Boilers at B and Q

[JavaEnquirer]

I'm looking to upgrade my old boiler to a condensing combi and replace

10 radiators. I've had a number of plumbers in giving me quotes, one as high as £4500. One however told me to go to B and Q and pick up a Ravenheat boiler pack - 87,000 BTU 11 litres per second, complete with 7 radiators ( and thermostatic valves ). Factor in the extra three rads I need and the 10% OAP discount, it seems I can get the whole lot for pretty much bang on a grand.

Does any one have experience of these packs. The price seems great, but what of the quality. I haven't heard Ravenheat.

[John Stumbles]

How long do you want the boiler to last? Ravenheat are certainly cheaper than, say, Worcester-Bosch or Vaillant but it's like whether you buy, say, a Bosch, Siemens or Miele washing machine rather than a cheaper brand. The cheaper model _may_ last as long and require as little repair, and when it packs up you just buy a new one and the suppliers will bring it round and install it for you for little or no extra cost. However replacing a boiler is much more expensive (apart from the cost of the boiler itself) so I'd really suggest getting a good one despite the extra cost.

At the moment Worcester-Bosch and Vaillant (and maybe Gloworm?) seem to be mainstream manufacturers with good products whereas the traditional safe buys Potterton and possibly Ideal have rather tarnished reputations in recent years. I'll put on my fireproof overalls now as there's likely to be a flame war starting :-)

[.]

all good advice, the biasi boilers at B&Q are also worth a punt. given the savings to be had at B&Q the OP could make, it would not be too daft to build in the /potential/ cost of a new boiler in 6 years time, *if* a "cheap" boiler *does* fail, which is unlikely.

most plumbers I know buy heating packs from B&Q due to the price. seems that merchants can't match the buying power of B&Q.

if the OP can wait until easter I'm certain that there will be a 20% off everything special offer which will bring the price right down. and he would be advised to get the honest plumber who told him about B&Q to install the system. see if he will take £750 cash for the install, if he does, go for it.

hth

[Owain]

The problem doing it this way would be if something goes wrong and the plumber says it's a boiler fault and B&Q say it's the plumber's fault.

If you get the plumber to supply and fit everything then he has full responsibility for making sure the system works as a whole.

Owain

[JavaEnquirer]

A lot of the plumbers I've spoken to also mention Baxi, I thought these were well respected too, but presumably not as much as Worcester-Bosch and Vaillant.

[.]

a plumber honest enough to point the OP towards a heat pack from B&Q is unlikely to lie about a faulty part. (yoda)

[John Stumbles]

Sorry forgot to mention: they're part of Potterton now and AFAIK share their current reputation for lack of reliability.

TBH it's a bad time to be replacing a boiler: prices of good condensing boilers are still almost as high as when they were a premium choice, and of course most of the condensing boilers on the market are fairly new so it's quite possible that, say, Worcester-Bosch's new condensing range may have problems much as Potterton's recent standard-efficiency designs have.

[Ian Stirling]

Wheras B&Q never lie, and are complete experts on plumbing, able to assess, simply on looking at you, if it's been installed correctly.

[.]

the same can be said for any of the merchants/suppliers I've used but, ateotd, a defective part is a defective part. (me)

[.]

addendum: in fact, I'd say that B&Q's returns policy is far *better* than any merchants /because/ of the fact that there are no 'experts' there who are able to contradict a customer. every time I've returned anything the B&Q the young lady at the dedicated returns desk has only been interested in the reciept and not the reason for return.

think about it.

[Ian Stirling]

The problem is not that B&Q, or the plumber are dishonest. The problem is that if it goes wrong, there is no clear liable party.

If you hand the plumber the money, and say "build me a central heating system", then it's entirely his problem if it doesn't work. If his suppliers claim that the heating doesn't work properly due to his installation, that's his responsability. If you buy the bits, and hand it to him, it can end up with no clear responsibility on who should get your heating working.

[.]

of course there is. the OP calls the plumber and the plumber calls B&Q

only in a pessimistic (glass half empty) world. the OPs plumber was honest enough to point the OP to B&Q for a heat pack so I would optimistically (glass half full) suggest that the plumber is on the level.

you may think differently but in the absence of any evidence I'l stay on the sunny side of the street and advise the OP to do the same ;-)

[Ian Stirling]

And (potentially) B&Q says it's the plumbers fault, whereas the plumber says it's B&Qs fault. Then what do you do?

[.]

the install _will_ go fine and the boiler would run flawlessly for a number of years* and the OP can spend the money saved on a back up service plan when the standard warranty of the boiler runs out.

cheer up, Ian.

*the most likely scenario

[Will]

I think you'll find that Potterton are a part of Baxi - Baxi bought Potterton when Blue Circle Industries put them up for sale.

Sorry for being pedantic...

[daddyfreddy]

It's between the plumber and the boiler manufacturer, not B&Q.

My experience with manufacturers, just with self-installs, has been very good. Always helpful and willing to overlook small mistakes.

To the OP, I'd have a look at the Biasi boilers rather than Ravenheat. B&Q also do them.

[.]

I've got a biasi, with the 20% off bonanza I got it and the flue for about £450 and bunged BiL £100 to hook it up and do a drop test , I mean do a "tightness test" and sign it off. mostly stainless workings, cheap, efficient and very quiet.

recommended

[Keith D]

10 radiators. I've had a number of plumbers in giving me quotes, one as high as ?4500. One however told me to go to B and Q and pick up a Ravenheat boiler pack - 87,000 BTU 11 litres per second, complete with 7 radiators ( and thermostatic valves ). Factor in the extra three rads I need and the 10% OAP discount, it seems I can get the whole lot for pretty much bang on a grand.

Does any one have experience of these packs. The price seems great, but what of the quality. I haven't heard Ravenheat.

[daddyfreddy]

You're very lucky IMO. If I was B&Q I wouldn't have offered a replacement either. The usual practice is to contact the manufacturer and they will send an engineer out to rectify the fault, if they can't solve it on the phone. Why go through the hassle of removing the boiler and installing another when you can sit back and let the manufacturers sort it?

[EricP]

What is "usual practice"?

He bought an item from a retail store that was defective. The manufacturer could have denied any responsibility, because they didn't sell him the boiler directly.

His recourse in law is with B&Q, not the manufacturer.

He followed the normal practice for a consumer purchase and was rejected by the vendor, which is against the consumer law in this country.