Old boiler broke down - tips for getting a new one?

andre_xs

Dear All,
we used to rent so far, but bought a house 6 years ago. The boiler which was in the house when we bought it (an old Ideal HE24) broke down now and we are considering replacing it.

However, we have no experience at all how to best go about it. It's rather easy, it was a combi boiler, and we'd like to replace it with a combi boiler at the same location. It's a 2-bed terraced house with one bathroom, so a small 24-27 kW combi boiler will do.

Is it better to go for local companies and get a couple of quotes?

Anything to watch out for, for example, is it important that they are certified by the manufacturer of the boiler (like, get a Viessmann certified engineer to install a Viessmann boiler)?

What about getting a boiler directly from/via British Gas? (I ran the online quote, came out with roughly £2600 - £2900 for Worcester / Ariston / Ideal boilers incl installation; we're London area)

Any other tips, things to look out for?

Best wishes,

Andre

Clive_Woody

Avoid British Gas.

 Get a couple of quotes from local installers, but be aware this is busy season when people are putting their heating on and like you finding problems. It's worth checking if your boiler can be fixed before considering replacing it.

ThisIsWeird

Tip one - do not use BG.
Two - emphasise tip one
BG have a reputation for being exploitative and over priced.
A local, reputable, GasSafe would be ideal, but you should also consider larger groups such as Boxt (and others - folks will suggest them - I'm not really familiar with this.)
In essence, tho', you should look for a solid manufacturer's warranty of around a decade, and this will usually involve you having to use an 'authorised' fitter for that make.
Altho' your home is smaller, I suggest you don't want a too-small size, as it directly correlates with DHW flow rate. So if you like a decent shower, then go 27kW or even a little larger, and not 24. That's my advice - the decision is yours. (If you, say, use an electric shower, that suggestion is moot! But, a 24kW jobbie will deliver painfully slow hot water rates for baths and such. Perfectly fine for 'taps' such as kitchen and bathroom, tho'.)

badmemory

For supplier I will give you a clue.  BG almost £5k.  Local installer over £2k.  Actually done by a referal from a local installer to someone who had not worked for a couple of years due to family problems under £2k.

Warslet

Agree with above in respect of getting at least 3 quotes. I had a new boiler fitted in July of this year and changed from a vented system to an unvented system. Amazing difference in water flow for taps and the shower. My other option was a Combi boiler which would have been suitable. I used a local tradesperson after getting fairly similar quotes and after checking was qualified to do the job. Avoided BG as know them to be more expensive. 

43722

Also used a reputable local company. Changed from conventional to Combi, and changed location, so I paid more. Installed and now maintained by the local company,  backed by a 12 year guarantee and a service contract. All good so far. However, if i had needed to pay in instalments, i might have used BG.

FreeBear

ThisIsWeird said: Altho' your home is smaller, I suggest you don't want a too-small size, as it directly correlates with DHW flow rate. So if you like a decent shower, then go 27kW or even a little larger, and not 24. That's my advice - the decision is yours. (If you, say, use an electric shower, that suggestion is moot! But, a 24kW jobbie will deliver painfully slow hot water rates for baths and such. Perfectly fine for 'taps' such as kitchen and bathroom, tho'.)

Yes, do get the boiler matched to the cold water flow rate - I had a Viessmann 30KW combi installed during the summer. Measured the cold water flow at 10l/min and have in mind to install a booster pump at some time. Currently, the boiler runs at aound 55-60% of full load to heat the water. Could probably have got away with a 25KW boiler based on the data so far... Come the winter and colder cold water temperature, the boiler is going to have to work harder, so I'll hold off on the final opinion until next spring.

Aside from cold water flow rate, the two main things to look at is the minimum heat output for central heating and the length of any warranty.

The Viessmann 050 will modulate down to 3.2KW which means it should just tick over keeping the house warm. If it couldn't go that low, the boiler would be constantly cycling on/off which puts stress on the internal components and reduce its life (as well as impacting on energy efficiency).

andre_xs

Thanks to all comments so far, so we'll look for a local company with good reputation. Luckily the boiler is working again now, so we seem to have a bit more time and don't need to pay an 'emergency fee' or something like this.

The comment with minimum heat output is valuable as well, thanks a lot.

We currently have 24 kW and we're fine with cold and hot water supply, pressure is good. But of course we could aim for the 'upper end' of the common 24 - 27 kW range. But we surely don't need a class higher (like 35kW or so).

flo22

I got 2 local quotes and did a BOXT quote and the BOXT was substantially cheaper.   My own plumber (who provided one of my quotes) recommended going with BOXT as he has serviced some of their installs and said they were very good.

The whole process with BOXT was brilliant and the fitter was done in about 4 hours I would definitely recommend them.  Boiler was fitted 2 days after I did the quote

Mutton_Geoff

andre_xs said:

Thanks to all comments so far, so we'll look for a local company with good reputation. Luckily the boiler is working again now, so we seem to have a bit more time and don't need to pay an 'emergency fee' or something like this.

If you've been in the house 6 years, have you ever had the boiler serviced? By doing this, not only will you stay safe but you will get to know plumbers, many who install as well as service. There is a reason rental properties require an annual check.

If it's not been serviced, then you're lucky it's lasted 6 years.

Eldi_Dos

It is common for cars to give a reminder when oil change and service is due, surprising that this function does not seem to be widely available on boilers.Although I have seen landlord function on some controls.
I agree annual service should be included in everybody's budget.