Gas fired back boiler? Gimme the lowdown

Romola

I'm looking at viewing a house which has a gas fired back boiler. My only experience of back boilers is coal fired ones and I remember that hot water was supplied via lighting the fire and waiting or using up electricity which was expensive. Does this gas fired version mean that my main (only?) way of heating water is to have the gas fire on?

Also, what would be the pros and cons of having this system removed and more normal central heating installed? From what I can tell there doesn't appear to be any at present so obviously there's the cost of installing it to be considered. But would it be better or worse to keep the back boiler and fit it into the system (can that be done?)?

(Oh, and if anyone is feeling super savvy...the garage is said to have a clear perspex roof. How does one go about cleaning that?).

Thankyou! :beer:

rustyboy21

Hi Romola

No you don't have to have the gas fire on to heat up your water. The Back boiler works independantly from the fire, so you can still have hot water in the summer and not have the fire on.

It depends how old the back boiler is, if you want to add anything on to it, ie rads etc. You would also find it impossible now to change the fire over, as every manufacturer has discontinued all gas fires which used to be suitable to be used, as the back boiler is not a high efficiency boiler, even then though you could only buy a limited range from that manufacturers list as not all fires would fit, they had to be compatible.

If you want to change over to a wall hung boiler, it is fairly straight forward, although you will have to have all your pipework re-routed which if not done properley can look unsightly.

Baxi have brought out a high efficiency back boiler this year you could swap it for. It only works with electric fires, but the fire range is good and the effect is brilliant. This would also stop all the pipes being re-routed. Check their website for details.

Word of warning though. Dont think buying off the net will save you money, yes they may look cheaper, but try and get a fitter to fit them for you. It is a specialist purchase and requires an experienced installer to work with you to make sure you are pleased with the end result.

Buy cheap and things always go wrong, thats my motto, especially when you are looking at £2.5k-£3k outlay to change the system.

Best course of action would be to visit your friendly local fireplace and fire showroom in your home town for advice and a survey to find out what needs doing.

Sorry cant help with Perspex roofs ! lol

Norman_Castle

(Oh, and if anyone is feeling super savvy...the garage is said to have a clear perspex roof. How does one go about cleaning that?).

A mop with a long handle!