Secondhand combi boiler.... any demand?
 

Hi all,

Pulling my 12 year old Vaillant combi out in summer and wondered if there was a market for these?

Anyone know?

Condensing?

Stick on ebay though, someone'll have it.

Someone bought my 25 year old Philips freezer for £20 :lol1:

Yeah ebay it mate. Tbh I'd have a non condensing boiler over a condensing boiler and day of the week. If there is nothing wrong with it keep it

No it's one of the last non condensing ones... should have mentioned that... that's why I wondered if there was any market for it or what the legalities of installing it into another property were?

Well I am making some alterations to my house and it will need relocating plus I could do with one just a bit bigger capacity wise so it seemed sensible to install a new one.

Why do you say you prefer non-condensing? Genuine question btw? I have never had a condensing boiler so know little about them other than what I have read.

If you have a genuine reason for needing one then there isn't much choice! But this condensing lark isn't as eco friendly as they make out. They only condense at a return (the pipe going back to your boiler from your heating system its a giant loop) temperature of less than 55degs. So your only condensing a small amount of the time on a radiator system as they are only below 55degs on the return on first start up. They are much more effective on underfloor heating systems.

You can run your heating at a lower temperature but you will need to enlarge the rads etc to get the same heat output. So the money that is saved bmaking your boiler condense is lost by the cost of upgrading your radiators etc

Also the condensing pipe is a pain in the cock, freezing/routing to waste etc.

No one who is gas safe registered could install a second hand non condensing boiler as it doesnt meet building regs for notification and I would hope they wouldnt even consider it.

Yes that is what I thought and that is why I asked the original question.

Shame, as building regs state you must install a Band A rated boiler in a new installation unless it can be exempt.

Although loop hole alert: Not sure how a used boiler being fitted to a "pre-existing system" can be classified as a "new installation" though.

Maybe Mog can point us to the specific wording of the regulation and text regarding this. Bit like HID/headlamp washer/levelling saga if you get my drift. ;)


Even if it can't be installed, the boiler is worth money in parts. Probably £5 worth of copper in there for starters. Fans are £50+ new, pump is similar in cost, diverter valves and PCB are a few bob too.

Completely agree ali-b, I was gonna type that up last night but I couldn't be arsed getting into another debate about it lol!

And as said a like for like replacement by someone with half a brain or spares etc its worth something to someone out there for sure.

I have one in my place and I'd swap it out for another one without thinking about it.

Yeah I was thinking about the spares option. It has been serviced every year by Vaillant and has just had a new fan assembly so must be worth it for someone.

I just wondered if there was some crazy law preventing you selling secondhand boilers given the nanny state that our governments have created for us and the fact you are not supposed to install non condensing boilers nowadays!

It's just another example of the great rip off we see prevalent nowadays Chris. Having spoken to a couple of gas registered installers, they both agree the new condensing boilers aren't quite as energy efficient as they're made out to be. The older non condensing ones are probably more reliable too. I'm tempted to buy this off you for replacement for my boiler if and when it packs in!:D

Exactly!

My 27 year old boiler might not be condensing or combo or eco-bollox, but it is still working without any replacement fans, circuit boards, drain pipes or whatever (which all cost CO2 to be fixed anyway) - EVER.

Such a shame that the green lies are being enforced by (corrupt) laws!!

mb

If it has a copper heat exchanger thats worth 30 quid in scrap...give it to the plumber :)

You earn enough without tips!:D

Well if I was fitting the new one the old one would go in the van with the rest of the rubbish.....only a really tight customer would cherrypick his rubbish