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Gas boiler advice

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Wildfire
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Gas boiler advice

Post by Wildfire » Fri Jan 19, 2018 10:32 am

I do a lot of work with a plumbing company and we fit Vaillant, Viessman and Worscester Bosch. We have had issues with WB's customer service though.
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85genius
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Gas boiler advice

Post by 85genius » Fri Jan 19, 2018 12:46 pm

I'll go against the grain here, heard a lot about Worcester Bosch so was going to get one, spoke separately to 2 mates who are plumbers and both said to avoid Worcester Bosch, they are overpriced and not to the same standard they used to be.

Both advised me to go for an Ideal logic + we did and it worked out over 50% cheaper than the Worcester Bosch and came with a 7 year warranty!

Also found Ideal's customer service excellent! Not actually a fault with the boiler but we thought it had a fault, or at least the moron plumber (both my mates were too busy to come and do it when the old potterton died so used a random) told us it had a fault and that this was the first one he had fitted that came faulty out of the box. We called Ideal service centre and they had their own engineer out to us the next day to "fix" it, moron plumber had not connected one of the wires up inside the boiler was fine.

Not sure on savings as its only been in 6 months but should be a lot cheaper to run than the old one, although we fitted hive at the same time so not sure where to attribute the savings, but I do know the new boiler greatly increased the pressure of our hot water making showers much more enjoyable
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TitanTim
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Gas boiler advice

Post by TitanTim » Fri Jan 19, 2018 2:46 pm

I went through the new boiler conundrum a while back. I currently have a gloworm which is 16 years old and runs touch wood perfectly. I have it serviced each year and chatted to the British Gas engineer last year who said I wouldn't be gaining much by replacing it except it would be shinier and more likely to break down as they are just not made to last. He said I might save a little on bills over a year but really not that much. He said wait until it packs up so for the moment will do that. I did think what's the point in spending a couple of grand when I have a boiler that works :?

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maxman
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Gas boiler advice

Post by maxman » Fri Jan 19, 2018 4:53 pm

Wildfire and 85genius you have thrown a spanner in the works as I was under the impression that Worcester/Bosch were more expensive but ultra reliable.
Thanks again for all the information as that was the point of the post.
Tim ,I can see where your coming from,my boiler is at least 25 yrs old and on borrowed time ,a bit like me : :cry:
If it breaks down we don't want to be without heating/hot water for weeks and making a panic buy boiler which I will later regret.

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raymond.harper
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Gas boiler advice

Post by raymond.harper » Fri Jan 19, 2018 5:48 pm

The thing I have against a combi boiler is that you would no longer have a hot water tank. In the event of the boiler going down you would not have the back up of the heated water tank. We had a glowworm boiler fitted 10 years ago and have had no problems with it.

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Gas boiler advice

Post by markalp » Fri Jan 19, 2018 6:46 pm

maxman wrote: Thu Jan 18, 2018 6:22 pmOur old Trianco gas boiler is at least 25 yrs old,while it has been very reliable and is still working ok,the time has come to look at a more efficient boiler..The house ha 13 rads with two bathrooms.
I did consider a combi ,but am put off with the pressure they work on and the possibility of leaks.Fitting a combi would involve more work(removing tanks from attic and airing cupboard) plus some electrics.The other option is just to replace the boiler with a similar type.
What's the thinking on boiler makes Baxi have boilers with 7 or 10 yr guarantee .Wocester Bosch have a 5 yr guarantee .
British Gas have an offer on at the moment for half price boiler,they quoted 3 grand for a WB boiler replacement with a Hive controler plus one year warranty on our existing system..
Any advice would be appreciated .
Whatever you end up installing, dont forget to get a MagnaFlush done, and at the very least definately install a Magnetic filter. You will be amazed how much "stuff" comes out of your old radiators.
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Mr Tidy
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Post by Mr Tidy » Fri Jan 19, 2018 8:14 pm

Timely thread everyone!

I'm in the throes of organising a replacement boiler for my Mum's retirement flat.

The only contractor I've managed to get out (not the best time of year to have a breakdown) has recommended a Worcester, but thankfully not a combi.! Should I ask him about others? My concern is that most tradesmen tend to have a brand they usually use, and may not be so keen to fit a different one and time is of the essence!

Will watch this space. :thumbsup:
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Gas boiler advice

Post by Bmac » Fri Jan 19, 2018 11:26 pm

Worcester bosch any time, yes they cost more but the backup service is far better and can get a guarantee between 7 and 10 years. With 2 bathrooms i would keep cylinder and fit conventional boiler and upgrade where posible and use a worcester registered installer for the extra guarantee :thumbsup:
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Post by Newbers » Fri Jan 19, 2018 11:47 pm

Exactly what Silverzedtom said.
Worcester Bosch! I've fitted three. (Vaillant + Veissmann also well regarded but less presence in UK so plumbers will be less familiar.)
I haven't personally used but looked in to Worcester Bosch Wave. Well integrated and does things like monitor the weather to put more heat in to the house if cold outside (to automatically compensate and keep house at same temp). Only downside is if you want multiple zones (e.g. for underfloor heating) which is why I haven't fitted.
If there are only two of you combi is fine. System is way nicer. Loads of HW on tap, option to heat water with solar panels if you get the right cylinder. Megaflow style cylinders are great - well insulated and mains pressure hot water. I can strongly recommend Telford cylinders (I have a Tempest in my current house). They are space efficient and made in the UK.
I think you have to fit a magnetic filter now for guarantees to be valid but it is a no brainer if you're not changing rads.
It is great to free up space in the loft when you get rid of old tanks.

A big investment but if well fitted a good CH system is a great thing to live with and is likely to pay for itself over not too many years.

BTW the boiler i replaced in my current house was fitted in 1976. We were all a little scared of it but it was pretty reliable!
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Gas boiler advice

Post by Wildfire » Fri Jan 19, 2018 11:53 pm

Valliant own Glowworm.

I would go with a Valliant personally. They come with a great warranty. Had out Combi in for 3 years now. No issues.

We had a leaking WB which had rotted the base plate. WB replaced the faulty part but refused to replace the base plate / casing. We (the heating company) replaced the whole boiler FOC and Stephen (the owner) tool it up with WB.

Do get a power flush and a Magna Clean as above.

Really work it to keep the system clean and going well.
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TitanTim
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Gas boiler advice

Post by TitanTim » Sat Jan 20, 2018 12:05 am

maxman wrote: Fri Jan 19, 2018 4:53 pmWildfire and 85genius you have thrown a spanner in the works as I was under the impression that Worcester/Bosch were more expensive but ultra reliable.
Thanks again for all the information as that was the point of the post.
Tim ,I can see where your coming from,my boiler is at least 25 yrs old and on borrowed time ,a bit like me : :cry:
If it breaks down we don't want to be without heating/hot water for weeks and making a panic buy boiler which I will later regret.
Yeah mine will probably konk out when it minus 10 outside, I might think about changing if it hits 20 years. I would want something that would last more than 6 years though which seems to be the suggested lifespan of today's boilers which seems crazy to me so whatever I go for it will be as simple as possible so long as it heats the radiators :)

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Gas boiler advice

Post by firebobby » Sat Jan 20, 2018 10:26 am

We are in the process of moving and our Ideal Mexico boiler had to be checked/serviced as part of the sale, it's 18 years old and is showing no signs of wearing out in the next few years. The service guy said it was so clean inside and it should see at least another 10 years.
The property we are moving to has a back boiler (remember them) but I plan to do some re-development, so a new heating system will be needed.
Not sure about the combi route or to stay with traditional a system, so this thread is very interesting :thumbsup:
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Gas boiler advice

Post by ekimj10 » Sat Jan 20, 2018 10:38 am

Firebobby wrote 'Not sure about the combi route or to stay with traditional a system, so this thread is very interesting'

If you have the space, I'd go with the traditional route with an airing cupboard, we'd be lost without ours and we had the wall mounted boiler fitted inside the airing cupboard. Probably easier for us being in a bungalow.

Depending on where you fit the boiler, another consideration is the noise it makes, our W-B is very quiet and situated in the central part, was previously in the kitchen and was a disturbance.
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Gas boiler advice

Post by firebobby » Sat Jan 20, 2018 8:43 pm

I will be fitting a completely new system, so will have a good look into it.
I work for the local water authority and have to deal with customers who have issues with water pressure etc. I get called to quite a few properties who are suffering from issue with their combis's not working, which normally turns out to be a flow restriction on the mains inlet. Another problem with non storage properties is when mains burst, which happens a lot in winter. Having a couple of hundred ltrs in the loft is rather appealing then :)
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Mr Tidy
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Gas boiler advice

Post by Mr Tidy » Sat Jan 20, 2018 10:12 pm

While the combi boiler sounds like a great idea, there are two concerns I have.

The first is like in my Mum's scenario where the boiler just dies - with no hot tank to put an immersion heater in you've got no hot water!

Then if you live somewhere like I did in the late 90s where they regularly dug the street up in the early hours of the morning (so had the street main isolated) with no cold tank you couldn't even make a cup of tea!
Coupes because stunning!
Current - Silver Grey MC, Imola Red heated Nappa & carbon trim. Aeros, H & R Coil-overs, 224s, OE Strut brace, Nav, cup-holders, DSP Hi-Fi, pdc, cruise, MFSW, no CDV! E90 330i daily
Gone - Montego Blue
Gone - Ruby Black

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