Should I replace my boiler?

[Youngdavid]

I have a Gloworm Hideaway boiler which I think is over 20 years old. It works not sure how efficiently but not sure of its lifespan or parts availability.

It is serviced each year and up to now no particular problems.

Should I leave well alone and wait for something to go wrong or is there merit / value in purchasing a new boiler?

 

[Dan Robinson]

How long would 20% of your gas bill take to repay the cost of installation?

Are you planning any other building works?

Do go the cheapest route to a new boiler though.

 

[oaktyke]

Keep it, very good boiler cast iron heat exchanger could easily last 30 yrs . Im sure your service engineer will tell you the same ! parts may become obsolete in years to come though

 

[RigidRaider]

Good advice above. We had the same boiler and it was robust and reliable and easy to fix. However it was beginning to weep and fizz around the joints in the heat exchanger so we got a new condensing boiler. It's the only domestic appliance for which I pay for an extended warranty because I don't trust it as it's too complex and the muppets who come to service it pretend they are brain surgeons and treat me patronisingly.

However our gas bills did drop by around 30% and while fitting it we were able to get the plumber to undertake a redesign of the major pipework, moving the boiler to a better location in the utility and improving the controls. Putting extra insulation in the attic also gained us a dramatic reduction in gas bills and improvement in comfort so why not consider that for the moment?

 

[Youngdavid]

Thanks for the replies I think i will keep for now.

 

[Whitespirit66]

As above - keep it. There's a lot to be said for old-school, reliable boilers. Invest in insulation and modern controls to make the boiler run as efficiently as possible.

You GW will never win any green awards, but spending on a new boiler plus all the extras is unlikely to see a quick return, if ever. Also, avoid the temptation to skip the servicing as it's getting on a bit.

 

[ALEC1]

these boilers cannot run efficiently, as the flue gas has to be a high temperature...

you can reduce your gas consumption by investing in insulation so you use the boiler less though...

 

[Youngdavid]

Thanks again for the responses. The house is well insulated just worried about it 'conking' out and it being a bit inefficient.

 

[Dan Robinson]

Conking out is the least of your worries with it, but as I posted earlier - only you can decide the economics.

20% is the figure I have used for a while. Some get more, some get less out of a new boiler. But ultimately you have a good old boiler there. Plan your change and get the right boiler put in properly.

 

[Gas2Air]

Conking out is the least of your worries with it, but as I posted earlier - only you can decide the economics.

20% is the figure I have used for a while. Some get more, some get less out of a new boiler. But ultimately you have a good old boiler there. Plan your change and get the right boiler put in properly.

Surprised you go 20%? I'd give it 10 if that. But like you say depends on setup etc. If a Hideaway was on gravity for example, would it benefit the user to change boiler with fully pumped? Or just keep it and fully pump?

 

[Dan Robinson]

For one of our customers we would discuss future plans - if they planned on getting rid of the cylinder eventually then probably not.

Save the money towards the boiler swap and controls upgrade.

If they were planning to string the life of the boiler and cylinder out for as long as possible we would give a price and advise the customer as above to look at their gas bills and work out the savings.

Although giving a savings figure on such an upgrade would be tricky.

Probably suggest a gander at their summer gas consumption and suggest 15% of that. But it would be guesses.