Back boilers

[Jondel]

We have a Bermuda Baxi boiler and fire front, I would like to change the fire front, but i think the boiler is quite old, it was here when we moved in, so havent got a clue how old it is, we have had it serviced by British gas, and all was well with it, but he said that they are the most inefficient boilers because all the heat goes up the chimney and are very expensive to run, so we are frightened to use it, it also heats the water , and radiators,
So we don't know weather to go into the expence of having it removed, and having a boiler put in the kitchen.
Can any one throw some light on the subject,
I would be very grateful for your replies.
thanks

[gucciman]

it's hard to give an accurate answer without knowing exactly which model of back boiler you have and how old it is and seeing the condition.

firstly, i wouldn't take too much notice of what british gas say, their engineers are paid bonuses to try and sell new boilers and are actively encouraged to do so. i have heard of many examples when they have talked old people into having new boilers when they may not have needed to. also, if your boiler was in poor condition BG would have condemned it or refused to work on it.

i'm a heating engineer and i have a baxi back boiler in my house, my father who is also a heating engineer and who worked for BG for 35 yrs and was their main boiler expert also has a baxi back boiler in his house.

The boiler itself may be relatively inefficient compared to a modern condensing boiler but that does't mean your system as a whole is very inefficient. take for example a combi boiler, they burn a hell of a lot of gas to heat the domestic hot water. there is a lot of talk that in the future we will be going back to conventional cylinder and tank type systems as together with a condensing boiler they will be more efficient than a combi. unfortunately condensing back boilers are not available so its going to be a hang on the wall or stand on the floor model.

[gucciman]

you could replace your back boiler with a condensing non-combi boiler but if your cylinder is an old type you wll have to replace that as well with the latest high heat recovery coil foam lagged type, thats gonna add about �500 to the cost. you will aslo have to have thermostatic radiator valves added to all but one of the radiators and will have to have a cylinder stat, room stat and a programmer if you dont already have them to ensure full boiler interlocking, this is all required by law to comply with the energy efficiency regulations. this is the reason installers prefer combi boilers, they are cheaper and easier to install. of course if you already have the above then you only need a new boiler.
if you opt for the combi boiler route then you need to be aware that the boiler power output you choose is dependant on the hot water you require. Combi boilers never give as good a hot water delivery as you get from your baxi so you need to go with a high powered combi or you may be dissapointed. i would suggest a minimum of 28kw and preferably 30 or over. but the higher the power the more it will cost to run and you will also need a larger diameter gas supply pipe which will add significantly to the cost of the installation.

if you decide on a new boiler or system then get some engineers in to give you some quotes and discuss the different options.

back to your baxi back boiler, don't worry about running it too much, gas is so expensive at the moment it's going to cost a fortune no matter what boiler you have.

and if you do want a new fire for the front your very limited in choice, you will need to contact baxi to find out whats available but they will need to know the model number of the boiler when you ring.