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Discuss Memory lane: When Men were Men, and Boilers ran for 30 years in the Boilers area at Plumbers Forums

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Memory lane: When Men were Men, and Boilers ran for 30 years

My old 1972 floor-mount boiler is on the way out. The casting's been weeping water for a 12 month now, a Potterton brick of a thing, bigger than any washing machine. A Honeywell 2 button, as an upgrade?!, not much else in it. You know the kinda thing. Running a standard 3-bed semi. 'Tis a Luvverly job. Still runs town gas I reckons;) It's real beauty is in its efficiency. Efficiency that is, in not blowing PCBs, limit stats, and the other :nono:. Doesn't self-destruct every 7 years. Makes no claims on ROI efficiency savings of 10% that any loon and a crayon can see look laughable. ie 'tis nearer a tank, than a boiler.
Reckon it'll probably still outlast any of the things put in today, but it will eventually shed its mortal coil. I need to be prepared.

So, going down memory lane before we all got castrated, with the dual caveat of GasSafe and efficiency requirements removed, even Corgi come to that, if you had you time again, and being a gas engineer, what would you hang on you elderly mother's wall to be sure, if you're not about, she doesn't unload her pension on a Pimlico Plumber's van outside her door.

I mean, my mother has an Ideal RS460 (about 1984 vintage), and it just keeps going, on and on. You can get the PCBs for it for £30 etc. It's an ideal solution. SWIDT.

Probably not close to 75% efficient and no GasSafe man could install and sign it off today.

But that Ideal RS460 aside, what other boilers, with parts available now, were in this league. How far would you have to look back? i want one. I'm aware the HE will be tired, but used will be fine.

You see, I'm a hydraulics bloke, I work with petrochemicals at daft pressures, and still our 300Bar Natural Gas compressors and burn-offs have less :nono: in them than my mate's new Potterton, er 'thing'.

'orrible it is.

So, and I am aware of the implications, what's the Massey Ferguson of the boiler world?
 
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Hello and welcome

May I ask what is your question you would like to ask us all

As the above seems like a little rant on evolution and progress
 
Totally agree with the sentiments of OP. If efficiency was rated on whole life cost to consumer, inclusive of replacement and labour, many 1980s boilers would come top of the table. Add to that our," energy efficient," pumps and people are being forced to spend £ pounds to save pence. If carbon footprint was reduced it might be justified, but this is questionable given the additional transport, materials and manufacture process.
 
Drain it an weld the bigger up if it has sentimental value!

Somebody has a wit. In short what is the 'Brick' boiler made in the last 25 years that when you see it on a wall, you say "Ah, I can fix that, piece of :nono:" I can get the bits anywhere, etc etc.

The rock, the Mini, the Morris Minor. the VW Beetle and Hoover Junior/Senior of the boiler world?

I've got an old 90s Volvo. Good for half a million, but I want the boiler, that sort of thing?
 
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Hello and welcome

May I ask what is your question you would like to ask us all

As the above seems like a little rant on evolution and progress

I think the gist of it is,

"I'm an engineer, therefore I don't need to follow the rules, what second-hand non-condensing boiler can I pick up off eBay and chuck in? By the way, I'm an engineer, you know. Did I mention that? I work on completely unrelated stuff but it sounds impressive so I'm much better than you lot so I'll ignore any advice I don't like the sound of. Because I'm an engineer, you see... Did I mention that? I'me seventy-four, you know... Jumpers for goalposts, 1966... Gawd bless her majesty...."

:p
 
"I'm an engineer, therefore I don't need to follow the rules, what second-hand non-condensing boiler can I pick up off eBay and chuck in? By the way, I'm an engineer, you know. Did I mention that? I work on completely unrelated stuff but it sounds impressive so I'm much better than you lot so I'll ignore any advice I don't like the sound of. Because I'm an engineer, you see... Did I mention that? I'me seventy-four, you know... Jumpers for goalposts, 1966... Gawd bless her majesty...."

Don't forget my love for old phone boxes, but yeah, spot on;)

But i'm not better than you. This is your territory. So I listen. Why, I'm here and all that.
 
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In short what is the 'Brick' boiler made in the last 25 years that when you see it on a wall, you say "Ah, I can fix that, piece of p*ss" I can get the bits anywhere, etc etc.

The rock, the Mini, the Morris Minor. the VW Beetle and Hoover Junior/Senior of the boiler world?

I've got an old 90s Volvo. Good for half a million, but I want the boiler, that sort of thing?

Vaillant Turbomax. Naff all to go wrong apart from a diaphragm every few years. Loads of space to work in without shredding your hands. Parts easily available. Shame you're not allowed to fit them any more though, unless you get special dispensation...
 
Aye, it was great back in the day.

One slight downside was that we killed dozens of people every year with Carbon Monoxide poisoning chucked out by those good old floor standing, CF monsters.

Even as recently as 1995/6, 32 people died of CO poisoning from Mains gas appliances, and that was not untypical. In 12/13, the most recent year for which I can find data, that figure was 3 deaths. The prior year, 11/12, it was no deaths at all.

Apart from all the corpses though, it was a great time. But the music was better in the 70s and 80s.
 
But i'm not better than you. This is your territory. So I listen. Why, I'm here and all that.

Mainly tongue-in-cheek buddy. I'm sure my mechanic says the same about me when I mention that I always service and repair motorbikes....:D
 
I replaced one of the early alpha ocean boilers last week it had done 21 years with a few replacement parts along the way. the nail in the coffin was the price of a new gas valve which had failed
 
Understood. No swearing.
Seems even keeping the CF in the garage, well vented as it is at present might be less than wise.
 
I may have a wit but for a change I was being serious. I have a customer who has got me to weld up his old oil boiler twice in the last six years!
I keep telling him that it won't last but I think he takes it as a personal challenge to extend its life! I could understand if the bloke was skint, but I know he isn't.
So my answer stands. If it has sentimental value, weld the bugger up!

Somebody has a wit. In short what is the 'Brick' boiler made in the last 25 years that when you see it on a wall, you say "Ah, I can fix that, piece of p*ss" I can get the bits anywhere, etc etc.

The rock, the Mini, the Morris Minor. the VW Beetle and Hoover Junior/Senior of the boiler world?

I've got an old 90s Volvo. Good for half a million, but I want the boiler, that sort of thing?
 
Put it in a glass case on show in your garage when you eventually retire your pride and joy
 
a Vaillant Turbomax is the one for me. Sold;)

Seriously though, you can't legally fit one these days. It's non-condensing so you'd need special dispensation from Building Control, normally only given for listed buildings or where there is absolutely no way of getting the condensate away.

Plus, even if you can buy a working one you'll have no history. No reputable GSR would fit it. If he/she did fit it, they couldn't register it.

If you want basically bulletproof, buy an Intergas. Just 4 moving pasrt, heat exchanger like a brick, massive internal waterways, super-efficient, and not as expensive as most..
 
Mainly tongue-in-cheek buddy. I'm sure my mechanic says the same about me when I mention that I always service and repair motorbikes....

We had a plumber working on his car in our yard last year. Put PTFE on everything that moved;)

Welding this thing does not appeal. In the finish, Stupid.

So really, I have to bite the bullet, knowing it'll be off my wall again in seven years.

I want an Intergas I assume pay a bit more. Thank you.
 
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Inter gas, Baxi Duotec et al appear to be combination boilers, I've a power shower via Megaflow, and I've plenty of room for my tank. I'll do some more digging. Thanks chaps
 
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Inter gas, Baxi Duotec et al appear to be combination boilers, I've a power shower via Megaflow, and I've plenty of room for my tank. I'll do some more digging. Thanks chaps

Can't comment on the Duotec as I don't know them but Intergas is also available as a system boiler, heat-only, any configuration you might need.

The cleverest bit is, you can pipe up the combi to run as a system boiler, no problem, manufacturer approves. Another hot water source available if you decide you need it in future. It can run on a sealed system or open-vented. Very, very flexible in its application.
 
Understood. No swearing.
Seems even keeping the CF in the garage, well vented as it is at present might be less than wise.

Glad you understand the swearing rule now, I've just edited two of your posts.

We don't allow swearing, disguised or otherwise, on open forum. At all.

Normally results in the offender being sent off for an early bath.
 
Can't comment on the Duotec as I don't know them but Intergas is also available as a system boiler, heat-only, any configuration you might need.

The cleverest bit is, you can pipe up the combi to run as a system boiler, no problem, manufacturer approves. Another hot water source available if you decide you need it in future. It can run on a sealed system or open-vented. Very, very flexible in its application.

So I think I have this right, an Inter gas combi gets plumbed as any heat-only / or system, my Megaflow / bath runs via my tank, but if I like, I can run the odd sink of water in my kitchen or the dishwasher/washer straight off the combi, even if what is in my tank is still cold water?

Thinking about this as I type, I see how this would be, I think? But HW off the combi is at one pressure, off the tank at another, so i assume I'd have to keep the two HW feeds apart. No biggy, I think they are pretty much run that way now.

Have I got this right?

Harry Enfield Yorkshireman signing off.
 
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