Help needed with new boiler quotes and types

jefaz07

agylk said:

I’ve emailed the private guy about the power flush. Let’s see what he says.

So their baxi boiler comes with a 10 years warranty but that’s why they also offered me the main eco compact which is apparently exactly the same as baxi 800 but with a five year warranty instead of 10. I still don’t know if it’s exactly the same. Why is it called compact if it’s the same…

Too many issues pointed out with the 800 guys. I think it’s going to be a no for them. I don’t trust them.

I’ve had a quote with a different guy before and he wanted well over three grand for a Worcester Bosch boiler in my one-bedroom flat with only three radiators. And he came highly recommended as trustworthy… hmmm

It is the same boiler. Few subtle differences though. 

1 being on the Baxi 800 you can pipe up the back of the boiler without a standoff. 

The Main has a plate welded on there so you can’t. 

I give landlords the option of a main for price. They are the same though. 

The boiler doesn’t NEED a power flush. It has to be flushed and cleaned to British Standard 7593 - it’s obviously a better clean however. 

And the BS isn’t a mandatory document either, although the manufacturer dictates it has to be cleaned to that. 

For reference the boiler I fitted last week was an ideal vogue max, nest, all associated pipework and cost £2600. 

jefaz07

Generally the lower warranties are because these companies get the boilers cheap and in high quantity. So as they get the benefit of that they don’t get the warranties. It’s the same as new build estates. They’re generally 2 year warranties on the same boiler I’d get 7. I’d pay more though. 

agylk

My power shower is electric. It’s hot regardless of whether I’ve heated any water or not. I’m not going to remove it because I don’t have the money or energy to be dealing with that. Hard enough to get the boiler replacement done. 

You guys persuaded me to try and get more quotes. Another guy is coming on Monday. Nothing so far sits quite right with me. The 800 guys are a definite no now. 

In terms of the warranty, if I take a 10 year warranty, it will cost me £500-£800 over that time period to pay for yearly maintenance that is requisite to maintain the warranty so I’m not sure I’m not bothered about 10 years. 

agylk

Do I need to worry about the back of the boiler? I don’t really understand what that means.

If they are the same, I’d rather have the main eco one with five years warranty because it’s cheaper.

 

victor2

agylk said:

My power shower is electric. It’s hot regardless of whether I’ve heated any water or not. I’m not going to remove it because I don’t have the money or energy to be dealing with that. Hard enough to get the boiler replacement done. 

You guys persuaded me to try and get more quotes. Another guy is coming on Monday. Nothing so far sits quite right with me. The 800 guys are a definite no now. 

In terms of the warranty, if I take a 10 year warranty, it will cost me £500-£800 over that time period to pay for yearly maintenance that is requisite to maintain the warranty so I’m not sure I’m not bothered about 10 years. 

So it's an electric shower, not necessarily a "power shower". Just terminology, but that is what confused people.

You really should have a gas boiler serviced every year, regardless of the need to maintain a warranty or not. If you are saying you would not have a boiler serviced for 10 years, you are running a risk. Amongst other things, a service checks for potentially deadly CO emissions.

Bendy_House

agylk said:

My power shower is electric.

You guys persuaded me to try and get more quotes. Another guy is coming on Monday. Nothing so far sits quite right with me.

Thanks for clarifying about the shower. That's fine - it can remain as it is, and the combi won't have any effect on that.

Can I ask - do you want baths too? If 'no', then I'd direct you towards 25kW combis as that will suit your purpose just fine. Ie, more than enough power for your rads, and more than enough hot water power to run your taps.

If, however, you do still have regular baths, I think you'll find a 25kW combi quite painful to watch it fill! In which case, going up to 30kW could be a good move (it'll still almost certainly be slow compared with your old hot cylinder, tho').

Bendy_House

agylk said:

In terms of the warranty, if I take a 10 year warranty, it will cost me £500-£800 over that time period to pay for yearly maintenance that is requisite to maintain the warranty so I’m not sure I’m not bothered about 10 years. 

That's a very fair point, and is why I asked earlier on if you are the sort of person to have your boiler serviced each year in any case? Some folk do, religiously. Others don't at all - they just wait for it to go wrong! And then there are folk who will leave it for 2 or 3 years between servicing.

So you don't go for annual services?!

jefaz07

agylk said:

Do I need to worry about the back of the boiler? I don’t really understand what that means.

If they are the same, I’d rather have the main eco one with five years warranty because it’s cheaper.

 

If the pipes don’t currently run up behind the boiler then no. 

I’ve also known of people just cut them out and pipe it up anyway. 

But honestly, they are the same. 

agylk

I never have baths.

I haven’t had my boiler serviced at all. Not since I’ve moved here. I’ve had so many things happen in life, honestly I just couldn’t deal with anything else. Trying to sort it out now. I wasn’t planning on servicing a new boiler every single year. It ends up costing a lot of money. Every two or three years would seem sensible. 

so I’ve just had a third quote from a local guy. He will email me the exact number but he said it will be around £3200. Wow. 

Bendy_House

Where are you, Agy? These quotes do seem high.

Since you don't have baths, I would recommend you do look at the slightly smaller combis of around 25kW rating. These will give you plenty of hot water from a tap, a perfectly fine shower should you ever fit a shower mixer instead of your electric shower (in fact, even a 25kW combi will be more than twice as good in the 'wetting' department!), and it should also be a little cheaper, and be more suited to your low number of radiators.

I don't know if someone on here can recommend a GasSafe if you tell us roughly where you are?

As regards servicing, that has to be your call. I would personally, tho' have it serviced for the initial warranty periods - the suggested 2-odd years or whatevs - so you are fully covered for that at least. And then perhaps less often if you like after that, say every three years for peace of mind? But your call.