Boiler replacement or upgrade

[firekill]

Hi , moved in to a big 4 bedroomed house in April this year and in the process of looking into replacing or upgrading the current heating system . the system as it stands is
ideal concorde c140 series 2 A con flu boiler
randell 40333 programmer
honeywell wall mounted thermostat ( looks old and doesn,t work as far as we can tell )
2 x honeywell moterised valves
hot water tank termostat
19 rads ( mostly double s , half have fins at back )
lounge rads have TRV but don,t work anymore
no leaks on rads
vented HW tank
i have had a number of local plumbers round for quotes and first question most have asked is why are we changing the boiler. The system does work well and all the rads get hot very quickly . the last plumber said he would leave it as it could go for another 15 years if serviced regular . is this good advice or should we go with a new boiler and possibly new rads aswell or just go for new programmers , thermostats , TRV on all rads etc , which i could possibly do myself .He said i wouldn,t save as much as i think on gas , with a new condensing boiler . What should i do as we have lots of other things to spend our hard earned on in the house .He also said the system was very well planned out and virtually a commercial system ( the house is very big , with 4 large bedrooms and an attic room )

 

[D_Hailsham]

You are being given very sensible advice. If it aint broke, don't fix it!

The cost of changing the boiler will not be recovered in the gas savings; so don't change it until it can't be mended or is uneconomical to repair.

Keep the Randall programmer just for hot water timing.

Replace the Honeywell thermostat by a combined programmer thermostat, e.g Honeywell CM900 series, for the heating.

Install new TRVs (e.g Drayton TRV4) on all valves except where the Honeywell programmer is installed.

 

[simond]

The old Concord is likely to have an F or G efficiency rating. In other words, it will be operating at 60-70% efficiency.

Modern boilers get to around 90% efficiency, wasting around 10% of the gas delivered to them. In contrast, you are wasting 30-35% in every £.

You also have an old boiler which is open flued, making it less fail safe from a safety perspective.

Personally, I would not have this in my house. Stories of modern boilers being less reliable and short lived are based on some statistical fact.

However, there were high efficiency boilers available even when yours was installed, such as the Kidd Model 2, and this would have saved a fortune in the time your Concord has been in place and most likely still be going strong.

So I think there are two answers, keep the old one going (maintainers like this because they don't get any work from 5 yr warranted new boilers).

Or fit a new one (installers always like this option) and enjoy the gas savings, a five year warranty and the safety benefits.

I am an installer, but don't go anywhere near Leeds so you could consider my opinion impartial.

 

[kevindgas]

I am an installer, but don't go anywhere near Leeds so you could consider my opinion impartial.

when did it move?

 

[simond]

Anywhere North of the Thames worries me......

 

[firekill]

how unsafe is the concorde , i plan to have it serviced annually. also plumber said there are some new boilers coming out soon that you can fit in a chimney like the concorde . any ideas ?

 

[jiltedjohn]

how unsafe is the concorde , i plan to have it serviced annually. also plumber said there are some new boilers coming out soon that you can fit in a chimney like the concorde . any ideas ?

like all open flue boilers it is perfectly safe as long as it has adequate ventilation, a working flue and is correctly serviced, however it is not as inherently safe as a room sealed boiler, Viessmann boilers can be fitted into an open flue with the correct kit. they are fully pumped and wall mounted though so not exactly the same as the concorde