Gunbarrel Heating leaking

[cremeegg]

I have 40 year old old fired central heating a 1050 sq ft 3 bed-semi. The gunbarrell pipes in concrete under the floors and have started to leak. I have spoken to a number of people and am getting conflicting advice.

Option 1 Dig up the floors and replace the pipes with copper.

Option 2 Isolate the downstairs pipework and pipe down from upstairs to the downstairs rads

Option 3 Isolate the central heating completely. Put storage heaters in the hall and largest rooms with panel heaters in the other rooms

Option 4 Isolate the central heating completely. Put plug in oil filled rads in all rooms.

Any help to make sense of the options greatly appreciated.

 

[lledlledlled]

Assuming this is an owner-occupied home, I would only consider Option 2 as a temporary emergency solution while you save the funds for Option 1. However, you would only be kicking the can down the road and it should be cheaper in the long-run to get Option 1 over and done with.
I would run a mile from Options 3 and 4 unless the property is rented out and you don't care about massive electrical bills.
You should also consider converting to Natural Gas if it is available in your area.
As with any heating upgrade, you should also ensure you have a high standard of insulation or else you will essentially have a system which is super efficient at sending heat out through your walls.
Finally, make sure your new boiler is serviced annually by a registered installer. Otherwise, you may void the warranty.

 

[Leo]

Is there an option to run new copper pipework above the floors at ground level at the base of the walls? Just cut off and seal the gunmetal pipes at floor level. Kind of like option 2, but hopefully neater routing of the pipes than having them come down the walls at each rad location.

As above, don't go near options 3 or 4, they would cost you significantly more in running costs.

 

[cremeegg]

Thanks guys for the replies. It is a rental property, so I am less concerned, though still a bit, about running costs.

Any preference between 3 and 4

 

[Leo]

Storage heating would be the more cost effective if paired with a night-rate meter. They'd also be more robust, likely to last longer.

 

[lledlledlled]

If i was positive i was never going to be paying the electricity bills, I would consider Option 3. Modern Storage heaters are much better than the old ones. As pointed out above, you will need a Night-rate meter from ESB. You will also need an electrician to wire each point back to the meter.
From a renter's point of view, you might be able to demand more rent if you had Gas or Oil central heating, as opposed to electric but this might not be as much of a concern in the current rental market.