When do you know if it's time for a new boiler?

[MotherOfRatios]

Just bought my first home there's no issue with the boiler. The heating works fine, hot water is fine all the upstairs the water could be hotter, but it's definitely hot downstairs. All in all it's fine but I'm having a new kitchen fitted and the kitchen fitter suggested replacing the boiler just because it is 10 years old I'm just wondering if it makes sense to you or not and how do you know if you need a new boiler?

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10 years isn’t even old for a boiler! Just get it serviced every year and when it stops working well get a new one. Ours is around 15 years old and has had a few repairs in its time but works well.

Please, please ALWAYS get your boiler serviced every single year. It’s so important. You can’t always tell if it’s dangerous or not otherwise. My Mum had her boiler catch fire suddenly one day, she hadn’t had it serviced for 2 years and it was just lucky she was home awake and realised straight away. By not getting your boiler serviced you’re putting your whole family and your neighbours at risk (it could be leaking dangerous fumes, it could catch fire, all sorts).

I am firmly in the “If isn’t broken, don’t fix it camp”.

Our boiler is older than me. Installed in 1972.

Mine is 24 years old. Knew it was when we bought the place but it has been serviced since new. I continued the service and it is all fine at the moment. If u can afford to then a new one is a good option but its isn’t very old and it is working so I would just get a service on it

When we bought our house and had the first service, the engineer told us it was already over 10yrs old. We took out a breakdown cover policy on it and it lasted another 7yrs before we had a run of 4 or 5 breakdowns over the course of 2months. So that was the point that we decided to replace. It also meant that we'd been able to save up so we could replace it properly, including some new piping and other bits and bobs to bring it in line with regs now.

Seems particularly poor advice when someone is suggesting replacing a good quality reliable brand like Worcester, which is working fine, with a low-cost boiler of an inferior brand just for the sake of having something "new".

Unlikely to be more efficient enough to pay back the cost of the replacement in the expected lifetime of the boiler.

We have the same boiler as the OP. It is 18 years old and still working fine. A few years ago I received a flyer telling me to 'replace my old boiler with a newer more efficient one that would pay for itself in no time'.

I dutifully filled in details of my current boiler on the website of the company that sent me the flyer and it told me that the pay back time of my investment in a 'newer more efficient boiler' would be, drum roll, 38 years.

So I left it, as should the OP, who currently has a decent quality, working boiler and not much spare cash. I doubt she'd get a new one for £1.2k and if she does it will be lower quality and possibly lower efficiency than the Worcester that she currently has. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Mine was about 20 years old, Worcester, but the truth was it was no longer efficient, it cost me a lot more to heat the house, than with the new one, it still worked and I could get parts, and it was serviced annually, but we replaced as efficiency was also important,

The rooms are so much warmer now, and heat faster, my heating bill has reduced, plus it was going to go at some point, no point dragging it out and paying higher heating bills . It was also not compliant with current regulations. Of course if doesn’t have to be as long as not dangerous. But it is a bonus the new one is.

id not replace a ten year old one, but you can either wait till it dies a death, often in deepest winter, or judge its efficiency over the next decade and make a decision on when the time is right.

I have a Worcester boiler probably about that old, and recently had the kitchen redone, which involved moving it to a different wall. We asked about replacing it as we've now got more bathrooms and radiators and weren't sure if it would cope, and the plumbers basically said it was a good boiler and we should keep it. We do get it serviced regularly.

Only just replaced our 30+ Yr old worcester bosch last year. Every service engineer for the last 15 yrs has been saying its obsolete, it's moments from breaking down irreparably. It just kept going.
If it ain't broke don't fix it. By your plumbers reckoning I would have had 3 bookers in that time

We just replaced our 24 yr old boiler, the main reason was that it had a flue leak. It has costs us 3K.
If we haven't had the leak, I don't think we would have change it yet but it was in our plans for the future.

Moved into new house Wednesday, family said boiler was ok, but didn't know when it was last serviced. Wednesday night kaput, had to keep resetting it. It was an old oil boiler, as no gas in the area. Bit the bullet and had new one fitted yesterday, before new kitchen refit. If it's on its last legs, do it sooner rather than later. Good luck.

It is quite large, the only complaint I have is it takes a while for the hot water to get hot in my bathroom.

recently Had a leak under the sink which kept making the boiler go off

We moved house last year and the old house had a cheap make boiler that had been there for 18 years. We had an annual service and boiler cover agreement with Hometree. We used them a lot for repairs! Every time they came we asked their opinion. It was only the last time just before we moved out that they said we should (new owners should!) get a new one.

Our new house also has an old boiler that has needed one repair. But as long as we have the cover and service we will keep it going until one of the engineers advises a new one!

When you can't keep up with emptying the bucket under the old one and topping up the system any more.

OK, our 18 year old boiler wasn't quite that bad but it did leak and it constantly lost pressure.

@MotherOfRatios I would recommend to have it service and see what they say. If it is fine and you don't want to move the boiler from it's current position I would just leave it.

We've just had a flush out, new TRV's on 8 radiators and a new thermostat and both are much more sensitive than the old ones so we have a better balance. Previously it seemed to be either boiling hot or off. It cost £650 - £330 for parts. £80 for electrician to wire up new thermostat and £250 labour, including a service.
Boiler is a 10 year old Ideal and fitter said it's like brand new and we should get at least another 5 years out of it. We had it serviced for the 7 years of its warranty but not for the last 3 years.
We had a new Ideal boiler fitted in DS's house last year and that has a 12 year warranty and is much quieter than ours. It was less than £1k (trade).
Edited to add. Previous boiler was over 30 years old and DH fitted it when a competent DIYer was allowed to do that sort of thing.

I don't think I'm actually eligible for any grants because I'm in a flat which means I can't have a heat pump and I don't think I would want the heat pump based on friends experiences and I'm at home and I'm really young so don't meet any of the criteria

Our boiler is 25 years old. It stopped working 2 years ago, which turned out to be due to faulty electrics in the control panel. The actual boiler was fine. As long as it passes the service check this year, we will keep going!

Personally I wouldn't change it, WB are one of the better brands and should either last or be worth repairing.

However I would get it serviced, if it hasn't been done for 12 months, and I would ensure that it still has good access in the new design.

My WB hadn't had a service for 10 years, and has just had a service and the engineer said it's fine. (mind you I did warn him that my dog was fine with visitors provided they didn't say the phrase "new boiler")

I was told a typical well maintained combination boiler will last 12 to 15 yearsn on average with annincrease in issues the older it gets.

I Had a Worcester Bosch that at 12 years old cost me several hundred pounds for the following last 3 winters. In hindsight it would have been cheaper and less hassle (no hot water or heat when it broke down plus the hassle and days involved getting it looked at, then an extra day or 2 waiting for the parts).

That said my boiler man said the previous house owners had never had it serviced or looked at in its first 6 years until we moved in...so it hadn't been looked after. One part alone and fitting cost £500...halfway to a new boiler. The winter before it cost £200. If I'd known I'd have caved in and bought a new boiler earlier..

At 10 years you are entering a less certain time of the boilers life. You may be fine but should expect a potential increase in problems over the next 5 to 10 years. You may be fine but maybe a few solvable issues.

Things to consider....getting a boiler person out when it just stops working between October and April will be a challenge. There will usually be a day or 2 wait at the very best. Then there is the potential for a new part to arrive and scheduled into be fitted. You could be 3 to 5 days (if lucky) without heat and Hot water. Then there is the unexpected cost. Older boilers also tend nit to be covered by boiler cover and are also alot less efficient than a new one.

I don't envy your choice.

You’re absolutely right that not all grants will be a fit for everyone, and it’s great that you’ve thought about what works best for your flat and lifestyle. Heat pumps aren’t suitable for every home (especially flats), and if your boiler’s still working fine, there’s no rush to make changes just yet.

It's best to do it in a planned way so you have time to arrange the finance.

DM just had hers replaced. Her old one was about 10 years old and was getting unreliable. She says the house is heating up much more quickly and the new boiler is much quieter.

The boiler conked out yesterday, I rang a boy repair man and he was like the parts for this boiler are on their way out. He was like I can get you a part but you might as well just get a new one.

So I have a new boiler being fitted tomorrow!