Which Combie Condensing Boiler.

[matt h]

Er yes, is it obvious!! Ha ha

[whisper]

Worcester are very good, i've been to their factory several times

Don't go for the cheap makes or you will be changing it sooner or later.

What ever you fit make sure you get a good gas safe person to install it and most importatly make sure that your system has been thoroughly cleaned / flushed. If the water is still black then this will cost you dearly later on

Check to see that the flue will be in the right location and if the gas supply needs to be upgraded to a bigger size.

If you go for a combi boiler also think about how much hot water you want and how much flow rate and what temp you need out of the taps, if you are in a hard water area you will need to think about scale too.

Hope this helps...

[tony t]

Originally Posted by whisper

Worcester are very good, i've been to their factory several times

Don't go for the cheap makes or you will be changing it sooner or later.

What ever you fit make sure you get a good gas safe person to install it and most importatly make sure that your system has been thoroughly cleaned / flushed. If the water is still black then this will cost you dearly later on

Check to see that the flue will be in the right location and if the gas supply needs to be upgraded to a bigger size.

If you go for a combi boiler also think about how much hot water you want and how much flow rate and what temp you need out of the taps, if you are in a hard water area you will need to think about scale too.

Hope this helps...

Hes a German dont mention the war or that word begining with G

[neil.mccrirrick]

Always check the location of the flue. Caused a lot of problems that before now!

Sent from my iPad using Rib.net

[colcreate]

Had a Vaillant combi for 20 years replaced it with a Worcester Greenstar 30si. Plenty of choice of cheap boilers out there but in the end it was a toss-up between another Vaillant and the Worcester. Worcester won on extended warranty and slightly lower price.

[Bigmuz7]

I saw this thread and admit I havent read many posts .. my boiler is shite on an efficiency basis but it cost me nothing in repairs .. yes its inneficient and burns a few pounds in extra gas .. but it doesnt need a service engineer calling every few months cos its a simple tool and it doesnt break down and leave me without heat or hot water .. its an old Baxi and feking reliable I feel sorry for all you guys buying the latest knobs on stuff that just fails .. regularly

[m chappelow]

We have had a Biasi condesing boiler running for 7 years now and it's never been serviced yet .

when fitting it the guy said that it would probley stop working from new at about 9 to 12 months but it was an easy fix to do with the timer (known factory problem but think its been sorted with later models ) the only other time it stopped when the condensing outlet pipe froze up in the extreme cold we had a couple of years ago , after running the pipe inside into the normal domestic sink waste pipe it's never stopped since .

[IanH]

Most condensing boilers don't work at full rated efficiency all of the time as they need to be in a certain temperature range for the condensing to occur.

Many so called 'inefficient' boilers are within 10% of the 'efficient' boilers sedbuk rating.

Say your gas cost is £1000/year (which is very high for most but I chose it for simple maths), then a new boiler will save £100 year.

As I keep being told that new boilers have about 10/15 years service life, then saving over life of the boiler will not cover the cost of fitting a new one.

If your boiler is not costing you money, then thinking of changing your boiler on cost grounds is probably not going to bring the benefits you expect. You would be better adding additional insulating and updating boiler controls.

Our approx 10 year old Worcester Bosch failed twice in 6 months. Water ingress into the fan via the flu (apparently) then heat exchanger flooding the heating chamber. Thankfully we were under British gas contract. In space of 6 months, our whole boiler was totally replaced, less carcass and electronics. Everything else, and I mean everything else was replaced. We effectively have a brand new boiler that should last another 10 years. And a few months before, I was thinking exactly as you, to replace boiler to a more efficient type.

As I work from home, I installed a zoning system that allows me to keep certain rooms warm at the required temperature only at the times needed. As a result of this and insulating above the previous 300mm loft insulation that was installed, we run a nice warm house at less cost.

We moved in 2009 and I fitted the zoning system in 2010. We run our heating 24/7 but as rooms are individually zoned to specific temperatures, the heating only runs when a room tells the boiler that it needs to warm up. The results speak for themselves.

[Poly]

Originally Posted by AJ.

My uncle is a plumber up in Manchester and corgi registered. Put a Worcester in my mums house to replace the 30 year old unit which finally packed up. They have a great write up in Which magazine and is saving her £££££££'s

I've never really understood why people put so much emphasis on Which reports. Are they just for people who can't make their own decisions? They presumably don't run all the boilers for 20 yrs to see which actually does the best long term job - so they are relying on the same factors as anyone else, cost, reputation, advice from others, and short term installation history.

Originally Posted by camelgas

whatever you go for make sure that the installer runs the condensate drain pipe inside the house(if practical), as otherwise they freeze solid when you need them most and you will have no heating.

And yet bizarrely, for practical reasons it is quite common to see up here, where it is colder more often, and most people have no problems...

Originally Posted by camelgas

21.5mm overflow pipe with armaflex pipe lagging , the plumbers favorite.

Ah so what you really mean is poorly installed external condensate drains.

If we have to run external we use 1 1/2" sink waste pipe and a heating trace wire, never had one freeze yet.

none of the houses in our street with condensing boilers have heating traces, the only one who has any issues is the unlagged one - and he is happy to apply a kettle to it once or twice a year.

Originally Posted by Bigmuz7

I saw this thread and admit I havent read many posts .. my boiler is shite on an efficiency basis but it cost me nothing in repairs .. yes its inneficient and burns a few pounds in extra gas .. but it doesnt need a service engineer calling every few months cos its a simple tool and it doesnt break down and leave me without heat or hot water .. its an old Baxi and feking reliable I feel sorry for all you guys buying the latest knobs on stuff that just fails .. regularly

I was in the Bigmuz and IanH camp until our boiler finally died at Christmas. It has been replaced with a Logic Plus Combi 35 with a 7yr warranty. Historically Logic haven't had a great reputation but if they are prepared to put a decent warranty on things then I'm prepared to give it a whirl. The heating engineer (not plumber!) who installed it has about a dozen installs which are all over 12 months old and no call outs - anecdotally from my friends/family/colleagues that would seem to be "very reliable". The installer is quite happy to come and do a quick annual service with no support contract each year - whereas others seemed to want an "insurance" type scheme. What for? the boiler is under warranty.

As Camelgas implies - the important thing might be who fits your boiler rather than who made it.

[mick]

Go for a W B and get there service package

[gasman]

[QUOTE=kerny;517432]I'm looking at replacing my boiler and it's a mine field out there, is there anyone on here in the know and can advise which is decent and which is crap.

My existing boiler is a Vokera and has lasted for 16 years but is not very energy efficient anymore plus it's not a condensing one.

Thanks K.

We like Vailant. Just make sure you clean the system out . They don't get on with dirty water. Stay away from Ideal, bad heat exchangers. Most cheap boilers get you back when you want a part. Buy the best you can afford, Vailant.
Ian

[Mr Flibble]

I had the same choice to make a few years back. Lots of research later I came to the conclusion that if you want a reliable boiler go for a simple, non condensing boiler. Saying that I opted for a Worcester Bosch Greenstar 30 cdi. Apart from a replacement pump (under warranty) after 1 year, it's been fine (4 years old). I have the Worcester service plan which is good, engineers are from Worcester Bosch, not contractors like others, so the guys know the boilers and have the parts to hand. The outside condensate pipe froze the first 2 winters (-15 outside) but that was partly due to the cowboys that fitted the system, pipe was too narrow. I've replaced this and it's been fine since.

[camelgas]

two trade votes for Vaillant then !, good point about dirt we flush and fit a fernox TF1 filter on the return under the boiler to catch any muck before it gets to the boiler.

The power of worcesters advertizing to householders works by the look of things. they are selling new boilers on their previous good name.

The old ideal combis were pants but the new one (logic) is much improved , early days yet so the jury is still out.

Biassi and the other cheap imports : wait till it goes wrong and the parts are no longer availible, not such a cheap boiler then.

The best/most reliable domestic gas boiler ever made was the old ideal mexico, new ones are pants so just goes to prove just because something was once good it is not a given that the replacment model is too.

un-serviced gas appliances KILL YOU so not a clever move ignoring them for years.



anyway I am here for boats not work talk.

[kerny]

Well after reading through all the replies I think that I am down to two of all the models put forward.

Valiant looks a very good choice because 2 members on here, camelgas and gasman who are independent heating engineers so they must know what they are talking about.

Then there is .....

Poly's (Logic plus)... because the 7 yr warranty is very appealing to me , and also, for the company to give an extra 2 years more than any of others, means that they are very confident on the quality of there product to offer this.

I know that the majority of you said get a Worcester / Bosch as they have or had a good name, because that was the one I was thinking of getting myself before getting some advice of RIBnet but maybe most of you had had them fitted a few years back when they were good so I think that it would more prudent of me to take both of these heating engineers advice in not getting a new Worcester at this moment and time, unless that is.... some more heating engineers come on here backing Worcester up.

[9D280]

Curveball:

my old Ideal Elan (last 3 repairs were with reconditioned parts coz the guy couldn't find replacements) was replaced a couple of months agio with a W-B (whatever jumble of letters the model number is) condensing Combi. 7 year warranty.

Having kept half an eye on the gas usage, it has dropped, the hosue is perceptively warmer, and I'm not going to need to replace the barge boards of the hosue near the flue with monotonous regularity any more because the condensation was happening out there instead of in the boiler!

I'll try to remember to post back in 7 years & let you all know how it went.

[kerny]

Originally Posted by 9D280

I'll try to remember to post back in 7 years & let you all know how it went.

Please do but at least you have got 7 years worry free heating

[tony t]

Heres a good one for you Herman plus its German so the instructions should not be a problem for you


Viessmann boilers -the best gas condensing boilers : PK Plumbing and Heating

[Bigmuz7]

Originally Posted by tony t

Heres a good one for you Herman plus its German so the instructions should not be a problem for you


Viessmann boilers -the best gas condensing boilers : PK Plumbing and Heating

he's gonna deck you one day