How long do combi boilers actually last?

[My_Teenage_Self]

Howdy All.

Our Worcester Bosch Combi boiler is 10 years old - it sprung a leak in the summer which was a cheap(ish) repair.

It's just started loosing pressure overnight (all the pipework & radiators seem fine) and we've got a boiler guy coming out next week. On the phone he seemed convinced it was the end of this boiler and that they didn't often make it far past 10 years. He'll happily repair it (assuming it's something repairable) bur said to think about replacement.

I genuinely don't know how long boilers last, sooooo.... Was he trying it on? There was no hard sale, he wasn't pushy at all. Or do combi boilers really only last 10 years?

:?:

 

[legrandefromage]

We had one fitted in 2011 that loses pressure from a teeny tiny leak somewhere, it will carry on like that for another ten years as long as we top it up every 4 months or so. It was A rated back then too so at least a B these days.

It is a cheap and cheerful Main Combi Eco 30 and as far as I'm aware parts are still available - it needed a minor repair a couple of years ago that cost about £50 including the call out fee.

*The previous monster was new in 1995 and was described as cheap and nasty by our then plumber, he said the Main was cheap and cheerful but of reasonable enough quality to last as long as we needed it - he's now our local postmaster and every time I see him he asks how its doing.*

 

[mdvineng]

Depends where the leak is. Sections are sealed with O rings these days and each section is easy enough to replace, though the actual heat exchanger is usually the most expensive. Not cleaning out between the fins, on a regular basis, usually kills them. I've had a combination boiler last over 20yrs with a couple of tweaks, current one (Worcester) is 12yrs and doing just fine.

 

[FluffyChicken]

Which says about 12years it seems.

I know insurance cover thingy tends to faze out after about 7 years iirc, we don't bother with that unless it's free.

Good boilers last longer (or repairing less),
https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/boilers ... OOC7R27kYS

No doubt hard and soft water areas change that. We're rock hard up here and everything is covered in white stuff after a few weeks

 

[brocklanders023]

Re:

It's worth lifting the carpet around the radiator pipes to check for water marks. We used to lose pressure and could never work out why. It turned out to be a leak on one of the thermostatic valves that was so small it dried up before you noticed a wet carpet. Only sign was a bit of discolouration around the rad pipe. Checked the next bedroom and that was the same. Replaced them and pressure has been fine (until I noticed a third one leaking recently :facepalm: ).

 

[mdvineng]

Other thing to note for dropping pressure is the expansion tank. Requires a slight drain down and then recharge the vessel with compressed air to the spec, then refill with water to 1<2 bar.

 

[thekingofming]

My combi is about 13-14 years old, and it's still going ok (Glowworm 30cxi). It does need the heat exchanger removing every few years and cleaning out (the old gunk from the rads clogs it up), I have had to fit a new filling loop (they were a bad design and the plastic valves snapped) and have had the main logic board play up (which was sorted under a fixed fee service from glowworm). It was constantly losing pressure (top up needed every few days) but that has stopped once I realised it was the Pressure Release Valve leaking. Might be worth checking on yours, I have a pipe going outside that is where the PRV will vent to, worth checking for drips from that.

 

[Wigan bear]

My Worcester Bosch is 19 years old and still going strong. My mates fixes them for a living and insists I don’t replace it as the fixes are cheap.

 

[hamster]

Previous boiler lasted 8 years, it was a horrible Halstead one.

Being just down the road from you, it's definitely tough on boilers round here with the hard water. The difference with boilers these days is that they are made from thin metal whih makes them effcient and heat up fast...but the old solid cast iron ones were very durable.

 

[legrandefromage]

Just remembered ours is a condensing boiler and when we have extreme cold, you have to go out and melt the ice off the outlet pipe or it gets into a tizz