Baxi Bermuda and gas meter question..

[Sirbendy]

We're literally just about to buy our first house, and we couldn't for the life of us find the boiler. Then I saw the (mildly horrific) wood effect/metal fire on the wall of the living room, and in a folder, a manual for a Baxi Bermuda backboiler.

First reaction was "oh NO, not one of those.". House is a Wimpy "no fines" with the insulating render modification, DG etc, and is nice and warm without power, so maybe I'm being unfair. I've been given to understand they're inefficient and "not a good type of boiler"?

However, we're renting an 18c cottage with a Baxi Solo3 that costs us about £530 every bill...so it can't be as bad as that, surely.

The biggest dislike is the fire front...it takes up a nice wall, and looks horribly dated. So...questions...

a) Could we "lose" the fire front but keep the backboiler, or are they tied inseparably together?

b) If we could lose the front bit, could we then cover the fire opening or box it off, leaving only the controls accessible with the option to remove the box for servicing?

c) If not, can you get a decent looking replacement front for it that doesn't look like an extra form "Terry and June"? Heh.

and a gas meter query - it currently has the old dial type of meter fitted in the house..are these still "ok", or is it better/advisable/possible to replace it with something more recent?

Many thanks, and sorry for what may be ruddy silly questions!

 

[adlplumbing]

a= no they classed as on unit
b=no u can not boarded it up as bbu is open flued unit
c= ask baxi what avaible still

 

[ChrisR]

it currently has the old dial type of meter fitted in the house..are these still "ok", or is it better/advisable/possible to replace it with something more recent?

They're still fine.

 

[muggles]

Modern Bermudas use an electric fire front, however these are not AFAIK compatible with the old back boilers units, so you'd need to buy a new BBU and choose from the range of Valor Dimension electric fires, or alternatively find somewhere else to put a conventional wall-mounted boiler.

 

[expertgasman]

The biggest dislike is the fire front...it takes up a nice wall, and looks horribly dated. So...questions...

a) Could we "lose" the fire front but keep the backboiler, or are they tied inseparably together?

b) If we could lose the front bit, could we then cover the fire opening or box it off, leaving only the controls accessible with the option to remove the box for servicing?

c) If not, can you get a decent looking replacement front for it that doesn't look like an extra form "Terry and June"? Heh.

and a gas meter query - it currently has the old dial type of meter fitted in the house..are these still "ok", or is it better/advisable/possible to replace it with something more recent?

The answers posted above are valid.

EDITED NOTE: Muggles made a post at the same time as me. The renewal fires to which I refer are the gas fires compatible with (some of) the old Bermuda's. The electric ones are DEFINITELY not compatible.

A replacement firefront may be available, but I believe that Baxi have stopped making them altogether, but you'll find some stock online. They arte VERY expensive, but good quality, although they are all glass fronted "outste" fires, which customers don't generally like. If you decide to pursue this, you MUST get the model of the boiler, as they are not all cpompatible with the renewaL fires. It MUST have FOUR radiants, and the 551 is NOT compatible. Before purchasing the fire, get an RGI to service and inspect the boiler, as ypui don't want an expensive fire connected to a leaky boiler.

I have seen a couple of these covered with large radiator cabinets. I don't see a problem with this, provided the ventilation is maintained, and maybe my forum colleagues will have something to say about this!

With regard to the meter, a dial meter is okay, and in any case, it is up to the gas provider to decide on what type of meter to fit.

By the way, roughly where are you?

 

[Sirbendy]

Ah, I see! Well, when we get the keys, I'll have a good eyeball of the boiler, as it'll need starting up anyway (utilities off ATM). As I say, sellers have left all the house/fittings documentation for us, which is handy.

I did look at replacement boilers..the prob is that the kitchen is a small "galley" style job, all fitted out. Plus with an 18 month old, we'd rather just "move in and run with it" for as long as we can before any upheaval.

I do note however that there is now a Bermuda BBU condenser which is a plug and play replacement pretty much...in the future, I might just put some money by and eventually have one of those, heh. Seems easiest.

I DO have another query that's just been asked by the missus...the outset fire (PW5, from what I can see?) has a (mock?) hearth under it. Looked like tile, but is in fact gloss red painted wood, raised to give a hearth impression.

Given that we want to replace the carpet with lino anyway (easy cleaning with a toddler), is there any conceivable reason the fire may need a hearth at all? Especially a painted wooden board jobbie that I would have thought would be no use in fire retardation anyway?

I can see me opening that up out of curiosity, but if it serves no purpose, it can go, and it'll make the flooring simpler!

Roughly where am I? Do you know Telford at all?

 

[expertgasman]

I did look at replacement boilers..the prob is that the kitchen is a small "galley" style job, all fitted out.
Boilers are rarely fitted in kitchens now

Plus with an 18 month old, we'd rather just "move in and run with it" for as long as we can before any upheaval.

Fair enough

I do note however that there is now a Bermuda BBU condenser which is a plug and play replacement pretty much...in the future, I might just put some money by and eventually have one of those, heh. Seems easiest.

Not neccesarily. It depends on the type of system currently and the integrity of the infrastructure.

I DO have another query that's just been asked by the missus...the outset fire (PW5, from what I can see?) has a (mock?) hearth under it. Looked like tile, but is in fact gloss red painted wood, raised to give a hearth impression.
Given that we want to replace the carpet with lino anyway (easy cleaning with a toddler), is there any conceivable reason the fire may need a hearth at all? Especially a painted wooden board jobbie that I would have thought would be no use in fire retardation anyway?

The minimum height from the combustible floor covering to the UNDERTRAY is 100mm. As long as it is this high, you dont need the hearth. BUT if the feet of the fire touches the hearth without an undertray, then you have to have a hearth, as there will otherwise be no support, and will be hazardous. The hearth should be non combustible anyway.

I can not stress enough that you should have the boiler inspected / serviced by an RGI. You have no idea of it's history, and malfunctioning boilers of this age are LETHAL. They don't have an Oxygen Depletion System. I charge £85 to service a BB, assuming there are no issues found, and I normally change the thermocouple every couple of years, for which we charge about £15 for a Genuine honeywell one. I never use the carpy generic ones.

Unfortunately, I am nowhere near Telford, so I'm not punting for the job!
I hope all goes well

 

[bengasman]

One thing to bear in mind with a back boiler is the extremely low efficiency. Add to that the heatloss due to the draught caused by the ventilation openings and the 24/7/365 pull from the flue, and you end up paying double of what it would cost you doing the heating with a new combi.

A second point, is that they really need a complete strip down service every year if you want to keep things safe.

Third, at least 70-80% chance there is a lot of corrosion, and the system needs cleaning out ( flush )

On the plus side, there is not a whole lot that can go wrong with them, and as long as it doesn't rot through, it will all be fixed in less than 24 hours and won't cost the world.

 

[Sirbendy]

Oh, I'm definitely going to have it checked over ASAP - the house sellers were renting it out previous to selling, so I'd assume they HAD to have it annually checked over then, but once we get the keys I'll have a hunt through for the gas safety certificates etc.

I'm a natural worrier when it comes to stuff like this, so if I'm honest (and the missus will roll her eyes), the electrics and Gas are my first priorities to sort.

 

[OwainDIYer]

I did look at replacement boilers..the prob is that the kitchen is a small "galley" style job, all fitted out.

You can put a mains pressure boiler in the loft. Then it needs 2 pipes down the chimney for heating flow and return. Mains cold and hot out can probably be picked up fairly easily in the loft or from the airing cupboard.

 

[PEDANTICVINDICTIVEMAN]

I'm humming the theme tune to Terry and June

 

[expertgasman]

You can put a mains pressure boiler in the loft. Then it needs 2 pipes down the chimney for heating flow and return. Mains cold and hot out can probably be picked up fairly easily in the loft or from the airing cupboard.[/quote]

Thats one way to do it. If you are really stupid.

 

[bengasman]

And where is the gas pipe?

 

[petit_pablo]

You can put a mains pressure boiler in the loft. Then it needs 2 pipes down the chimney for heating flow and return. Mains cold and hot out can probably be picked up fairly easily in the loft or from the airing cupboard.

Thats one way to do it. If you are really stupid.