Recommendations for a Combi Boiler

[brianm]

Just don't go with the Alpha, they really are "low end"

[Asterix]

We had Glow-worm in the past...avoid (faulty and crap customer service who tried to wriggle out of fixing).

Am taking notes for new house though: -

Vaillant

Worcester-Bosch

Baxi

Viessman

[John Williams (Panda) - Joint Manchester AO]

We had Glow-worm in the past...avoid (faulty and crap customer service who tried to wriggle out of fixing).

Am taking notes for new house though: -

Vaillant

Worcester-Bosch

Baxi

Viessman

in herited a sanuer duvall - a rebadged glow worm....  

fixed it and hoping for another 12 months out of it and then get a new one.

cheers

john

[markh1970]

We have a Worcester-Bosch, cannot fault.

But go with British Gas Homecare, serviced every year, and parts included in price.

Worth it in the long run, as they always pack up in the depths of winter.

[Man On The Clapham Omnibus]

Consider whether a combi is really what you want. If you have a family many installers will discourage you from a combi in favour of a system (ordinary stored hot water) type. Combis have their drawbacks; personally I hate the damned things from experience of two in relatives' houses. They deliver 'virtual' hot water and only if you fiddle with the taps. Condensing boilers are now mandatory unfortunately. I have a 1971 Potterton floor standing boiler (which works a treat) and I would never live long enough to get my money back on a modern boiler so it stays.

[glenbo]

Hi I work for the company with the blue flame and my job is to repair boilers. Don't go down the alpha route save a bit longer and get a vaillant or a Worcester greenstar. I think since the greenstar has been out I have only ever replaced one pcb and that's only because an led had blown( boiler still worked).

Hope this helps Glenn

[RedditchJay]

Baxi SOLO but I think several boilers have one parent company

[PeP]

Hi I work for the company with the blue flame and my job is to repair boilers. Don't go down the alpha route save a bit longer and get a vaillant or a Worcester greenstar. I think since the greenstar has been out I have only ever replaced one pcb and that's only because an led had blown( boiler still worked).

Hope this helps Glenn

Thanks for the input guys.

Glenn,seeing as it's your trade  

How would either of the following suit, it's a 3 bed semi with 2 adults and one child.

Our bathroom fitter quoted me £1460 to supply and fit a 28kw Alpha(no model number    ) and I thought I could improve on that by supplying my own.

Vaillant ecoTEC Pro 28

Greenstar junior 28i

Both seem to me to be better value.

Thanks again for all your help.

P.S. bearing in mind the post below would the 30kw be a better choiceGreenstar 30CDi

[brianm]

Consider whether a combi is really what you want. If you have a family many installers will discourage you from a combi in favour of a system (ordinary stored hot water) type. Combis have their drawbacks; personally I hate the damned things from experience of two in relatives' houses. They deliver 'virtual' hot water and only if you fiddle with the taps. Condensing boilers are now mandatory unfortunately. I have a 1971 Potterton floor standing boiler (which works a treat) and I would never live long enough to get my money back on a modern boiler so it stays.

This is what happens when you get the builder installed combis, and lots use Alpha unfortunately. The output into the HW circuit is simply not good enough and as you say you get a trickle of reasonably HW. BUT if you oversize/overspec the HW requirement you will get more than enough output. We recently fitted one, a worcester in our daughters 4 bed house. You can fill a bath perfectly normally, and run the shower at the sametime, but we went 50% over spec

The big disadvantage of a combi boiler is the dead leg effect, compounded by the fact that there is a tendancy to retrofit the boiler in the loft to give additional space. This sometimes means running off loads of cold water to get hot

[ajl124]

Check the prices with this company , I have used them for my last two boilers.

http://www.mrcentralheating.com/

If you go down the combi route get the highest flow rate (12 litre plus) for hot water so when you are in the shower and someone turns on the hot tap your shower doesn't turn to a trickle!

Andy

[MARTIN T]

I work for British Gas and vote for the Worcester

every time, vaillant were good but since their merge with Gloworm I think they have gone down hill a little but that is my opinion

[David H]

had a baxi 105e combi for 5 years in last house with no probs. Current house i've got a 105he(condensing boiler) its been in over a year and been spot on so far touch wood.

.

same here, have just fitted a  he baxi, we have a decent size 4 bedroom house and it is currently  running 15 radiators (all downstairs are big doubles ) without a problem, from memory the price for the boiler  new was just over £400 last year plus a reasonable  £60 to get it fitted  

60 to get it fitted! you must have been owed a favour.

I have a worcester 28 junior, its excellent.. We fit Worcesters all the time. Great boilers

[JeffC]

60 to get it fitted! you must have been owed a favour.

I thought it was expensive!

couple of hours and he was done, b****y plumbers make nearly as much money as  b****y tyre fitters      

[MARTIN T]

60 to get it fitted! you must have been owed a favour.

I thought it was expensive!

couple of hours and he was done, b****y plumbers make nearly as much money as  b****y tyre fitters      

I wish, I am a poor plumber

[brianm]

Check the prices with this company , I have used them for my last two boilers.

http://www.mrcentralheating.com/

If you go down the combi route get the highest flow rate (12 litre plus) for hot water so when you are in the shower and someone turns on the hot tap your shower doesn't turn to a trickle!

Andy

The last one we did had a rating of 19ltrs/min into the hot water, that worked