New boiler Help!

[Dale balls]

Hi guys and girls,

Need some advice, i should be moving into our new house by the end of the month. Problem is the new house has been derelict for 8 years.
I've had the existing boiler serviced which they condemned for failing the spill test.
Now I have had a quote of £4800 to replace the floor standing ideal Mexico with a viessmann boiler.
However I see I can buy a 200w 35kw veissmann boiler for around £1300 and am thinking weather it would be cheaper to simply have a gas safe engineer install it.
Do you think this would be a cheaper way to go?

 

[Dan Robinson]

The cost of everything and the value of nothing.

 

[simond]

An experienced, time served boiler installer would not usually fit a customer supplied unit.

The gas safe exam is multiple choice, many ticket holders just fit the occasional hob and usually do bathrooms. Some know virtually nothing about heating systems.

You've only got to look at some of the self assured postings on here from people masquerading as volume boiler installers, but really do 2 a year.

A heating specialist is the best choice to do a boiler, and you won't attract one of those if you have bought it yourself. Incidentally, the margins aren't what you think, but that is another story well aired on here.

 

[Dale balls]

Ok thanks for the advice, I do know a couple of heating / boiler engineers so as soon as I get the keys I can get another couple of quotes and go from there.

 

[HootingOwl]

Get a quote from BG and use this as the upper marker for cost. 3k is the starting point for a conversion. Getting a good engineer is far more important than the manufacturer of the boiler.

 

[Agile]

You don't say the size of the house or the power of the existing boiler or the number of people living there.

Its way better to stick to a heat only boiler and hot water storage. In most cases that would need a boiler rated at about 12-24 kW. There is no need or advantage to fit a combi.

In most cases I can fit a quality boiler for about £1800 to replace an Ideal Mexico.

Even to convert to a combi for about £2500.

Of course those prices do not include "extras" like TRVs, upgrading mains water supplies or replacing cylinders.

If you can, get another RGI to retest the spillage. It sounds like your guy wanted to fit a new boiler at a rather inflated price. It is easy to massage the test to fail or even to just tell you that it has failed.

Tony