Advert on the telly advocating spending £800 on a new condensing boiler which would potentially save 'up to £100 a year'. Am I cynical in thinking 8 years is probably too long to expect it to last so infact it's a non optimum solution?
AWEM
A condensing boiler properly fitted and maintained will last 20 years or more. The better models 40-50 years, as long as parts are still available.
How does on demonstrate that when they have only been around for a few years?
The message from "Andrew Mawson" contains these words:
Our gas bills are only about £280 a year!
I expect this "Up to" refers to if the boilers were running 24/7!
On top of which you apparently HAVE to have a maintenance contract because the things are so unreliable and when the circuit board blows up which some are now designed to do, that's another few hundred.
I really can't see where the savings are over an old conventional boiler that went on for years on the occasional thermocouple.
Andy
Why should it? What has 24/7 to do with it?
Few years? How about 20 in the UK and 40 in Holland.
You made that up.
Proof please?
The difference between a non-condensing boiler and condensing boiler, that one has a condensate drain one doesn't.
See how often a Viessmann, Qantum, MAN, Archie Kidd, etc, breaks down. Buy cheapo, don't be upset when it breaks down a lot.
On Sat, 17 Jun 2006 18:09:45 +0100, Andrew Mawson wrote (in article ):
The TV advert is misleading if it doesn't give some idea of the circumstances.
However, it's not an unreasonable figure.
Factors would be
- Size and heatloss of property
- Pattern of use
- Efficiency of previous boiler
An older conventional boiler, 20 years old is likely to have an efficiency in the 50-60% range, whereas a more recent conventional model was achieving up to 78-80%. Condensing models are achieving 90-91%.
Early UK designed and manufactured condensing boilers gained a poor reputation for reliability because of poor design. Typically this involved adding a secondary heat exchanger after the primary one by effectively adding it to an existing design. This inevitably caused corrosion problems. Thus the branch of the Women's Institute which meets at every heating merchant have given all condensing products a poor reputation.
Meanwhile in Germany and Holland, good quality condensing boilers have been around for 20 years or more.
Good quality products have stainless steel heat exchangers and either downfiring or radial burners and a well engineered means of disposing of condensate
There are additional components in a condensing boiler as compared with a naturally ventilated conventional boiler, but few more compared with a fan-assisted one.
Track records have been good with the better quality condensing products such as Vaillant, Viessmann, MHG, Bosch
Got you going ! ;-) Only an impression from the string of tales of woe
Again I can only go on what I read but I have little faith in manufacturers or perhaps I should expand that to say industry in general any more.
I thought they rotted ?
So which one would you recommend then when I finally decide to bite the bullet?
Andy
Whoops !
Andy
You never, you meant that.
The Beano?
It is clear you had never heard of the makers I listed.
Well designed and good ones don't.
Any of above. Also, the next level down, Vaillant are good, with the Glow Worm being a rebadged Vaillant.
Is that the broom with five new handles and 10 heads that lasts for 20 years?
Absolutely anything can be made to last forever if spare parts are available and cost not an issue.
On a sample of one mine is still going perfectly well after 13 years having needed only a fan (yes Geoff - it's still in the car awaiting the next visit to Watford).
He thinks boilers have broom handles. Sad I know.
40-50 years is surely stretching it a bit?
Lol, good point mate.
What's wrong with an aluminium heat exchanger like in my Worcester Bosch then? It definitely won't corrode and will conduct heat quicker.
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