New Boiler or repair old one's fan?

FataVerde

Hit me with your suggestions and experiences of best new boilers (quality/price balance) for a small Victorian flat conversion that's now 1BR, but we hope to extend into a 2-BR. Our 13-year old Ideal Logic 24 boiler has a fan problem (the fan needs cleaning/replacing) despite being serviced a few months ago before the flat purchase. The plumber said the repair kit and his time would probably cost just under £500 and we are considering investing in a new boiler instead.

grumbler

My gut feeling is that your plumber is pulling a fast one. A fan, if available, most likely costs  less then £100 and doesn't need £400 worth of your plumber's precisious time for replacing.

kipsterno1

That does sound a bit steep. I had the fan replaced after it failed on an old Worcester cdi about seven months ago. All in it was £220. Even allowing for the fact we are in the Northwest that is a big difference. 

Bendy_House

Hi FV.

Reconditioned fans are available from reputable sellers on eBay, for around £45 - if it's the correct model. (And quite a bit less if you send them the old one first.)

I had one for a the in-law's GlowWorm a good few years ago, and the quality of refurb was simply spot-on. New bearings and whatever, and even resprayed to look like new.

You'll need to find a GasSafe happy to swap a recon unit, tho', and don't expect any warranty from the GS; you'd need to pay to have the fan removed again if it goes faulty! But, once refurb'ed, there is basically nothing to go wrong with them, and it'll almost certainly see out your boiler.

No idea how awkward the part is to swap in the Ideal, but it was a breeze in the GW. So, around £150 all in? Max.

Leon_W

This sort of thing....  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/292749945112?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=fWU2OD3PR_e&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=6xDTQee2SMS&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY


 £500 does seem expensive.  You can go out and buy a brand new Ideal Logic 24 from Screwfix for a tiny bit over £1k inc VAT.  

chrisw

Agreed. I bought a new, not refurbished, genuine Glow worm fan off eBay for £50 and a local Gas safe plumber charged me £45 to fit it. That was 6 years ago and it's been fine since.

Bendy_House

Leon_W said:

This sort of thing....  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/292749945112?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=fWU2OD3PR_e&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=6xDTQee2SMS&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY


 £500 does seem expensive.  You can go out and buy a brand new Ideal Logic 24 from Screwfix for a tiny bit over £1k inc VAT.  

That might be the newer model of Ideal, I'm not sure.

I was actually referring to properly reconditioned items, carried out by reputable companies. With new bearings, brushes (if they have them) and new coil windings on some, they are - functionally - as good as new. They will outlast the rest of the boiler.

If the fan IS like the one you've linked to, then it's a super-easy one-bolt swap - there's a vid on YouTube. A GS would have this done in WAY under an hour, with all the required safety checks.

FataVerde

Thank you all for the replies. Unsurprisingly, I cannot find many plumbers willing to repair but all of them would find the time to install a new boiler lol. The cheapest quote I got was from ideal heating for £330, which includes some 6 months aftercare. I think it might be worth replacing as it's been slow in providing hot water and extremely loud. If I get another fault, I will probably lose a few other hundred quid so not sure it is a good long-term investment. If I could repair for 100-200, I'd probably go for it.

Bendy_House

And there's the problem - no-one willing to carry out a repair on this basis.

In a way, it's understandable - they wouldn't be prepared to guarantee the repair (fair enough), and they only get paid a trivial 'labour' amount for what they consider a 'significant' repair where they'd usually also get a cut on the part (exploitative)

Bottom line - you don't see many poor GasSafes.

So, yes, if it's old, not working 100%, and the repair is going to cost in excess of £300, perhaps it is time to count your losses :-(