My boiler has packed in and I have no idea what the best thing to do is

jimijim

I have an old oil-fired boiler, which was meant to be an outdoor boiler, but was placed inside by the previous owner. I have had it repaired numerous times and the engineer is now saying that it can't be fixed because the expansion vessel can't be reached without stripping the whole thing down and building it back up again, and any temporary measure such as a remote vessel would result in possibly flooding my home. Which leads me to wonder if there is any recourse with regards to the previous owner fitting a system that incompetently?

I am off the gas grid. So this leaves my options at:

A new oil fire boiler, quoted at £4k. This tech is on the way out obviously and I am somewhat concerned that I will be forced to replace it at some point down the line? Big upfront cost.

An electric boiler, can be had for much cheaper, but are far more expensive to run.

A gas boiler using LPG. LPG I hear is rather expensive and I would have to store the tanks somewhere

A renewable energy boiler, such as air source heat pump or biomass. The upfront cost is beyond prohibitive, 10k+. There is of course the renewable heat incentive but even then, I simply cannot afford the upfront cost of the debt. I have read about 'assignment of rights' where someone else is a registered investor, i.e. they pay some of the upfront cost and receive the incentive payments. I can't find any information on where to source potential investors or companies that do this.

Basically all of my options have significant downsides, is there anywhere I can get good advice on the best course of action?

Many thanks

MWT

I doubt that you have any recourse against the previous owner, if the installation passed the survey you had done at the time of purchase then it met necessary regulations, if you didn't have a full survey then you missed your chance...

How large is the house? Number of bedrooms etc.? ... and if the current boiler is providing heat through radiators, how many radiators is it serving?

Gerry1

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jimijim

MWT said:

I doubt that you have any recourse against the previous owner, if the installation passed the survey you had done at the time of purchase then it met necessary regulations, if you didn't have a full survey then you missed your chance...

How large is the house? Number of bedrooms etc.? ... and if the current boiler is providing heat through radiators, how many radiators is it serving?

Hi,

It is a 3 bed semi, with 4 radiators in the upstairs rooms and 3 downstairs (living room, dining room and hallway.

Thanks for responding.

MWT

jimijim said:

...A new oil fire boiler, quoted at £4k. This tech is on the way out obviously and I am somewhat concerned that I will be forced to replace it at some point down the line? Big upfront cost.

Regrettably, from what you've said so far, what you describe as a 'big upfront cost' is actually most likely still your cheapest option...

Avoid suggestions of getting a 'wet' electric boiler, short of burning £20 notes that is probably your most expensive option.

Correctly sized night storage heaters are potentially a viable solution depending on available space, but they will likely require a good amount of rewiring and probably a meter change to take advantage of the correct tariffs and per radiator they are expensive as well and per kWh of energy are more expensive than oil. 

Switching to LPG is not likely to be any cheaper than simply replacing your oil fired boiler, but see what others have to say about that as I'm not familiar with LPG solutions.

nadsat

If it were a gas boiler getting a second opinion would be wise as old ones are often fine as parts are available. No idea about oil fired boilers. 
If you have a mortgage, borrowing more on that could be a cheap way of paying for a new one given low interest rates. £4k would add a very small amount a month to our mortgage. If you've overpaid a mortgage (as we have) there may already be cash available to take back.  

thorganby

jimijim said:

I have an old oil-fired boiler, which was meant to be an outdoor boiler, but was placed inside by the previous owner. I have had it repaired numerous times and the engineer is now saying that it can't be fixed because the expansion vessel can't be reached without stripping the whole thing down and building it back up again, and any temporary measure such as a remote vessel would result in possibly flooding my home. Which leads me to wonder if there is any recourse with regards to the previous owner fitting a system that incompetently?
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The "best thing to do" is to find a competent, trustworthy boiler man because your present one is talking rubbish!

You have no recourse with the previous owner, it is your boiler man who is incompetent, telling you lies e.g. "any temporary measure such as a remote vessel would result in possibly flooding my home".

An external expansion vessel is not a temporary measure and will certainly not result in flooding your home because all existing heating pipes and radiators are at the same pressure.

He obviously sees you as an easy touch and after numerous likely overpriced repairs, is going for the kill by telling you that you now need a new boiler.

Find someone else with some gorm!

matelodave

As Thorganby says, your installer is talking rubbish. Find one that's a bit more competent

There is no reason whatsover why an external pressure vessel should cause flooding. Many boilers are fitted with external units and even if the internal one has a duff membrane then it's not likely to leak any more than it would normally.