boiler: need new oil fired boiler

[Stephen]

Hello,

You may remember me posting about my oil fired boiler. The plumber has just left. When removing the side panels he small a small amount of smoke escaping and thinks the weld that joins the bottom and side of the boiler has failed and that the only action is to replace the boiler.

So, I've never shopped for a new boiler before, can anyone give me and hints or tips? What makes to shop for and which to avoid etc? If possible I would like to try and DIY the install and have someone check and commission it. I figure that might half the cost that way.

I wondered about a wall mounted one to free some room but does this make it awkward to reach to service? How do you lift the damn things anyway? I thought they weighed 100kg.

What about external ones? Are they any good? I would be worried about freezing.

Thanks, Stephen.

[Stephen]

Hello again,

I forgot to ask, where can I find the regulations relating to oil fired boilers? Would it be the on site guide that gets mentioned here a lot or somewhere else?

Thanks.

[Dave Liquorice]

Have a dig about on the OFTEC site:

[cynic]

Look up the OFTEC website.

[cynic]

I've never yet found that failure mode! Does the burner flange need a new seal or a wipe of fire cement?

Try Firebird boilers, Boulter boilers, Trianco boilers They are all very much the same. Riello (RBL) make bloody good burners so if you have the option of a model of burner to choose on the boiler I suggest you opt for one of their range

Not as heavy as that for the wall mounted ones that are available but they are heavy nonetheless. Generaly the wall mounted ones are not as good to work on or service.

They have freeze protection as long as fuel and electricity supplies remain on. The big problem is what hapens in winter when you want some work carried out. Before retiring I would never go to work on one in the winter or if it was raining. If you chose this range expect to have to learn how to work on it yourself in the rain or ice and snow. They are the misbegotten spawn of the devil!

.

[Leveled]

[Doctor Drivel]

Outdoor boilers are a great idea, Keep the stuff out of the house. Fitting an external oil combi is a great idea - all outside. The only outdoor gas appliance is the Rinnai water heater. The Italians make an externally fitted gas boiler, but not available here. An externally mounted gas combi would sell like hot cakes.

[Stephen]

I'm not quite sure what a boiler flange is. There is a hole (an intentional one) on the front of the boiler that the blast tube, nozzle, etc fit to. Is that the flange? If so, there did not seem to be any smoke coming from there. The smoke definitely came from the side at floor level.

[Stephen]

connecting the HW and CH is within my DIY capabilities; it's only compression joints after all but I need to know regulations about where I can and cannot put it. The plumber told me that I cannot have a flue straight through the wall because it is too near a door. I never knew that. So I need to learn more about flues and what I can have and where.

I was also told that if I had a condensing boiler I would have to line the flue, which would be expensive, so I should look for a non-condensing boiler but I thought all new boilers were condensing? I was told a non-condensing would be just as efficient, but if so, why do people bother making condensing ones?

[Stephen]

Making space in the kitchen is a definite plus point but OTOH I'm still concerned about an external one on a cold day during a power cut, wouldn't it freeze then? And I had not appreciated what others have said about it being uncomfortable to work on in winter weather.

I do not have a combi. I have a HW cylinder. Perhaps combis are better that you only heat what you need. I doubt we use a cylinder a day. What advantages are there to having cylinders: better flow rate and the ability to connect a shower?

Thanks, Stephen.

[Leveled]

You can get anti-freeze for the system but we never have, the box and pipes are insulated: and I hope we don't get long power cuts, it depends where you live we didn't have a frost to freeze pipes last year or this

[Stephen]

I guess I was being paranoid. Like you say, we rarely have frost or power cuts, especially at the same time.

[Stephen]

Sorry if this is a silly question: what is the difference between a kitchen or utility boiler?

Thanks, Stephen.

[The Natural Philosopher]

generally the latter are ugly, and possibly caseless.

[Dave Liquorice]

In the case of ours it means the kitchen one is white the utility black. No other difference.

[Stephen]

Thanks. I thought it was just cosmetic but wanted to be sure. If anyone can give me pointers whether to get condensing or non-condensing and any hints or tips about what make/model, I would be grateful. The old one was 70,000BTU = I think 21kW?

Thanks.

[Stephen]

Hello again,

I was looking at BHL.co.uk (are they any good; can you recommend anyone else?) and they sell Grant Vortex boilers - I had never heard of them - but the literature says they have Riello burners, so is that the one to go for?

Thanks, Stephen.

[Stephen]

Sorry to add to my own post but I have found the Worcester Bosch Greenstar Camray also has Reillo burners. From the various manufacturers' web sites I have not learned much. They also seem to sell white boxes with four 22mm connections. How do I choose between them? Just look for the cheapest or the one with the highest efficiency percentage?

Am I right to think I should not "upgrade" to a higher powered boiler? Would this be inefficient because it would lead to cycling?

Thanks, Stephen.

[Stephen]

Sorry to keep posting to myself. Just to say that although I had not heard of Grant - it's hardly surprising because I haven't needed to shop for a boiler before - they seem to top the sedbuk tables. Does this mean it's the one to buy? Any reliability problems?

The Worcester comes a close second at 94% versus 95%.

They say the condensate drain must be connected by 22mm plastic. Is this the same stuff that you use for overflows on the header tanks? Screwfix lists it as 21.5mm; have the boiler manufacturers just rounded it up? How do you connect this to a standard 40mm drain: a tundish?

Last question (for tonight): regarding flues are balanced flues best or doesn't flue type make a difference? I see that there are vertical and horizontal flues; I think I can figure what they mean ;)

But I am unsure about high level and low level; what's that all about?

Thanks, Stephen.

[Stephen]

Sorry, the Worcester 18/25 model is actually 93% compared to the Grant's 95%, I was looking at the wrong Worcs. model before.