New boiler?

mahoney

Hi,

We have a boiler that is over 15 years old - probably closer to 20;  Over the last 3 months we've had to have british gas out twice to fix it and now it has packed in again.
Is it time to replace?  They're not cheap - but sites seems to make it quite easy to buy (Boxt, BG).

I know nothing about boilers so how do I know what to buy / if I really do need a new one.  I'm only going by the fact that it's old and has broken down more than I feel comfortable with of late.

Thank you

MikeJXE

mahoney said:

Hi,

We have a boiler that is over 15 years old - probably closer to 20;  Over the last 3 months we've had to have british gas out twice to fix it and now it has packed in again.
Is it time to replace?  They're not cheap - but sites seems to make it quite easy to buy (Boxt, BG).

I know nothing about boilers so how do I know what to buy / if I really do need a new one.  I'm only going by the fact that it's old and has broken down more than I feel comfortable with of late.

Thank you

There not cheap but are much more expedite overall if you use BG on credit 

BUFF

Yes, it is probably end of life/getting uneconomic to repair. If it is ~20 years old it may not be condensing so a new condensing boiler may also save you energy if properly specified, installed & run.

A local installer with a good reputation will probably be cheaper than BG (who may well subcontract it out anyway) but may be booked up for a while. I would recommend getting 3 quotes.
When installing a new boiler also take the opportunity to update the controls as they can make a significant difference to operating efficiency.

Eldi_Dos

MikeJXE said:

mahoney said:

Hi,

We have a boiler that is over 15 years old - probably closer to 20;  Over the last 3 months we've had to have british gas out twice to fix it and now it has packed in again.
Is it time to replace?  They're not cheap - but sites seems to make it quite easy to buy (Boxt, BG).

I know nothing about boilers so how do I know what to buy / if I really do need a new one.  I'm only going by the fact that it's old and has broken down more than I feel comfortable with of late.

Thank you

There not cheap but are much more expedite overall if you use BG on credit 

BG local heros seem to be better priced than going through their main business, get access to credit there.

MikeJXE

Whoever they chose be sure the engineer is registered with gassaferegister.co.uk They will find all the local installers there 

pensionpawn

I replaced my 26 year old boiler last autumn. My new Viessmann must be pushing twice the efficiency. Depending on how much gas you're using, at the current unit cost for gas you'll recover the cost of a new boiler in 5 - 10 years. As we're now semi retired and the gas c/h is set to 20c all day I estimate that my new boiler will pay for itself in 4-5 years. Before the energy crisis I just accepted that a new boiler is a capital cost with no payback within its lifespan. How things change...

FreeBear

BUFF said:

Yes, it is probably end of life/getting uneconomic to repair. If it is ~20 years old it may not be condensing so a new condensing boiler may also save you energy if properly specified, installed & run.

A local installer with a good reputation will probably be cheaper than BG (who may well subcontract it out anyway) but may be booked up for a while. I would recommend getting 3 quotes.
When installing a new boiler also take the opportunity to update the controls as they can make a significant difference to operating efficiency.

Any new boiler fitted now will require a smarter thermostat/timer as well as TRVs on all bar one radiator.

Currently going through the exercise of getting quotes to replace my vintage Baxi. Going to the likes of BG, I'm getting quotes in the £4200-4500 range with a 3-5 year warranty (this is with a WB combi).

A local company has given me a ballpark figure of £1200 to install plus the cost of a boiler & controls, so something in the region of £3K. If I went for WB, I'd get a 10/12 year warranty on top, although I'm leaning towards Intergas (10y warranty).

C_Mababejive

go on the manufacturers website and find a local indpeeendent approved installer eg vaillant or worcester approved.  PS also have a look at Navien boilers..

Eldi_Dos

pensionpawn said:

 Before the energy crisis I just accepted that a new boiler is a capital cost with no payback within its lifespan. How things change...

My thoughts also.

FreeBear

C_Mababejive said:  PS also have a look at Navien boilers..

That was a name that cropped up in a recent discussion I had.. Navien is a global manufacturer of boilers (Korean owned) and have been supplying the UK market for about 10 years. Plus points - Stainless steel heat exchanger. OpenTherm compatible. Negative points - Overly complex design (in my opinion). Very limited supply of spares available from independent suppliers.

If a sensor fails, you either need to hope that the engineer has one in his van, or risk being held hostage to a single source (the manufacturer).

km1500

Don't forget to factor in that you will need it serviced every year without fail (or obvs. according to manufacturer requirements) in order to preserve the warranty - no skipping servicing!

Also factor in the cost of flushing etc your radiators.