Options for boiler update

Biggish_who

Just looking for some options here.

Third floor apartment, currently have an outdated Potterton Powermax HE 85L boiler (Essentially an unvented 85L tank with a 'system' boiler all in one box - I think?) Installed 2006.

BG (Yes I know) have advised it is obsolete / limited parts available, & I've been thinking of upgrading for a while, to preempt the inevitable & future proof myself.

Considered a combi, but think the gas pipe may be an issue. To my knowledge it's all in 22mm, with at least ten 90 degree bends... Can't see much of it as it's in the wall / floor, but it comes up from ground level into my kitchen floor & then an unknown route to boiler (about 6m away).

 

Not a huge fan of Combis anyway, & am used to the good pressure hot water from unvented system, so would I be best with a smallish unvented tank & system boiler?

I have 4 room rads, 2 towel rails, 2 showers and 1 bath. 

Any thoughts on what would be best? 

Grenage

It's probably worth just putting the money aside until you actually need a new boiler - unless you need to run new pipes and you happen to be decorating. 

I have an old Potterton Kingfisher and it's a tank!

Belenus

We replaced a Potterton Powermax HE 150L boiler (similar to yours but with a bigger 150l tank) in summer 2023. It was nearly 20 years old. It developed a few faults and became uneconomic to repair so we replaced it with a Vaillant wall mounted system boiler and an unvented hot water tank. We did not want a combi boiler.

As you write these Potterton Powermax HE boilers are now obsolete and it is hard to get spare parts or anyone willing to repair them.

Baxi do offer a repair service (£350 or more from memory) but frankly, your boiler is now so old you should replace it if and when it ceases to work.

My advice is to keep it until it fails and then replace it. You might be lucky and get a few more years out of it or it might fail tomorrow.

Does it have an immersion heater fitted? If the boiler fails that could be used for heating water and you could heat the apartment with electric heaters while you await a new boiler.

Like you I am not a fan of combi boilers so my recommendation is a system boiler and unvented hot water tank. That reduces the risk of needing to replace the gas pipe as a combi would need to be more powerful than a system boiler. (Or so I was advised when we replaced ours in 2003.) Check that latter point in case I am wrong.

We were advised that we might need a new gas pipe but fortunately, when the new boiler was commissioned, the gas pressure and pressure drop etc met the minimum requirements.

Biggish_who

Grenage said:

It's probably worth just putting the money aside until you actually need a new boiler - unless you need to run new pipes and you happen to be decorating. 

I have an old Potterton Kingfisher and it's a tank!

Thanks for replying. Yes that's what I have been doing up till now.

But my existing Potterton is apparently universally hated & most plumbers won't touch it. 

BG will, but the boiler cover goes up every year as the boiler ages, so I am paying about £25/month, only for them to probably say 'Sorry, can't get the part' when it breaks. 

That's why I thought if I put the money into something new, with a decent warranty, I could knock that on the head & get an independent plumber to service annually. 

Belenus

Biggish_who said:

Grenage said:

It's probably worth just putting the money aside until you actually need a new boiler - unless you need to run new pipes and you happen to be decorating. 

I have an old Potterton Kingfisher and it's a tank!

Thanks for replying. Yes that's what I have been doing up till now.

But my existing Potterton is apparently universally hated & most plumbers won't touch it. 

BG will, but the boiler cover goes up every year as the boiler ages, so I am paying about £25/month, only for them to probably say 'Sorry, can't get the part' when it breaks. 

That's why I thought if I put the money into something new, with a decent warranty, I could knock that on the head & get an independent plumber to service annually. 

Stop paying that if you can and put the money aside for a new boiler.

Biggish_who

Belenus said:

Biggish_who said:

Grenage said:

It's probably worth just putting the money aside until you actually need a new boiler - unless you need to run new pipes and you happen to be decorating. 

I have an old Potterton Kingfisher and it's a tank!

Thanks for replying. Yes that's what I have been doing up till now.

But my existing Potterton is apparently universally hated & most plumbers won't touch it. 

BG will, but the boiler cover goes up every year as the boiler ages, so I am paying about £25/month, only for them to probably say 'Sorry, can't get the part' when it breaks. 

That's why I thought if I put the money into something new, with a decent warranty, I could knock that on the head & get an independent plumber to service annually. 

Stop paying that if you can and put the money aside for a new boiler.

Thanks for replying. Well it has recently renewed for an annual subscription so I can't yet. 

I've put the money aside for the eventuality anyway, as realistically 20 years must be pushing it. So thought may as well get it out of the way now! 

Belenus

Biggish_who said:

Belenus said:

Biggish_who said:

Grenage said:

It's probably worth just putting the money aside until you actually need a new boiler - unless you need to run new pipes and you happen to be decorating. 

I have an old Potterton Kingfisher and it's a tank!

Thanks for replying. Yes that's what I have been doing up till now.

But my existing Potterton is apparently universally hated & most plumbers won't touch it. 

BG will, but the boiler cover goes up every year as the boiler ages, so I am paying about £25/month, only for them to probably say 'Sorry, can't get the part' when it breaks. 

That's why I thought if I put the money into something new, with a decent warranty, I could knock that on the head & get an independent plumber to service annually. 

Stop paying that if you can and put the money aside for a new boiler.

Thanks for replying. Well it has recently renewed for an annual subscription so I can't yet. 

I've put the money aside for the eventuality anyway, as realistically 20 years must be pushing it. So thought may as well get it out of the way now! 

Have a look at the details of your BG contract. You may find an early cancellation clause such as 'the boiler is no longer used'  or 'has been replaced by a new boiler with a warranty.'

Good luck.

ThisIsWeird

The way to fix your power max he is to get someone other than BG out :-).
As you say, tho', it is considered weird by many. But just keep asking around.
In essence, keep an existing boiler running for as long as possible, until it is genuinely ber.

Biggish_who

Belenus said:

Biggish_who said:

Belenus said:

Biggish_who said:

Grenage said:

It's probably worth just putting the money aside until you actually need a new boiler - unless you need to run new pipes and you happen to be decorating. 

I have an old Potterton Kingfisher and it's a tank!

Thanks for replying. Yes that's what I have been doing up till now.

But my existing Potterton is apparently universally hated & most plumbers won't touch it. 

BG will, but the boiler cover goes up every year as the boiler ages, so I am paying about £25/month, only for them to probably say 'Sorry, can't get the part' when it breaks. 

That's why I thought if I put the money into something new, with a decent warranty, I could knock that on the head & get an independent plumber to service annually. 

Stop paying that if you can and put the money aside for a new boiler.

Thanks for replying. Well it has recently renewed for an annual subscription so I can't yet. 

I've put the money aside for the eventuality anyway, as realistically 20 years must be pushing it. So thought may as well get it out of the way now! 

Have a look at the details of your BG contract. You may find an early cancellation clause such as 'the boiler is no longer used'  or 'has been replaced by a new boiler with a warranty.'

Good luck.

Thanks. I shall certainly have a look! 

Biggish_who

ThisIsWeird said:

The way to fix your power max he is to get someone other than BG out :-).
As you say, tho', it is considered weird by many. But just keep asking around.
In essence, keep an existing boiler running for as long as possible, until it is genuinely ber.

Thanks. Yes that's part of the reason I wanted to get rid of it, as I know it's generally hated by all! 

But it's worked well up to now, but would I not also save money on energy bills getting something modern and efficient?

I definitely want it replaced before they ban boilers, which I think is 2035(?)  

ThisIsWeird

Biggish_who said:

ThisIsWeird said:

The way to fix your power max he is to get someone other than BG out :-).
As you say, tho', it is considered weird by many. But just keep asking around.
In essence, keep an existing boiler running for as long as possible, until it is genuinely ber.

Thanks. Yes that's part of the reason I wanted to get rid of it, as I know it's generally hated by all! 
But it's worked well up to now, but would I not also save money on energy bills getting something modern and efficient?
I definitely want it replaced before they ban boilers, which I think is 2035(?)  

I'm pretty sure it's 'condensing', isn't it? In which case, a more modern boiler would only provide a marginal efficiency improvement over it. Plucking a figure out of t'air, you might save - ooh - £50 per year? And spend - ooooh - £2.5k replacing it?
That clearly wouldn't make financial sense.
Sil has one, and I've carried out a couple of basic jobs on it - replacing the pressure release valve, for example. I recall access was easier than on most boilers.
And it just 'works' - it provides oodles of instant DHW at a cracking flow rate.
Yes, many local GSs were wary for some reason, but there was one who was happy to work on them, which was good news as the whole estate had them fitted.
Gas boilers will be available for a good while yet. General sensible consensus is to keep your existing boiler running for as long as possible. Replace only when needed.
There appears to be a steady improvement in design and efficiency, particularly in alternative energy systems. When the time finally comes, you might just choose a heat pump 'cos it'll be cheap and effective enough :-)