My Worcester Bosch Hi-Flow 400 RSF (Combi's) are rubbish!!

Apr 08, 2006 5 Replies

Dear All



I know this model number by heart as it is the most unreliable boiler I have ever bought. It was also expensive & I only bought it due to the brand name and I was trying to buy reliability!!



I have 2 of these boilers (in 2 rented houses) and they have been a continuous source of problems ever since installation. They first broke down within 1 month of installation and I would estimate they each breakdown 4-6 times each year. They are both approx the same age (3 years old) and do the same things! (eg a month ago the diverter valves went "sticky" and unreliable in both boilers with 2 months of each other.



I have a good GORGI plumber I've been using for years on both the installation and servicing so it's not any issue with shoddy repairs. My last breakdown happened yesterday (with a fan breakdown) hence my rage and this posting!!!



My other rented houses have 4 cheap Chaffetaux Combis (which were 1/3 of the price). Apart from one circuit board early on, these 4 x "Chaffy's" keep grinding on with good reliability. (Chaffy's used to have reliablity problems 10 years ago but I was told about 6 years ago they made an effort to sort themselves out!!)



That's the last time I buy Worcester Bosch!!



How do other people find this model? (I'm trying to get a debate going to stop others repeating my mistake!! Perhaps I have been unlucky what does the group think??



Thanks -



I installed 6 worcester boilers within a year at the request of customers and had the 6 have a fault. Worcester could not get to the one for a week so I bought the part myself. They are overpriced. I will say that sometimes we attend a worcester that has gone faulty because of poor installation ie system not cleansed and no inhibitor.Out of choice I would steer clear of a worcester boiler

No experience of that model, so won't comment.

However I do note that a good proportion of the posts to this group in recent years regarding boiler problems seem to be WB systems. Not suggesting anything can be read into this since we don't know what proportion of them are installed and they certainly seem to have been a popular choice in recent years.

One also needs to be mindful of the fact that when something works well you tend not to hear about it, it tends to be the bad news cases that get talked about which can give a jaundiced view of real world reliability.

Had my WB 28 HE system boiler fitted a year ago and (dare I say) it's been perfect.

If i've read any negative comments about WB boilers they've usually been combi ones.

Dear Unsatisfied Worcester Boiler owner,

I am an approved installer for Worcester bosch and have serviced man of the highflows and not heard of such a problem.

Worcester are exceptionally well made and usually reliable. Worceste have been out to some jobs and repaired them three and four years ou of warranty if the part is demmed to be ureliable.

Maybe you should contact them and let them know if you have no already.

Dave - Accredited Worcester Bosch Installe

-- Davy pidgeon

Two W-Bs have faults every few weeks and the other boilers don't. Sounds a bit spammy to me.

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