My Boiler

[brockers]

I have a 20 year old open-vent Netaheat boiler. Now, apparently these things are pretty robust and I reckon if I de-sludge and drain the system, and add some descaler/inhibitor/anti-kettler on refilling, it could tank on for another ten years. They're not as inefficient as the replace-your-boiler nazis like to make out either. The resourceful side of my personality finds it difficult to chuck out well-built and working kit, BUT I could do with getting rid of the hot water tank which takes up space in the kitchen, and I think that maybe having a new-fangled and more modern-looking white box in my kitchen would make my flat easier to sell or rent out. Thing is, I'd be looking at dropping around 2k (which, being a normal, well adjusted chap would be painful, as I'd rather spend it on toys), and I've heard that these modern contraptions are constantly breaking down. Decisions, decisions....

Over to you !

 

[aberal]

De-sludge it and keep it till it falls apart. Fit a magnetic filter for a £100 or so... worth their weight in gold. Don't do a power clean - utter waste of money with no guarantee that it will have worked. The modern boilers are far more efficient and will technically save you money on running costs, but you will have to run them a long time till you make your money back. I'm with you in that received wisdom is that modern boilers are less robust than the older ones, probably because they are more complex. Exception to that seems to be boilers by Worcester Bosch which most good plumbers will fit in their own homes.

 

[colly]

A couple of years ago we had our 20 yr old bolier replaced with a combi boiler. Apart from the fact the old one was pretty much knackered we also wanted to do away with the the cold tanks and hot tanks.

We ended up with a condensing boiler which gives instant hot water and keeps the house nice and warm too. I was concerend about the flow rate for the shower because we were used to a pumped shower but this boliler will heat water fast enough to run water too hot to stand at around 17 l/min.

Which is more than enough. No one has it on full flow.

The heating bills have gone down as well.

When we decided we needed a new one it so happened that NPower had dropped a leaflet through the door so I gave them a call.

New boiler and two new rads and new thermostatic valves all round :

NPower......................................................................£3400

British gas ................................................................£5200

Michael Cooper (recommended by a friend)..............£2600

and he replaced some old iron pipework while he was at it which the others didn't allow for. AND he fitted a boiler of a much bigger capacity which seemed more appropriate considering the size of the house.
Guaranteed 5 years.

Defo try to get someone who is recommended if you can.

 

[gbb]

De-sludge it and keep it till it falls apart. Fit a magnetic filter for a £100 or so... worth their weight in gold. Don't do a power clean - utter waste of money with no guarantee that it will have worked. The modern boilers are far more efficient and will technically save you money on running costs, but you will have to run them a long time till you make your money back. I'm with you in that received wisdom is that modern boilers are less robust than the older ones, probably because they are more complex. Exception to that seems to be boilers by Worcester Bosch which most good plumbers will fit in their own homes.

My son works for BG (its not his fault ...its a good job anyway)...and from memory, when talking to my son, just about everything aberal says is right on the nail.
Power clean...waste of money.
Pay back time...a long time.
Spare parts for your old boiler might be the only medium term issue if its that old, so you have to balance it all out with the fact you may have a problem further down the line by keeping your old boiler.

 

[brockers]

Spare parts for your old boiler might be the only medium term issue if its that old, so you have to balance it all out with the fact you may have a problem further down the line by keeping your old boiler.

The gas valves can fail and that's about it. Some gas engineers who'd like to fit you a new boiler would like you to think that the valves are <sucks teeth> as rare as rocking horse poo </sucks teeth>*. Not true. In fact they're available on eBay from older decomissioned sytems, and possibly sold by those same engineers at a nice profit. Other valves can be made to fit too. I've had the fan go before and got a friendly salaried plumber to fit a recon one (which I found on eBay) for a few drinkies. So spares aren't a worry.

It might take about fifteen years to pay for itself through lower bills, but having an old boiler when selling my gaff could be a deal-breaker, so that's possibly something to run by an est*te ag*nt.

I've asked my freeholder (who are also a property maintenance co), and their boys should be able to install something decent for around £1500. With online quotes and unknown plumbers, I'm getting quotes of £2600 and up, and I'm not even going to bother to ask the big power suppliers as I know an ex-employee who's told me about their sharp practices.


*sorry for the stereotype. Like possibly many others, I looked at training as a plumber myself before the recession hit!

 

[Mr Celine]

I replaced a netaheat about 10 years ago with Potterton's updated version the suprima, due to a fault that could have been one of several things and also because a planned extension would have required a larger boiler anyway.
In terms of gas used the newer boiler was more efficient but if you include the cost of replacement circuit boards it would never pay for itself. The supplied suprima circuit board although very unreliable was easily repaired - just needed properly soldered, but no plumber or heating engineer was going to do that, they just wanted to swap it for another equally unreliable board.
Netaheats require professional servicing - my plumber referred to it as 'the widow maker'. The fan blows fresh air into the boiler unlike all later fan flued designs which blow the exhaust out. If the boiler casing isn't properly sealed the higher pressure inside causes exhaust gases to leak into the room.
Apart from the actual boiler, an open vented system is reliable and easily repaired if necessary. I'd run it till it breaks and consider replacing it when it does.

 

[darth vadar]

I've just had a new central heating system fitted (this week) 1 'A' rated combi boiler plus 8 rads etc = £2,900. Job well done iin 2.5 days.

Now I am snug as a bug in a rug.

 

[brockers]

Thanks very much for all your input, folks. Reckon I'll keep it chugging on for a bit longer, AND SPEND THE MONEY ON TOYS !!!!

Marvellous.

 

[just jim]

Wee bit of a hijack here, but wondered if any C.C'ers out there have an alternative heating system like air-source, or wood pellet boiler?