parsj3 wrote:
Im going to view a house soon, the condition of the heating system is
unknown, could anyone give me some pointers on what to look for???

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.