replace radiator (maybe boiler too)

JuliusCaesar

Hi

I had the ESB Halo done a while ago and he told me my boiler is operating at ~70% efficiency, so I'm wondering if I should get a new one. And get 2 zones put inot the house. It's a terraced 30s house in Dublin.

Ayway, the bedroom radiator is not enough. The CH system is old - gunmetal pipes - I'm assuming it was put into the house in the 80s. So a tradesman said to me, to save money, it would be a good idea to replace just that radiator.

So I'm looking for advice. Also, would it be cheaper if I went off and bought the replacement radiator for the plumber to install, or should I leave that up to him?

Any ideas on possible cost would be good too.

Thanks
JC

Carlow52

On the boiler u should run some numbers to take a guess at payback:

Say ur current heating bill is 2000 euro pa at 70% efficiency

Say u get from 70 to 90% so that is 400 euro saved in one year

so if the new boiler is 2K then 5 years.

This calculation is just a rough estimate but good enough for this.

on the new rad, with 30 year old GB, system could be could be badly corroded internally and the rad may be choked with gunk so u need to establish the internal state of the system first..
Sizing the heat required is not difficult

see here for example
http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_6282872_calculate-radiator-size-room.html

Joey the lips

This is a difficult one to ansewer on the boiler efficency one. The same guys told me my boiler operates at 75% and i knew this about my boiler.

However my boiler is only 4 years old with a full service history....

Personally i would not replace the boiler but if you have the money now that the grant is on it might be worth while improving the rateing of your house....but for what real benefit...


As for buying the rad.... Retail get anything from nothing to 15% off a rad. The trade gets up to 55% so on a 150 euro rad it could cost you 150 euro where as it might only cost the plumber 75 when he claims the vat back

so it might in theory of honestly work out better on a supply and fit....

Alex M

i had a simalair issue with gun metal pipes and poor heat to 2 rads. i contacted a gas guy through a friend and he advised me to not change my boiler but to have a flush of my system. it took him less than a day and he even fitted a filter beside my boiler which prevents the sludge from returning. it made a massive difference to the heat generated in the house and because of this we had the heat on less which saved the gas bill. he said the boiler was working fine but the system itself was restricting the amount of heat. it was good advice cos we had new boiler quotes from about 10 plumbers from €1900-€3000

JuliusCaesar

Thanks everyone. I'll go with a replacement radiator, cos the room isn't just used for sleeping in - it has TV etc so is in use in the evenings. The radiator is a flat panel one so I think a double one might be better. Thanks for the link, Carlow!
Now....next question....how to find a good plumber.....

alan123

How much was the flush/service?

Alex M wrote: »

i had a simalair issue with gun metal pipes and poor heat to 2 rads. i contacted a gas guy through a friend and he advised me to not change my boiler but to have a flush of my system. it took him less than a day and he even fitted a filter beside my boiler which prevents the sludge from returning. it made a massive difference to the heat generated in the house and because of this we had the heat on less which saved the gas bill. he said the boiler was working fine but the system itself was restricting the amount of heat. it was good advice cos we had new boiler quotes from about 10 plumbers from €1900-€3000

cross21

julius cesear

i had reason to use a plumber for a shower pump today and they were excellent. i rang them at 11am and they called out and 2 hours later. they charged a fair price and there was no fee for an estimate and call out. (other pumbers i rang wanted to charge 120 for a callout fee) they are a plumber, pump repairer and boiler repairer so they should be able to advise you on cost efficient options on your heating dilemma.

another plumber told me that i needed a new pump (600 euros + installation costs). paul from dublinpumps.ie (086 1027894) fixed mine for 175 which was a great saving. best of luck with it. repairs are stressful