Which New Oil Fired Boiler ?

[Chineplate]

My Camray Quartet is reaching the end of its days, after 14 years. It started to leak, from the water jacket, a couple of years back and as just developed a further leak, again from the water jacket. I spoke to the manufacturer and a new water jacket wouldn't be cost effective. Therefore, I'm looking for a replacement: 110K BTU/h, easy and inexpensive to maintain, reliable, installed in a utility room, easy access to spares, best value for money and I'll only be in this house for another 5 years. What would be a good choice. Thanks

 

[oilman]

What would be a good choice?

A Camray Quartet water jacket. If you change it yourself, it will be cost effective, and have all the other attributes in your list. I suspect whoever you spoke to hopes to get LOADSmore money for a new boiler.

 

[manortim]

putting on a new water jacket is in my opionion money for old rope UNLESS its less than 350 quid OR the position of your boiler at present is such that it would be very expensive to replace with new condensing boiler due to flueing/pipe work locatoin.

BUT if the boiler can be replaced for a condensing without to much hassel, change it, it is the expensive option but you'd never think of putting a new engine in a 14 year old car.

you're going to be in the house another 5 years, SO in 5 years time, your camray with be 19 years old, and potential buyers will knock the price of a new boiler off your asking price.

in general, why is it that people will happily spend HUGE amount of money of cars but leave they heating systems in the same leugue as a ford anglia....we're not living a 'life on mars' here.

 

[Nixt]

I would normally agree with Oilman, but I don't think Worcester-Bosch (Boulter's eliminators .... sorry owners) still supply the water jacket as a spare. It's very hard to recommend any of the new oil condensing boilers.

 

[oilman]

BUT if the boiler can be replaced for a condensing without to much hassel, change it, it is the expensive option but you'd never think of putting a new engine in a 14 year old car.

As is usual with unrelated comparisons, this is yet another poor example. The water jacket IS the boiler. There remains the burner, which could be seen as the engine, in this case a Riello 443T55. These burners are VERY reliable, and would be a relatively small amount in the event it needed a total replacement. Very unlikely.

you're going to be in the house another 5 years, SO in 5 years time, your camray with be 19 years old, and potential buyers will knock the price of a new boiler off your asking price.

Mere speculation, what's wrong with demonstrating the water jacket had been replaced?

in general, why is it that people will happily spend HUGE amount of money of cars but leave they heating systems in the same leugue as a ford anglia....we're not living a 'life on mars' here.

Yet again a poor comparison. The reason people spends large amounts of money on a car is that it can be shown off, and is seen as a status symbol. A boiler doesn't often attract the opposite sex.

Please tell the figures you have for net efficiency of the Quartets you service, and then compare them with the figures you have measured for condensing boilers.

You may not live on Mars, but it could be in the plume from a condensing boiler. Do you hear any cukoos?

I don't think Worcester-Bosch (Boulter's eliminators .... sorry owners) still supply the water jacket as a spare.

You're probably right.

 

[manortim]

a oil condensing boiler maybe not as efficient as it is claimed but sure as hell the flue gas temp is ALOT less than standard and its certainly more efficient than a 14 year old camray.

 

[oilman]

The temperature my be very different, but temperature is NOT the same as HEAT.

So I ask again, what combustion efficiencies have you measured for the Quartet, and for a condensing boiler?

As far as environmental benefit is concerned, there is also the materials required, and the shorter life of condensing boilers, and the consequent increase in overall energy needed for replacement.

 

[Chineplate]

Thanks for the replies so far. The quote for the water jacket was £950, it would need to be made as now not available as a spare. So a new boiler it is. Browsed the brochures and keen on a Thermsaver outdoor slimline 27-38Kw. This would give me more space in the already crowded utility room. Any thoughts on this boiler and external boilers in particular.

 

[gas4you]

Don't know anything about oil boilers personally, but a colleague of mine who does nothing but oil, always fits the Grant range and as yet has had no problems with the product or the company.

 

[Nixt]

Don't know anything about oil boilers personally, but a colleague of mine who does nothing but oil, always fits the Grant range and as yet has had no problems with the product or the company.

g4u - when they are put in, comissioned/set up they perform beautifully. What I don't like is how dog-eared they look after one year onwards. Eg I fitted one (boiler house model) some years back in a garage. After 18 months the outer casings looked worse than the 25 year old Thorn I'd taken out. Others have had prematurely split & bent baffles, ill fitting combustion doors etc. so worried about the steamers.

If it was my own boiler (being honest though not entirely legal with the OP), I'd say **** part L and install a Camray 5 non-condensing model.

 

[oilman]

I agree with Nixt. The other thing you could use is the HRM boiler, either through the wall, or external wall mount. Specify a Sterling burner as there is another they use. These boilers cause as little trouble as any, and are easy to maintain. They comply with the condensing requirement, but they don't condense for long, so probably longer life than a condenser.

There is little to choose between makes of boiler as long as they aren't combies, they all have reasonable water jackets, and they use a limited variety of burners, so you can have personal preferences, but the bits that are used are fairly common throughout.

 

[Nixt]

The other thing you could use is the HRM boiler, either through the wall, or external wall mount. Specify a Sterling burner as there is another they use. These boilers cause as little trouble as any, and are easy to maintain. They comply with the condensing requirement, but they don't condense for long, so probably longer life than a condenser.

HRM make very good WM boilers if the OP can do with 24kW. But do they condense at all? Not that I care (for same reason as above) but as far as I've seen there's only the stainless tube from top of combustion chamber to the trap that differs.

 

[oilman]

I thought there was one smaller than 24kW. Do they condense? Weellllll, they meet the regulations , that's ok for me.

 

[Nixt]

There are smaller outputs, I meant bigger. Thanks for the condense answer.

 

[oilman]

I have seen two of those big Quartets corroding, I think they need a header to get the return temperature up quickly. Unless the OP has got bigger than 28mm pipe, the 24kW one will be big enough.