New rads and pipes installed last year to an ageing Wicks boiler Would like to put in a new one either in same position or garage (directly below) Whats the boiler of choice at the moment?
1960's Semi, 3 bed. TIA
Suggest you try:
David
oooh ta!
I think most people, myself included, would just like a definitive recommendation to a make or model rather than a general treatise on the ins and outs. The most important thing I suspect is which makes are most reliable. I still have no idea.
Dave Baker coughed up some electrons that declared:
I'm looking at Viessmann based on odd snippets from this group, reading around the intrawebtubes and reading the blurb on the manufacturer's website.
I haven't got one yet, but they look fairly solid. They do have one or two restrictions in the datasheet that, say, Worcester Bosch don't, such as a requirement for water pressure at the boiler (open vented type) to be 0.2 bar = about 2m head to tank.
If not Viessmann, I might look at Worcester Bosch next.
Perhaps some design goals from the OP would be useful: eg is it an open vented system or sealed; is Vass looking for cheap or long life[1]; small compact model or don't care?
And most importantly, what fuel (LPG, nat gas or oil)?.
Cheers
Tim
[1] in which case, rephrasing the question to something like: "Which make goes wrong the least?" might attract some useful answers - there's at least 3 CORGI chaps here plus everyone else's personal experiences.
I've been reading the 'Which Boiler' threads for the last 3 years or so, as I knew mine was going to need changing. The stock answer was/is Worcester/Bosch. Then someone (Geoff?) reported a lot of circuit board failures as they reached ~5 years old. In my quest for a boiler, I was doing a straight swap, combi for combi. So, did I go for the supposedly better quality offerings at £750, or the cheap one at £300? I went with the cheapy, £330 inc. flue from B+Q, a Heatline Viso (it then was reduced to £270ish for a few weeks, then went up to £399). My thinking was that the previous Alpha had cost £800ish 10 years ago, and had failed on 4 or 5 occasions, and was needing more repairs. At £330 for a new boiler, if it lasted me five years without breakdowns, it would be worth it.
In the 4 months I have had it , it has been flawless. Certainly noisier that the old Alpha, and a poorer design, as it doesnt have space to hide the pipes behind the boiler, but, for the money, it is fine. Obviously if you need to pay someone to fit it, then you would have extra install costs, so it may not be such a bargain, but as I DIY, it is certainly cost effective for me. Alan.
So Dave, what's the car of choice at the moment :-?
That'll be at least four different makes then from just the pros!
I myself would use different makes for different circumstances. Depending on flue easy or not, combi or not, sealed primary or not.
We tend to like ones that we've seen a lot of and/or installed a lot of, a model which is unrepairable i.e there are just so many things wrong and when you fix one fault then something else goes wrong soon gets a poor mark in my book.
Stock faults are not as bad as you might think for counting against a model.
I fit Worcester Bosch, generally 24i Juniors (combis). As decent boilers go they're reasonably priced and, although the details of case fixings etc are annoyingly poorly thought out I think the basic design (especially heat exchangers) is sound. Unlike Poxi-Batterton they don't have a reputation for shafting their customers (Google "Suprima"). And unlike Ideal their designs don't chew up and spit out expensive PCBs at the drop of a hat. And their tech support people (a) answer their phones, and (b) aren't entirely devoid of Clue.
I can give you a definitive recommendation on who to avoid:
Ideal Boilers
We had one. After
Funnily enough, the PCB on our Worcester Bosch has had to be replaced either two or three times now, along with pretty much everything else electrical in it (fan, transformer and so on)
The PCB on the WB is also a POS that is designed to break if the fan goes - no damage limitation devices such as (gasp) a fuse.
Yeah, pcbs AND fans
the 24i and 28i are in the premier division for both
the later models are creeping up in "popularity"
I think that you would expect almost any boiler to be fairly faultless for that length of time
In message , Robin
Unfortunately the well known reconditioner might say more or less the same against many other boiler manufacturers
In message , Colin Wilson writes
Err sorry, what WB boiler is that ?
They are all driven by a relay , which deteriorates over time, but thats all ...
My Glow Worm 30Sxi just needed a new controller PCB after 3 years :(
- just after I'd taken-out a BG service contract!
Dave
I know it's old news and way too late for any of us to do anything about it but when you look at the reliability of modern boilers, the repair costs, the useful total life and compare to old traditional types like my Potterton which ran for over 20 years with only a new thermocouple every now and then you wonder how things have improved.
Sure the new boilers are more gas efficient but can't we have both that and reliability? I think total ownership costs are higher now than they were with inefficient but reliable boilers.
Why do PCBs fail so often? They are reliable enough in other appliances. If they are getting too hot is it beyond the wit of the designers to site and insulate them better?
Basically s**te design, components and build. Looks to me that those makers operate the principle of saving a penny on each unit adds up to a fortune overall. Of course PCBs can have a very long life.
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