It’s a Worcester Bosch Greenstar 42cdi and has been in for about 8 and a half years.
The main heat exchanger has gone and water is pissing out of the condensate pipe when you try to pressurise the system. So it’s either a complete new one or repair it.
A new one us going to cost plenty but should be a piece of cake to fit as it’s a direct swap so all the pipes/holes/fixings point will be the same
A new heat exchanger isn’t that cheap, is a proper pain in the ar$e to fit so will cost me plenty in labour and when it’s done the rest of the unit will still be 8 years old.
I was hoping it would have lasted a bit longer but it hasn’t so no point moaning.
Do I repair it and try to get a few more years out of it or bite the bullet and replace it .

Cheers

How long is the guarantee?

My WB been in over 10 yrs never missed a beat. What have you done to it?

Guarantee ran out after 5 years 🙁

Up until now it’s run perfectly, always topped up with inhibitor when the system has been drained to fit new towel rads/fit underfloor heating/swap leaky rad valves etc

In guessing I have just been unlucky ?

Bosch pump on my Worcester ran dry whilst we were away last week owing to a leak on one of our radiators. Signed up for the British Gas full coverage deal and they came same day to attempt repair, then back next day to complete pump exchange.
Service included in cost of £99 for first visit, then £22pcm for 12mths. As all parts are included in price we have already made a saving on the total annual cost.

Warranty on the heat ex is 10 years btw. You can also do a fixed price repair with worcester that would be around £280 iirc

Surly Bosch or British gas would not be stupid enough to take me on a service plan without checking that the boiler is ok first ??

Would they not thnk it a bit suspicious if i took the plan today and phoned to get it repaired for free tomorrow ??

It would be like trying to koin the RAC when your broken down on the side if the motorway, or taking out bike insurance after its already been stolen !!
Morally i haven’t a problem with this but i cant see tham being that stupid ?

My parents wb 42 was given this diagnosis from the engineer owed to all the water coming from it. Via a cursory glance

Its a sod to get out- but we changed the heat exchanger inlet and outlet orings on advice of my uncle ( whos a heating engineer daaan south)!

And its been fine for 2 years since…..

OP – that’s exactly how it works, I phoned for emergency call out – they offered a repair fee (rising sharply on amount of time spent on site), or alternatively, to join their service plan as above – they take the risk on cost of spares to get you up and running as essentially you are tied in to tune of £330 ish over course of the year.

You then have advantage of free call outs during that year, with quote for spares before any work is carried out.
Worked out cost effective for us. Why not give them a call?

What fluxhutch said, WB guarantee on main heat exchanger is 10 year (https://www.worcester-bosch.co.uk/gas-boiler-primary-heat-exchanger-guarantee).

Even if they knock you back for warranty claim it’s still cheaper to get them out to do a one off fix as it’ll cost less than buying the part istelf. This is why we never sell any at work.

We insure our CH system against major expenses. I think it’s an addition to the house insurance.

My mother in law also says combi boilers are no good for families ( as I expressed high regard for the combi in our holiday cottage) as you can’t have hot water upstairs and downstairs at the same time! Is this true?

She also says that com is have built in obsolescence and don’t last as long as normal boilers…. Is this true? This is a big bold claim to make especially as she isn’t or hasn’t ever been a plumber…..

Burko73 – No she’s talking tosh. It’s a single output for domestic hot water from the boiler so assuming the upstairs and downstairs taps are both plumbed into that it should be fine. I think they’re great for a family as you don’t have to schedule the heating of a hot water tank based on when you think you’ll need it.

Why not give them a call?

In my case, they turned an intermittent hot water fault into no hot water, no heating, and a gas leak.

you can’t have hot water upstairs and downstairs at the same time! Is this true?

You can, but the flow rate is limited by the boiler output. Get a boiler with a high flow and it’s not a problem – we can run two showers off ours.

I think most central heating companies are extremely quick to recommend boiler replacement.
I was recommended to replace my 35CDi when the hot water was reticent to come on.
Instead, with a bit of research and a lot of cursing, I changed the diaphragm in the diverter valve and all is well.
I leave the gas side to the professionals, but I’m prepared to work on the rest, rather than just replace with another.

are you sure it’s not a hole in the casing for a wire? 😉

But as above, warranty on heat exchanger should be 10 years (more than the rest of the boiler).

Also take a look at fixed price repairs.

Heat exchanger is a lot cheaper than a new boiler and doesn’t take too long to remove.

this thread reminds me of people who replace cars because i needs a service – yes they do exist.