new heating system?

novarapid

the heating system in our house has packed it,(cold patches in the rads and no heat) Rads started leaking and found a leak in the floor. After getting some quotes and one plumber wants to replace the whole system and have new pipes running down the walls. I don't want to do this as i dont want to be looking at pipes. Other plumber just priced new rads and a new boiler, didnt look for leaks or look at any of the system.
Finally a big difference in their quotes for the new boiler, how much should a new condensing bolier cost? Thanks

Kashkai

First things first, what exactly is the problem with the heating system? Is your boiler dead or has the pump packed up or is there a major leak somewhere i.e. pipe burst underground? Completely redoing the heating system would be expensive whereas replacing the boiler or fixing a leak would not be (relatively speaking).

I'd get more plumbers in to advise you of the problem. Fixing a leaking rad is simple enough. They can do a pressure check to see if the system is fully pressurised or is losing water somewhere. You can check the pump yourself to see if its spinning (undo the screw in the middle of the pump to see if the blades are turning). You could have low pressure in the system which can be topped up. Your boiler might need some maintenance. There are lots of different things that could be affecting the heating which would not involve a completely new system. Can you post more info to let us know exactly what is wrong?

As for the price of a new boiler, are you talking oil or gas? Heat Merchants or Barretts in Maynooth are just 2 suppliers who could give you a price for a new boiler but you'll need to know how powerful (in kw) a boiler you need for your house.

novarapid

at present the boiler is working but its old (over 20 years) and not very efficient.
Had problems with cold spots in all the rads. The system was cleaned out, all the rads washed and put back in. After this even the system wasnt 100% with some cold spots in the radiators.
Since then 2 rads have leaked an we have found a leak in the manifest.don't know if there are any more leaks.
the system was cleaned out with that chemical stuff to get rid of the sludge and cold spots in the radiators dont know wheather this is cause of the leaks. will all the rest of the radiators leak?
none of the plumbers have done a pressure check and the guy that didnt even look at the boiler doesnt inspire confidence.
as regards boiler its an oil system, house is about 1500 sq ft.

Kashkai

Firstly, that chemical stuff that was put into the rads to remove the sludge might have attacked the joints between the pipes and the rad (the solder in particular) and thats why you are getting the leaks. I used similar stuff in an old car years ago to clean out the cooling system of sludge and it ate the rubber hoses which all had to be replaced.

The pressure check should have been one of the first things your plumbers did when you told them there was a problem with cold rads as if there isn't enough water in the system (due to a leak for instance), then how can the rads heat up properly?

We had our system put in when we built the house last year and even though it was a brand new system, we had awful trouble with it due to the fact that the plumber was a complete plank. Floors had to be dug up to fix his leaking joints (including a bathroom that had just been tiled :mad:), rads would be airlocked, low pressure in the system, boiler incorrectly wired which caused endless shorts at the circuit box etc. We eventually got rid of him and hired a local plumber who did a brilliant job of fixing our heating system, while explaining everything he was doing and why (which is where I picked up my knowledge as he gave me a mini course on plumbing). He was also very reasonable considering the amount of work he had to do and he came back when there was a small problem with a leak in the boiler. He fixed that up with no charge. What I'm trying to say here is that you need a plumber who knows what he's doing as opposed to some cowboy that will rip you off by carrying out work you don't need or by doing a crap job that will not leave you with a fully functioning heating system.

Maybe you do need to get new rads and a new boiler but I'd get some more quotes if I were you. It might still be a fairly minor problem and theres no point in carrying out work that doesn't need to be done. Finally have you considered changing over to wood pellets as a heating source? I have 2 of these stoves in my house, one does the central heating/hot water and one is a room heater in a large 24ft x 22ft room. They are very cheap to run and give off great heat. It might be worth considering if you are changing the boiler (you'll also get a grant from the government).

PM me if you happen to live near the north Kildare area as I can recommend a good reliable and reasonable plumber.

LeahBaby

Nova My BF and his brother could take a look at it for you. Both mastercraftsmen. Pm me if you want

novarapid

thanks for the advice and the offer of recommending plumbers, however not much help as i live in the South East. I've found the leak, dug up the floor and now going to get the leak fixed and see if the system is leaking any more. Was told that a pressure check on the system could weaken a weak spot and make it leak so might not do that. Anyway the last plumber said there is no point doing work we dont need to we'll go with him and hopefully it will go ok.

JamesM

novarapid wrote: »

thanks for the advice and the offer of recommending plumbers, however not much help as i live in the South East. I've found the leak, dug up the floor and now going to get the leak fixed and see if the system is leaking any more. Was told that a pressure check on the system could weaken a weak spot and make it leak so might not do that. Anyway the last plumber said there is no point doing work we dont need to we'll go with him and hopefully it will go ok.

If you have leaks in the pipes under the floor and in the rads themselves - not at the valves, it is almost certain that the whole system needs to be replaced. Boiler pipes and rads etc.
Jim.