Getting rid of the Rayburn - which premium brand of boiler?

[Nozzle]

Based on some comments I saw on "review centre" of punters blaming their intergas failures on limescale (or rather, lack of a hardwater solution) I got interested and snooped some more. If there're thousands of litres on fresh mains water going through the DHW side of the heat exchanger in a combi, I can see why it would be a problem.. not just in Intergas but any boiler. I believe my thinking is right - this only is a problem on a combi, as on a system- or heat-only, the only water in contact with the heat exchanger is that of the flow n return which is dosed anyway, and once filled is not routinely refreshed, so any plating out of scale is only done rarely.

...but that got me thinking of guidelines for filling any boiler anyway. My knowledge is limited, but I thought the filling loop was supposed to be from a hard supply rather than a softened supply?

Given I need a system or heat-only - do I really need to worry about this apparent scaling problem on the Intergas heatex?

p.s. watched a great vid on Youtube from the mid 90's about how the heat exchangers were designed and built... you'll never guess whos channel it is on!

Nozzle

 

[Mottie]

I can understand when people say it’s down to the quality of the installation but surely that statement only applies to a full system? My system has been working fine for 26 years and my boiler is near to the end of its life so I’m looking for a replacement. Now, with my heat only boiler there’s three pipes - flow, return and gas as well as an electrical connection and the flue. If it works from day one, what could possibly go wrong with the boiler installation after that time that would be connected to the installation apart from not tightening the pipes up? How can an installer get that wrong when replacing it, surely any faults with the boiler would be down to the boiler manufacturer or am I just looking at it too naively?

 

[vulcancontinental]

Too naively. I'm soon replacing a combi in a new system I put in for a customer 27 years ago. It's never scaled up on the domestic side in an extremely hard water area. He doesn't want to replace the Combimate conditioner that has kept it clear with no descaling necessary because it requires periodic replenishment but would like a magnetic device which I know will not work. He's dubious about the powerflush which I think is important because it's expensive but no new boiler is happy with any dirt. Rock on but it will not be there in 27 years time and neither will yours.

 

[Hot&Cold]

Consideration of the life span of a new condensing boiler is often not discussed,boiler warranty is available but consider what that covers. some even call it an extended guarantee .

 

[Mottie]

Too naively. I'm soon replacing a combi in a new system I put in for a customer 27 years ago. It's never scaled up on the domestic side in an extremely hard water area. He doesn't want to replace the Combimate conditioner that has kept it clear with no descaling necessary because it requires periodic replenishment but would like a magnetic device which I know will not work. He's dubious about the powerflush which I think is important because it's expensive but no new boiler is happy with any dirt. Rock on but it will not be there in 27 years time and neither will yours.

Well mine will be a sealed system heat-only boiler with a mag filter, not a combi with hard water constantly flowing through it. The system will be as clean as it’s possible to get it at the time of installation and it will have a corrosion inhibitor added and the inhibitor strength will be monitored so apart from that, what can an installer bugger up fitting a three pipe boiler? I'm not being confrontational here, just curious to know as I’ve heard it said many times, “it’s down to how it’s installed”. FWIW, I wouldn’t expect many condensing boilers that are fitted today to still be running in 27 years.

 

[Hot&Cold]

I wouldn’t expect many condensing boilers that are fitted today to still be running in 27 years.

Most decent cast iron boilers (like yours) will last atleast another 20 years with some old fashioned engineer care not flue pokers.there will be parts available for your profile in 20 years time.

in 20 years you will most probably be on your second condenser,although you will have saved some gas your wallet will be suffering

its your call

 

[vulcancontinental]

There you go, you seem to have everything covered that needs to be covered, all you need is it to be installed OK.

 

[Nozzle]

Can't help but think there was a spot of thread hi-jacking going on there!

Nozzle

 

[lemon_1]

Worcester bosh are marketed as the rolls Royce boiler. But last time I said that I got shot to pieces on this forum.. so dont just take my word for it.

My parents have had a Worcester for 2.5 years+ now and never had an issue