Back boilers

crispyduck_2

Hi

My wife and I are looking to buy a 1930's semi that has a back boiler which we don't know the age of but I would guess is 15+ years.

We haven't made an offer on it but need to broadly assess how much it could cost to replace when it needs to be done.

I know the sort of combi I'm after and it's costs but have no idea of the removal costs of the old one and the making good to use as leverage for our offer.

Anyone had anything like this to deal with themselves to offer any advice?

C

crabbman2004_2

Have you considering keeping the back boiler??
I have recently purchased a flat with a back boiler in aswell. After considering to replace it with a combi boiler I decided to stay with it. After soughting advice from various gas professionals and others it seemed like the way forward. Back Boilers are so much more reliable than combi boilers, the heat of the water is always red hot and although the monthly cost of running them may not be as efficient as a combi the money you'll save on not replacing it wil be alot more worth it!

bigdic

I agree with crabbman, keep it till you have to replace it. It'll do the job well and they're pretty reliable and if you find a good engineer they don't cost too much to fix.

EliteHeat

Impossible to say how much it will cost as it depends on many things, but budget between £2,500 - £3,200 ish.

As other posters have said, if you can bear the to have the ugly thing in your lounge and don't mind gravity water supplies then the improved efficiency of the new combi will not pay for the outlay.

Sazere

My parents have a 1950's house (3 bed mid-terrace) with back boiler. To replace with Bosch combi boiler (using existing pipework and radiators) in March 2007 was £2,800. HTH.

economiser

I wish I had kept mine. It did 38 years with only one breakdown. Thermostat failed which was simple DIY job to replace.

Fitted a new combi 5 years ago. Two major breakdowns, fan and expansion vessel. Gas saving only 5%.

ormus

aye, reckon between 1500 and 3000 for a decent new combi.
i would do it asap too. the savings will start right away then.
my old baxi back boiler was very inefficient compared to the new vaillant combi.

economiser

How much do you think will be saved ormus? I keep all my old bills and working on actual rather than estimated bills my combi is only using 5% less gas than the old back boiler (about £60/annum). It will never pay back the installation (£1225) and repair (£220) costs. So far I have spent £1445 to save £118!

airforce_beret

I moved into my house about 18months ago and had the back boiler and fire ripped out. had the tanks removed from the loft and a combi boiler installed upstairs, also had the radiator in the bathroom replaced. got a gucci wireless thermostat that you can take round the house with you on a lazy day.

i was having trouble with my back boiler though, pilot light was shielded and kept going out. £60 a pop for an engineer just to relight it.

got all that for £2000, in lincoln