Condensing boilers to be compulsory?

[GrantD]

I have been told by a plumber that condensing boilers will soon be compulsory (from next year?). He also said that they have a poorer reliability record than non-condensing types. Are both of these things true?

I have a 15-year-old Potterton Flamingo II that still works fine. I have a service contract with British gas and for the last couple of years they have issued a notice saying that they cannot guarantee to get spare parts any more because of its age.

Should I replace the boiler this year while I can still have a non-condensing one? Or is the plumber &/or British Gas talking it all up to try and sell me a new boiler?

 

[PEDANTICVINDICTIVEMAN]

It is correct that only high efficiency boilers can be fitted from April 2005 which basically means condensers unless the goverment do an about turn which doesn't seem likely.
Without seeing your boiler it is difficult to know what sort of condition it is in to comment, not sure about the spares situation for your boiler, may be worth phoning your local spares stockist to ask their opinion.
For my own customers I would recommend changing their old boiler sooner rather than later if it is coming to the end of it's life and using a non condensing one as I personally dont go along with the condensing brigade either, I am not sure what I will recommending from next year as I dont particularly trust any condenser's on the market at the moment.

 

[ollski]

There are 5 different Flamingo 2's around and they are all pretty different but all limited to spare parts....the good news is that there is so little to go wrong you are unlikely to need any of the obsolete components. Your gas man is giving you sound advice in telling you that you will almost certainly need a condenser in April and that it will be much more efficient than your flamingo and that your boiler is on its last legs.
In you shoes I would wait a couple of years as next April we will quickly discover who is producing and honing the best condensing units as there will be many more customers field testing them. In the case of buying a conventional boiler now, I'm not sure I feel comfortable recommending people to buy into a product which is unlikely to have much backup in parts or support

 

[GrantD]

Thanks for the replies. I've found some info in Which? magazine :-

Q. My engineer told me that condensing boilers are expensive and unreliable. Is that right?

A. Some of the first condensing boilers weren't well made and there were many problems which gave them a bad name. They've now improved, and modern condensing boilers are just as reliable as non-condensing ones. However, some contractors still have a negative view of them.



Q. Is it true that all new boilers will have to be condensing boilers after 2005?

A. No, this isn't true, though many of the contractors we came across seemed to be under this impression. After the next edition of the building regulations, it's likely that the minimum efficiency requirements for boilers will be raised, so condensing boilers will become the norm. But other boilers will almost certainly still be available, as there are some situations where the installation of a condensing boiler won't be practical.



Q. British Gas has told me you can't buy parts for my boiler any more, so I need a new one. What should I do?

A. Always get a second or third opinion or, better still, call your boiler manufacturer to check whether parts are still available before you make a decision.

British Gas runs an incentive scheme whereby its service engineers receive a bonus for selling new boilers. After receiving several complaints from consumers who said they'd been sold a new boiler unnecessarily, Energywatch urged British Gas to scrap the bonus scheme, but it still exists. In 2001, Surrey Trading Standards successfully took British Gas Services to court after one of its engineers tried to sell a new boiler to a customer, saying parts were no longer available. She had called the manufacturer and discovered parts were in fact easy to acquire.

 

[ollski]

Thanks for the replies. I've found some info in Which? magazine :-

Q. British Gas has told me you can't buy parts for my boiler any more, so I need a new one. What should I do?

A. Always get a second or third opinion or, better still, call your boiler manufacturer to check whether parts are still available before you make a decision.

British Gas runs an incentive scheme whereby its service engineers receive a bonus for selling new boilers. After receiving several complaints from consumers who said they'd been sold a new boiler unnecessarily, Energywatch urged British Gas to scrap the bonus scheme, but it still exists. In 2001, Surrey Trading Standards successfully took British Gas Services to court after one of its engineers tried to sell a new boiler to a customer, saying parts were no longer available. She had called the manufacturer and discovered parts were in fact easy to acquire.

BG pay their engineers a £10 (or less) donation to a savings scheme for arranging a quotation visit regardless of wheather a boiler is sold or not and the quote is arranged by an outside company who are emplyed to ensure the reaons for upgrade are valid. I can assure you a self employed plumber has much more to gain by recommending a new boiler than a BG service engineer.
BG also use 3 main gas spares companies to source parts after the manufacturer has declared the parts obsolete, if none of these stock the items then BG cannot acquire it but that is not to say another stockist doesnt have a few dusty spares tucked away somewhere. I'm sure there have been a few examples of dodgy advice from BG but purely through the scale of the engineering force it's inevitable that a few will come to light.

 

[Slogger]

wondering if the price of a non condensing ( if u stashed them ) would go up after july 05 ? black market etc what about all the unsold stock who gets it


anyone want 20 baxi 105e for 1000 ? who would say no to that lil lot and stuff the regs not many on here i bet

 

[PEDANTICVINDICTIVEMAN]

Yea but it will be against the regs to fit I should think, mind you there will always be cowboys willing to do anything cheap and stuff everyone else.

 

[Slogger]

ok who nicked me horse i know i put it out there come on

no seriously would u be a cowboy if u fit one of these when the regs say u cant or would u be the peoples ROBIN HOOD

me thinks i need a new bow now

 

[TexMex]

This new regulation. Does it apply to ALL boilers or just gas?

How soon will it be, before the government makes it law to fit PIR detectors to all lighting circuits, to ensure we don't waste electricity lighting unoccupied rooms. Perhaps they should also make it illegal to drive a car that is not full.

Have they invested any money in developing a TV Set that automatically goes into standby mode during the adverts. That would probably save more energy than condensing boilers.

Come to that, how about making it an arrestable offence to go out without clean underwear. You never know when you're going to have an accident. After all, nanny (oops, I mean the government) knows best