2 Boilers, working when they want.?

[Lisa35]

Hello
I moved into this house in March, it has 2 boilers one for the heating and one for the hot water. Both of which Ive been told are 17 years old.
The hot water boiler bangs loudly as a tap is turned on and this has happened since ive been here. Until 2 days ago, the hot water was only just warm and then none but now it has come back on and is lovely and hot although now the other boiler that does the central heating is not working. The boilers are Potterton Flamingo 40 and a Corvec Britony.

I have called out 2 plumbers and they both advised me that i need a new combi system. Any thought please as I really can't afford a new boiler. Although I do not need the central heating on at the moment, i'm sure its more than a fliuke that the boilers are workink and then arent etc, please help, thank you.

 

[Agile]

You have an instant water heater for hot water!

Your system is very old and you must have been aware of this when you bought the property.

It will be very costly for you to keep getting such an old system repaired and the best option would be a new boiler. Whether a combi or not would need to be decided but it may well NOT be the best option!

Only an experienced heating engineer can evaluate your system and discuss the options.

It seems you have just had two plumbers who want to put in a minimal combi system.

Its really impossible to tell you anything which will make you happy. As you have presumably spent well over £100,000 to buy the property then why dont you want to get a proper modern heating system installed?

Tony Glazier

 

[Lisa35]

I do want a new boiler system, i just cant afford one. You are correct the house did cost in excess of £100,000 and i am stretched to my limits financially, thats why i wanted some advice here. If as you say it will be costly to keep trying to fix these old boilers, it looks as though a cheap combi will be my only option until I can afford some other system. Any other info please.

 

[Beans-on-Toast]

I find that Agile is so bloody rude, what has it got to do with him whether or not you payed over £100k for your house...??????? What on earth has that got to do with the OP's question. My oh my, you really think your Judge, Jury and Hangman, dont you....?!?!?

To the OP, combis get a lot of bad press on here, I've had one for years, they're great.........!

 

[cross thread]

YOUR WATER HEATER ,SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD SERVICE AND NEW DIAPAGHRAM WOULD SORT IT AROUND £100, BOILER OLD UNIT THAT IS SIMPLE TO REPAIR AND ALL PARTS ARE AVAILABLE SO GET A GAS HEATING PERSON NOT A PLUMBER TO SORT THEM OUT

 

[ChrisR]

Can't see any reason why the antics of the two boilers should be linked. You have two very common appliances there. Though they might be suffering from middle aged cantankerousness it's unlikely that they can't be cajoled into running for another year or so, even if they do need some attention.

If you're in a particularly hard water area that could explain the banging from the water heater, especially if the flow through it is low. That could be hard to deal with. (And a combi might suffer the same problems).