Boulter Camray 15/21 replacement?

[old wrinkly]

I have a Boulter Boilers Camray 15/21 wall mounted external oil fired boiler that was installed in January 1995, replacing a Parkray solid fuel back boiler.

The boiler has been serviced annually since new.

I believe I am right in saying that the boiler Output is 19KW/65000 BTU/h.

According to the info on the boiler scrappage site it has a SAP seasonal efficiency of 70%, and the SEDBUK rating band is F

I have a 2700 litre(600 gallon) Balmoral tank.

With the rising cost of heating oil I am wondering whether it would be prudent to replace the boiler. In the past when I have spoken to the engineer who services it he has always said "if it ain't broke don't mend it", only replace it when it packs up. That has always been my motto but now I am not so sure as I can't see the price of oil changing much except upwards.

At the time the boiler was installed the installation certificate states the following:

Pressure: 110 PSI

CO2: 11.5%

I would be grateful if anyone could give me any advice on what sort of savings I could expect (how much less oil used yearly for example).if I changed to an A rated boiler and what things I need to consider when looking at a replacement.

The boiler runs 8 radiators of various sizes and 2 towel rails beside heating our hot water.

Incidentally, can I ask 2 supplementary questions:

a) Is there an easy way to calculate the BTU of a towel rail?

b) Is it more energy efficient to heat the hot water with an immersion heater in the summer. I have read somewhere that the boiler efficiency drops significantly in the summer because before the water in the cylinder gets heated the flame has to heat the inside of the boiler, the heat exchanger and all the water in the pipes leading to the hot water tank.

Many thanks

 

[Tibbot]

Your existing boiler is over 80% efficient. Changing to a condensing boiler will be a waste of time, money and resources. We are all lumbered with the price of oil and the only way to improve your lot is to fit the latest controls, improve your home's insulation and consider adding some form of alternative secondary heating. Sedbuk boiler points alone are worthless.

 

[old wrinkly]

Hi Tibbot, thanks for the reply.

I'm a bit confused regarding the over 80% efficiency figure you quote for my boiler against the 70% SEDBUK figure. Perhaps you could explain.

As regards insulation, I already have cavity wall insulation and my loft insulation is good, it was replaced about 4 years ago under a local council scheme. Not sure of the actual depth but it's quite deep and was the recommended depth at the time.

I have also just replaced all my UPVC windows with A rated windows.

I have TRV's on all my radiators, except the towel rails. I don;t have a room stat, never had one

Not sure there is much more I can do to improve my insulation.

Haven't looked at the controls, they are the same as fitted with the boiler. What sort of things could I change which would make a difference, especially to my oil consumption.

I have a Propane gas fire which I use when the weather is really cold or I need to make the living room more homely, this allows me to drop the TRV settings.

 

[Tibbot]

No oil boiler from 1995 is only 70% efficient. Yours will be equivalent to the old band D or C. You should have a roomstat, not having one wastes fuel. A programmable room stat alone will save you more than changing the boiler. If you change your LPG fire to solid fuel you'll go from over 7p to under 4p per kW for secondary heating.

 

[Boilerman2]

I agree with tibbot the Camray WH 15/21, although not the most efficient Boulter boiler is far more efficient than the 70% quoted. fitting a condensing boiler such as the Grant VTX W.H would improve efficiency to about 93%, but you have to balance this saving with the install cost
I would consider fitting a programmable Room stat such as the Honeywell CM Series this alone will save fuel and money and will pay for itself in less than a year - if you had a new boiler it would be compulsory under Building regs part L1 on most system more cost effective savings can be made by upgrading the controls & Insulation

 

[old wrinkly]

Thanks for the replies.

Looks like "if it ain't broke don't mend it" is still the right thing.

Sorry to be so dim but can you explain how a room stat would save me fuel and money? Always thought having TRVs fitted did the same thing and gave individual room settings.

Looking on Google the Honeywell CM looks to be about £500 which is a heck of a saving to look for in one year. The CM Zone suggests having to change the radiator control(TRV) but the 1 or 7 day units don't mention that so which is the best to look at further?

Also, are there any other controls such as pump etc. that could be changed and improve efficiency.

As regard solid fuel, that's a go. The LPG fire was only fitted 4 years ago with the flue and fireplace etc. When we moved here we had the old Parkray but that wasn't very efficient and we had mountains of clinker stacked around the garden. Besides which the gas fire is only used at odd times and w emight go weeks in between.

Thought my insulation was OK but would consider any improvement if it is going to save me money. Any suggestions welcomed.

 

[Boilerman2]

£500 for a CM Prog Stat they are less than £100 at ANY Merchant!! so I would look elswhere!

THe Reason a Room Stat WILL save fuel is that currently when All of your TRV's are up to temperature and the radiators have gone cold your boiler will continue to fire at intervals at the dictates of the boiler control thermostat to maintain boiler temperature of 80'c - this is un-nessecary and wasteful by having a Room stat when the building is up to temperature the room stat will stop the boiler & pump until either the hot water or rooms need more heat, in which case the boiler & pump are re-energised a constantly active and cycling boiler is using about 2 litres of oil per hour (whilst the burner is firing!!) 2litres = £1-40 per hour / 10 hours per day?? you do the maths!!

 

[old wrinkly]

Thanks, I think I am beginning to understand the mechanics.

The CM Prog Stat I looked at was the zoned version but I see the normal CM 727 7 Day wireless is about £90, I assume this is the one you are referring to.

At the moment I have a Grundffos Selectric UPS 15-50 pump that runs all the time the heating or hot water control is active. My controller is a Horstmann CentaurPlus C27 and I have the usual Y valve. The cylinder is the standard Copper (with long immersion heater) with a standard cylinder jacket bought I think from Wickes. It was here when we moved in 1994 so no idea how old it is.

The TRVs I have a mixed bunch.

If I changed to the CM controller would I need to change anything else. and even if not actually required would it be a good idea to think also about changing other things e.g the cylinder for a foam covered one.

As we are in a bungalow not sure where it would be best to site the room stat. My wife is worried that if it was placed in the lounge the other rooms would be constantly cold.

As I said in my earlier post have read that it's more efficient to use the immersion heater for hot water in the summer rather than oil but I am never sure what the respective unit costs are a Kwh heat for oil/electric to be able to make any comparison.