Replacing my old Potterton Suprima 60 Boiler question?

[lordwoody]

Hi
I am think of replacing our 12 year old Potterton Suprima 60 Boiler because the PCB has gone for the 2nd time.

Can someone answer some questions for me please.

What is the life of a boiler like mine?
Does it need replacing or should I just repair it again?
What is the Power Output of my Potterton Suprima 60 Boiler in K/W?
What would be the best replacement boiler for our 4 bed house?
Someone suggested a Vaillant ecoTEC Plus 428 boiler would this be suitable?
What sort of cost would I be looking to pay?

Thanks
Paul

 

[bengasman]

The lifetime of your boiler depends on how well it was installed, maintained, and a bit of luck.
Replacing or not is 6 of one, half a dozen of the other.
Output is ~18 kw
Best boiler is a piece of string, 1000+ posts on the subject on this forum alone. Most important is the quality of the installer. Anyone that heavily promotes a budget model, or an Ideal, is very suspect.
Cost: buy cheap, get cheap. Unfortunately, paying a lot is no guarantee for quality these days. One of the reasons why your installer is the key factor.
Vailant is not a bad boiler, but the company must be the worst in the country for after sales service.

 

[lordwoody]

Thanks bengasman

How long should a boiler last (approximately) if it has been serviced once every 2 years?

The 12 year old Potterton that I have, have not got a very good reviews
so I gues its just a matter of time before something else goes wrong!

So the Vaillant ecoTEC Plus 428 which has a 28kw output should be OK for my 4 bed house?

Paul

 

[bengasman]

Impossible to give life expectancy of existing boilers. Who knows what they did or did not do when servicing.

 

[bengasman]

Whether a combi is or is not adequate for your house, depends on your dhw requirements, not on the size of your house.

 

[nickso]

i would keep it. you are unlucky to need two PCB's.

 

[D_Hailsham]

Whether a combi is or is not adequate for your house, depends on your dhw requirements, not on the size of your house.

The 428 is a heat only, not a combi boiler!

So the Vaillant ecoTEC Plus 428 which has a 28kw output should be OK for my 4 bed house?

Your existing boiler is 18kW, so why are you thinking of installing a 28kW boiler?

Use the Boiler Size Calculator to find out what size boiler you need.

The "number of walls" means the exposed walls, so a semi-detached has two side-to-side and one front-to-back.

 

[lordwoody]

I dont know how many KW my current boiler is.
Bengasman said it was 18kw

I done the calculator it it said "The required boiler output is 33.85 kW"

 

[ChrisR]

It must be a dang big house for that. A 3 bed semi usually needs about 15 kW.
No point having a bigger boiler than your rads can use, plus some for HW.

Look at a rad chart and add them up.
(average usually 1.5kw unless huge)

I'd agree you've been unlucky to need 2 boards. This isn't a boiler which has many other problems, so I'd mend it. Maintenance wouldn affect board life.

 

[lordwoody]

I have decided to give my old Potterton boiler another chance and get it repaired.

I have been quoted £120 to have a Brand New PCB fitted with 1 years warrenty which I did not think was to bad concidering the PCB cost around £90-£100 on ebay!

What do you think?

 

[lordwoody]

Oh by the way we have 15 rads in out house some small some big which works out at 22.5kw

 

[D_Hailsham]

I dont know how many KW my current boiler is.
Bengasman said it was 18kw

I done the calculator it it said "The required boiler output is 33.85 kW"

Bengasman is correct.

As you have not said that your existing boiler and rads do not get the house hot enough, I think you must have made a mistake with the calculator - you won't be the first!

The best advice is that a boiler should be replaced only if parts are not available or it is not economical to repair the boiler. You will never recover the cost of replacing a boiler through savings in the fuel bill.

 

[mysteryman]

I got sent out to replace a pcb on a Suprima, following a diagnosis by a very competent colleague.

Turned out it was a blocked cold feed, and the boiler was overheating.

Usual Potterton boiler - primary heat exchanger just a lump of cast iron and over-complicated controls.

 

[bengasman]

Although potties are notorious for board problems, I am always suspicious of "engineers" that come to the conclusion it needs a pcb too quicly.