Urgent Boiler Help!

littlemissfavored

Does any one know of grants/ help for boilers, Warmfront only seems to do it now if you get Disability allowance.

or can anyone advice on a reputable company e.g. nPower or other major companies (not British Gas) I am based in London.

I need the best, at the best price
Thanks

macman

nPower a reputable company? Shurely shome mishtake here?
'Best price' means using an independent local GSR RGI, not a national. Get 3 quotes and see how they compare.
If your budget is tight then 'the best' may not be the right option for you.

Jscott

Macmans right. Although you may think going with a national company guarantees good quality work, you'll find that you get the same quality with local firms, only often you get the added benefit of better customer service. If you go with a national company you cease to be a person and become a number, this can be a big problem if your boiler breaks down :doh:

Your best bet is to save the thousands (and I mean thousands - as this is often the mark up price with national companies) and use that money to invest in a better make of boiler fitted locally. I'd suggest avoiding makes like Ideal and instead opt for Worcesters. They often come with the best reviews.

Whatever you do check the reviews of the boilers online before you decide. Some makes are just false economy.:mad:

Pincher

My regular guy is cheap but not too great with modern stuff,
and I have to keep an eye on things continuously, otherwise all sorts of bizarre things happen. Fortunately everything is usually on the internet, so I can work it out and get him to do it properly.
His welding is very good, but you really have to know quite a bit to use him effectively.

Try:


http://www.ciphe.org.uk/Find-a-Plumber/

I used a guy from CIPHE, when my regular guy was away.
£400+VAT for a day's work, on top of materials. Good standard of work, but the short comings of being a one man band like tools, spare parts was there. I brought the drain hose, in case he didn't have one: HE DIDN'T. We needed a manual on/off 3/4" valve because the old one leaked: I had to rush out to get one.

There are some constraints to being a one man band, constant break-ins into the van and tool shed means theyt don't want to keep expensive tools and parts around. I think the family sized operation with extra hands to take calls and source parts is a better set up.

littlemissfavored

Jscott wrote: »

Macmans right. Although you may think going with a national company guarantees good quality work, you'll find that you get the same quality with local firms, only often you get the added benefit of better customer service. If you go with a national company you cease to be a person and become a number, this can be a big problem if your boiler breaks down :doh:

Your best bet is to save the thousands (and I mean thousands - as this is often the mark up price with national companies) and use that money to invest in a better make of boiler fitted locally. I'd suggest avoiding makes like Ideal and instead opt for Worcesters. They often come with the best reviews.

Whatever you do check the reviews of the boilers online before you decide. Some makes are just false economy.:mad:

Thank you guys, your advice is treasured.
I would really love to go with local businesses. But I really dont know where to start.

The quotes from BG(£3800) & NPower (£4200) are too steep for me. They both recommended Valiant Ecotec.
my neighbour used a local guy and it was disastrous. Really don't know where to start.

HELP(It's beginning to get cold)!!!!!!!!

littlemissfavored

Could you please advise on which quality is best - Valiant Ecotech, Worcester Jnr. or Baxi (all combi)?

vikingaero

We had a Vaillant installed this year. The installer recommended it over the Worcester, although he said there wasn't much in it. He said one small reason for his preference was that the Vaillant tended to flush the condensate periodically like a toilet whereas the Worcester did so by a constant drip which led to so many breakdowns last year/beginning of this year. But the main reason for going for the Vaillant was that our installer was Vaillant accredited which meant that we got a 5 year guarantee instead of 2/3 years.

sanders78

We've found Glow-worm to be very reasonable and reliable for boiler installation, there's an installer finder thingy on their website too, think you can find an installer near to you on their website if you wanted to speak to someone there

MoneySavingMole

WorcesterBosch, Potterton & Vaillant are the leading brands in the UK

Other reputable brands are;
Glow-worm (part of the Vaillant Group)
Baxi & Main (part of the Potterton Group)
Alpha

It all boils down to how much you have to spend, and what you want from your system.

You can have a boiler installed for £1000 and it will be basic, probably die within 10 years and not save you a great deal on utility bills.
Alternatively, you could spend £3000-4000 and have a much better installation, which will benefit you in the long run.

Too many people shoot 'national' companies down, saying they are over-priced and so on, but there are certain things national companies account for, one of which is making sure you get the right boiler for your needs, and making sure it is installed correctly.

Local engineers are readily available all over the country. A good local engineer is hard to find.

G_M

BlueMoonMole wrote: »

....
Too many people shoot 'national' companies down, saying they are over-priced and so on, but there are certain things national companies account for, one of which is making sure you get the right boiler for your needs, and making sure it is installed correctly.

Local engineers are readily available all over the country. A good local engineer is hard to find.

National companies are no better at "making sure you get the right boiler for your needs" OR "making sure it is installed correctly".

There are many good local engineers. Many of them initially trained with/worked for the Nationals but got fed up with the money-wasting burocracy, and limits imposed on the time/quality of what they are allowed to devote to individual customers etc, so went independant.

I agree it's hard identifying the good ones, except form personal experience or recomendation, but then with a National it's hit or miss whether you get a good engineer or not - they vary too!

If you have no option but to stick a pin in the Yellow Pages or pick at random from the GasSafe (or OFTEC) register, you can always ask for names of satisfied local customers. Refusal (pleading data protection no doubt) rings alarm bells.