28 year old gas boiler

givememoney

Our gas boiler a glow worm is 28 years old.

We don't whether to keep going with it or replace it.

The fear is, if it suddenly packs up it will be an emergency job, but as it has kept going all this time it may keep going for a few more years yet.

We are told old boilers are inefficient but our bills are standard.

Over the years it has been very reliable all we have replaced is one pump and some little gadget (sorry can't remember what it is) a couple of times.

Any views anyone?

JonathanA

We're in an almost identical position to you. Our Glow-worm boiler is approx 26 years old. We moved into this house in March this year and given we didn't know the history of the boiler etc, tried to get a service contract from British Gas. Since we don't have an air brick in the kitchen they refused to accept the contract as it didn't comply with current legislation. We got a good independent to come out and review the boiler for us.

The advice was that really, it could run for a good few years yet, as they were very well made, but that if it did break down, it was unlikely that we would be able to get spare parts for it at this stage.

A couple of weeks ago, when we switched the heating on, our central heating pump had failed. Whilst that was being replaced, one of the pipes in the boiler went and we had gallons of sludgy black water all through the kitchen & other rooms. We've sort of lost confidence in the boiler, so have started the process of getting quotes to replace & re-site within the kitchen.

So far, British Gas have quoted £4,200 (the system needs to be converted to a fully pumped system rather than gravity fed too) and we have a reputable, local independent company quoting tomorrow.

Our concern is also that if it breaks, we won't be able to get bits for it & we'd rather replace in our time rather than as an emergency. Our boiler is about 65% efficient, looking at the input & output - I guess yours would be similar. The condensing boiler (also Glow-Worm) that BG quoted for was 80% efficient. It won't change our bills significantly I'm sure, but for us (with 2 small kids) it is the peace of mind that it won't let us down, spew out hot water everywhere or make lots of strange noises when it's working.

Also, if a we have a new boiler, parts should be more readily available should it break.

That probably doesn't help much, I know the dilemma you are facing! Replacement isn't cheap, but I think that will be the route we take. Let's see how much the independent quotes....

Jonathan

Tallymanjohn

Modern condensing gas boilers are 90% efficient - see link: http://www.sedbuk.com/ together with the requirements for room thermostats, thermostatic radiator valves etc, the savings can mount up. We recently replaced our 20+ year old Glow Worm boiler as it was less than 50% efficient, though it was very reliable. BG & Powergen both quoted just under £4,000, we eventually went with a local CORGI company & got it installed for £2,300.

ManAtHome

Maybe we should start a Glow-worm owner's club..!!

Thought about replacing mine a few times due to the spares issue although you can still get the thermocouple (probably GM's mystery gadget) and suitable pumps, but dunno about the main gas valve and the controls.

The main reason for keeping it is reliablilty as it doesn't have any electronics - hopefully when/if it turns it's toes up it'll be at the very end of winter...

givememoney

ManAtHome wrote:

Maybe we should start a Glow-worm owner's club..!!

Thought about replacing mine a few times due to the spares issue although you can still get the thermocouple (probably GM's mystery gadget) and suitable pumps, but dunno about the main gas valve and the controls.

The main reason for keeping it is reliablilty as it doesn't have any electronics - hopefully when/if it turns it's toes up it'll be at the very end of winter...

Thanks everyone, and yes you're right it is the thermocoupler, I remember now. My brother-in-law is a plumber and says your can get trouble with condensing boilers. Still not decided what to do though!

What I really want is the same again but a new one.

matto

Unless there are very good reasons you have to have a condensing boiler.

JonathanA

I suspect very little is now built to last as long - and as has been said before, with all the electronics etc now in boilers, I doubt they would survive that test of time. Trouble is, they're like everything else, there are good and bad and even with the 'good' brands, you can get duff products.

To change or not to change will all come down to the level of risk you're willing to take. There is an old saying, 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it', but then again....

Would be interested to know what trouble you can get with condensing boilers? (Also, excuse my ignorance, but how long have condensing boilers been around?)

Jonathan

MATH

We replaced out 35+ year old boiler last summer because we were worried about it failing when we needed it most, we were also hoping to see a dramatic drop in our gas usage as well but last winters usuage was within a cats wisker of what our old boiler was using. The heating/hot water was set at the normal temp and times we always use, I dopn't consider last year to be any colder than others and we have no other gas appliances to skew the figures- How come we ain't saving money?

JonathanA

Could it be that the cost of gas has increased so much that whilst your new boiler is more efficient, the cost of running it has increased, therefore your efficiency has gone on higher costs?

Out of interest, what make and type is your new boiler & are you happy with it?

MATH

It's a Glow worm the same as was taken out. I am quite happy with it, in as much as I can get happy about a white box that sits in the garage and heats water. LOL I appreciate that gas prices have sky-rocketed but it is the gas USAGE that has dropped a little but nowhere near as much as I would have expected.

Cardew

JonathanA wrote:

I suspect very little is now built to last as long - and as has been said before, with all the electronics etc now in boilers, I doubt they would survive that test of time. Trouble is, they're like everything else, there are good and bad and even with the 'good' brands, you can get duff products.

To change or not to change will all come down to the level of risk you're willing to take. There is an old saying, 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it', but then again....

Would be interested to know what trouble you can get with condensing boilers? (Also, excuse my ignorance, but how long have condensing boilers been around?)

Jonathan

My Ideal boiler is 18 years old(a mere youngster) but I have had a letter saying that parts might not be possible to obtain in future.

The problem is, that from what I have read, the expected life of modern boilers(as you say stuffed full of electronics) is about 10 years.

The Daily Telegraph ran an article saying you should budget for a replacement every decade. The point they were making was that modern E7 storage heating was an economic proposition(particularly for smaller properties) when you take into account replacement boiler costs and annual servicing which can be approx 400 pounds a year.