Very old boiler finally packed in

[piggles2]

My boiler is over 20 years old and has finally packed in and needs replacing asap as i now have no heating.
I have one of the old huge stand up boilers in the airing cupboard and wanted to know a couple of things before replacing it:
1) How is the new boiler installed and what parts of the house will they need access to? (2 of our radiators aren't used but are plumbed in but are blocked of by furniture that can't be moved will they need access to these? and 1 of the rooms is locked and can't be accessed till my room-mate returns from America in over a month so any plumbing in there including a radiator which is off can't be accessed)
2) Will anything else need replacing i.e pipes, water tank etc. again there all 20 years old but i really can't afford to replace them and get a boiler can the boiler be fitted in to our current plumbing?
3) How much should i expect to pay for the work. i am on a limited budget and its very likely im going to have to get a loan to pay for the work and need a guide on how much i need to be thinking.


Thanks for the help i need to call someone out but if they cant get to the bits they need want to know before hand so i don't waste time

 

[Agile]

From about £1500 to about £4000 perhaps!

It would be possible to do what you want but not ideal and would need a return visit when access to all the rads is possible to properly flush them at additional cost!

Tony

 

[45yearsagasman]

1, how do you bleed a rad you can't get access to?
2, need a site visit to determine system type and condition
3, Impossible to quote without site visit. All figures would be complete guesses.

 

[dcawkwell]

Unless it is leaking probably a cheap easy repair to your existing boiler.

 

[HalfEatenFlapjack]

The installer of the new boiler would require access to all radiators, as they will need to bleed them - i.e. make sure they’re don’t contain any air. The consequence of not doing this depends on the quirks of your central heating system. My system is a pig to bleed properly, and it has to be done completely in order for any of the rads to work. In your house, it may be that just the ‘unbled’ radiators don’t work, but the other ones are fine. This is more likely if the inaccessible ones are upstairs and not downstairs.

It’s possible that a plumber may not want to do the work, as he won’t be able to guarantee it’ll work until he’s had access to all the rads. You may have to sign/promise/acknowledge somehow that you’re happy with that risk, until he can access them all.

We were without heating for a week, during the snow 2 years ago, with my wife 8.5 months pregnant. A couple of cheap 2kW convector heaters got us through, but practically everyone over a certain age will point out that when they were young, they used to get frost on the inside of windows. If you can cope with the endless tedious anecdotes, you may just want to get a couple of electric heaters.

 

[Agile]

I expect it can be repaired.

But even if he has had someone to repair it they probably prefered a replacement job for £2000 to a repair at £92 !

Tony

 

[piggles2]

Would there still be parts available for such a old boiler? it makes a really strange pumping noise when turned on so i think that is what's gone but i'm not 100%

 

[HalfEatenFlapjack]

Another alternative:

Get a plumber to replace the boiler (if fixing it is definitely not possible), and install full-bore isolation valves to the pipes which feed the inaccessible radiators. This will effectively cut off the inaccessible rads. He will be able to bleed the system fully. When your flatmate gets back, you’ll be able to open the valve which supplies his room and bleed it, which should take about 5 minutes.

 

[rjm2k]

Isn't this an emergency? What would you do if your room mates radiator started to leak badly, just leave it? What if you smelt electrical burning coming from in there?

There must be provision in your agreement to allow access to the room in such situations.

Even if you installed isolation valves to cut his room off, the installer wouldn't be able to powerflush the entire system so may affect the warranty etc.

 

[Agile]

Would there still be parts available for such a old boiler? it makes a really strange pumping noise when turned on so i think that is what's gone but i'm not 100%

You have not told us the model of boiler!

But most parts are easily available.

There is no specific pumping noise! All circulation issues are easily resolved!

But you should really get yourself organised, tidy up the property, get a new boiler and never let anyone go away not leaving keys for use in an emergency.

Tony

 

[HalfEatenFlapjack]

Even if you installed isolation valves to cut his room off, the installer wouldn't be able to powerflush the entire system so may affect the warranty etc.

Good point. A plumber may be happy to come back when your flatmate's back to complete the commissioning and thereby validate the warranty, or it might be too late by then.

I think I'd be weighing up the cost of replacing a booted in bedroom door and lock.

 

[Tibbot]

But even if he has had someone to repair it they probably prefered a replacement job for £2000 to a repair at £92 !

I don't know why you labour this point. If repairs weren't profitable, you wouldn't do them.

It's true that many RGI's will talk replacement because they're incapable of anything else, but anyone who's competent should make more as a service engineer (assuming enough workload).

 

[dcawkwell]

Would there still be parts available for such a old boiler? it makes a really strange pumping noise when turned on so i think that is what's gone but i'm not 100%

Probably just needs a new pump in the central heating system
and a mains flush out.

These boilers last forever. If the heat exchanger isn't leaking
and they are cast iron! My mums is 40 years old and looks like new.

Let us know the make and model of boiler and we'd have a better idea.

 

[HalfEatenFlapjack]

If you do need the boiler replacing maybe 'decommission' the inaccesible rads, i.e. rather than use isolation valves, just cut the pipes and cap them. Then a plumber can fit a new boiler, powerflush the system, and validate the boiler's warranty.

Presumably, adding a new rad to a CH system with an already functioning boiler doesn't invalidate the boiler's warranty? When your flatmate's back, you can get his radiator 'added' to the system, flushed and bled. With the pipes already in place this isn't a big job. If a flush is still necessary, it would be cheaper to just replace the pipes, then take the rad off, take it outside and rinse it through with a hose.

Get the plumber to fit a magnatec whilst he's at it.

 

[HalfEatenFlapjack]

And in answer to part 2 of yuor question: assuming everything else is still working, no, you shouldn't need to replace pipes or water tank. Would have to see the system though.