Best Value Gas Boiler Suggestions

DarraghR

Hi everyone. Me and my fiancee moved into our first home nearly 2 years ago. Our boiler went quite recently and we have had a lot of problems. Any plumber that has taken a look will not sign off on servicing it. The boiler is 11 years old and model Megaflo 2 System Compact GA Range is known to be troublesome. Without a doubt we need a new gas boiler.

Our house is mid terraced, 75 square meters and quite narrow. It is a BER B3 and because of its small size keeps the heat quite well.

My first question, should we be looking into getting a grant or are they even available for us? Both are in full time employment and permanent.

What way should we go about buying a new boiler? As in type, model etc. We will be calling a couple of installers and making a decision based off model reliability, online reviews and cost of unit and installation.

We are also in the market for new windows and possibly exterior insulation. I have heard you can save money getting all done at once with boiler install.

Please let me know if I am missing anything important. We were considering a heat pump but for our home it does not make sense.

Thanks in advance for any advice that can be given.

Sleeper12

No grants for oil or gas as these boilers are being phased out all together. BER of B3 might make a heat pump doable. Grants available for heat pumps

Lenar3556

Hi Darragh,

11 years is quite soon for a gas boiler to require replacement. What are the plumbers saying is wrong with it?

Assuming it does need to be replaced; Worcester Bosch is a strong brand, Ideal wouldn’t be bad either. Best get a few quotations from contractors who call in person to quote. Power Flushing of the existing system really is essential, as is fitting a magnetic filter.

You are probably looking at costs in the ball park of €2,500 fitted, unless there is significant other issues.

I don’t think there is any grant at present to assist with boiler replacement, nor would I see any particular benefit in grouping it with other works.

DarraghR

From looking at heat pumps it looks like a gas boiler is the better value option.

For our current boiler we have been told the PCB board is causing issues. I managed to get it working myself but eventually it knocks off. I have seen some internal leaking within the boiler which triggers the sensors. Everyone we speak to says this model is trouble.

When it comes to boiler installations should someone be calling out to assess first and then give a quote? So no call-out fee?

stiophan

What did you do in the end? As noted there are no gas boiler gov grants anymore. However there are smart heating controls. As for replacing the current boiler, there are some options

1 Get a full service of the current boiler including a radiatior power flush and perhaps fit TRVs (thermostats for each radiator). With a BER rating of B you have a well insulated home standard already. Consider (if not fitted) more smart thermostats if the current ones are quite basic

2 While BAXI might not have the stellar rep of some other makers, the boiler does not look to be that out of date so I would not junk it unless its having regular parts failure

3 Consider replacing it with a heat pump (this does have SEAI grants). Get a quite and see what extra might be needed (not just the pump). This depends on - gas usage and home heat loss. B3 is good enough for a heat pump but I would get a BER assessment (remember they last owners had to get a BER assessment done to sell it to you so one was done 2 years ago...Heat pumps are the replacing gas boilers as a low carbon electric based heating and if the boiler does need replacement (assuming the boiler is running well when it is working). The BER assessment results willl tell you where all the heat loss is in a B3 BER home so there may well be easier/cheaper home retrofit upgrades. New Windows are not included in any standard SEAI grant but they are as part of a one-stop shop retrofit and that will be part of a bigger retrofit than just new windows.