Gas Boiler

Hi,
We've just moved in (finally) to our new house and have discovered that the gas boiler (probably circa 14yrs old) doesn't appear to be working and certainly doesn't heat any water.
Terrifying thought that it is, could someone give me an idea as to how much it would cost to replace?
Any assistance appreciated. We can't afford to keep the immersion on so will need to get this sorted. Obviously we'll get a service done anyway but is it likely that the boiler is nearing the end of its life at 14yrs regardless? I'd like to try to absorb the shock before anyone has a look and trots out with "Oh you'll have to replace that, it's not worth repairing".
Thks
S.

I have a baxi boiler in the chimney, it's like a normal gas boiler for GFCH just sits in there, closed off to the front with a gasfire. To replace costs about 3K. I think it heavily depends on what type of boiler you want to get. From what I read, the most economical ones are self regulating condensing boilers, but they might need bigger radiators... Lots of threads on this, so worth reading up on it if you have to replace...
Hispeed Gas will call out and have a look for 90 Euros. www.hsg.ie I rang them and they came promplty and on time!

Condensing boilers need no bigger radiators, if I might correct Petal's post. A combi condensing boiler can be had for around €600.- at B&Q. Buy it there and find a gas fitter to connect it. It would be the easiest method to place it near to a wall to let out the CO2 and for air supply instead of using a chimney, a standard chimney is no good for a condensing boiler. As Petal already said: check the earlier posts.

Sorry if i was wrong about the radiators, I'm sure that I read that this was one downside, but I'm no expert, so have no real way of knowing and Heinbloed surely seems to know his stuff. A boiler for 600 Euros? That seems quite cheap? That baxiboiler and firefront will cost me a good 3K.

You had been cheated by your installer, Petal. Go to B&Q or check their web page to see the boiler. Putting a boiler into an open fire place is a mad idea in terms of energy conservation. The permanent draft would rob a lot of heat and the thick walls surrunding it would stop the boiler giving off the heat directly. Since you're having the boiler in the chimney I guess it is (most likeley) an outdated type.
Modern boilers need no chimney, just a flue straight through the wall.

Hi Heinbloed. Well, I've got this Baxi system (see [broken link removed]), where the boiler sits in the chimney and is closed off to the front with a firefront. I was told if I wanted to take the boiler out of there, I would have to get the pipping changed and that that would cost some money too. At the moment the piping for upstairs goes up the chimney and all the piping for downstairs comes out to the side of the chimney, so if I hung it into the kitchen for example, I'd have to get all the pipping originate from there. Wouldn't that cost lots of money?

In the brochure on page 3 you can see what I have - an outset system that we want to have replaced by an inset system (also shown). All of that costs about 3-3.5K.
Do you think there would be a better solution to this?

Hi Petal!
Sorry not to being able to comment on your link. It's a PDF data sheet and I have only an analog connection, the Minister for Environment Destruction promised me years ago a broadband connection but it never came....
So I checked your link and compared it with the sedbuk page. ( http://www.sedbuk.com ) Your boiler scores at a "D" rate, 78-78.1% efficiency. That is not the worst rating , but not good either.Nowadays no boilers are installed with an energy rating of less then "A". Unless the consumer/client is considered by the irresponsible installer as an idiot who could be taken for a ride.
Check out your heating bill/domestic hot water bill incl. maintenance (chimney cleaning, adjustments and cleaning of the boiler etc.!) and see if a 10 % to 15% reduction in your anual costs will justify a € 1,000 investment to become a profitable investment.
€ 1.000 for a halfways decent condensing boiler without outside temperature sensor. Just a plain combi condensing boiler. I paid for mine 3-4 years ago €1,700 after trading down and shopping around. And now they're just €600...
A similar developement as to the computers: Once modern technic has become standard the prices drop dramaticall.

A new boiler should-as the old ones - have a live expectancy of around ten years. Capital depreciation (spelled right?) should be at around 7 jears. That's when the original investment will have been paid off by the savings on maintenance, capital costs (borrowed money?), spare parts and fuel. So you would have another 3 years usage time of pure profit - compared to the old boiler. At average most modern boilers looked after "by the checkbook" would get much older before a replacement is needed.
Drill a hole through the wall , 6 inch or 15 cm wide for €100.-. Place the fluepipe into it, fill back any gaps - €30.-. Fix the boiler to to the wall - €20.-. Connect the heating pipes/ gas pipe (certification necessary!) / fresh water pipe incl. insulation - depending on the length and obstacles - roughly € 500.-.
So in my estimation, for the average Irish home a sum of €600 would cover all the costs for the work to fit a modulating combi condensing boiler.
If you're not born with two left hands some of the job can be done by yourself, but stay away from the gaspipe. The insulation of the water pipes for example.
The freeing of the workplace for example-remove all obstacles to help the handy men. Cover the flooring with masking tape and plastic foil etc., take care of the rubbish ( the old banger can be exchanged for the new one at the retailplace as an "electrical good" without extra charge!).
So you should be in for around €1,000-€1,500. Check out yourself if it's worth it.
A combi condensing boiler would also free some space for good: you wouldn't need the hot press any more- 1m2 gained, that is about 1% increase of value to your (supposed to be ) average home due to more space made available.
Check your local bookshop for Collin's DIY book, most steps to be taken are described there.
If you can afford it/ if you're willing to pay for it try to find a heating engineer.
He/she would most likely recommend a solar collector and a 300l tank for domestic hot water.You would have to reuse the hot press again for the tank (the attic might do so as well-access!) and you would have to invest more money at the initial point of investment. But in the long term (how long is your house to be expected to serve?) it is certainly worth it. Always demand a calculation sheet when asking someone for a professional opinion. No signed numbers-no signed check.
Good luck!

Heinbloed, you make it sound very easy....
I wouldn't mind getting a combi boiler and getting rid of the hot-press, but I'm wondering where will I put the new boiler (don't I need an outside wall?) The gasconnection will have to be removed from the chimey and put wherever the new boiler is. All the heating pipes are coming out from the chimney and are going upstairs through the chimney. So I'd have to get new pipping and get it upstairs somehow. A good few of the radiators' pipes are running under concrete, so I'd have to get new piping for them alltogether. I've got some gas guy calling out this afternoon though, so I'll give him a good grilling.... Would you b able to recommend a good heating engineer? Not sure about the solar panels though, my roof is facing east and west, so with the lack of sunshine in this country I'm not sure the water would get hot enough...

Petal said:

Sorry if i was wrong about the radiators, I'm sure that I read that this was one downside, but I'm no expert, so have no real way of knowing and Heinbloed surely seems to know his stuff. A boiler for 600 Euros? That seems quite cheap? That baxiboiler and firefront will cost me a good 3K.

Click to expand...

I had a guy in yesterday to get a quote for gas heating installation and when i mentioned the combi boiler, he made three main points:

1. They are 95% efficient and will over time, particularly in a large house save money (which I knew from reading AAm)
2. They can be pricey to repair in the event that something goes wrong
3. They would need bigger radiators???

Heinbloed, I've read alot of your stuff and value your opinion, could you have a look at a thread i put up yesterday on gas installers in this forum?

thanks,

Done, Newbie. Check your post/my answer at your original thread.
To Petal: Have you figured out the savings versus costs of a new boiler?
You need no outside wall to hang up the boiler, only to let out the CO2 and to get in the fresh oxigene for the boiler.
Check the manufacturer's pages , there are dozens of various methods to install a condensing boiler.
The gas connection can stay in the chimney and can be extended (how did it get in there in the first place, all gas pipes come from underground?!), as all other pipes. Click-fit flexible fully insulated, heat- and pressure resistant pipes are available in all length from your plumbing center. Usually there is only one main pipe coming from the boiler and one main pipe leading back to the boiler. These can be found and connected to the new boiler. But do your math: is it worth it?
Solar panels can be fixed at an angle. So a west facing roof could have a south west facing panel , for example. But the gable end of a house can be used as well. You can put one up in your garden as well, these things need no chimney (smiley) so their position is flexible. A deviation from the ideal position (south ) of 30 degrees will cause a loss of profitability of not more than 10%. So instead of getting the investment back in 10 jears (assumed at today's energy prices for the average household) it would take 11 jears. Modern panels are coming with a 20 jears guarantee!! Most oil/gas boilers wont last that long. And that is the manufacturer's guarantee - most likely it lasts much longer. Imagine free hot water for 9 jears+.....and the only maintenance is cleaning the pane once or twice per jear, similar to window cleaning, but only from the outside.
Solar panels sold in Ireland are still expensive, they cost only about half the price on the continent. So next time you're on holidays there visit a DIY market, they can be bought of the shelf. Fixed to the roof of the car and off they go.