calling all heating engineers (plumbers to the rest of us)

[captain-destructo]

I'm in need of combi boiler recommendations

current boiler is doing my head in with intermittent problems and a rather dented front cover (I got annoyed with it when it stopped working the other night)

its over 20 years old so i think i have had my moneys worth out of it

 

[gaz1]

we all have our favorates with the boilers

we have a vailliant in our own house its run really well when looked after its just about to go through its second pump as its now making a racket

new ones been rather poor to be honest would have expected longer life than a few years to be honest for an official part that is

just to note here it really does depend on the size of house and rooms to what you can fit a boiler in otherwise many places would need 2 boilers to run a house or more

 

[Hopefuldave]

I think the short life of modern boilers is down to a) condensing, with the acidic condensate it creates and b) the lightweight heat exchangers for a low thermal mass / rapid warm-up - particularly combi boilers, hate them - half an hour to run a bath and a shower you might as well lie on your back and spit in the air...

Dave H. (the other one)

 

[hunter27]

If it's a combi, it's normal now to get a high powered one to give you a better water delivery rate to the taps, (larger than you really need for the rads) they modulate down so that's not a problem. This is providing you have a good enough cold water supply to gain that benefit.
There is not much difference between a conventional boiler and a combi heat exchanger they will be either stainless or aluminium but a combi has a more parts inside where a conventional boiler have them external eg pump, divertor or zone valves, hot water cylinder, possibly tanks ect.

I would go for a well known brand with a good back up and parts availability. Worcester Bosch have the best back up and are easy to fit. We have fitted lots over the years but I'm not sure thay are getting better, Vaillant look to be a bit more substantially built but not perfect by any means.
I have a 7 year old Vaillant combi that has had a new heat exchanger and pressure vessel already under it's 5 year warranty so a long warranty is worth a lot.
Son is an approved W/Bosch installer and some of their boilers he fits have a 10 year warranty provided certain provisions are met eg W/Bosch filter is fitted and it's serviced every year.
There are no perfect boilers and like cars some are very reliable and some can be a pita.
A lot also depends on how well it has been fitted and how clean your system is left and obviously have a magnetic filter fitted.

 

[morssdn]

My plumber/heating engineer/AGA installer/lead roofer friend says they only fit Worcester or Vaillant.
Vaillant must have been around for a long time as I remember their green bunny logo on racing Porsches in the Tamiya catalogue when I was a teenager

 

[Rig Pig]

It would help if you gave a bit more info, oil or gas, internal or external??

I'm not a plumber but I'm very pleased with my external Grant 36kw oil combi. Loads better than the old WB 14kw(ish!) It replaced and seems to use around the same amount of oil.

 

[Migmac]

Another vote for Grant. Does what it’s supposed to, has had problems but now cured and been running faultlessly this last couple of years. It was an electrical fault that the engineer couldn’t find but the electrician found in minutes

 

[dobbslc]

We've just had a Grant fitted and it seems like a decent bit of kit. Not cheap by any means though....

My plumber/heating engineer/AGA installer/lead roofer friend says they only fit Worcester or Vaillant.
Vaillant must have been around for a long time as I remember their green bunny logo on racing Porsches in the Tamiya catalogue when I was a teenager

 

[Nick DV]

I'm in need of combi boiler recommendations

current boiler is doing my head in with intermittent problems and a rather dented front cover (I got annoyed with it when it stopped working the other night)

its over 20 years old so i think i have had my moneys worth out of it

Yep, you've had a good run from that boiler - some of today's boilers will struggle to make half of those years without a problem Personally, I'd go for the Worcester Bosch as they are pretty reliable, and as Hunter mentioned, as long as you meet their requirements, they are great at honouring the 10 year guarantee. Depending on how old and condition the system is in, it may pay to have a power flush done before refill and commissioning, and possibly stick a Magnaclean in the system, and inhibitor of course

 

[Seadog]

The Intergas boiler is very good. The domestic hot water heat exchanger is part of the main heat exchanger and is formed from 12m copper pipe cast into the body of the exchanger. Virtually no possibility of that furring up but if it does it's a doddle to clean out. Also, no diverter valve to cause problems. In total, only four moving parts.

 

[Kayos]

Depends on your budget really

Baxi 800 series is great, 10 year warranty
Ravenheat He30s, all brass, copper, stainless steel. Not one bit of plastic in the water section

Both british companies

I'm not a huge fan of ze germans, vaillant and worcester both trade on the name unless you buy the premium models, even then the worcester is still full of plastic

Viessman are pretty good these days but I only fit their bigger ones, Baxi or Ravenheat offer much better value on normal combis

I'm taking out 5-6 year old ideals regularly so wont touch them

Intergas and Atag are very much a niche, not interested personally

Alpha offer a 13 year warranty, they could offer 113 years and I still wouldn't touch them

As for the cheap ones, Biasi, Ferroli etc, dont bother

Last Viessman I fitted was a 111, 4 pipe storage combi. House had 6 bedrooms, all en suite. 64kg dry lift and as big as a washing machine. Good boiler if that's what you need

 

[Domdom]

The only 2 I know of are the Vokera 28kw which was here when I bought the house. It managed 7 years under my ownership with a full service every year. Never the quietest thing TBH and hot water performance was woeful (combi)

I replaced it with a Vaillant 35kw combi which has much better hot water performance, limited only by poor mains water pressure really. It’s almost silent in operation as well. The gas bills are lower as well so it must be more efficient. I do have it serviced every year by a local plumber to try and keep it running well.

 

[HughF]

The Intergas boiler is very good. The domestic hot water heat exchanger is part of the main heat exchanger and is formed from 12m copper pipe cast into the body of the exchanger. Virtually no possibility of that furring up but if it does it's a doddle to clean out. Also, no diverter valve to cause problems. In total, only four moving parts.

My money would be spent on an Intergas... The simplicity appeals...

 

[Nick DV]

Depends on your budget really

Alpha offer a 13 year warranty, they could offer 113 years and I still wouldn't touch them

As for the cheap ones, Biasi, Ferroli etc, dont bother

Ferroli!!! Almost chocked on my toast! You can't call that a boiler Last one I witnessed 'working' was removed and unceremoniously dumped 20 months after installation - and it was only running one hot tap and five rads!!!

 

[Alan Reynolds]

My old Potterton Kingfisher is 35 years old now. Cost me £150.00. Put the whole lot in myself as a first timer and apart from a manufacturing fault early on which was an O ring on the heat exchanger being nipped between the castings, which meant I had to dismantle the heat exchanger, it has performed faultlessly. I never touch it. I had it powerflushed recently for the first time and it's back to its original efficiency. I am so reluctant to change it and I know of other people who are keeping their old boilers going. My neighbour is now due for his fourth boiler since I installed mine. Whenever the cold weather strikes, all my neighbours end up calling out the engineers. A gale once blew my pilot jet out though! If I have to replace it, it will be another floor standing type and only the very best I can find. I'll be 107 if the next one lasts as long

 

[Kayos]

My money would be spent on an Intergas... The simplicity appeals...

Except when they do break and its 6 to 8 weeks for the part. Non diverter (dual pass heat exchanger) combis are not new but there is a reason they are not common in the uk

 

[Seadog]

Non diverter (dual pass heat exchanger) combis are not new but there is a reason they are not common in the uk

Which is?

 

[Kayos]

Which is?

They are rubbish, having a separate hot water system means you have proper control

Slightly hard water will block them up, hard water blocks them up quickly and soft water rots them out

 

[HughF]

My old Potterton Kingfisher is 35 years old now. Cost me £150.00. Put the whole lot in myself as a first timer and apart from a manufacturing fault early on which was an O ring on the heat exchanger being nipped between the castings, which meant I had to dismantle the heat exchanger, it has performed faultlessly. I never touch it. I had it powerflushed recently for the first time and it's back to its original efficiency. I am so reluctant to change it and I know of other people who are keeping their old boilers going. My neighbour is now due for his fourth boiler since I installed mine. Whenever the cold weather strikes, all my neighbours end up calling out the engineers. A gale once blew my pilot jet out though! If I have to replace it, it will be another floor standing type and only the very best I can find. I'll be 107 if the next one lasts as long

Wife has a baxi back boiler and gas-you-fire at her place - it's staying put for as long as it can... The payback in gas savings vs lifetime of a replacement boiler just don't add up if I'm paying someone to install a replacement.

 

[angellonewolf]

ive got a baxi think the 28 verson assume thats the output been in for aprox 6 years been serviced every year so say 10 year warrenty

when the service guy came round he serviced it he commented on that he normaly has to do an ajustment so its right output mine has never needed it since new and the setting is dead in the middle as it was when it was fitted

he even said my boiler might even change his mind on the baxi as when he was fitting it he said i would have not bought this one but a valient or worcester

but only times ive ever had to do any thing with the boiler id up the pressure once or twice a year normaly after bleading air from the system

now dont get me started on the fernox tf1 had quite a few leaks from that the seal where the top screws on ive replaced at least every year since ive had the boiler in yes the firstcouple times was my fault as i was removing the top to clean the unit and should have replaced the seal every time but even after a new seal the last time only lasted 8 months so this time i put a new seal and greased it up from the recommeded buy the service guy he said we get loads that we have to do that after they get a bit older