Repair or Recycle Demon Boiler

Gorie

This is a quickie...

I live in a house with a boiler (and family). Its an Alpha Combi Condensing boiler installed in 2009.

For the last three years it has needed repairing every year and now it needs a new expansion vessel.

Suffice to say the boiler and I aren't on good terms.

My question is do I get a new boiler?

I know the expansion vessel repair isn't a great expense (£150) but I'd just be wondering whats next... Furthermore my newer boiler (which would be either a Viessmann or Valiant) would be more gas efficient right?

Am I being wasteful? Maybe I practically have a new boiler anyway now?


Boiler History

• First year it needed a new heat exchanger (2013 - covered by BG HomeCare)
• Next year it needed a circuit board change / repair (2014 - covered by BG HomeCare - after which point they said they could no longer cover this boiler despite servicing)
• This January it needs a new expansion vessel (cost to me £150 from local friend an independent gas engineer).

macman

If it had a new expansion vessel fitted this January, why does it need replacing in July? If it does, and was done by an RGI, then both the part and the work should be covered under warranty. The RGI is a friend, so he should be your first port of call.

Gorie

I have not yet had the expansion vessel repaired, I took a quote from my friend and said I'd decide. At present I'm not using the heating and the hot water works fine with the broken expansion vessel. I figured I'd sort boiler now whilst the sun shines well ahead of winter.

macman

Then it sounds like a faulty divertor valve if the hot water is working OK but not the heating side. This assumes that the pump is operating OK, which is easily checked.
I think your friend is guessing rather than actually doing proper fault finding.

Gorie

Thats even more reason to have a new boiler I think?

macman

No, it's reason to establish what is wrong with it and have it fixed by someone who can do proper diagnostics.
A faulty divertor valve does not on it's own justify a new boiler-it's a minor repair and a relatively cheap component.

Gorie

Thanks for your reply. The problem is each time I get one thing fixed 'another relatively cheap component becomes defective' and each job has been done by a different engineer. Furthermore there must be a reason BG won't touch the boiler anymore. Point is I'd rather buy a new boiler than slowly replace this boiler one part at a time... Its like triggers broom.

HappyMJ

2009 is only 6 years old...it must be an A rated boiler for efficiency already. I don't see the point replacing it.

macman

But you haven't had it fixed, you had it supposedly diagnosed as faulty in January and have done nothing about it. BG are notorious for not wanting to fix boilers that are perfectly serviceable and have parts available via any competent RGI-yet BG will tell you that parts are unavailable.
Your boiler is barely out of warranty, assuming it had a five year one.

Gorie

So here is the update - reviving an old thread...

The current boiler (Alpha HE CB 25) is B rated for energy at 86.7% efficient.
That said the new Viessmann boiler (Viessmann Vitodens 200-W 35) I was considering is A rated at 90.5% so no massive difference.

After a little more research I decided that an external expansion vessel would benefit (not harm/impede) any new boiler, as would a Fernox TF1 Magnetic filter. So this weekend both have been installed and boiler works perfect again.

So I can sit back, relax and wait for the next thing to break?

Incidentally with a broken expansion vessel the hot water will almost always work perfectly as the expansion vessel is only utilised by the central heating part of the combi boiler system (as the water in the closed heating system heats it can expand in the expansion vessel - compressing the air in there behind the diaphragm). As water heats up in the mains hot water part of the combi central heating system it expands and escapes via the tap that has been turned on.