Which Boiler? Powerflush needed? V Confused!

rajanm

Hi all,

Our 15 year old boiler has finally given up the ghost and so we're getting quotes for a new Combi boiler to take its place.

We've just had a visit from an engineer who is an accredited Viessman installer. He said they're great boilers which have a 10 year warranty. I hadn't heard of them before so I wondered what everyone thinks of them?

The 2nd thing is that the aforementioned engineer has also said that we don't need to power flush our system before installing a new boiler. He said it isn't required for the Viessman warranty and we would just be wasting our money - he also said we don't really need a magnaclean either.

We had someone come over a couple of days ago who recommended a Worcester Bosch boiler, a power flush, magna clean and even a limescale filter.

We found both guys via checkatrade. The Viessman engineer had a pretty incredible rating of 9.95 out of 10 (out of 150 reviews) while the Worcester Bosch guy had a rating of 9.79 (again out of around 150 reviews).

We're still planning to get a couple more quotes but I'm really confused. What is the best brand and should we powerflush and get the magna clean installed?

Cardew

Viessman are very well known in Germany(where I lived) and have an excellent reputation there as well as here in the UK. They are highly rated in Which as well.

I have recently had two fitted, a conventional boiler for the main house and a combi in an annex. They were installed by a accredited agent who also fits Worcester Bosch. My Viessmann boilers have a standard 5 year warranty, which can be extended for a further 5 years for £175(I think) which I took out. The warranty is dependant on an annual service.

Both my boilers had a magnetic CH filter and a limescale inhibitor and, from the quote and invoice, 'a flush of the CH system to conform with boiler warranty conditions' So that totally contradicts what your Viesmann installer has 'verbally' stated.

I suggest you phone the service department at Viessmann on 01952 675060 for their ruling.

Obviously nothing has yet gone wrong, and the main impression is how small and quiet they are compared to the boilers they replaced.

rajanm

Well interestingly I have just received the engineer's quote and he mentions that he will flush the system with mains water- i wonder if that's enough to conform to the warranty conditions?

lisa110rry

In June we had a Vaillant Ecotek boiler fitted. Quiet as a mouse. This new boiler replaced a 29 year old Vaillant combi boiler. Just a thought...

G_M

Can't comment on the boilers, but for my two-pennies-worth I'd ignore checkatrade ratings.

This is a commercial website, run to make profit. There are seeral similar websites and you have no way of knowing if the reviews are genuine or posted by the companes themselves.

There have also been suggestions in the press about negative reviews being suppressed, since websites like this depend on the companies which participate for their income.....

Use an impartial website like

http://trustedtraders.which.co.uk/

http://www.tradingstandards.uk/advice/approved-traders.cfm

thozza

Powerflushing is different from a system flush.

Powerflushing is a procedure used to try and restore underperforming central heating systems to a better condition using a special pump and chemicals, it has a somewhat mixed reputation and can be costly see:-

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/interiors/jeffhowell/7760467/Home-improvements-heating-system-powerflush.html

System flushing is normally done when a new boiler is installed, an additive is flushed with water through the system and left for several hours before the system is reflushed with fresh water, the aim is to remove sediment etc. from the system, for example:-

http://www.fernox.com/problem+solving/how+to+sheets/cleaning+a+central+heating+system

G_M

Hmmmmm...
The key (only?) difference between a power flush and a system flush is the pressure of the water used.

A system flush relies on gravity draining the syttem from the bottom and re-filling from the top (with or without chemicals).

A powerflush (as the name implies) involves a pump forcing water through the system ( draining from the pump, with or without chemicals).

In both cases, rust, debris, sediment is removed, but with a powerflush it is more effective.

With a thorough powerflush, all but one of the radiators will be turned off, thus forcing all the water through one rad, and cleaning that under maximum pressure. Then that rad is turned off and another turned on, and so on, till each rad has been thoroughly cleaned.

With a most thorough powerflush, the pump will be reversed on each rad in turn, since reversing the direction of flow will dislodge even more gunk. Hence the cost of a powerflush will vary depending which technique is used and thus how much time it takes.

The main risk with a powerflush is that it can open up leaks if there are weak points (perhaps due to rust, or simply joints that have loosened) in the system.

Different boiler manufactures will specify different requirements (power or system flush) to validate their warranties. The purpose of course is to ensure that rust/sediment in the old pipework/rads is not circulated into the new boiler.

jcollier

Hi all , i am in need of a combi boiler i have had some wired and wonderful quotes in fact 8 and they all differ, My main problem is what is the best boiler out there which will do the job for the money . The boilers at the moment i have been offered are Baxi , Worcester 30 i , Worcester 25i , Vaillant Pro 28 , Vaillant 30 K ErP, ideal logic combi 30 ,
Any advice would be appreciated i have no hot water or heating so need to make a decision quickly .The quotes range from £5,600 too £2,445.73 any help ????