Which is best Condenser Boiler to buy?

aboard_epsilon

been reading all these posts ..
could you tell me ..


1. how can a boiler be fitted wrong to effect its reliability ..

a list please .

2...im tearing my hair out on what one to go for ..it will be a condensing boiler ..but conventional or combie

3. i have the coil immersion tank in the loft ..the rads already in place .....from reading, the condensing conventional ones (non combie) ..have less componants...so will go wrong less often...and when they do i still have my imersion heater to relie on ..is this so in practice.

4. i intend to just have the gas-safe guy..plumb it in and certificate it .....i intend to do all servicing and maintenance myself ...so what's the boiler, that is the most user friendly ..reliable ..and cheap to repair..should it go wrong.

will add,..not a boast, but a bit of an assurance, I'm mechanically competent ..have fitted an LPG sequential system to my car had it inspected by the lpga..and it passed with no faults first time.

any other advice greatly appreciated ..

there is a lot going through my head .........buy a 90 percent efficient condensing system ..and loose out on the extra efficiency from the cost of plumbers and spares...im treading very carefully ..the decisions are hard.

all the best.markj

ziggyman99

aboard_epsilon wrote: »

been reading all these posts ..
could you tell me ..


1. how can a boiler be fitted wrong to effect its reliability ..

a list please .

The boiler is twisted, i.e. on a crap wall, putting strain on the internals.
The pipework is tight, putting stress on the internals.
The system hasn't been flush out correctly.
A scale inhibitor hasn't been fitted in a hard water area.
Etc,etc.

2...im tearing my hair out on what one to go for ..it will be a condensing boiler ..but conventional or combie

3. i have the coil immersion tank in the loft ..the rads already in place .....from reading, the condensing conventional ones (non combie) ..have less componants...so will go wrong less often...and when they do i still have my imersion heater to relie on ..is this so in practice.

4. i intend to just have the gas-safe guy..plumb it in and certificate it .....i intend to do all servicing and maintenance myself ...so what's the boiler, that is the most user friendly ..reliable ..and cheap to repair..should it go wrong.

You will need a Gas Safe registered engineer to service and maintain your boiler. Although it's not illegal to work on you own boiler, the law states you must be a COMPETENT PERSON. If you are happy to demonstrate/explain your competency in front of the judge if an accident was to occur, then carry on. Personally i'd stay clear of DIY.... I wouldn't want to risk jail over the price of a boiler service.

will add,..not a boast, but a bit of an assurance, I'm mechanically competent ..have fitted an LPG sequential system to my car had it inspected by the lpga..and it passed with no faults first time.

any other advice greatly appreciated ..

there is a lot going through my head .........buy a 90 percent efficient condensing system ..and loose out on the extra efficiency from the cost of plumbers and spares...im treading very carefully ..the decisions are hard.

all the best.markj

neas

So to summarise this thread... as theres no conclusive evidenece... what would be a good boiler to get (combi condenser) that provides decent flow for a bath or potential shower. Someone mentioned a Baxi 33kw model.. but reading around and asking other people it seems worcester bosch seem to be a good make to get.

Or what about Wiessmann they seem to be agood type?

Anyone have concrete evidence and recommend a model?

Cheers.

noodlepie

Get a Vaillant if not get a Worcester (I thing the Vaillant is more reliable if you get the cheaper one). Forget about the rest or you will pay for it in the long run.
Negotiate a 5 year warranty and fix the price of servicing with the installer, about £45 to £50 is normal. You need to get a yearly service to keep warranties. Its a simple service for a few years but the engineers will check your gas and boiler efficiency. The installer will give you a warranty even if the manufacture will not. After all if they install it it should last 5 years. Also fit a magnaclean or an equivelent magnetic filtration device. If you do this you will have a system which will last for a very long time.
Simple.

aboard_epsilon

noodlepie wrote: »

Get a Vaillant if not get a Worcester (I thing the Vaillant is more reliable if you get the cheaper one). Forget about the rest or you will pay for it in the long run.
Negotiate a 5 year warranty and fix the price of servicing with the installer, about £45 to £50 is normal. You need to get a yearly service to keep warranties. Its a simple service for a few years but the engineers will check your gas and boiler efficiency. The installer will give you a warranty even if the manufacture will not. After all if they install it it should last 5 years. Also fit a magnaclean or an equivelent magnetic filtration device. If you do this you will have a system which will last for a very long time.
Simple.

These Valiants...
Are spares dear and hard to ge hold of .

are they over-complicated

are they easy to work on .

all the best.markj

noodlepie

The spares are resonable and are more importantly standardised throughout the range reducing costs.
They are as complicated as all other combination boilers. They have a digital display so they can display fault code, even on the cheapest Vaillants (Ecotech Pro Range), the cheaper Worcesters do not have this.
Easy to work on? I can't answer that question. What I can say is that engineers like to work with wuality materials and hate working on rubbish. The Vaillants and Worcesters are the best to work on.
The real question is who are you going to let get their greasy fingers on it. I have only met 2 engineers who can fault find on boilers. Ask they for the start up sequence. If they don't know what you are talking about then don't let then near it.

Hope this helps. Noodle

gas4you

Unless you want the boiler in the kitchen, I would go for an ATAG. The rolls royce of all boilers.

I fit predominantly Broag Remeha Avanta Plus boilers. Been fitting about 4-6 a month for ages now. A few problems, but then nothing too bad.

All makes can/will go wrong at some point.

ziggyman99

gas4you wrote: »

Unless you want the boiler in the kitchen, I would go for an ATAG. The rolls royce of all boilers.

I fit predominantly Broag Remeha Avanta Plus boilers. Been fitting about 4-6 a month for ages now. A few problems, but then nothing too bad.

All makes can/will go wrong at some point.

Hi Gas4you
why do you say "Unless you want the boiler in the kitchen"? I had a look at ATAG at this years ECOBUILD. Interesting but not entirely convinced.
I've just quoted on a Remeha and now I read you've had problems.......:( Oh well, hopefully they'll opt for the Viessmann. Never had any problems there.

Cheers
Gra

gas4you

Although the ATAG is the best on the market, it is unfortunately rather large, hence not looking good in a normal kitchen.

The dutch tend to have their boilers in the basement so size is not important to them, although quality is paramount.

My problems with Broag have not been bad enough to stop me fitting them (ok I admit I have a contract with them so I get them very cheap), but I have had more problems with the Vaillant Ecotec Plus (especially pumps failing) than I have had with the Broag.

I look after a few Veissmanns, but to be honest I do not like them and cannot understand why they are rated so highly.

ziggyman99

gas4you wrote: »

Although the ATAG is the best on the market, it is unfortunately rather large, hence not looking good in a normal kitchen.

The dutch tend to have their boilers in the basement so size is not important to them, although quality is paramount.

My problems with Broag have not been bad enough to stop me fitting them (ok I admit I have a contract with them so I get them very cheap), but I have had more problems with the Vaillant Ecotec Plus (especially pumps failing) than I have had with the Broag.

I look after a few Veissmanns, but to be honest I do not like them and cannot understand why they are rated so highly.

Ah OK. Thanks for that. Unusual because the Remeha is Dutch but small and compact. I guess it's built for foreign markets.
What put me off the Atags a little was the design. It's a tad unconventional on the inside.... and a bit untidy too. I guess that's what appealed to me with Viessmann. Nice and neat. You open them up and are not greeted by a mile of spagetti!