Baxi Bermuda BBU HE Any experiences?

barjohnivell · 3 June 2010 at 8:06PM

Hi.

I have a heating engineer coming tomorrow morning to quote on the Baxi boiler and fire front. Like most on this thread I have seen the prices for the kit at about £1400 including flue and fire, so am hoping a day or so for fitting should weigh in under £2000. It does seem that very few engineers want to fit this boiler hence why the cost looks high as it is difficult to shop around, I am still waiting for 4 people to come back for a quote. Will let everyone know how much I get quoted.:beer:

Owain_Moneysaver · 4 June 2010 at 10:24AM

vronnie wrote: »

I had a quote from Scottish Gas ... £6,229.82.

That is steep, even by Scottish Gas standards. Usually they're only about 50% more expensive than a local gas fitter, not 300%.

Owain_Moneysaver · 4 June 2010 at 10:25AM

A lot of these back boilers are installed in flats, changing to a combi boiler means you can get rid of the hot water cylinder which can give a very valuable storage cupboard.

barjohnivell · 9 June 2010 at 11:43PM

Hello. As promised I have had the quote through the post, and was quite a bit more expensive than I thought. It appears that due to the condensate outlets, a double water pump system (a requirement) and man hours required to fit the new flue I have been quoted £3,200, however that does include new plastic header tanks. I was advised towards a combi system at £2495 all in, and that was because my house in plumbed rather strangely unlike newer houses, that price did include flushing, new valves and labour. When I enquired the annual savings on the 2 new systems I got a surprising and very honest answer TAKE HEED MONEY SAVERS! If I paid £2495 I would have a higher risk of leaky valves due to the higher pressure, an annual service is strongly recommended to avoid breakdowns at £120 a throw. Also an average combi lasts 10-15 years meaning a further £800-£1200 in this timescale. So overall in lets say worst case scenario a 10 year cost would be £2400 including servicing and potential replacement boiler, plus the initial £2495, so nearly £5000!!!
He then advised me that my old Baxi inefficient boiler, is virtually bulletproof, is minimal to service and although recommends yearly servicing, most customers only have them serviced when they go wrong, so in other words every 5-7 years. Most service parts are £40-£120 except the main boiler block which is about £400. He guessed that a more efficient boiler may save £100-£150 a year however this depends on useage and size of house, but stated that a new system will never pay for itself. Given all this very useful and honest (sale costing) advice I will stick with my old Baxi Bermuda, and invest in a new electric Valor fire front, full system flush, and service, all that.... £390, and I'll put up with slightly more expensive bills. :j

DLP_75 · 26 May 2011 at 11:07AM

Hi, which model Baxi back boiler did you fit the firefront to, was it the 552, which was the model that would accept one of the Baxi living flame gas fires? I recently contacted Baxi & asked them to explain fully the reason that now, Valor electric firefront cannot be fitted to the model backboiler that we have, a Bermuda 551. Their reply was that the old wooden gas firefront with the 551 has a flue that is designed to work with the 551 back boiler to prevent any gases coming back into the room, I told them when I made the enquiry, that when the new mantelpiece & firefront was fitted in front of the existing 551 backboiler that I would make sure that adequate airflow would be maintained into the fireplace opening where the back boiler sits, even so, the guy still insisted that there could be a risk of fumes coming back into the room, so to be on the safe side we have reluctantly decided to get rid of the still perfectly working trusty old 551 & go for the new BBU HE. My wife has decided that she would like to revert back to looking at a tradional fire place & one of the Valor flame effect firefronts instead of the dated wooden Baxi gas firefront which has been installed since 1977, which, apart from having to replace the heat exchanger once & a solonoid valve & about 3 thermocouples, it is still going strong, so like you I would be quite happy to have just changed the firefront & carry on using the old backboiler until either the both of us clap out, or the boiler does. :rotfl::T

graham7835 · 7 September 2011 at 11:02PM

hello, im new to posting on these web sites but had to let people know bout my experience with these units. Im a gas engineer who couldnt wait to fit one of these units. They sounded too good to be true, so i went to baxi and got all the information i needed to fit one. Had all the questions i needed answered by their own team of tech guys. I was convinced that it was just wat i needed for one of my customers. they didnt want to destry their house 4 their new boiler. Wat a nitemare it all was to fit. problems from start to finish. it was no where near as easy as what they had said it would be. i had to convert the system from semi pumped to fully pumped system which meant i needed whole new heating controls. I started incuring a whole load of cost that i just wasnt prepared for and that hadnt been explained in enough detail to me b4 i started. It seems that the people who were telling me what was needed, hadnt done them b4 and were just working from text book installations. The problems of installation became obvious when fitting and caused nothing but grief for me and my client. The units been in for just over one year now and they are already starting to have problems with the units condensate pump. the condensate had been a big problem to fit in the first place and had caused some unexpected cost when installing. to now find out that the system which caused so much grief to fit is now backed up by a flawed pumping system just ads salt to the wound. my customer is not very happy at all as the unit was not cheap at all to buy in the first place. i am also not happy as i lost out on the installation cost because it was more trouble to fit than it seemed. final conclusion i wouldnt advise fitting them if there was any other option. I would be happy to hear from anyone who can say different

gas4you · 8 September 2011 at 8:32AM

Have to agree generally, but not on all points.

The condensate pump is a known issue and has now been redesigned.

mummy_sue · 19 September 2011 at 8:32PM

I have had a Baxi Bermuda BBU 15 HE fitted for just 2 months & the PCB has gone on it already British Gas did the installation, but basicly there engineers are saying they have not seen one of these boilers fitted in my area, so they do not know how to fix it I have been without hot water since saturday & Baxi are not coming out untill thursday, I wish I had kept my old boiler which was 30 years old, & I only had it fixed twice due to a thermal couple that went. I am not impressed with there aftersales & would not recommend these boilers.

Cheeselady · 24 October 2011 at 5:24PM

Any body else who's had one fitted? Just to get more opinions, thanks.

DJT1953 · 25 December 2011 at 4:16PM

I have been renting out my late Mother's bungalow for a year which has been fitted with a Baxi Bermuda 552 back boiler and wooden fire front since the early 70's. When it came to remew the Landlord's Certificate the engineer wasn't happy that the fire gas valve didn't have a positive 'off' position and that the fire pilot light didn't have a flame failure device. Nor was he happy that the ventilation was sufficient under current regulations. He subsequently disabled the fire, although the boiler is still operational. The company concerned would not consider re-instating the fire if I increased the ventilation as, in their opinion, the fire isn't suitable for a rented accommodation.
I now have to decide whether to replace the Baxi with a new BBU or go to a completely different system. If anyone has any updates on the reliability and/or costs of a replacement BBU it would be helpful.
Many thanks in advance.

Baxi Bermuda BBU HE Any experiences?

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free