Time for a new Boiler

cb1979

Our existing Boiler is a Baxi which was installed in 1998,yes 25 years old but still working well, had a few replacement parts over the years, 1 PCB, 3 fans and a few services
I have drained and flushed the system on a regular basis and always added a corrosion inhibiter 
Still works ok but we both feel we are going to need it replacing as we cannot be far from an expensive breakdown

Had 4 local company's round for quotes
Our boiler is in a tall upstairs  cupboard so an easy swap for a new Boiler
3 have suggested either a Worcester Bosch or a Vaillant 18kw heat only boiler with only a chemical flush
The 4th Suggested an Ideal logic max 2 18kw and he will do a power flush in the price
All have 10 year guarantees 
All the quotes are within £300 of each other, the Ideal quote is in the middle
Read a few reviews and the Worcester Bosch and Vaillant score well
The Ideal boilers do not fare so well, many customers seem to praise their repair teams which to me suggests they are not the most reliable 

Thank you for any experience's and recommendations 
     

Albermarle

Whenever you ask this question, you get different answers.
I have a WB and have had two gasafe engineers around recently ( not because the boiler broke down) and one said WB was always their recommended make, and the other one said they were not much good.....

jennifernil

We have Vaillant boilers in our Guide Hall, 2 are about 8 years old and the third is 2 years old, never been any problems with them.

At home we have a heat only  Viessmann Vitodens 100 , only 20 months  old, but has a 12 year warranty.   We have the same, but smaller version in our granny flat too, 6 months old.     Very pleased with them.

Went for them  as they have stainless steel heat exchangers.

 Both replaced 34-35 year old Pottertons, both still working, never needed any repairs, but now too inefficient for today's gas prices! 

FreeBear

Albermarle said: Whenever you ask this question, you get different answers.

I like my Viessmann 050 Combi - Seems to be quite efficient and quiet most of the time. Not had it long, so can't comment on the reliability, but it has a fairly good reputation. However, a friend has had a Viessmann installed a couple of years back. It developed a fault last November, and despite having had engineers out to fix it under warranty several times, they are still without any heating.

Worcester Bosch has an excellent reputation for reliability and fixing faults under warranty - Just be careful with exactly which model you go for. Whilst you want a decent output for heating water, the minimum output is also important. With modern intelligent thermostats, the heat output will be dialed back to match the heat loss of the building. If the boiler can't go low enough, it starts to short cycle which is inefficient and increases wear on some of the internal components. The Greenstar 4000 is good in that it will modulate down to 2KW (for the 15S model), whilst the Greenstar 15Ri will only go down to 4.6KW (5.5KW of the 18Ri). At the lower end of heat output, the efficiency could be as high as 98% compared to 87% at full load (depending on flow/return temperature).

If you are having a new gas boiler installed, do consider fitting larger radiators so that you can run at a lower flow temperature. This will enable you to squeeze a bit more efficiency out of the system and also future proof yourself for the day heat pumps are the only viable replacement.

SVaz

Viessman are quite ‘niche’ so you need an engineer familiar with them,  of 500 or so services/repairs  this last 12 months,  I’ve only seen 3.
WB are easy to fit and work on, from a trade pov, Vaillant not far behind.   Warranties are good on both and an accredited engineer should be able to get a longer warranty, I’ve done training courses with both.  Once out of warranty,  they have very reasonable fixed price repairs,  I can’t usually beat the cost and always inform the customer of that option, they normally come out quickly too and will replace up to 3 major parts for that price. 

JohnB47

Had two WB boilers in the last 23 years. First one lasted 19 years. Always happy. We have a 12 year warranty on our current one. Never bothered with regular servicing on our first one (lots of money saved!) but now do for our second, partly because of warranty protection, partly because we are less risk averse.

SVaz

Yes,  £80ish a year is a small price to pay to keep the warranty.  

They will forgive you going a few months over for a service but that’s it.
WB also need seals and electrodes changing every 5 years, costs around £150 -  do that and you should get 15-20 years from the boiler, especially now magnetic filters are compulsory with all new boilers. 

FreeBear

SVaz said: Viessman are quite ‘niche’ so you need an engineer familiar with them

Viessmann is a major player in Europe, and have a growing reputation in the UK domestic market. Whilst perhaps not as well known as say Baxi, Ideal, or WB, I wouldn't call them "niche" - For that, you want to look at Navien (Korean) or Intergas (Netherlands).

cb1979

Thanks for all the replies
Much useful information and tips regarding boiler manufactures , Rad size and  aftersales service etc

gazfocus

We had a logic boiler in our house which was in when we bought it. While it’s considered a ‘budget brand’ in terms of boilers, it never gave us much of an issue in the 9 years we lived in the house. It was only when our first set of tenants wouldn’t allow us access to get the boiler repaired when it did start dropping temperature that resulted in the boiler being condemned when we the tenants moved out. We ended up putting another Logic boiler back in (didn’t want to spend a lot on the boiler as we were planning to sell the house). 

Given the choice if I was living in the house though, I’d go for a Worcester Bosch. 

knightstyle

Just make sure the boiler is installed as required to get the 19 year guarantee.   We only got 2 years with Worcester Bosch as we had a grant to cover some cost.  BUT they do not tell you that until after it is fitted so get it in writing that your installation will have the 10 year guarantee.