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New oil fired boiler required


Sophie666
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Can anyone advise on the make, with cost, of a replacement oil fired central heating boiler?

It needs to produce 37KW and does not need to incorporate a hot water tank as I already have that.

The current boiler is a Chappee X1 and the cast iron core appears to be disintegrating due to corrosion.

We have a second home in Burgundy and although the heating is set to come on when the temperature falls to 7degrees (frost stat) the place is not used much during winter which is probably the reason why corrosion has set in.

My plumber says it is a difficult job to replace the core but it seems hard to have to pay anything from 2000 Euros to 6000 Euros for a whole new boiler.

Any thoughts anyone?
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When you say "Appears" to be disintegrating, how do you mean?

Is it merely external rusting? Do you have constant system leaks?

Old boilers go on for many years: particularly those with cast iron cores.

It is usually the gaskets which leak in fact: and these can be replaced: often made up from sheet gasket material.

It is not a particularly difficult job to replace a boiler core: if access is difficult then one simply pulls the whole unit out.

The difficulty may well be in obtaining a replacement core.

If the property is regularly left empty, then anti-corrosion/anti-freeze would prevent internal system corrosion.

To check spares you might be able to start searching here:

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The boiler was serviced a couple of weeks ago and when the engineer pulled away the burner unit he cleaned out the rust debris which had fallen down from the cast iron core. There was a lot of accumulated corrosion (a shovel full!) including bits of the gasket which he replaced.

I must admit I was surprised that he thought a new boiler was necessary but I do trust him and I do not feel that he would try to rip me off as it would certainly not be in his best interest.

I am having trouble finding a replacement "corps" which as you suggest may be because the unit is about 15 years old.
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It is funny you should say this, but my french neighbour said that a lot of these oil fired boilers are for old homes and the people that used to service them are all retiring and young ones taking their place are without experience, and some say that replacement is the solution. Running out of decent technicians maybe is the problem. Two have retired since I bought and my house 2003 and it is exactly the same age with exactly the same diagnosis from the young technician. My neighbour (a retiree) who fitted the boiler said that there was a another neighbour who was told to replace by the technician and he fixed it for E10.!!!!
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[quote user="Sophie666"]The boiler was serviced a couple of weeks ago and when the engineer pulled away the burner unit he cleaned out the rust debris which had fallen down from the cast iron core. There was a lot of accumulated corrosion (a shovel full!) including bits of the gasket which he replaced.

I must admit I was surprised that he thought a new boiler was necessary but I do trust him and I do not feel that he would try to rip me off as it would certainly not be in his best interest.

I am having trouble finding a replacement "corps" which as you suggest may be because the unit is about 15 years old.[/quote]

I don't think he is consciously trying to "Rip you off": rather that probably, he is daunted by the prospect of trying to fix the problems, rather than the simpler option of fitting a complete new unit.

Which gasket did he replace? The gasket between the Brûleur and the core; or the core gasaket?

Replacing the core gasket (if fitted) is quite a task - 2-3 hours work alone: and the gasket is normally almost as tall as the core itself.

I know a number of oil boilers of over 15 years that are still functioning quite well.

The Brûleur is normally the bit which needs replacing and these are quite cheap and readily available.

See Here:

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Sorry to hijack here but I was quoted E730 for replacement burner for a Chappe which looking at your link Glue, seems labour is quite expensive. Glue do you think that is a rip off price? I doubt Brico Depot supplies Chappee bruilers. Do you know if I could buy the part anywhere else or can you fit other burners on? The problem is that they are old. Poster - If I find anything else out I will let you know.
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Brûleurs are normally a fairly standard part.

If one looks at a basic oil-fired boiler in France, the inlet tunnels are all pretty much the same.

See here:

(First item on list of offers)

This demonstrates a Chaudière sans Brûleur. (Chauffage Centrale:Seul: i.e. central heating only: no domestic hot water)

Here are a range of Brûleurs.

See here:

Personally, I would see if a new generic Brûleur can be used. They are pretty commonly replaced on older boilers, as the critical bits (pressure pump, jetting, ignition etc) is all contained within the Brûleur.

Fitting a new Brûleur. is simply a matter of wiring, oil feed and return feed (if used), bolting the Brûleur onto the core and then setting up the injection pressure, jet and flame pattern.

For Chappee prices See here:

Any competent DIY exponent could fit a new unit: and your oil supplier should normally provide a very economical set-up service.

Read Opal Fruit's earlier sticky on plumbing and heating. (Top of this section).

It became pretty obvious when I first started trying to get my head around French systems ten years ago, that the upmarket boilers were simply identical to the entry level bits of kit: just had loads of bells and whistles and electronic controls (More to go wrong!) and a sexy badge.

I am not yet sold on the wonders of condensing boilers: still prefer system boilers with external controls and detectors.

My abiding acronym: KISS: Keep It Simple Stupid!

[:)]

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