Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: Field Marshal Dr. Opti on 07 December 2025, 12:54:22
-
Who on here as any experience of these?
Looks like our old oil boiler from 1999 is pretty shot, so not worth throwing good money after bad in order to get it to limp on for another couple of years.
We have a plentiful supply of wood, so commercial wood pellets for the biomass boiler would not be required. This would help with running costs.
Also, I believe there is a £5000 government grant available.
-
No direct experience myself, but a friend rented a farmhouse out in the sticks which had just had one fitted a few years ago and she said they were going through wood and pellets like they were going out of fashion. :-\
A couple of years ago I considered having a wood burner with a back boiler to run the radiators, but after some investigation decided that I'd be spending more on wood than gas as you have to have burning really well to heat the water, so never bothered.
I'm sure there are plenty of YouTube vids about biomass boilers giving the pros and cons. :y
Have you thought about an air source heat pump? :)
-
No direct experience myself, but a friend rented a farmhouse out in the sticks which had just had one fitted a few years ago and she said they were going through wood and pellets like they were going out of fashion. :-\
A couple of years ago I considered having a wood burner with a back boiler to run the radiators, but after some investigation decided that I'd be spending more on wood than gas as you have to have burning really well to heat the water, so never bothered.
I'm sure there are plenty of YouTube vids about biomass boilers giving the pros and cons. :y
Have you thought about an air source heat pump? :)
I tend to think it is best to give them a wide berth. They seem compromised much of the time.
-
I know that they have banned new installations of oil burning boilers, but I thought you could still replace them? ??? :-\
What about LPG? ???
-
I know that they have banned new installations of oil burning boilers, but I thought you could still replace them? ??? :-\
What about LPG? ???
Why bother installing an lpg tank if you've already got an oil tank?
-
No direct experience myself, but a friend rented a farmhouse out in the sticks which had just had one fitted a few years ago and she said they were going through wood and pellets like they were going out of fashion. :-\
A couple of years ago I considered having a wood burner with a back boiler to run the radiators, but after some investigation decided that I'd be spending more on wood than gas as you have to have burning really well to heat the water, so never bothered.
I'm sure there are plenty of YouTube vids about biomass boilers giving the pros and cons. :y
Have you thought about an air source heat pump? :)
I tend to think it is best to give them a wide berth. They seem compromised much of the time.
.
There was a programme on a few nights ago and two families who had these air source heat pumps were complaining about how inefficient they were compared to the gas boilers they had previously, the air source pumps were struggling to provide enough warmth and were costing an absolute fortune to run.
-
Only one experience, neighbor had one (bearing in mind this was 10+ yrs ago). It was a right PITA. It was fed by wood pellets, so needed a massive hopper with a screw arrangement to pull them into the boiler. It was dead fussy on pellet size or it got jammed up. Dead fussy on pellet water content (too high and it gave out break all heat) so you either had to time your deliveries perfectly or use an electric drier to keep the water content down in your pellet store.
In your shoes I'd fit a new oil boiler, if one was required. Or a heat pump if your house is a)well insulated and b) you can find someone who *actually* knows what they're doing to do the heat loss calcs and the install.
-
Opti's place is quite large, from what I understand, and for any kind of heat pump to have a chance of actually heating the place he'd need underfloor heating as a minimum.
I've watched several videos and tv shows about these contraptions, and they only ever work with underfloor heating, huge radiators and efficient thermal insulation. The precludes about 90% of British homes.
-
I have a 33kW gas boiler pumping 10 radiators in my house. The flow temperature is set at 70° and, when it's cold outside, it's going pretty much full chat 24/7. Ok, the house is warm, but I know I'm throwing at least 50% of the heat generated by the boiler straight out of the windows and through the roof and walls. I'm paying £240 a month for the privilege.
The cost of insulating the house? £48,000 when the last EPC was done 12 years ago.
I also have no off street parking to plug in an EV. So I'm basically one of the c.40% of people who live in this country that the likes of Ed Millipede pretends don't exist. Leaky house and no off street parking. That's why heat pumps and EVs can never get us anywhere near net zero. Pie in the sky.
-
There was a programme on a few nights ago and two families who had these air source heat pumps were complaining about how inefficient they were compared to the gas boilers they had previously, the air source pumps were struggling to provide enough warmth and were costing an absolute fortune to run.
An all-too-common story in this country. People slinging in the wrong sized units, usually without determining the requirements of the other elements of the system properly. The problem is that gas boilers are easy when it comes this, you just sling in one that's a bit bigger than it needs to be, and bobs-your-uncle. Sure it runs slightly inefficiently, but no one ever really notices.
With heat pumps it makes a big difference. The technology is proven to be effective, if deployed correctly, we just don't really have the knack here yet. Or the housing stock in many cases.
-
Who on here as any experience of these?
Looks like our old oil boiler from 1999 is pretty shot, so not worth throwing good money after bad in order to get it to limp on for another couple of years.
We have a plentiful supply of wood, so commercial wood pellets for the biomass boiler would not be required. This would help with running costs.
Also, I believe there is a £5000 government grant available.
Unless the heat exchanger and baffles are completely shot, it's always possible to keep them going for affordable money. All the bits to fix the burner are generally pretty cheap.
-
Our 24 year old gas fired combi boiler is serviced every year and works a treat. That said, it struggles producing constant water temps because the lazy arses at Southern Water keep.deoppong the pressure >:(
-
Who on here as any experience of these?
Looks like our old oil boiler from 1999 is pretty shot, so not worth throwing good money after bad in order to get it to limp on for another couple of years.
We have a plentiful supply of wood, so commercial wood pellets for the biomass boiler would not be required. This would help with running costs.
Also, I believe there is a £5000 government grant available.
Unless the heat exchanger and baffles are completely shot, it's always possible to keep them going for affordable money. All the bits to fix the burner are generally pretty cheap.
I think I have eliminated most of the possible culprits....
There is plenty of oil getting to the pump and nozzle, but no spark.
Photocell seems to function as it should.
This leaves the control box and ignition transformer.
-
Only one experience, neighbor had one (bearing in mind this was 10+ yrs ago). It was a right PITA. It was fed by wood pellets, so needed a massive hopper with a screw arrangement to pull them into the boiler. It was dead fussy on pellet size or it got jammed up. Dead fussy on pellet water content (too high and it gave out break all heat) so you either had to time your deliveries perfectly or use an electric drier to keep the water content down in your pellet store.
In your shoes I'd fit a new oil boiler, if one was required. Or a heat pump if your house is a)well insulated and b) you can find someone who *actually* knows what they're doing to do the heat loss calcs and the install.
I believe the noose has been taken from around the neck of oil boilers for a few more years.
-
Frack baby frack. Lots of cheap gas then. :)
And apparently it could cause Blackpool to disappear into the sea.
Cant see a downside at all. :D
-
Frack baby frack. Lots of cheap gas then. :)
And apparently it could cause Blackpool to disappear into the sea.
Cant see a downside at all. :D
Every cloud.... >:D
Is there anyone in Blackpool who isn't unemployed, or unemployable. ::)
-
Who on here as any experience of these?
Looks like our old oil boiler from 1999 is pretty shot, so not worth throwing good money after bad in order to get it to limp on for another couple of years.
We have a plentiful supply of wood, so commercial wood pellets for the biomass boiler would not be required. This would help with running costs.
Also, I believe there is a £5000 government grant available.
Unless the heat exchanger and baffles are completely shot, it's always possible to keep them going for affordable money. All the bits to fix the burner are generally pretty cheap.
I think I have eliminated most of the possible culprits....
There is plenty of oil getting to the pump and nozzle, but no spark.
Photocell seems to function as it should.
This leaves the control box and ignition transformer.
My money's on the transformer or possibly shorted electrodes. Should be able to check the transformer windings with an ohm meter, although that might not catch all failure modes.
-
Who on here as any experience of these?
Looks like our old oil boiler from 1999 is pretty shot, so not worth throwing good money after bad in order to get it to limp on for another couple of years.
We have a plentiful supply of wood, so commercial wood pellets for the biomass boiler would not be required. This would help with running costs.
Also, I believe there is a £5000 government grant available.
Unless the heat exchanger and baffles are completely shot, it's always possible to keep them going for affordable money. All the bits to fix the burner are generally pretty cheap.
I think I have eliminated most of the possible culprits....
There is plenty of oil getting to the pump and nozzle, but no spark.
Photocell seems to function as it should.
This leaves the control box and ignition transformer.
My money's on the transformer or possibly shorted electrodes. Should be able to check the transformer windings with an ohm meter, although that might not catch all failure modes.
Thanks, Kevin.
I cleaned the igniter tips and they seem nice and sharp.....also checked the gap which was correct at about 3mm.
I may rip the transformer off and see if there is anything obvious.
-
You should be able to see an arc across the electrodes when it is trying to ignite?
-
You should be able to see an arc across the electrodes when it is trying to ignite?
Removed it (and the ignition transformer) and there is a nasty crack across on part of the electrode. Connections were also black and brittle. Unlikely to get a good spark, I think.
Black transformer box is bloated and puffy. I'm guessing it is the original from 1999.
(https://i.ibb.co/0jxHVhYx/IMG-20251210-155738-128.jpg)
-
You should be able to see an arc across the electrodes when it is trying to ignite?
Removed it (and the ignition transformer) and there is a nasty crack across on part of the electrode. Connections were also black and brittle. Unlikely to get a good spark, I think.
Black transformer box is bloated and puffy. I'm guessing it is the original from 1999.
(https://i.ibb.co/0jxHVhYx/IMG-20251210-155738-128.jpg)
Yes, that doesn't look too healthy.
-
You should be able to see an arc across the electrodes when it is trying to ignite?
Removed it (and the ignition transformer) and there is a nasty crack across on part of the electrode. Connections were also black and brittle. Unlikely to get a good spark, I think.
Black transformer box is bloated and puffy. I'm guessing it is the original from 1999.
(https://i.ibb.co/0jxHVhYx/IMG-20251210-155738-128.jpg)
That fracture is likely to result in the HT generated by the transformer arcing to ground rather than across the electrodes where it is needed, definitely needs replacing