My old Glowworm from 1977 only just scraped through last winter, and
reluctantly, I am gonna bite the bullet and splash out on a new boiler. I
live in a pre war semi detatched house in Liverpool with 9" solid walls. I
have a primatic cylinder which I would like to keep as I have recently
fitted a new bathroom round the cylinder.
Considering my old inefficient boiler is still going at 29 years, are modern
boilers as long lasting or are there so many parts in them that they have a
greater chance of breakdown? What options do I have ? How much do I have to
cough up ?

The Croc

"Croco" wrote in message
...
My old Glowworm from 1977 only just scraped through last winter, and
reluctantly, I am gonna bite the bullet and splash out on a new boiler. I
live in a pre war semi detatched house in Liverpool with 9" solid walls. I
have a primatic cylinder which I would like to keep as I have recently
fitted a new bathroom round the cylinder.
Considering my old inefficient boiler is still going at 29 years, are
modern boilers as long lasting or are there so many parts in them that
they have a greater chance of breakdown? What options do I have ? How much
do I have to cough up ?

The top of the range models are v good: Viessmann, Eco-Hometec, Atmos, Etag,
etc. The next range down is The Worcester-Bosch, Vaillant level. The Glow
Worm condensing boiler is a rebadged Vaillant. You have to buy a condensing
boiler by law (exception apply, but I doubt you qualify, and condensers are
much cheaper to run. Get rid of the primatic, as they don't go well with
many modern boilers. Or if your mains are up to get a highflow combi and
get rid of the tanks and cylinder too, giving more space. It may be worth
replacing the cold mains pipe back to the road with a larger bore to get the
combi. Once done, the mains is always there, and a selling point for a
house - great water flow and pressure.

Croco wrote:

My old Glowworm from 1977 only just scraped through last winter, and
reluctantly, I am gonna bite the bullet and splash out on a new boiler. I
live in a pre war semi detatched house in Liverpool with 9" solid walls. I
have a primatic cylinder which I would like to keep as I have recently
fitted a new bathroom round the cylinder.

The primatic will complicate matters somewhat. How difficult would it be
to swap for an indirect cylinder? Alternatively, have you got a decent
mains flow rate? If so you could consider a combi, leaving the primatic
in place (but disconnected and unused) until next time you redo the
bathroom.

Considering my old inefficient boiler is still going at 29 years, are modern
boilers as long lasting or are there so many parts in them that they have a
greater chance of breakdown?

There is also no denying that any modern boiler will be vastly more
complicated than some of the old ones, so in a sense, yes there is more
to go wrong. However it is that complexity that gives them the vastly
better performance and efficiency.

If you buy a good quality one, and look after it, then it ought to last
reasonably well - hard to say if it will do 30 years since many of the
current models available in this country have not been round long
enough. Note however a modern boiler is unlikely to withstand the sort
of abuse that some of the older lumps will tolerate (like only getting a
service every 15 years whether they need it or not!)

What options do I have ? How much do I have to
cough up ?

I would guess anything from £1500 to £3000 depending on what you go for.


--
Cheers,

John.

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"John Rumm" wrote in message
...
Croco wrote:

My old Glowworm from 1977 only just scraped through last winter, and
reluctantly, I am gonna bite the bullet and splash out on a new boiler. I
live in a pre war semi detatched house in Liverpool with 9" solid walls.
I have a primatic cylinder which I would like to keep as I have recently
fitted a new bathroom round the cylinder.

The primatic will complicate matters somewhat. How difficult would it be
to swap for an indirect cylinder? Alternatively, have you got a decent
mains flow rate? If so you could consider a combi, leaving the primatic in
place (but disconnected and unused) until next time you redo the bathroom.

Take a reciprocating saw to it if it is tiled in.

Considering my old inefficient boiler is still going at 29 years, are
modern boilers as long lasting or are there so many parts in them that
they have a greater chance of breakdown?

There is also no denying that any modern boiler will be vastly more
complicated

They are not vastly more complicated. Some fixed burner rate boilers are
quite simple.

If you buy a good quality one, and look after it, then it ought to last
reasonably well - hard to say if it will do 30 years since many of the
current models available in this country have not been round long enough.

Viessmann condensers have been around for decades in Germany. Same with
Atmos in Holland, Both will last 30 years.

Thanks chaps, plenty to consider there then before it gets too cold. Brrrr
"Croco" wrote in message
...
My old Glowworm from 1977 only just scraped through last winter, and
reluctantly, I am gonna bite the bullet and splash out on a new boiler. I
live in a pre war semi detatched house in Liverpool with 9" solid walls. I
have a primatic cylinder which I would like to keep as I have recently
fitted a new bathroom round the cylinder.
Considering my old inefficient boiler is still going at 29 years, are
modern boilers as long lasting or are there so many parts in them that
they have a greater chance of breakdown? What options do I have ? How much
do I have to cough up ?

The Croc