Please help - my boiler's been condemned!

[kates]

I have a floor standing Potterton Kingfisher II of advanced age but that rarely caused any problems. Had a landlords safety check today cos thinking of renting out house, and boiler has been condemned cos "balanced flue is detached from primary air duct/flue" ( the flue cage has been loose for a while as is constantly bashed by wheelie bins and I had no idea this could be dangerous)

I have no problem with fixing something that is dangerous but I've been told that need to spend £4750!! as repairing the boiler is apparently "beyond economic repair". This is for Worcester Greenstar 30 Si combi, partial replacement of hot and cold pipes, room & rad stats and 7 new radiators.

I was originally told that couldn't fix flue cos hard to access in corner of room under worktop, is behind water heater and meant taking whole boiler out'. Since then gas man has added that " the broken flue was riveted/welded tog during manufacture and should not be repaired". Also "flue terminal position and compartment ventilation are problems". Not only is £4750 beyond my bank balance, but I would lose a kitchen cupboard and more importantly my powerful extractor fan which I fitted to correct a significant damp condensation problem in my north facing unheated stairwell that comes off the kitchen. (I have an RSJ below the ceiling and the largish extractor duct boxed in below this). Apparently this would need to be decommissioned.

As I said before, I will make the situation safe but would really value some advice on the following:

1 can the flue be repaired?

2 can a reasonably priced floor standing boiler be put in instead of a wall hanger?

3 are there any wall hanging boilers that have the flue coming out nearer the ground (ie to salvage my extractor)? - especially one that can be fixed to the wall perpendicular to the external wall and have a flue out to the side?

4 why do i have to change the whole system? (i don't partic want a combi boiler and really dont want to rip out my radiators as I've just had the walls skimmed and decorated)

5 would anyone advice for / against a secondhand / reconditioned boiler?

Thanks in advance for any advice kate

 

[corgiman]

I have no idea whether the flue can be repaired without havin a butchers

But no there are no open flued floor standing boilers no more no in the enlightend age of Part L of the building regs

 

[WDIK]

landlords responsibility anyway

 

[fitz1]

you should be able to get someone in sheffield to knock at least a grand to a grand and a half off that price.

 

[bpowell555]

landlords responsibility anyway

err fink he's wanting to be the landlord

 

[WDIK]

landlords responsibility anyway

err fink he's wanting to be the landlord

dammn

 

[Soggy_weetabix]

Im sorry for being a 'stick in the mud' here, bur if the rivets are shot you should thank the engineer for finding that fault. The kingfisher II has given you good service, and how many cars have you spent money on when you could have invested in a new boiler?

Are you running about in a 15 year old motor that needs replacing aswell?

I suspect not.

David

 

[ollski]

Not sure on the damage but the flue is normally pushed in from outside then taped from the inside. There is usually some room for negotiation with bg, worth bartering with quoting eng.

 

[kates]

Having plastered and redecorated the entire house, i'm not keen on replacing the whole heating system. Can i not just upgrade the boiler?

 

[namsag]

Providing rads ok yes no reason why not, also if pipework is ok then most of that can be left but new rad valves will prob be req as trvs are now a reg

 

[doitall]

Having plastered and redecorated the entire house, i'm not keen on replacing the whole heating system. Can i not just upgrade the boiler?

Yes you can just have a system boiler and keep everything as is. £2-2.5K

 

[gas4you]

If you went for a combi then you wouldn't have to have the system upgraded to fully pumped if yours is gravity HW now.

 

[baxpoti]

According to partsarena flue is still available as a spare!
Exactly what model do you have?

 

[DP]

Get second opinion.

 

[kates]

Get second opinion. ..

Thanks for the advice. I've done that and it looks as though my flue connection may be fixable ...phew.. [/quote]