lxtav Posted May 14, 2013 Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 The central heating boiler is coming up for 20 odd years old in the next couple of years and although at the moment still efficient and working it's time to think about a replacement when I want and can afford to do it rather than when it suddenly goes. I am currently looking at the following options. 1. Get another oil fired boiler the same as the one I have just now. 2. Get an oil fired combi boiler (if you can get one) so I can get rid of the hot water tank and free up some space. 3. Get rid of the oil and get a gas combi boiler and tank. Has anyone out there any idea if you can get an oil fired combi boiler (preferably wall mounted internal or external) at all. Also how much is it to buy a gas tank and run it for a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spinach Posted May 14, 2013 Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 We have a combi oil it works well just a shame the price of heating oil is so high. If outside make sure your pipes outside are well clad and that the whole thing is well insulated as your frost control will set it going when it's just cold. They set around 3deg which here can run your central heating for months? John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackpowder Posted May 14, 2013 Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 Plenty of oil fired combis including condensing you would need to consult a local installer regarding type, and flue location. Before changing to LPG do some research into running costs as you may find LPG even more expensive than oil. Blackpowder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aga man Posted May 14, 2013 Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 yes oil combi boilers are available in both indoor and outdoor models.bear in mind though if you do away with your hot water tank then all your eggs are in one basket so to speak. meaning if your combi fails you have no heating and hot water and no immersion. just a thought if you are in a remote area and have to wait for an engineer. the lpg gas option will be more expensive to install and run in my opinion. a new condensing oil boiler will use less oil than your current one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yellow Bear Posted May 14, 2013 Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 Plenty of oil fired combis including condensing you would need to consult a local installer regarding type, and flue location. Before changing to LPG do some research into running costs as you may will find LPG even more expensive than oil. Blackpowder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Bb Posted May 14, 2013 Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 yes oil combi boilers are available in both indoor and outdoor models.bear in mind though if you do away with your hot water tank then all your eggs are in one basket so to speak. meaning if your combi fails you have no heating and hot water and no immersion. just a thought if you are in a remote area and have to wait for an engineer. the lpg gas option will be more expensive to install and run in my opinion. a new condensing oil boiler will use less oil than your current one. Having a combi boiler suffer total failure for the second time in 5 years we're having an electric shower fitted, at least then we can have a hot wash. We've now been without heat & hot water for 3 days and the insurance company are still "thinking" about it. If a new boiler's needed, as they think it might, God knows when we'll be back to normal. Think long & hard before getting rid of a tank & immersion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
four-wheel-drive Posted May 14, 2013 Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 (edited) We have got one of these very good and all outside but not cheep to buy. WORCESTER GREENSTAR HEATSLAVE EXTERNAL COMBI OIL BOILER 12/18 kw. http://www.heatandplumb.com/acatalog/External_Combi_Oil_Boilers.html having said that last year I also was without hot water in the summer for a few days and that turned out to be not the boiler but the control panel in fact I had three duff ones not good but that was nothing to do with the boiler although I did think at the time I wish that I had kept the old electric heater for hot water but then there is only two of us with a family the combi is good all of the hot water that you need with no end. Edited May 14, 2013 by four-wheel-drive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted May 14, 2013 Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 the only reason to keep a system boiler to my mind would be if you wanted to try and incorporate hot water solar panels into a new system while you are changing bits of it. otherwise i would be looking at the combi route Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSPUK Posted May 14, 2013 Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 I went from hot tank system to a combi boiler - I wish I had put tank system in this house now - When outside you can hear the thing starting -stopping - starting as Mrs's swill's stuff in sink - With hot water tank boiler comes on and stays on till boiler or tank stat switch's it off - Don't like sound of all that ticking and whirring - Mine is also oil worcester/bosch heatslave. So far from this time last year it's used about 1200 ltrs which is on par with the ordinary oil boiler at old house. - Do have a log burner as well. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lxtav Posted May 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 Just exploring all the options at present. I will probably keep the oil but there is the problem starting around here of oil/diesel going missing from the tanks more and more and that is much more difficult with LPG so its a thought. As for the hot water tank in the last 15 or so years the boiler has broken down twice and since there is a heating engineer less that 1/2 mile up the road who I know it has never been broken for more than a day if we can't sort it ourselves i.e by changing the faulty pump/valve etc. Most of the time the heating was off was because we had a power cut so the heater in the tank was off as well. We have a woodburner in the L/room so heat is not a problem and we can get hot water for a few days by using the caravan, which has a shower in it as well and it can be connected to the mains so no probs there. There is a bigger problem now running out of water as my wife and son both like having baths. So the Combi seems the better option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerSim Posted May 14, 2013 Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 yes oil combi boilers are available in both indoor and outdoor models.bear in mind though if you do away with your hot water tank then all your eggs are in one basket so to speak. meaning if your combi fails you have no heating and hot water and no immersion. just a thought if you are in a remote area and have to wait for an engineer. the lpg gas option will be more expensive to install and run in my opinion. a new condensing oil boiler will use less oil than your current one. IMHO, this is the right answer - even if your engineer is close by, he may have to get parts from somewhere, and these things always break in the lousy weather... So I would completely agree with Aga Man - do not put all your eggs in one basket. regarding LPG, we have a pal on this, with a not disimilar property or lifestyle. I prefer our bills - I reckon I could buy another decent O/U with the difference, and thats every year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Mongrel- Posted May 14, 2013 Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 the only reason to keep a system boiler to my mind would be if you wanted to try and incorporate hot water solar panels into a new system while you are changing bits of it. otherwise i would be looking at the combi route Sorry, can't agree with this. While solar is an attractive option it's certainly not the only reason to want to keep a hot water tank. As yet nobody's mentioned the reduced hot water flow rates from a combi. If you have or want power showers then a combi won't generally satisfy the requirement. A basic power shower can easily use 17litres of hot water a minute, most combis won't deliver 17 litres a minute and God forbid somebody opens a hot tap elsewhere while the showers in use and increases demand further! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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