Boiler Recommendation

Hans_Mum

Hi, our combi boiler has just been condemmed by BG, so now we have to buy a new one:mad:

The BG guy said if it was him he would fit a Greenstar 30CDI (3 bed house, 7 radiators)....

What do others recommend or is Greenstar a good bet? Found this model for £763.84 inc VAT & Delivery, i know we'll have to have it fitted.

Thanks

economiser

Firstly get a second opinion. BG are notorious at condemning boilers which are repairable.

If you do replace I think the general opinion is that Vaillant or Worcester Bosch are among the best.

buglawton

On same topic, are those apparently expensive to maintain (but efficient) condensing boilers a good bet?

Hans_Mum

economiser wrote: »

Firstly get a second opinion. BG are notorious at condemning boilers which are repairable.

If you do replace I think the general opinion is that Vaillant or Worcester Bosch are among the best.

I got a 2nd opinion and its the same...its got a corroded hole in the combination chamber & the boilers been capped off so i am now without heating or hot water so need to get something sorted quickly

Pssst

That'll be a corrosion hole in the combustion chamber ! what make and model of boiler is it by the way? It might be possible to strip (not you,the boiler) and repair it with spares..failing that Worcester and Vaillant are well respected

bronco

npower will beat any quote from british gas boiler or give you
£100 pounds phone 0800 975 4781 quote D012P :j

economiser

buglawton wrote: »

On same topic, are those apparently expensive to maintain (but efficient) condensing boilers a good bet?

If you are buying a new boiler you don't really have any option (there are some exceptions). It will not pay to replace an existing boiler with a condensing one if you take the purchase cost and interest loss or payments into account even with the current gas costs. The savings are probably not as high as quoted by makers. To get optimum efficiency you need to operate system at low temperature, about 55C, to get maximum condensation effect. This is OK for say a new underfloor heating system but impractical for a replacement boiler in an existing radiator system for example. You can improve efficiency by manually adjusting flow temperature according to weather conditions and thus running the system as cool as possible.

firstTimeBuyer_2-2

Don't know if it's any use to you but I just got a whole new central heating system installed. The boiler which was installed was a 30 kw Vokera, my house is a 3 bedroom 2 storey house with 8 radiators.

The boiler heats the house well and pumps out plenty of hot water whenever we need it., I'm pleased with it so far.

Hope this helps.

moneysavingplumber

Alpha Boilers represent great value for money, and I think they still offer a six year warranty on their plate heat exchangers without the need to fit a scale reducer (this is good news). They have stainless steel main heat exchangers, Worcester were still using aluminium even up to a couple of years ago, not sure about now. Despite their reputations of reliability, I have been called out to more problematic Worcesters and Vaillants than Alphas. I've fitted dozens of Alphas and not had a single one break down during the warranty period, whch is more than I can say for Potterton/Baxi, Worcester and Vaillant, all of which I've fitted and had to call out service for (and in the case of Baxi often ended up just repairing myself as it was quicker!).

Any boiler fitted should include correct balancing and flushing/treating of the system (which can take several hours), balancing isn't something that the end user should have to attempt themselves. You should receive a Benchmark certificate filled out by the installer, if you don't they've binned it and you will have difficulty getting warranty cover for the boiler.

Hot_under_the_collar

If you are buying a new boiler do not buy a Ferroli. The new version might be better than the old but if anything goes wrong the customer service is utterly inflexible in a brick wall type way. Talking to senior personnel doesn't help. You only get told the problem is your fault and that you are costing them money!!!!

Danjo_2

moneysavingplumber wrote: »

Alpha Boilers represent great value for money, and I think they still offer a six year warranty on their plate heat exchangers without the need to fit a scale reducer (this is good news). They have stainless steel main heat exchangers, Worcester were still using aluminium even up to a couple of years ago, not sure about now. Despite their reputations of reliability, I have been called out to more problematic Worcesters and Vaillants than Alphas. I've fitted dozens of Alphas and not had a single one break down during the warranty period, whch is more than I can say for Potterton/Baxi, Worcester and Vaillant, all of which I've fitted and had to call out service for (and in the case of Baxi often ended up just repairing myself as it was quicker!).

Any boiler fitted should include correct balancing and flushing/treating of the system (which can take several hours), balancing isn't something that the end user should have to attempt themselves. You should receive a Benchmark certificate filled out by the installer, if you don't they've binned it and you will have difficulty getting warranty cover for the boiler.

Hi there,

I was hoping you could give me a more detailed breakdown on the the Alpha boiler versus the Worcester-Bosch boiler? My parents at the moment have a very old system and they are spending a fortune on gas. I have been quoted about £1600 for a Worcester-Bosch (excluding fitting) from a cousin of mine. Now I have been looking at the Alpha CD35C Combination which I can get off the internet for less than £900. You seem to rate the Alpha's and I am very tempted to go for one of these and the money saved could go towards the fitting costs + flue pipe/fittings etc.

Regards
Dan