How long does the average Worcester Danesmoor 20/25 oil boiler last?

[DIYNotIan]

Hi

I appreciate it might be a "how long is a piece of string" type question, but I wondered if anyone could please give me a rough idea on how long does the average Worcester Danesmoor 20/25 oil boiler last?

For various reasons I won't bore you with, it would be good to at least get an idea of whether to consider my boiler a healthy middle ager or an OAP

The boiler was installed in 2001 / 2002.

On a separate note, is there any resale value in a boiler of this age? It's still working fine. If so, what kind of sum would I be looking at?

Many thanks

 

[muggles]

It depends entirely on the condition of the heat exchanger, which in turn depends on how well the system has been looked after - is the water clean or dirty, is there enough inhibitor in the system, has there been any electrolytic corrosion etc etc

What's it worth second hand? £100 on a good day

 

[DIYNotIan]

Thanks muggles.

So, if/when we get it serviced next, would the engineer be able to answer all those questions and hazard a guess as to whether it has years left in it or is approaching retirement?

 

[ericmark]

With a real boiler, not water heater, every 10 years the hatches are removed and a boiler inspector tests everything including a hydraulic test, and some boilers have lasted 50 years or more even with such testing, however a water heated is not stripped during a service so the guy has no idea as to the condition, so my gas water heaters is over 30 years old, so it could last another 30 years, although unlikely as with gas modern water heaters are more efficient, but oil water heaters can also last 40 years if not strained.

The early water heaters used thermal syphon for DHW with no way to turn off the heating of the DHW so water heaters heated up and cooled down slowly so no thermal shock, with modern water heaters there is a run on timer again no thermal shock, the Y plan default no power is DHW again no thermal shock, but with S Plan it depends how wired and plumbed as to if there is a thermal shock when turning off. So there is no way to know if the thermal shock will damage the water heaters or not, but it is not how much oil it has burnt over it's life but how many times turned off/on, and how much the expansion and contraction has stressed the heater, and that is near impossible to work out.

 

[muggles]

Thanks muggles.

So, if/when we get it serviced next, would the engineer be able to answer all those questions and hazard a guess as to whether it has years left in it or is approaching retirement?

He'll be able to tell you whether there's surface rust on it or not, but boilers usually corrode from the inside outwards, and the inside of the water jacket can't be inspected.

 

[oilboffin]

I had a boulter boiler which was nearly 50 years old in my old house which was my dads before he died he had it new and when inhibitor came out he used it every three years and flushed it every five years and filled it with a strong mix of inhibitor when I took the old boiler out I put a boreoscope in and could not believe how clean it was

 

[Terrywookfit]

I had a boulter boiler which was nearly 50 years old in my old house which was my dads before he died he had it new and when inhibitor came out he used it every three years and flushed it every five years and filled it with a strong mix of inhibitor when I took the old boiler out I put a boreoscope in and could not believe how clean it was

Was it a downfiring "Pathfinder" Bob ??

 

[Burnerman]

My Thorn Panda 55 (Inter 10 burner) has to be approaching 60 now I guess the water jacket must be made from 1/4" plate.
No 3 port valve, just a circulating pump and completely reliable, I burn around 1000 litres of kero per year for hot water and heating.
When it does go, I'll have to have a major rethink as it is only 300mm wide which is perfect for where it is.
John

 

[Terrywookfit]

I still see a couple of ODY 3 with D42's on my travels.

 

[Burnerman]

I cut my burner teeth on the Nu Way ZL2 - 1425 rpm and no purge on the original pump Was it the Danfoss DNA or something.
John

 

[Terrywookfit]

I cut my burner teeth on the Nu Way ZL2 - 1425 rpm and no purge on the original pump Was it the Danfoss DNA or something.
John

RS RSA RSL

 

[Burnerman]

RSA - that's the one! Cheers Terry.
John

 

[oilboffin]

Yes Terry that's the one what a belter it was that's why I liked the wooooster it remind me of them they and other boulters were first rate and so are houndsfield boilers.Bob

 

[DIYNotIan]

Thanks for all the replies.

I said I wouldn't bore you with details, but maybe a bit of context for my question will help...

We moved into our new home at the beginning of the year and it needs quite a lot of work. One thing needed is a new shower room/WC.

1. There's an option to have a small extension for this, which we've been told could be somewhere around the £12k mark. Maybe more... Obviously that would be building from the ground up, but we could keep our existing boiler.

2. The alternative option is to re-jig some internal walls. Open a doorway into one, brick up a doorway and a couple of windows in another, and make use of an existing WC. But the existing boiler is in the way and too big for that so we'd look to replace. Even with the cost of the new boiler I think this option would be cheaper. And we get a new boiler as part of the deal. Another added bonus would be having a combi, which we'd prefer, and which would also free up our airing cupboard and give more loft space.

What would be less than ideal is going for the more expensive option 1, keeping the existing boiler, and then needing to replace the boiler anyhow in the near future if it decrapitates on us.

So that's why it would be good to know how much life the new boiler has, although it seems that's impossible to answer.

Guess I'm largely thinking aloud here... But if anyone wants to pitch in with their thoughts that would be great.

Cheers