Is it possible to still get major spare parts for the Potterton Netaheat Mk
2? It's about 20 years old, and the heat exchanger has gone. I expect it is not particularly economic to repair, but in theory can you still get the parts?
Yes, no problem. Got a thermostat for my MIL's 25 y.o. boiler last month.
But if it's the heat exchanger there are two further questions:
1) Is it really worth spending hundreds to keep a 20 y.o. boiler alive? 2) How come the heat exchanger went? That's serious corrosion it's a massive lump of C.I. and it doesn't just spring a leak without a (bad) reason.
The point is that this is a flat I rent out. There's a British Gas 3 star maintenance contract on the boiler. The tenant has been complaining for ages that it has been boiling over into the expansion tank. He used to call BG and they would come out and fiddle with the thermostat, then go away. Presumably, there has been lots of air getting into the system from this.
Anyway, a day ago I was called out because the boiler was leaking from the core. The engineer said that it needed replacing. The question is whether there are parts available to fix it. If so, then BG have an obligation to fix it under their contract. If no parts available, then they are off the hook.
I tried the place that Phil suggested, and it says there that the heat exchanger is not available any longer, so I guess that BG are in the clear.
If I could replace my old Spacesaver I would. It's had perhaps 4 thermocouples and a new cap. That's it. Judging by the horrow stories one reads everywhere, any % gas cost saving would be eaten up 10-fold by maintenance, faliures and the need to replace inside 10 years. You read of 6 year old boilers that people are looking to replace ! I have no faith in the industry, whatsoever. It's seems to have become a money-making machine instead of providing a big kettle !
Andy
Is it like other Potterton period designs where the heat exchanger is modular to allow different sizes? My Kingfisher is like this and there are 'rubber' O rings between sections which can fail. Mine did but are cheaply replaced.
Sounds like a badly out of balance system - caused perhaps by tenants fiddling with lockshield valves and pump? But typical BG not to address the cause of the problem.
Whether parts are available and whether BG say they are could well be different.
There is a serious underlying problem with the heating. You probably have dire ammounts of sludge and corrosion in the radiators too.
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