by Perry525 »
Tue Jul 31, 2007 9:15 pm
The Americans have a saying. "If it ain't broke don't fix it."
It was one of the best ever made! There are still plenty of them working
today, some are 25 years old. That cast iron heat exchanger is a great detail. The makers claimed 80% efficiency!
It will probably go on for years. There are still plenty of spares about, so why not hang on until it can't be fixed.
Lets look at the options. You can put the money in a high interest account and make more interest each year than, the value of the gas you might save with a new boiler.
You can think about the so called higher efficiency of a modern boiler and the money you may save on burning less gas each year.
But, hang on a moment! These higher efficiencies only apply in the period before your home warms up, there needs to be a difference in water temperature of 20 degrees between the hot water coming out of the boiler and the cooler water going in, before your can reach these highs.
Another thing, these claimed higher efficiencies, these are not ascertained by careful testing, they are merely an estimation of what may happen.