Gas Boiler Lifespan

adox

We have had the same gas boiler since we bought our house on 2000 so its nearly 19 years old at this stage.

Was recently looking to get a Nest thermostat installed with Electric Ireland and was thinking maybe it would be a good time to upgrade the boiler too?

Is there a general finite lifespan to these boilers? Would now be a good time to change?

Its still working away, heating the rads and the water. How efficiently Ive no idea.

DGOBS

Most manufacturers say 10-15 years, although many older boilers were very robust and have see them last 30 years (or more)
A boiler thats 20 years old would be anywhere from 10-25% less efficient than a modern HE boiler (depending on the type, BBU, open flued, room sealed, etc.)

Some older boilers you may find are becoming more difficult to obtain spare parts for and my be in threat of becoming obsolete.

Like any household item, some are better build quality than others, like cars, how they have been looked after and the quality of the water flowing through them adds or subtracts from their lifespan.

If it's purely efficient your looking at, in a 20 year old house it would be wiser to look at insulation and zoning first, as the bigger energy savings can usually be found there. Theres no point having a fantastically efficient boiler that heats a house that does not retain the heat well!!

Hope that helps.

Sleeper12

DGOBS wrote:

Most manufacturers say 10-15 years, although many older boilers were very robust and have see them last 30 years (or more) A boiler thats 20 years old would be anywhere from 10-25% less efficient than a modern HE boiler (depending on the type, BBU, open flued, room sealed, etc.)

I still have a Baxi Bermuda. Bullet proof. Must be over 30 years old now. One thing about the old boilers is there's not a lot can go wrong with them.

Sleeper12

Sleeper12 wrote: »

I still have a Baxi Bermuda. Bullet proof. Must be over 30 years old now. One thing about the old boilers is there's not a lot can go wrong with them.

They killed a lot of people due to lack of respect or homeowners choosing to block ventilation, strangely enough you user name is very apt for back boilers.

Have the flue replaced they were only designed to last 20-25 years ish.

Sleeper12

gary71 wrote: »

They killed a lot of people due to lack of respect or homeowners choosing to block ventilation, strangely enough you user name is very apt for back boilers.

Have the flue replaced they were only designed to last 20-25 years ish.

I'll get someone to do that thanks Gary71


I have a floor vent at one end of the room & a wall vent at the other end, never covered obviously & carbon monoxide alarm. The room it's in is 22ft long with two sets of double doors. At least one door is open 24/7 as we have dogs that roam around.



I'm well covered as far as Carbon Monoxide is concerned

Sleeper12

Sleeper12 wrote: »

I'll get someone to do that thanks Gary71


I have a floor vent at one end of the room & a wall vent at the other end, never covered obviously & carbon monoxide alarm. The room it's in is 22ft long with two sets of double doors. At least one door is open 24/7 as we have dogs that roam around.



I'm well covered as far as Carbon Monoxide is concerned

Using dogs as a early warning CO system I like your style :cool: but I think pesky cats would be far better, it would be payback for the times I was violated when laying on the floor under the fire of the back boiler and they would raise their nasty tails and scent me :mad::mad:

Back boilers are perfectly safe and bulletproof it’s some of the humans using them that are the problem, home owner would often fit fake ventilation or use clingfilm on the inside of the vent to block it (natural selection)

adox

adox wrote: »

We have had the same gas boiler since we bought our house on 2000 so its nearly 19 years old at this stage.

Was recently looking to get a Nest thermostat installed with Electric Ireland and was thinking maybe it would be a good time to upgrade the boiler too?

Is there a general finite lifespan to these boilers? Would now be a good time to change?

Its still working away, heating the rads and the water. How efficiently Ive no idea.

Personally I’d put the money to one side and change the boiler when there is a reason unless you have a reason now.

When I started boilers could last 20-30 years but now boilers get replaced sooner in a lot of cases because it’s cheaper to replace than repair.

For boiler longevity it’s more important how the boiler is fitted than what boiler is fitted.