Coal fired boiler - thats what we need. Were all the rage in the '30s. Never went wrong
Yep solid as a rock, mine didn't! Can i digress?
Actually in my last house, no mains gas see, I had a 50Kw solid fuel Dowling Sumo and a LPG Potterton running into a Dunsley Neutraliser. 4 pumps, 4 Normally open valves, three pipe stats. Had to nigh on fit the thing myself in the finish, simply because all the plumbers I could find keen to fit such a thing were Northerners- I'm down south.
Every southern plumber where I was would look at it like I was off my head to even consider coal. As for a Dunsley Neutraliser... what????!
Went thru' a good half dozen. None knew what i was talking about.
Bloke from Leeds came down, and didn't bat an eye lid. Once the northern guy had done the donkey work, had southerners finish off. When you've got no gas, and LPG being what it is, solid fuel, via a Dunsley Neutraliser, then anyway, was the best solution.
I had to fight convention, and was so glad I did. ie a victim of plumbers wanting to install what they knew rather than listen to an unconventional solution to an unconventioanal house (listed) No
silly ROI of 4-10years eitehr, mine paid in 18 months - 2 years. LPG bill had been mahoosive. So pricey compared to coal at the time.
So if 12-15 year boilers are all fixable?
I'm wonderin' why there's all the carping about boilers being obsolete. My brother had to be rid of his Saunier Duval for this reason.
I've been looking, seems heat-exchangers can be swapped, which is good, and i take the point, once done it's fair and good, a new boiler.
It seems the stereotype of modern boilers might not be altogether deserved..
"Heating Engineers"
It's jsut that nigh on half a dozen er "Heating Engineers" would have been very happy to steer me wrong, simply because that was what they knew, and was in their self-interest to have me run with. I still reckon (in my part of Bucks anyway), I knwo more about triple souce dual, fuel and triple fuel solid fuel mix systems than all the local plumbers put togeher, simply because they don't fit it down here. Or didn't then. And didn't have need to learn. "Heating Engineers" Northern plumbers, on the other hand...
So sorry.
Perhaps modern boilers aren't liek modern light bulbs afterall, 3 x price, less light, or horrible light, and 3 x shorter life. (Despite all claims to contrary)