Decision - repair or get new boiler?

ally18

Sorry for a daft question but I'm in a quandry and can't decide what to do, whether to repair existing gas boiler or replace. What would you do?

I currently have a Baxi wm 38 in the house heating 7 radiators. It is 21 + years old and now needs a new gas valve fitting at £170.

I have no thermostat or trvs on the radiators, it is an old system which has been working ok, though the house does not get very warm. I should imagine the system is not very efficient at all, we use around 11,000kw of gas a year.

Bearing in mind the age of the boiler, I have considered having a new combi boiler installed plus trvs on the radiators and a wireless thermostat. I have been quoted £2200 for either a remeha 28c or a potterton gold 28c.

The trouble is I don't know what to do now as I'm wondering if the baxi gas valve is replaced, would the baxi last a few more years so I can save more or do you think it could be on its last legs now? How long would a baxi go for do you think. This would be the first thing to be replaced on it in 20 years I think.

Cocobay71

20 years on your boiler is very good, most models these days are a lot more energy effecient than models only from five years ago. It all depends on if you can afford the new installation price.

Personally i have opted to replace a combi after 12 years of service when started to give problems rather than try to keep replacing parts, my view is plumbers prices are not cheap so keep adding all the contioning repair costs and parts and before a few years you could of nearly paid for a new installation and the combi will come with a warranty.

Others may say keep repairing, its really up to you whcih way to go.

southcoastrgi

how long is a piece of string, fitting a new G/V might mean the boiler goes on for yrs or it might break down tomorrow no one can tell you that, a new boiler will save between £100-£300 a yr on your gas bill, most modern boilers have a average lifespan of about 10 yrs some will go on longer & some not as long, alot of it is down to how well it is installed ie correct flushing, scale inhibitor fitted on the cold main (if you are in an hard water area), i would also fit a magnetic filter on the heating return to the boiler.

I would go for the Remeha option every time

diywhynot

Keep your boiler until it is beyond economical repair and start saving for a new one is the MSE answer.;)

ally18

Many thanks for your replies, I just don't know what to do. I have been looking at the reviews for each of the boilers and both have had some problems. I'm currently waiting for another quote, this will be for a viesmann.

I have got the money saved finally but I'm loath to spend it if the baxi will still keep struggling on for a while .

diywhynot

How many quotes are you getting? You could post them up for comment (informed or otherwise;)).

Mr_Ted

Keep the old boiler till it expires, thats the heating boiler i mean by the way lol

New boilers are much more complicated and prone to problems no matter how efficient they are, and IMO the efficiency savings are usually lost with the cost of repairs.
They also have a much much shorter expected lifespan, possibly even as low as 6 years?
The old one is simpler in operation and less likely to have a problem, use it until parts are no longer available IMO!

ValHaller

southcoastrgi wrote: »

a new boiler will save between £100-£300 a yr on your gas bill, most modern boilers have a average lifespan of about 10 yrs some will go on longer & some not as long

A new boiler at £2000 will pay for itself over 10 years.

BUT

A new boiler will cost you £200/year. If your new gas valve at £170 keeps your boiler going another year, the repair will pay for itself.

So you are on the horns of a dilemma and there is no unique right answer to this one.

I would spend money on TRVs however and flushing out the rads and treating with corrosion inhibitor. Sorting that out now might be better than putting a new boiler on a newly disturbed system.

sillygoose

At £170 I would take a gamble on it. As other say something else could break tomorrow, but that can be said about a new boiler too as they are far more fragile than old ones, who knows you might get another couple of years out of it.

My boiler has been working since 1990 with only two parts. With 'modern' boilers there is a good chance I would be on my 3rd one by now at a accumulated cost of £9000 + cost of out of warranty repair on the way, maybe another £2000, that's a lot of gas.

jimi_man

Hi

I also have a Baxi, a Solo Wm50 I think. Spookily the gas valve needed replacing about 6 months ago. The fan replaced the year before, both around £200 each. Something else the year before i forget what.. Other than that, I've had a couple of other problems which I've managed to sort myself, (failed programmer and one of the tubes to the pressure chamber thingy split). It's 23 years old.

I am also considering replacing it as I'm a bit fed up with having to get it repaired every year; seems to be getting more frequent as the years go on, which I suppose is only to be expected.

Of course having had some new bits on it it could go on for another 10 years. Peace of mind is a big part of it, however that depends how reliable the new ones are and how long they last.

sunshinetours

ValHaller wrote: »

A new boiler at £2000 will pay for itself over 10 years.

BUT

A new boiler will cost you £200/year. If your new gas valve at £170 keeps your boiler going another year, the repair will pay for itself.

So you are on the horns of a dilemma and there is no unique right answer to this one.

I would spend money on TRVs however and flushing out the rads and treating with corrosion inhibitor. Sorting that out now might be better than putting a new boiler on a newly disturbed system.

As above I would do this and update rest of your system with the TRV's and flush

Ours is 20 years plus old and whilst we certainly use a reasonable amount of gas (especially this winter) touch wood its been very reliable so can't really seee the cost argument in replacing at this stage

Also depends on whether you are thinking of moving anytime soon