How Long Do you Think is the Typical Lifespan of a Gas Boiler?

[Mrs Tara Plumbi]

I thought it was about 12-15 years.
I think there might be some "official data" somewhere which backs this up - any one know?

I think Mr TP has told me that boiler manufacturers have to continue to make spare parts available for 12 years after a boiler is nolonger made - so lifespan must be at least 12 years - but then spare parts might be so expensive it is not worth repairing.

On the other hand -
I often read posts of forums/message boards - people thinking new boilers will only last 5-7 years - and this particuly seems to be related to either combis or condensing.

Of course you can get the odd problem boiler but I thought short life spans of 7 years or less is associated with:
1. poor installation especially not flushing & no inhibitor when replacing existing boiler.
2. some particularly cheap brands of boiler...

I've only worked in this indusry for 11 years and as far as I only know of 2 or 3 boilers that we have installed in this time have been replaced - but of course we do not keep intouch with all our old boilers!

You guys who have far more knowledge about this than me what do you think?

 

[arran197]

It's a 'white good.' Most fridges, freezers have a life span of 3 years from the manufacturer. But you get what you pay for, and we are still on the same fridge that came in the house when my parents bought it 15 years ago! As for the old Baxi Solo, well that died at the end of last year. It dies when it dies, it's up to the customer as to when it gets replaced really. But as some manufacturers are now offering a 5 year warranty, I would say 7 - 10 years is good.

 

[Dannypipe]

Depends on the manufacturer.

However the old saying "They don't make them like they used to" really does ring true.

You'll find plenty of old Potterton Profiles burning away come the winter months, while lots of their younger condensing counterparts throw hissy fits and break down.

 

[villa_tom]

How long is a piece of string?

I think there are many factors that will affect the lifespan ie clean system, installed correctly etc.

Assuming that the system is clean and installed correctly I was always taught that a boiler will last 12-15 years like already stated.

But if a system is sludged up and a new boiler installed on that system then obviously the performance and life span will be affected massivley. Also you have to take into account regular servicing. Many faults can be fixed before they start (if that makes any sense) if the boiler is serviced on a yearly basis. A good example would be the red seal on the new worcesters, if not serviced then a fan pressure would not be taken and you would never know that your boiler needs a full strip down etc. Then all sorts of problems can occur.

I think the whole debate comes down to the boiler in question and how its been looked after and installed. I do agree with danny when he says they don't make then like they used to. I think modern boilers have become very complicated and have more working/moving parts and hence more things to go wrong or breakdown.

 

[woodsy]

I agree with Tom, but i have been on one of the manafacturers days and was told that boilers should be changed after 8 yrs,another said to expect 12yrs and they were meant to be changed to keep them working at there optimum performance.(sounds a bit like sales bumf) I imagine it will all come down to build quality, installation and usage.

 

[Mrs Tara Plumbi]

I agree with Tom, but i have been on one of the manafacturers days and was told that boilers should be changed after 8 yrs,another said to expect 12yrs and they were meant to be changed to keep them working at there optimum performance.(sounds a bit like sales bumf) I imagine it will all come down to build quality, installation and usage.

Can you name - what manufacturuer says their boiler will only be at its best for 8 years?

 

[GrahamM]

As far as I am aware, as it is for vehicle manufacturers, they are only legally obliged to supply parts for 10 years after discontinuation of the boiler. So the lifespan of a boiler would really be from 10-15 years depending on existing stock levels. Unless it is an old baxi Bermuda that just never die.:laugh3: Quite a few around 30 year old and still hanging in there.

 

[woodsy]

It was on a training day at Ravenheat, which i don't fit but are popular by me as they are also based in Yorkshire. He said that they as Tom said should be treated like any white goods and changed on a regular basis, approx 8 yrs.Having said that, I fitted one of their boilers to my first house 20 odd years ago when combis were relatively new, and 11yrs later when i sold the house despite never been serviced ( i know but you never do with your own) it had not missed a beat. I have to say in my opinion that the most important thing with any boiler / central heating system, is the installation. Too many customers think that paying for a ' quality boiler ' alone is the ansawer to all the problems and if i lose any work then it tends to be on my installation costs as i don't chuck systems in like some. Sorry for the long winded reply but you have opened up one of my can of worms.

 

[doitmyself]

Most fridges, freezers have a life span of 3 years from the manufacturer. But you get what you pay for, and we are still on the same fridge that came in the house when my parents bought it 15 years ago!

That's nothing! We have a freezer which is nearly 30 years old.

 

[SimonG]

Interesting question and answers, I get asked all the time but with regard to oil boilers. From what I've seen it all depends on quite a number of things:-
The quality of boiler installed.
The system it's installed into.
The customer, might seem a funny one this but does the customer get the small issues fixed with it immediately or wait until it becomes something major.
Was the boiler a friday afternoon or monday morning model. Have had the same boiler in houses in the same street and the same age. One has had everything replaced the other has never been touched apart from an annual service.
Radiators being removed for decorating on a regular basis and the inhibitor not being topped back up.
Could probably go on but that's just off the top of my head.
I've seen 20+ year old boilers running strong and 6 year old boilers that have burst.

So I suppose it's as said previously, how long is a piece of string!

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

potterton performa/105e 15-20 years
duotec will be about the same maybe
as most vailents
wb 10 years less if the burner gasket deteriorates
ferroli 18 months
ideal until the warranty expires/axe goes through it which ever comes sooner


tbh its down to how well a boilers made and how well its installed

 

[Mrs Tara Plumbi]

Gas Man I have a short list of boilers we would never fit because long life milk lasts longer. Wouldn't put Ideal in that list.
BTW, We service loads of baxi's which are 10 years + and with good record of few faults

 

[stevetheplumber]

i think heat only boilers have a longer life span than combis but thats because many components are remote from boiler
cheap combi 6to 8 years
top end combi 12 plus years

 

[gaspastemania]

If its a combi then about 2 years then scrap it !!!!
Seriously tho they say 10 - 15 years and its dead on its legs , i find i change more condensing ones at the moment than the older none condensing .Either way british gas will try sell you a boiler upgrade if its a year old and they are out on there service deal rubbish !!

 

[CES]

Gasman, I think you are being generous giving 18 months for ferroli.

 

[quality]

Gasman knows his onions but is not man enough to try the new Ideal Logic ha ha

 

[CES]

I hear he is outside sharpening his new Tuatahi Racing Axe already.

 

[Rossi46]

How long is a piece of string? A boiler is only as good as the man who fits it and the owner who maintains it. Buy cheap (ideal, ravenheap, ferrolli, chaffeturd etc) buy twice!

 

[missplumb]

i was told by ideal that once the manufacturer stops manufacturing a boiler then they have to keep making the parts for 7 years after. then its just down to stock for parts. This is why the logics have reverted to using standard off the shelf parts that will be readily available at a later date.

 

[northernstar]

bringing a old 1 up here, replacing mine a thorn apollo 15/30b aprox 37 years old, never got serviced apart from last 3 years, magnetic filter added 12mths ago by bg, thermocouples went loads of times along with the gas valve and 1 water pump, been a great sys but the costs running it are stupid, and cont banginig away , energy rating g , so the ans to this 37 years and still life in her but going to put her out of action soon

 

[joni os]

This thread is older and has outlasted many a combi. Some boilers are better than others but empirical evidence demonstrates an inverse relationship between efficiency and longevity.
75%:25yrs , 85%:15yrs , 90%:10yrs . Soon to be introduced 92% be afraid. Time for whole life cycle economic cost to be made the driving force.

 

[Ray Stafford]

but empirical evidence demonstrates an inverse relationship between efficiency and longevity.

Ah, empirical evidence! Good stuff evidence. Lets examine it.

There are about 23.25m households connected to mains gas. An overwhelming majority of them have a gas central heating boiler fitted. There are a handful that have gas, but don't use it - but that number is pretty small. A reasonable guess is that there are about 22.5m domestic gas boilers installed and running.

Gas boiler sales are running at about 1,650,000 per year, and have been at that level, plus or minus 100,000 for over a decade.

So if every boiler was replacing a boiler that had died, that would mean that the average lifespan of a boiler, at this very moment, was 22.5 divided by 1.65 = 13.6 years.

However, there are two other factors to take into account.

Firstly, about 150,000 boilers per year go into new build properties, and indeed variations in the new build market probably drives the overall appliance sales annual variation by more than any other factor.

Secondly, a number of boilers get changed every year for reasons other than natural end-of-life. Whether it is buildings getting re-purposed, a government grant to replace less efficient appliances, the side effect of installing renewables, or simply that the new kitchen won't accommodate the old boiler, there is some replacement that is not necessitated by the failure of the installed appliance. With the exception of the grant-driven installs, its hard to quantify this, but I would be surprised if it is less than 200,000 units per year.

So revising our calculation, 1.3m appliances out of 22.5m are probably being replaced due to being beyond economic repair, or an average of every 17.3 years.

These stats have not changed appreciably in the last decade.

At the risk of upsetting some of the engineers on the forum there is another reason that boilers are replaced. The complexity of boilers has definitely increased, and so has the technical understanding of the majority of engineers. However, there is a subset of the engineer community who lack the fault-finding skills of their fathers generation (who admittedly were dealing with simpler appliances) , and would rather say "modern boilers are rubbish" than to invest in the skills and tools required to diagnose the fault and repair the appliance. Its a truism that there is more money to be made in a boiler change than a boiler repair.

Its my opinion that the quality of the original installation, reasonably frequent servicing, and the maintenance of water quality (like re-inhibiting after draining for decoration) are far more important that the actual boiler brand, or age.

Sure, old boilers were simple. My old mini, and my hillman avenger were simple. But they were hideously inefficient compared to the immensely more complex Hyundai that I drive today. And I would not swap back.

 

[Riley]

Brilliant piece Ray