quid.

We were £500 for a fire front in 1994. They're still selling the same fire and it's about £750 now. Better than some of the fires but nothing startling either.

http://www.fireplacesareus.co.uk/gas_fires/baxi_bermuda_gf3_super_firefront.html

Crikey! It's gone up to £860! :eek:

jackieb

And the same fire again for under £600. http://www.vhsdirect.co.uk/site/product.cfm?id=BAE5895C-B5BD-DB81-5D7F94145BEB619F

milkybars

And there she is... the mona lisa of firefronts... the C5!!! Thanks for the link edgex. Some of the firefront photos have objects on top... surely that's ill advised.

This got me thinking... maybe since our backboiler still works and they still sell the firefronts. Could this potentially be sold or freecycled... this might make me feel a little better about getting rid of something perfectly functional.

Speaking with OH last night we decided to have a structural inspection to find out if the backboiler was removed, could the chimney that takes up 3/4 of the living room wall (and over a foot deep) and a similar narrower version that goes up the corner of our bedroom also be removed? This would gain us space, make a considerable difference to the living room and make arranging furniture in our bedroom easier. If so then it's a goer we'll get a couple more quotes so that we can compare those quoting for the full works and see.

Ours is an ex-council house... which is interesting, our neighboughs either side are still renting from council and both still have back boilers. I wonder if our council is doing the rounds in which case we should keep up with the times/Jones' eh?!

Also the point about having the new boiler in the airing cupboard... this could work as theres already a fair amount of pipework in there and slightly more accessable than the atic that was one plumbers suggestion.