Practically Classics Forum

I have to confess to having fitted my own boiler-our ancient one that was in the house when we bought it packed up a few years ago, I went down to wickes, bought one off the shelf, and fitted it. I expected it to be ridiculously complicated but it wasn't, It came with full fitting instructions, plumbing isn't exactly rocket science if you've done a bit over the years, and the somewhat complicated electrical connections were simply a matter of following the diagram step by step. You can get a gas pressure tester from machine mart, not expensive, and set your gas valve, there's no mystery. I've serviced it myself ever since- just following the manual.

The reason is that the old one had a lot of money spent on it, mainly on paying useless corgi, or gas-safe as they are now, registered people who clearly didn't really have a clue other than to swap bits and see if it made a difference. I wouldn't neccessarily recommend other people do their own but it's not as difficult or dangerous as 'professionals' might lead you to believe.

This might be a controversial view, but I agree with every word of that! Of course we shouldn't encourage people to put their lives in danger but between the guy I use to go around doing my gas safety checks every year for tenants' installations and myself, I'm in no doubt whose soldering I'd have more faith in.
My newest condensing combi boiler plus the cost of securing the gas safe registration was much cheaper than buying the boiler and having some random person fit it, especially that joker who does my tests for me.
Terry, the flues are among the most ridiculously overpriced bits of kit of the lot as they comprise of an outer which can be made from a suitable plastic and an inner which has to be mild steel. I say "has to be" but can find no technical reason for their failure to use stainless unless it's just because that would last far too long and cause the gas engineers to lose work. Naturally, where you have warm exhaust gas leaving up the centre and cooler air being taken into the inlet manifold via the outer part, condensation sees to it that the inner flue and its clamps tend to rot away from the outside of the inner flue section at around 5 to 10 years after installation and each & every flue is bespoke to the make and model of boiler so they tend to stick it right where it hurts when it comes to the price of the bits but a leak between inner and outer flue will effectively suffocate the boiler and present a risk of CO ingress at the consumer end of the device.

The boiler in our last house ran off a 5A plug, so Part P wouldn't be a problem! As Mr Rusty says, it isn't difficult to fit a boiler if you have the instructions - the hardest bit is moving the thing about - especially the old crud-filled one.

I agree with him about cowboys too. Our Rayburn is an old-fashioned affair with a wick (like the old paraffin heaters). The installer used to service it as the family were friends of my parents and it was always popping when turned low. When I got to know my heating engineer friend, I asked him to look at it (ten or so years ago). He spent an hour showing me how to service it and set it up properly and I have serviced it since then. We were paying for new wicks every other year, but I haven't changed them since I started servicing it! It hardly ever pops now, though the wind can pull too much air up the flue, which makes the flame flutter (and produce a pop)!

I fear stainless flues are a variable commodity nowadays. The lad who put my stove in was a bit apologetic about the cost, but he reckons some firms are making them so thin that they don't last - he had to change one that he fitted about three or four years ago as the top had rotted and the rain got in and damaged the chimney! I'm not sure about condensing flues though - I don't have central heating!

you want one of these!!

http://www.saturnsales.co.uk/Panasonic- ... -Only.html

In the UK, for year-round use? We'd all starve in the cold air that the device would provide at a degree or two above freezing.
Great if you live in a hot place, but then why would you need heating apart from warming up the water for your massive hot tub.


I only clicked the link because I saw the Panasonic name and thought that I'd be seeing a nice 1970s ghetto blaster.

they do work!! honestly.. the froggies love them.. my mates got one that works down to -20 ish