Heating System

[parsj3]

Im going to view a house soon, the condition of the heating system i

unknown, could anyone give me some pointers on what to look for??

-- parsj3

[Andrew Gabriel]

You could start by asking the present occupiers -- they might even tell you it doesn't work stright off.

Ask to see it working (even if it's a hot day outside and you have to turn up the stat to get heating on), and check the radiators heat up as you view the rest of the house. Check you get hot water out of the taps in one or two of the rooms with sinks. Might want to try running the shower too, to make sure it works and doesn't just dribble a feeble trickle.

Make a note of the manufacturer and model of the boiler, and come back here with that info, where someone will probably be able to give a general thumbs up or down on that model, and a clue how old it might be. If the boiler is less than around 5 years old, there should be a Benchmark logbook with the installation/service history inside it; ask to see that.

If you've done all that, you've done much more than is covered by any full survey. Ultimately, you're never going to know how good it is until you're indoors when it's -10 outside.

[John Stumbles]

Where's the boiler? If it's part of a gas fire (back boiler) it'll involve you in expensive re-siting when it needs replacing (or you'll be lumbered with an ineffient beast) and it also needs ventilation from the room for combustion, which usually means a vent in the wall letting in cold air.

If it's floor-mounted then it's probably pretty old, ditto if it has a pilot light to keep it going.

Where's the flue? If it's a back boiler then the flue is up the chimney. For other types if it has a round pipe going up (with maybe a 45 degree offset) and this either disappears into a wall or goes up the outside of the house then it's ancient. If it has a big square box (about a foot square) on the wall outside with a square metal cage over it then it's pretty old. If it has a small rectangular or a circular (about 4" dia) concentric outlet then it's fairly modern.

Does the house have a HW cylinder (in an airing cupboard) and tanks in the roof? That's a conventional system, not a combi. Does it have one valve with 3 pipes in a T formation and a cable coming out of it, or 2 such valves with 2 pipes? If not, and the HW cylinder has 28mm dia pipes connected to it partway up (not the top and very bottom connections) then it's a gravity circulation system. You can often tell this also from the programmer if you can't switch Heating on without Hot Water also coming on. Gravity systems are old and will need changing to fully-pumped (with the valve(s)) at some point (e.g. when the boiler has to be replaced).

Is there a room thermostat? Is there a programmer? (sometimes built in to the boiler)

Look at rads: if they have fins behind the panels (or between panels of double rads) then they're fairly modern, if no fins and panels close together on double rads they old. Look for rust marks and signs of leakage on the bottom of the rads and the valves. Are soem rads & valves new and some old? Does this tie in with an extension to the house, or maybe some old rads have rusted through and had to be replaced. Are the valves thermostatic or manual? If thermostatic, there should be one rad with manual valves (neither with adjustable heads) in the room with the room thermostat.

If the boiler is a combi (system without HW cylinder or tanks in attic) what make & model? Google this group for mentions, and see if you can find out how old it is: combis have more to go wrong with them and ancient combis may be a bit of a liability.

[Ed Sirett]

Everything the other's have replied then is good stuff. Also look at the HW cylinder (if there is one) is it bare metal possibly with an (ill) fitting red jacket - this is not good. Or is it covered in bluish or yellowish foam (better).

Does it have an immersion heater, useful when the boiler breaks down.