Compare Back Boiler Replacements, Prices & Truth Reviews – Guide to Users
What is a Back boiler ?
How and when were they used ? Are they available now ?
Let’s crosscheck some known facts about the back boilers. Baxi is a reputed and well established brand known for its reliability and durability.
We have seen that Baxi has been ranked as the 5th best boiler in the market.
The identity of being the beat does not rise out of air, they have earned the trust and gained the fame over the decades of experience and service for its customers that make them such reliable.
So let’s check about Back Boilers .
Back boilers ( are also known as back boiler units or BBUs) and these became popular in the mid 60’s with the launch of the original Baxi Bermuda. A back boiler is a small, compact boiler fitted at the back of an open fireplace hearth. It is placed behind a gas fire and provides hot water and central heating to the property like a combi boiler of the advanced boiler models.
Back boilers were popular until the Building Regulations changed in 2005, when it became mandatory to install high efficiency condensing boilers for both safety and efficiency. Although many have been replaced with wall-hung condensing boilers, there are still a large number of back boilers still installed in UK homes who have traditional set ups.
An old standard efficiency back boiler is least effective in comparison to the present day models of boilers . Almost less than 70% efficient – so for every £1 of gas burned, on 70p worth of usable heat is generated and the other 30p worth is lost up the chimney, which was quite expensive and not energy efficient either. By replacing it with a new boiler at over 90% efficient, fuel bills can be reduced by up to £305, according to the Energy Saving Trust.
Energy Saving Trust fact : https://www.baxi.co.uk/faqs/what-is-a-back-boiler
Present Day Replacements for Back Boilers :
Present day we have seen a large number of boilers that have differences in purposes and are differently efficient.
Regular boilers that are more suited to large spaces and are quite huge in sizes, to The combi boilers that come serving dual purpose of both heating the rooms as well as warming the water.
And finally we also have the System based boilers that are compact but require an extra space for the fitting of the cylinder to store the hot water.
These come in various proportions of flow rate, sizes, outputs etc. as per the requirements of the buyer under varying price ranges.
- Regular boiler
- System boiler
- Combi boiler
Most of the people choose to replace their back boilers with a – combi boiler ( also called combination boiler) since they are more efficient.
Achieving efficiencies of 90% and above is availed through the use of combi boilers. A new combi boiler could save you hundreds of pounds a year on your energy bills making them cost effective. If you pick a model with an A efficiency rating it makes an energy saving as well.
Combi boilers are fairly easy to handle and a lot less – expensive to install compared to the back boilers. In addition to this, the combi boilers are more compact and allow you to save more space as they do not require external tanks or a cylinder for storing your hot water like the system model of boiler. At the same time, the combi boilers though compact does not compromise with their efficiency as provided by a Regular boiler.
Comparison of A Combi boiler and A Back boiler to easen the details of understanding why A combi boiler is much more effective and efficient.
| BACK BOILERS | COMBI BOILERS |
| Less efficient | Highly efficient |
| More energy bill cost | Less energy costs |
| Takes more space | Compact and suited to mount on walls. |
| Breaks down easier | Compatible to weather and stands for long |
| May last longer | Complies to current regulations |
Advantages
Very popular in the 1960s
Built with fewer components
Could be tucked away out of sight behind a fireplace
Disadvantages
- An outdated form of heating
- No longer energy-efficient in comparison to other boiler types (estimated to have efficiency ratings of under 80%)
- No longer installed
- Spare parts are very hard to find
Most back boiler replacements are termed as system upgrades. A system upgrade is converting one central heating system to another system.
In this case, converting your back boiler heating system into an energy efficient boiler is carried out.
This could be gas, LPG, electric, or oil. And, the system setup could be regular, a system, or combi out of which combi is highly recommended .
Advantages Of Having A Combi Boiler
- Space saving – they can be fitted into a standard kitchen cupboard
- Highly energy-efficient – it’s estimated that most combi boilers have an efficiency rating of over 90%
- On-demand hot-water
- No water tank or cylinder is required which could make water cleaner and safer to use
- Installation could be cheaper and easier due to there being less components
- All new combi boilers are condensing
How Can It Be Converted? Or Replaced?
You’ll first need to plan a new location for your boiler. Most of the time it is ideal to choose a new and more secure location.
If you are looking for your back boiler to be replaced with a combi in a small cupboard (such as in the kitchen), manufacturers design boilers especially for these cases, the task could be carried out more neatly.
FAQS
- How good are the Back Boilers
Ans.
Back boilers are much outdated heating systems that are highly expensive to run as they’re less energy efficient.
Energy efficient: typically, a back boiler provides only 70% energy efficiency which is below the government’s minimum requirement of 86%. Many modern boilers can achieve efficiency of 90% and more.
- Is it legal to use a Back boiler?
Ans. The UK Government has declared regulations in using boilers. Back boilers which have been updated to new back boilers are still allowed, however the old back boiler usage is illegal. The gas fire with the old back boiler is still allowed to be used.
- Are Back boilers expensive ?
Ans. Back boilers are quite an archaic form of heating. They can be expensive to run and maintain as well. They also tend to be a lot more inefficient than modern boiler models. Hence much preferred to be replaced.
- How dangerous are the back boilers ?
Ans. There has been fatality and people have been seriously injured by back boiler explosions. Solid fuel back boilers are similar to coal fires, consisting of a fire grate which holds material, such as coal, paper, wood for lighting the fire hence would be riskier and need supervision all the time.
- How long does it take to replace a back boiler with a new boiler?
Ans.
On average, a new boiler installation can take between 1-3 days depending on the complexity of the job and how fast it is executed. You should also set aside time for your survey appointment, which will take place prior to your installation.
- Does a back boiler heat water?
Ans.
A back boiler is a boiler device which is fitted to a residential heating arch or open fireplace to enable it to provide both room heat and domestic hot water or central heating like that of a Combi boiler.
Conclusion:
It is much advised to replace any existing back boiler since it not only deals with the issue of increased bills or lower efficiency but at the same time is dangerous. It uses coal, oil, and other flammable substances which makes it riskier to be used within closed spaces.
It is much low in terms of efficiency which is casually prescribed by the government as the suggested benchmarks standards.
It is not only inefficient and risky but finally 3 times more expensive than any advanced system.
Apart from any of these, the Back boiler cannot be controlled technically.
The removal and adding of fuel and logs is a complex task which involves time, labour and danger.
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