help! boiler failure in a big way

[leaf man]

i can feel an A-Team moment coming on.
today, my boiler heated its last bit of water. plumbers say time for a new one, to the minimum tune of £950. insert expletives here...........:yikes: having just got back into work after being made redundant without pay and my partner being on maternity leave, its not going to happen.

now it is going to be several months before the funds are available so that leaves use with no hot water or heating. now those of you who know me, will know that we, Kate and I, have just had a baby. 8 week old Ash.

living in south yorkshire is just like anywhere else when it comes to the the weather and hoping for a warm spell, alas its not here yet.

so my challenge to everyone, if they would like to help, is this

to help me build an external water heater, wood fired, that is as cheap as possible, ie from scrounged materials.
however, i dont have any metal working tools i forsee being needed, ie welder/gringer/soldering torch/water pump. you get the picture.

or could someone kindly donate me a very, very big pan so i can do it on the stove and carry it up to bath, till its full. this option is more reasonable i think.

fortunatly we have cadged a couple of electric heaters till i get the fire place sorted for heating the house up.

can anyone help at all?

mike, kate and baby ash

 

[_scorpio_]

i would have a look at the local tip for an old boiler (one of those massive metal containers) or something similar and have a go at setting it up with a fire underneath... i dont really know TBH because im assuming your bath is upstairs so you are going to have to take it up a bucket at a time.... i would advise bathing during the day so heating the water wont take as long.
just hope you have a lot of wood and its only for a short while. good luck, dont feel bad about it, its an excuse to chop wood and light fires!

 

[nuggets]

aye would go to the local DHSS office an explain your circumstances (baby in the house )- a couple up the road from me has just had a new combi fitted /free - but he was on the dole at the time or you could try the government scrappage scheme for boilers if your old one qualifies they give you a new one !!

 

[gobfish1]

there are some government scheme,s about think you can get up to 5k ,, but not sure how someone would qualifie ,,

but maybe you could get hot water some other way ,,

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&so...sA0msrtYxpC9mKbug&sig2=N6tuUFfGKocG35oVveh2CA cheap shower maybe

iv just had a new boiler fitted on a job i was doing ,,, £750+£400 to fit it in manchester, and thats m8s rates ,, you can get a boiler for around £500 to do a 3 bed house the bigger the house the more btu , more cost

i got £230 for the old copper and tank ,, so keep hold of the scrap ,,


ps it was 5hr work for the plumber to fit boiler ,, so not a bad half days wage .. but if you want a savegas ticket you have to pay the man

 

[wanderingblade]

Have a look here:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTa...tsAndOtherSupport/On_a_low_income/DG_10018661

The Warm Front scheme is government backed and provides not just free / massively discounted boilers but also free cavity wall insulation and loft insulation.

There is a bit of a waiting list - you can get a survey done (free of charge) pretty soon but expect to wait 3 - 5 months before the work is done, still when it's for free you can't grumble!

 

[gobfish1]

Have a look here:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTa...tsAndOtherSupport/On_a_low_income/DG_10018661

The Warm Front scheme is government backed and provides not just free / massively discounted boilers but also free cavity wall insulation and loft insulation.

There is a bit of a waiting list - you can get a survey done (free of charge) pretty soon but expect to wait 3 - 5 months before the work is done, still when it's for free you can't grumble!

thats the one ,,

 

[tinkerer]

hello leaf man just wondering what exactly is wrong with the boiler? did they say ? and are they reliable ? im a gas safe registered heating engineer and ive never come across a boiler that cant be fixed sometimes maybe not economical, or not economical in the engineers eyes. sometimes parts are very expensive or you cant get the parts anymore. but only on really old boilers and there are places that do reconditioned parts . not ideal but will keep you going for a while. unfortunately im a long way from you so cant come and look , what make is the boiler and what did the plumber say is the problem? is it a combination boiler or system?(do you have a copper cylinder)?

 

[tinkerer]

aye would go to the local DHSS office an explain your circumstances (baby in the house )- a couple up the road from me has just had a new combi fitted /free - but he was on the dole at the time or you could try the government scrappage scheme for boilers if your old one qualifies they give you a new one !!

to qualify for boiler scrappage scheme your boiler needs to be of the old open flued type ie the burner chamber is open to the room as oppose to being in a sealed box(room sealed). you have to get a visit from the government guy, get 3 quotes ,pay for the job then you can claim up to £400 back when you produce invoice for job.

 

[poddle]

What is wrong with the boiler and what model is it?

I mean EXACTLY.

 

[gobfish1]

http://www.warmfront.co.uk/index.htm

 

[leaf man]

we have applied for it, it takes from 4-6weeks just for the assessors visit, then upto 3 months for the boiler to be fitted. best come up with something then ant i! we are eligable for it, upto 3.5k for an all singing all dancing one. worth the wait i rekon
thanks for some ideas so far

 

[leaf man]

the pcb has literally burnt out, the heat exchanger has holes in the pie work which is leaking water into the chamber, the air feed fan motor has died. for parts from the manufacturer will cost 450 minimum direct. plus fitting. the boiler is a cheap as cheap from b n q, the bloke who refurbished the house before we bought was a tight fisted..... hole. its only 5 years old to boot!
fingers crossed for warm front!!

 

[poddle]

If the exchanger has holes on the the unit is shot, mind you I would like to know why? I would check the house/ system for leaks, five years is far too short, You could try the manufacturer, they should have it brought to their attention. They may want to help. Its worth a try.

It sounds like there is something amiss there somewhere, boilers should last longer than that, no matter how cheap.

 

[tinkerer]

yes what poddle said^^^you can get reconditioned parts from HERE generally i dont like to use recon parts but sometimes the customers need to keep the cost down. you get 3 month warranty on recon stuff.i have never had any problems with there recon parts. holes in heat exchanger or pipework is not a good sign sounds like a very badly installed job . sounds like maybe the leak hit the pcb and nuked the fan. you can get recon boards and fan for about 50 quid each if its a common boiler. could do with exact make and model of boiler to be of more use. good luck. b&q then maybe a biasi?

 

[slammer187]

Get your self a few old radiators paint the black put them in a wooden box with a big pane of glass and stuff it with tin-foil...that should work a a short term solution!

 

[leaf man]

thats an idea my grandad had, i could possibly put them on the roof and just run a garden hose through them from a tap. hmmmm
so far its looking like its the fire in the yard idea for this. will let you all know and will post pics. only just started getting ahead with cash and then .... what dont kill you makes you stronger (repeated)

 

[wanderingblade]

If you need an temp solution you could try this place - not far from you:
http://www.watkinshire.co.uk/boiler-hire/heating-boiler-hire/

 

[poddle]

The unit needs 400 V 3 phase

 

[wanderingblade]

The unit needs 400 V 3 phase

I'm sure they will have a solution for that.

 

[poddle]

Probably do mate, a ruddy great gas guzzling generator at £500 a week,

Three phase WILL NOT run from a domestic house.