our boiler is on its way out….just had our plumber / heating guy out and he quoted to change some of the parts that have gone (for £500)…..but said that he thought as its 17-18 years old it would be better off replacing the boiler at a cost of £2000.00 all in. does this sound about right? he has quoted for a ‘valent pro 28′(!?)

I assume you mean Vaillant (sorry, not teasing) so it’s one of the better makes.

I think £2k all in is about right for a good boiler.

Just had quotes for a new Worcester or Vaillant boiler, £2k +/- £100 all in fitted, commissioned, system filled with fernox etc.

Yeah I would say that £2k is about right for a decent boiler and a straight swap. Shop around and someone might do it for a bit less but I would be inclined to go with the person I trust if I have an ongoing relationship with them. And of course a new boiler *should* be much more energy efficient than and old boiler too…

cheers for the advice. Yeah the guy quoting has done other work for us and I know he is trustworthy.

bugger, didn’t need a £2k bill right now though!

If you can’t afford it just now, go for the fix but then make sure you save to get it fixed in the next year or so.

I bought a 2
35kw condensing combi viesman. Full 7 year parts and labour warranty if serviced yearly and stamped up in the book. Paid 900 quid for the boiler including fancy remote stat and magna clean which is required for warranty. Paid 350 to get it fitted amd registered. All in just under 1300 quid with bits n bobs reqd. I do have a lot of good contacts in the trade though.

Up to £1500 is price I hear from friends who get the stuff and know someone to fit it (I’d hope are properly qualified).

£4k+ from British Gas, with a “discount” 😆

Thinking of getting mine done, though my boiler while old is mechanically fine with no corrosion. It just has issues with the flow temperature sensors that tell it when to cut in/out. Had them replaced but they keep failing.

Also planning to move within a few years (been saying that for the last 15!), so the “savings” made from a new boiler are irrelevant as I’d need to be there for 10+ years to make any.

How reliable are condensing boilers anyway vs traditional combi? Combi’s are really very simple but condensing seems like more to go wrong.

I think £2k all in is about right for a good boiler.

That’s a bit below what we paid to do this job 18 months ago. We paid nearer £2.5k.

Don’t ask British Gas for a quote the shock will near kill you!

We did – it was £3.5k for the same job!

Edited to add; we chose a Condensing Boiler so that may make up for the difference. Bit of bad news; I think you are forced to fit a condensing boiler by law. They’re more efficient so saves some CO2 emissions for the Gov’t.

Deadkenny; our condensing boiler has been fine for the last 18 months (better check when I get home now I’ve said that – bugger!!)

How reliable are condensing boilers anyway vs traditional combi? Combi’s are really very simple but condensing seems like more to go wrong.

Irrelevant, as you can not legally purchase or fit non condensing gas boilers. conventional or otherwise. Conventional being, heat only, open vented which is completely different from a combi. Condensing or otherwise.

gears_suck – Member 
Irrelevant, as you can not legally purchase or fit non condensing gas boilers

Relevant as it forms part of my decision to either replace my combi boiler or repair and keep it.

Regarding your question about costing. It seems a reasonable price to me. You said yourself he’s done work for you before and you trust him. Why the sudden lapse in confidence?

Irrelevant, as you can not legally purchase or fit non condensing gas boilers. conventional or otherwise. Conventional being, heat only, open vented which is completely different from a combi.

You are not breaking any laws buying or installing a non condensing boiler, so it is not illegal in any way.

However, you’re unlikley to be able to get BC approval, as they mandate condensing boilers for most domestic installations; although there are exceptions.

Not that anyone would notice, nor care if you chose to buy and install a non condensing boiler, which are readily available to buy.

If it’s anything like my new boiler then it will be worth doing as the boiler guy says. New combi boilers are more efficient, much quieter and push hot water thru on demand much more quickly, well mine does anyway.

There are a few variants to be able to get a price on here. Get your 3 quotes and go from there. Every installer has their own preferences. Just don’t go for the cheapest boiler, I just replaced a six year old halstead for a custard which needed loads of work done to it and just add insult their tech phone line charge 80p a minute to talk to them.

You have to laugh. Just noticed the sale banner at the top of this page. boiler fitted from £999….

Our house has no central heating (old stone cottage). A quote last month for everything – Worcester-Bosch boiler, new pipework and rads everywhere, plus Nest) was a touch over 3k. From a large, well-respected supplier.

Point being, without knowing how big your house is and how many rads/bathrooms you have/need, it’s hard to give an objective opinion.

We had ours done a month or so ago.
It was moved so needed new pipes installed and new flue hole cutting. He also fitted new mains pipe to increase the flow.
We chose a Worcester Bosch and upgraded to a Wave controller (£200) and a Magnox filter.
With all that it was £2690 but because of the wave and magnox upgrades, it has a 10 year warranty.

BG quoted us just shy of 5k for a new boiler after replacing the brain on our 2 year old current boiler. To be fair it struggled a bit as house is quite large (16 radiators and they are all old style big ones, 1880s house but all battened and insulated now). Anyhoo, indy guy was working next door and fixed a smoking switch (long story) and suggested we put another expansion vessel on – now it works properly !

It’s difficult this one. You can probably buy the boiler and flue plus bits and bobs for little over a grand; it will take one person a day to fit. You are of course paying for the fitters training, keeping registration up to date and potential return visits for trouble shooting but even so a grand for a days work is quite a lot IMO. Seems to be the going rate though.

footflaps – Member
You are not breaking any laws buying or installing a non condensing boiler, so it is not illegal in any way.

However, you’re unlikley to be able to get BC approval, as they mandate condensing boilers for most domestic installations; although there are exceptions.

Not that anyone would notice, nor care if you chose to buy and install a non condensing boiler, which are readily available to buy.

There’s always one smart arse aint there. So here you are.
There are exceptions in extreme circumstances which may warrant the installation of a non condensing boiler. However, this requires full explanation and documentation to BC. So far I have not come across a situation where it would not be possible to fit one.

What the new condensing boiler regulations say

In simple terms the new regulations state that:

All gas-fired boilers fitted after the 1st April 2005 have to be condensing boilers. This applies to all brand new installations and those that are a boiler replacement.
All oil-fired boilers fitted after the 1st April 2007 have to be condensing boilers and again this applies to new installations and replacement boilers.
All condensing boilers fitted after the 1st April 2005 have to have a SEDBUK efficiency rating of either A or B.

There are a number of other new regulations in addition to these three, however, these are the main ones that need to be followed.
Additional information on new condensing boilers

All new gas-fired and oil-fired boilers have to be condensing boilers and once installed they need to be issued with the Approved Document L1 of the Building Regulations.

It is the responsibility of the homeowner to ensure their boiler and heating system complies with the building regulations and so it is vital that all gas boilers are installed by a Gas Safe registered technician and all oil-fired boilers by an OFTEC registered installer.

The certificate that is issued will be needed should anything go wrong or should the house be sold in later years.

Finally it is also the homeowner’s responsibility to inform the local authority that a new or replacement boiler has been fitted in a particular house.

There are a number of new condensing boiler regulations that need to be followed when fitting a new or replacement boiler to your home. A Gas Safe or OFTEC registered installer will be able to explain the regulations and supply you with the certificate you now need by law – whether it is a certificate of compliance or a certificate of exemption.

Point being, without knowing how big your house is and how many rads/bathrooms you have/need, it’s hard to give an objective opinion.

In this situation that’s not really true. Because it’s a straight swap, Combi for Combi. The main difference being the new one will be condensing. The two items which may differ would be:
(a) Where the condensate is discharged to.
(b) Whether the gas supply is sufficient for the new boiler.
These things considered, a ballpark figure of £2000 is likely not unrealistic.

Can’t argue with that. Happy to stand corrected.

You might consider these new fangled air source heat pumps, this month sees a government incentive to pay a la feed in tarif a sum every month to encourage folk to switch to them. It requires not only the new boiler air source thing, but a new cylinder with a larger bore heat exchanger. Allegedly from 2020 all new builds will be fitted with them as standard.

They gauge the amount of money to pay based on your buildings energy certificate so the calculation is fixed and unlike feed in tariff for solar doesn’t fluctuate with the weather so you can tie a loan to the likely repayments, it is worth a look if you’ve got to undergo the expense anyway.

2k is too much imho. See above for what i paid for my boiler with all required flues, stats, magna clean etc, as no **** seems to bother reading what others put sometimes you will probably think 2k is ok.
That’s a decent boiler with 7 year full warranty. I appreciate some folk on here would not fit anything other than Worcester Bosch etc but they are probably the same sort who will only buy their food from Waitrose.

I appreciate some folk on here would not fit anything other than Worcester Bosch etc but they are probably the same sort who will only buy their food from Waitrose.

Nothing like a sweeping statement to back up your ignorance.
I read your previous post and don’t disagree. I didn’t say I would pay £2000 nor that was an exact figure, it’s a guideline. Price could vary quite a lot depending on boiler type and job location etc, etc. Normally I would expect to provide quotes for this type of job ranging from 1500 to 2500. There are many variables.
Based on the fact it’s not an outlandish figure and he has a history with the plumber, it sounds reasonable to me. All I said.

Ignorance of What?

Nice edit. Shame you didn’t edit the ignorant bit. I’m far from ignorant and have dealt with the odd mechanical project in my time if I recall.
*deleted the rest as I can’t be arsed due to my Ignorance*

Worcester for me, i’ve had a vokera and a baxi and they were like zannusi washing machines shite maybe 7 years lifespan.
I bought all the bits online from plumbnation and picked it all up from a local pbs merchant then £500 for a days work for a heating eng they think they are playing in the premier league , he did have to do a wee bit gas pipe work extra

Well OP it seems loads of different views here.

Why not get a second quote for repair. A £500 repair is some pretty major works.
Did he say what parts are needed for repair?

Premier league? Dont think I could cope with the pay-cut.!

Combis just seem such junk mechanically. I bought my old Baxi back boiler s/h when it was stripped out of a pals house as he replaced it with a combi.. That Baxi has run faultlessly since I bought it 26 years ago. Whilst I think my pal is on his third/forth combi.

Yeah it’s not so economical, but my bills arent that different to his.

Sorry but back boilers are outdated and potentially very dangerous. no place for an appliance of that type now days.
Part of my job involves investigation after an ‘incident’ Invariable a gas fire/back boiler is involved.

Wasn’t impressed with the baxi in the house i had for 6 months Jan to july last year. Don’t know how old it was but not that old and was serviced regularly (holiday house owned by wealthy family). Was ok generally, but noisy as hell during night thru winter when it regularly went thru what i assumed? were it’s anti freeze cycles?.

but noisy as hell during night thru winter when it regularly went thru what i assumed? were it’s anti freeze cycles?.

Most newer combi’s have two features which result in short operations even when not receiving a call for heat.
These comprise of:
1. Pump actuation after a manufacturers set period (time varies, usually around 12 hours) To prevent pump from seizing due to non use.
2. Pump and burner operation to maintain heat in the heat exchanger. This assists in quicker delivery of hot water and much more frequent than the former.
The latter of the two can usually be turned off by setting the ECO mode to ON.
These features vary by boiler manufacturer but I’m guessing your was doing one or both during the night.

elzorillo – Member 
Combis just seem such junk mechanically

Traditional, non-condensing, are very simple and in my experience mechanically reliable (going by my 20 or so years old boiler).

Burner, sealed unit heat exchanger, pump, water in for direct water, loop for the rads. That’s about it.

No tanks etc. Just boiler, pipes & rads. At least in a small house.

Every time I get mine serviced, there’s nothing to do on the mechanical side. Take a look, test gasses etc, all fine. Never needed pulling apart and cleaning out. Still looks in fairly new condition.

As I mentioned earlier, the only issue is on the electrical side, specifically temperature flow sensors which seem to fail frequently.

Straight combi swop from a plumber mate is 2K. Just had British gas round today and there quote was 2.3K.
So I have told them to crack on. Getting rid of the mega troublesome Valiant and having a Worcester Bosch 30i fitted.
Bit of a no brainer for me as its a rental property and its easier to have there back up and a 5 year Guarantee plus service plan.
Never thought I would even give BG the time of day.

Sorry but back boilers are outdated and potentially very dangerous. no place for an appliance of that type now days.
Part of my job involves investigation after an ‘incident’ Invariable a gas fire/back boiler is involved.

We wondered what the smell was for a couple of days, then took the fire off to look at the boiler – flames shooting out the side of it 😯

It got replaced with a combi elsewhere in the house.

That said, Baxi do a back-boiler replacement now which is energy efficient enough to put in if required.

I have a conventional boiler (25+ years old) that I’m planning on replacing this year. The last time I had it serviced (a few years ago…) I heard the plumber swear loudly so went to investigate, there were flames shooting from the back of it once the cover was off. Not sure what he did but he fixed it and it’s been fine since, I do sometimes wince if I’m standing near it and it creaks/makes other weird sounds…

I have a conventional boiler (25+ years old) that I’m planning on replacing this year.

That’s young! Mine is about 40 years old and still doing fine*. I’ve had it apart a few times to replace various bits. Very easy to work on, being fairly simple design.

* It’s not blown up yet.