Back boiler replacement??

Poppy9

gas4you wrote: »

I have replaced a BBU with a new condensing BBU.

NEVER again!!!

If it is 30+ years old, then it will be extremely inefficient and depending on the make, spares may not possible to get.

I have had customers where I have taken the old BBU out, new condensing combi put in and they have later called me to say they were saving 43% on their gas bill.

Personally I would advise getting it taken out asap, before you settle in and add your mark to your new property. Very roughly around £2500-£3000

The problem is that friends and family have found when they replaced their BB with new combis is that the combis regularly breakdown often within the first year.

As the payback in heating savings - say £250 a year will be 10 years to cover the cost of replacing the new boiler is unlikely to last 10 years and will need costly repairs in that time.

cyclonebri1

southcoastrgi wrote: »

I've never seen a GW back boiler, 99% of them were baxi

Actually, I was just about to say you may be correct, but I was sorting my late mothers affairs recently and came across the user manual. (I actually bought 1 of these for £200 about 3 years ago)

I have the manual in front of me

Glow worm Metro BBU, used with Glow worm 45 and 56 back boiler units

That the blurb for the fire front for the back boiler in fact.

I do recall a post that include my having a contact at Glow worm in Belper, we bought several boiler from them directly at a very advantageous price. Unfortunately this contact has been lost.

I bought this last boiler from ebay, when it arrived it had been deliverd by out local Plumb Centre.:cool:

diywhynot

BBUs from Glow-worm. Keeping a BBU can be a false economy. Are you planning on renovating this property?

Mr_Ted

Run the BBU into the ground is by far the most economical and cost efficient way, it'll be less trouble than a modern boiler, as long as you can get parts and have it serviced annually, but dont forget to have a CO detector in the room as its open flued, FOR SAFETY SAKE

And yes I remember Glowworm BBU's, and others, but being an old fart I cant remember which they were now, but Baxi didnt just have 99% of the market then, more like 60% and the original Baxi's were an absolute nightmare, fire front held back by springs which was a hazard as the springs stretched, and also TOTALLY open flued, no flue hood with a liner then :eek:

happybiker

southcoastrgi wrote: »

I've never seen a GW back boiler, 99% of them were baxi

There speaks a newcomer to the industry. Us old hands remember Potterton, Baxi, allied ironfounders, gloworm, maxol And Ideal standard BBU's.

Baxi probably had 50-60% of the market during the smoke control rush of the early 1970's, mainly in new builds. C/h in private houses was a rarity then .

To the OP
If you BBU is in safe working order, leave it in use until it fails beyond repair. That will be the most cost effective solution. Make sure it is serviced annually by someone familiar with the model and it will probably give years of sterling service

rustyboy21

OP

In conclusion, you will never get a definitive answer to your question, as there are so many variables to take into account and always 2 sides to a debate.

IMO I would suggest the following....

If you are looking at a major remodel of your property, like new bathrooms, Kitchen, new Rads, I would suggest looking at replacing it , whilst you have all the work going on. You will have no messing in the future, with relaying pipework, plastering, electric points etc. It may cost you initially upfront, but at least all the had work is done as soon as you move in.

If money is tight and you are looking at moving in, then doing rework over a period of time, Then leave things as they are. Get it serviced regularly by someone who knows what they are doing with them ( I would suggest not to trust BG, a number of their engineers have never heard of a back boiler, so will condemn it straight away) IMO save a little money each month and put it to one side, so when the day comes and your BBU passes on, then the shock of a new boiler won't hit you as hard. They do go on and on, but will cost you more on gas usage as they are not as efficient.

Hope this helps

garethgas

Mr_Ted wrote: »

Run the BBU into the ground is by far the most economical and cost efficient way, it'll be less trouble than a modern boiler, as long as you can get parts and have it serviced annually, but dont forget to have a CO detector in the room as its open flued, FOR SAFETY SAKE

And yes I remember Glowworm BBU's, and others, but being an old fart I cant remember which they were now, but Baxi didnt just have 99% of the market then, more like 60% and the original Baxi's were an absolute nightmare, fire front held back by springs which was a hazard as the springs stretched, and also TOTALLY open flued, no flue hood with a liner then :eek:

Ha! the 375 and 575
I still have some cogs for those somewhere

diywhynot

If the OP plans to purchase and renovate, he/she needs to consider what improvements will be made and what implications these would have when the BBU fails and can no longer be repaired or is no longer suitable for their heating and hot water requirements. I have seen this happen many times with unnecessary costs incurred.

Ben84

We still have an ancient glow worm back boiler. It's been here about 40 years now and basically just works, to the point where I never really think about it. There's plenty still out there, so your discovering one isn't by itself surprising or worrying. There's little to go wrong, so they save money that way at least, but you'll spend a bit more on gas. Our bills are reasonable though compared to the average for houses like ours (used to be on imeasure to compare), and I don't scrimp on the heating either, as during winter it's on constant whenever I'm at home.

I wouldn't worry about it, but with any new house with gas appliances, I always have them checked out and serviced before using them.

As a general thought, it's worth living in a new house a while before changing anything - with of course the exception of anything dangerous or just essential maintenance. Often what you think you need to spend money on at first and what you realise you should spend on later tends to change.

cyclonebri1

I should add that the Glow worm unit we replaced was exactly the same one as fitted around 25 years earlier, the reason for replacement was nothing to do with the boiler per sa, or the fire front.

The plated steel work of the flue shrouding had simply rusted away do to condensation, not mechanical failure or perceived inefficiency