Can I upgrade my boiler but keep my old flue?

[LordJon]

Hi,

I am a new member of this site but have quite regularly gleaned information from here so thanks to everyone who contributes.

I was wondering if anyone could help with quite a specifc issue that doesn't seem to have been covered. I am refurbishing my flat and want to replace the old open vented gas boiler (Thorn M30/42C) to something much more efficient.

Obviously, this means getting a condensing boiler but the problem is that my old flue is routed through the flat above and cannot be replaced easily. An alternative would be to re-route the flue but the management company won't allow this.

As such, I was wondering if anyone knew of any boiler which could be fitted which might be able to use the old flue. It's a Rite-Vent twin wall flue (100mm internal diameter and 125mm external) which looks to be similar to their B Vent product (http://www.rite-vent.co.uk/residential-flues/twin-wall/b-vent) which is suitable for atmospheric boilers.

Unfortunately, the only atmospheric boilers I can find are commercial boilers and cost thousands of pounds (and may not even be compatible anyway). Does anyone know of anything else out there which could work?

Thanks in advance.

Jon

 

[Deleted member 105431]

No, (other than in exceptional circumstances) you must buy a condensing boiler and this will need a new flue. Do you have an outside wall that a flue can go thru horizontally?

 

[muggles]

No, you must fit the specified flue for the boiler you purchase, and you must fit a condensing boiler

 

[LordJon]

there is an external wall that it could go through but it would also have to go through the middle of my bathroom. whilst that is technically viable (and would be taken to be for the excpetional circumstances assessment), the management company won't allow the flue to be re-routed through the external walls.

 

[muggles]

Seems pretty unreasonable to me. Does your current boiler have a dedicated flue or is it connected to a shared duct?

 

[gas4you]

Does the twin wall go up and through the above flat or is it just twin wall to an existing brick flue/chimney?

If the latter there are now a few boilers that can use the old flue with a plastic flue liner for condensing flues.

 

[LordJon]

the boiler has a dedicated flue which goes all the way up through the flat above and then the roof space