Anyone recognise this boiler?

Heating,Marathon,30/42b,4178945,,1983,1,1,1,1,1,2,1,8.8,12.3,,,65,3,,0,2,1,20,0,0,,0,0,,,,,,,,2000/Feb/28

The internal picture shown several similarities with my Thorn M44/54. I've owned it since 1982 and it was in the house prior to the conversion to natural gas in the Southampton area when ever that was. It is still going strong and is a doddle to maintain and spares still available. I aslo have aspare one in the garage that I've not needed to canibalise yet.

Bob

In message , Roger Mills writes

As you say, its a Worcester (9.24?) Heatslave, a fairly common boiler in its day

Prolly got a manual for it somewhere

Blimey, that could be old then! I don't know how long it took to convert the whole country, or when in the proceedings Southampton was converted, but my area (Warwick) was done in about 1969.

...

The typography of the lettering on the front is like that on some early Worcester (as in Bosch) wall-hung boilers, so the GC number mapping to a Thorn EMI Marathon (which was indeed a floor-standing boiler - my mum had one until recently) does suggest some sort of transfer of business from Thorn EMI to Worcester. Which is odd as I thought Thorn EMI became Ideal. Maybe they split the storage-combi business off and Worcester bought that bit and the conventional boiler side became Ideal? I'd guess that this unit was made after the transfer of business so it was the same GC number with a bit of badge engineering.

Not a combi as such: the heat input (15kW max) is too small for that. More a storage combi with a small store of DHW augmented by the rather puny output of the boiler itself.

So is it a combi - or is its internal tank supposed to take the place of a normal hot water cylinder? According to the rating plate, the max heat output is around 11kW - which sounds pretty weedy in modern combi terms if it's supposed to deliver 'instant' hot water.

Did Bosch take over the Worcester brand from Thorn EMI, or is there no connection?

In message , Roger Mills writes

Doesn't look like it - dunno, it looks like its pre electronic, so our paths won't have crossed. There are several later versions which do

They have mostly been in bed with each other at some point

Thorn to Worcester - dunno

Thorn and Myson have been married in the past

Stelrad were taken over by Ideal

Baxi own Potterton

Bosch bought out Worcester

Other than that ... life's too short

Further research indicates that Bosch took over Worcester in 1992 - so this particular boiler pre-dates the takeover by almost 10 years. It does actually refer to Thorn EMI inside - so I'm pretty sure that they made it, without any 'badge engineering' being necessary.

I don't know about Ideal - maybe others will. Geoff indicated that Thorn EMI and Bosch had been in bed together - which is borne out by references to collaboration on HDTV systems etc., if you Google on that combination of companies.

Fantastic Maxie, fantastic! What a man! People like you are superb. Yes, superb. A breath of fresh air.

Myson bought Thorn EMI Heating in January 1986 Blue Circle Industries bought Birmid Qualcast in 1988 Blue Circle acquired Myson in 1990 Baxi bought Blue Circle's heating division in 2000

. . . which throws no light whatsoever on Thorn EMI's ownership of the 'Worcester' brand, and it's subsequent transfer to Bosch!

It is a Worcester Heatslave - it says on the box. They used the Thorn boiler because it was very slim for the time and could fit in the box. It was the first combi in the UK in the 1970s. I forget the operation. It may have been a thermal store coil inside or maybe an external bubble type of heat exchanger to heat the water instantly. They were used in flats and the larger burners in some houses. They were reliable enough but expensive - but cheap if the tanks and cylinder in a system are eliminated in an system. It suffered from ignorance by bathroom changing plumbers, who never understood it - nothing has changed - and were put off by the high price of the "box", not doing the sums for the whole system, which case it was cheaper. The Heatslave went through many serious improvements as combis improved spurred by Vaillant, and the name today only applies to an oil combi I believe.

Parts are pretty well available today, well the main control parts.

You jest, I assume? Go to any 'bathroom changing plumber' these days and they will want to fit a combi - as a few of my pals have found out to their regret.

You need to get out more - even if it is raining.

Please eff off as you a total plantpot.

Yes, sad, isn't it?!

Yes, just as we sat down, mum said "oh, I didn't make any gravy". I said not to worry -- seen enough gravy for one day already.

Well of course not - that would have meant dribble actually answered a question - and that could have blown his reputation!

This man is a Chav from Essex. Yes.

That's these days. With respect to Drivel he was talking about 3 decades ago. How many audio engineers would have gone for digital in those days?

He as usual suggested that they made the wrong decision *then* not to