Cold

[ffutures]

 My gas central heating and hot water conked out some time Friday night, with something badly enough wrong that it trips the earth leakage breaker. It was a bit noisy that evening and my guess is that the fan or water pump has died. Won't get an engineer until Wednesday, and given it's 32 years old I suspect that they will advise replacement rather than repair. Even if they fix it, I think it may be time to bite the bullet and look at getting a new one. Meanwhile I'm making do with a couple of electric radiator heaters and heating water in the kettle when I wash - fortunately I have a washing machine and dish washer so that isn't  nearly as bad as it might otherwise be.

So - recommendations for a replacement boiler? Preferably available in the UK and suitable for London, so it's probably going to have to be gas. If possible I'd prefer to continue to use the existing radiators, since putting in new pipes etc. would be a nightmare - they'l probably need flushing and new valves though. It's a flat on two floors with five rooms - two living rooms plus small kitchen and bathroom on the lower floor, bedroom in the attic. 

What I'm primarily looking for is a brand with a good track record on continued support - this is one of the problems with my boiler, some parts including the actual boiler (the tubes etc. the water passes through when being heated) are no longer made.

Any suggestions?

Comments

[coth]

We have had Vaillant boilers for years - they do seem to be good, and Vaillant-the-company is responsive.

Last time we replaced the boiler we had a recommendation for Baxi as one of the options.

[ffutures]

Thanks!

[murphys_lawyer]

We had a Worcester-Bosch fitted a few years back and have no complaints. You mentioned flushing: we got a magnetic filter fitted at the same time as the boiler.

[ffutures]

Thanks - I'll ask about that when I know what's happening.

[original_aj]

That's what we've got too - though in Edinburgh, so different water.

You might want to look into what grants might be available - we got a big chunk towards our replacement of an old boiler because it was below modern efficiency standards and there were grants to help people get up to date.

[ffutures]

I'll certainly check it out. If they can't fix it I think that the service people pay a good chunk towards a new boiler, which is a starting point.

[ffutures]

Forgot to say that this is London so fairly hard water and a lot of lime scale. But that would be true whatever system I end up with.

[i_kender]

So I had to buy a new one a few years back. Worcester and Vaillant are the two biggest brands in the UK, but you could go cheaper if that’s a concern. Make sure you get a decent warranty… mine (Vaillant) is 7 years, but I need to do an annual service.

[ffutures]

I'll definitely be paying a LOT of attention to the warranty terms!

[eledonecirrhosa]

My first Worcester wasn't new when I bought the flat and it lasted 12 years, plus however old it was when I inherited it. The flats were built in the 90s so conceivably it was 20-25 years old.

The replacement Worcester-Bosch is the one which stopped working after (guesstimate) 6 years when its wifi connection to the thermostat fell over. The boiler was fine. The old thermostat clock had ALWAYS run slow, even though it is supposed to keep time by paying attention to the outside world. So I had to adjust the timings by a few minutes every winter. Soooo... boiler reliable, peripherals not.

[ffutures]

Why did they need a wifi connection? Sounds very weird... Mine just has thermostatic valves on the radiators, and shuts off the heat if none of the valves are open. There are problems with a couple of the thermostat valves, but at least they only affect one radiator, not the entire flat.

[eledonecirrhosa]

The wifi is because the boiler is in the kitchen but the thermostat is in the living room. They communicate by radio signals. Or telepathy! :-)

[watervole]

Have you considered a heat pump?

If your house is well insulated, then a heat pump is the way to go. Frees you from increases in gas prices and will be powered increasingly by UK-produced renewable energy.

We had one installed a couple of years ago and are very pleased with it.

Much lower CO2 emissions as well.

There may possibly be grants toward the cost (we got a grant towards our one). A reputable installer will know what the government is currently offering.

Also remember that an air-source heat pump can be used for cooling in summer...

[ffutures]

No chance - it's a Victorian house, 170-ish years old and not very well insulated, it would have to be more or less rebuilt for a heat pump to be much use.

[susanreads]

I agree with watervole, minus the practical experience. I'm all-electric, having specifically picked a place where the gas had been disconnected; you presumably haven't had the bad experience with gas that I'd had, but it's not the fuel of the future and massive price increases are expected in April.

[ffutures]

I'd be happy either way for heating. Not a big fan of electric cookers so I don't think I'll be going the all-electric route - for one thing, if there's a power cut the central heating goes off because the pump etc aren't working, but I can still get a bit of heat and cook with the gas stove.

I'll be honest, I think there's going to be a big hike in electricity prices too, it may just take a little longer.

speaking of heating bills ...

[susanreads]

I had a surveyor here today from WarmWorks, who do the Green Homes Grant Scheme in Essex, who recommended external insulation among other things - I don't know yet whether I can get it, but it should be a big improvement if I can. (It was promo'd in Radio Times a few weeks ago, and I noticed the criteria include income but not savings.) I'm hoping it'll cut the bills and increase comfort, but I'll take either. If external insulation's not a goer where you are, they might be able to suggest something else if you qualify.

Re: speaking of heating bills ...

[ffutures]

Sorry, I missed this when you posted it - no chance of external insulation, it's a conservation area and Westminster City Council would throw several sorts of fit.