New boiler

[F]

Looks like we, and my father, are going to need new gas central heating and DHW boilers. We have an old Baxi Bermuda back boiler and Dad has a floor-standing Ideal(?).

We have a reasonably large 4 bed detached house and Dad has a three bed semi. Both have cavity wall insulation, insulated lofts and are double glazed.

We both would prefer to keep hot water cylinders for storage.

I've googled for recommendations and it seems that Alpha CD32C, Worcester Bosch Greenstar HE, Glow Worm30sxi and unspecified Vaillants are well thought of.

Anyone got any thoughts on which of these, or any others, might be best?

[Codswallop]

[Bob Eager]

Which has been brilliant for me, when talking to the heating people 'tendering' for ours.

[F]

Read that previously but it doesn't answer my question: 'I've googled for recommendations and it seems that Alpha CD32C, Worcester Bosch Greenstar HE, Glow Worm30sxi and unspecified Vaillants are well thought of.

Anyone got any thoughts on which of these, or any others, might be best?'

[Codswallop]

If you know someone with a Which? subscription, or you are willing to subscribe,

might be helpful. Specified Vaillants come out well at in terms of efficiency. Householders' experience of different makes of boilers is usually limited and may not be reliable or representative. Perhaps some plumbers will best answer your question.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I subscribe to Which and I'm not sure that article was one of their best - for a start it went on about efficiencies of more than 100% without explaining it *properly*.

The other major importance is how reliable a boiler is and how long it lasts. Just one paid repair can wipe several years of gas cost saving or lower purchase price, etc.

But Ed Sirett has read the article and is way better qualified to comment on it than me.

[John]

Ed's article is great for working out lots of things but I, like the original poster F, wanted recommendations of the "XYZ is crap but ABC are very good" sort of thing and it doesn't do that. Luckily, I found a CORGI guy by personal recommendation from a friend and he did go through the various manufacturers products and explained in terms of "they aren't bad, they're very good, they make a good product but aftersales service is crap, they have a good reputation etc., etc."

And that's why we went with an Alpha CD32C and wireless 7-day EasyStat combination - in his experience a good combination of great products, with

3-year warranty, and a good aftersales support system in place as well.

John.

[Ed Sirett]

I tried to say in the FAQ which features are worth having and which ones are questionable (IMHO).

The Which report only tested combis (and then only a selection of the more popular makes). It was interesting to see that the most of the manufacturers were accused of not actually delivering the efficiency performance they were claiming.

The 'test' could only make a subjective assessment of build quality for reliability since the reliability over two weeks is, frankly, an irrelevant test.

An important aspect of the choice depends on what your fitter is comfortable fitting, provided you have confidence in and respect for their judgement.

[Tro.Jan]

I too am looking for a new boiler. I also have a storage tank (immersion heater) which I guess would be sensible to keep. So, how are you doing in your search? I found a cheap Heatline V120 24KW 82K BTU/Hr in B&Q (I think) and wondered if that would do the job.

Tro

[F]

No further, really. I was hoping that someone in the know would come along and suggest a particular model or two...

[Rob Summers]

I had a Glowworm 18SXi installed last year as part of a sealed system. So far it has been excellent. Despite the fact that more radiators were installed with it and gas prices have rocketed it is cheaper to run than the boiler it replaced (but that was awful).

Cheers

Rob

[The Natural Philosopher]

Dunno what actual make it is, but mine says CAMRAY on it. Not a combi tho.

[Guy King]

The message from The Natural Philosopher contains these words:

That's actually a hatch marked "Canary" and it's where the automatic gas-leak cut-off is located.