Need to get a new boiler pretty sharpish and wonder if people have advice and experience on what we whould be getting. Always heard good things about Vaillant but now that they are not so good and their after sales support is poor. Been recommended to go Worcester Bosch combi.
Anybody got any views?
Cheers,
Steve
We've got the Worcester Bosch since we had the old Potterton replaced about five years ago.
A friend of mine is a gas safe engineer and he recommended and fitted it.
No problems, gas bills slightly lower and puts out a lot more heat than the old banger.
Cheers,
Neil.
When I did my research WB or Valiant came up as most recommended with Viessman also very good but lacking in engineer cover. WB seems to have a good mixture of quality, price & engineer cover & if you buy at the right time can get up to 7 years warranty although I think you will pay that back in service costs.
I went WB and very pleased - mine was converted from a combi to a megaflo which transformed the system so do make sure the plumber checks gas & water flow before investing in a new combi as they only work well when getting an adequate supply of these !
I have a WB combi in a flat I rent that's got to getting on for 20 years old. It's just been serviced and passed its annual Gas safety check. Again!
Every year I expect it to need replacing but it just keeps soldiering on. The only thing I'd recommend with a combi boiler is get a water softener if your in a hard water area.
We got a Viessmann combi boiler after the plumber we were recommended suggested it. It's been great for 2 years. The plumber serviced it a couple of months ago for the first time. He hooked his computer up to the outflow and found it was still operating perfectly. He charged us £25 for the checkup. He told my wife since switching to Viessman he's had no warranty issues to deal with.
Thanks for the feedback. Never heard of the Veismann so will have a look but at least no-one is stating the Worcester Bosch.
Plumber has checked our pressure and we are at 14L so no real issue but we will be having an anti-limescale solution as we are in a hard water area.
I had my combi replaced 12 months ago. When the plumber recommended a Viessmann i'd not heard of it and the reviews suggested poor reliability, so I went with a Vaillant. He, like yours, had said no warranty needed yet. However, he himself has not proved to be a reliable plumber so I'll have to wait and see how mine gets on...Originally Posted by Phil Lee
the plumber we used came on a recommendation and has worked out well so far. I see no reason to doubt him.
I would suggest you look at getting a Vailant combi boiler, very reliable and in terms of servicing and repairs, Vailant have their own engineers. I have to admit my last dealing with them direct was 2 years ago and I thought their customer services was ok but I suppose it could have declined by now.
Well worth contacting them and sound them out as they will deal with domestic customers.
As for Viessmann, they are better known for commercial boilers and I'm not too sure on the domestic front.
We had the same situation, Worcester Bosch was recommended, but we went with a Viesmann Vitoden combi boiler, and haven't had any issues with it since it was fitted. Price wise i think it was as expensive, so no real savings over the likes of WB or the others.
Got a Vaillant installed in our 2nd property last year, it is working well. It had top reviews (Which and consumer). I've never heard of any complaints of poor customer service from them.
Our main house has a Viessmann boiler, installed by the previous (German) owners. Again, working well since we moved in 18 months ago. Getting it serviced is more problematic, as parts are seemingly not as widely available.
If I were doing it again, Vaillant or BW would be my choice.
I've always had Worcester Bosch - on the recommendation of friends and family in the trade.
They aren't the cheapest to buy, but they've cost me very little other than routine servicing.
Although, our new house has a Valliant fitted, which seems pretty good.
I went with a WB combi in my last place and it was excellent. Never missed a beat.
Moved into a new place about a month ago which has got some boiler rebadged as British Gas. Seems ok but not a combi so difficult to compare.
The new place is on an old school gravity fed, tank in the airing cupboard, type system. The main thing I've noticed is that we now seem to use a lot more gas than we used to in the old place, even though the old place was bigger. I'm guessing because the old place had a combi and therefore only heated water on demand. Whereas now, the boiler kicks in to heat the water regardless of whether it's going to be used or not.
My other issue is that the hot water pressure at the new place is terrible. Certainly no where near good enough for a shower in the main bathroom. We've fitted a pump which is supposed to cater for low pressure situations but the cold is still overpowering the hot from the shower outlet.
A friend recommended we switch to an unvented system. He seems to think we can do that without too much upheaval and it will mean that we get good pressure and can remove the tank from the airing cupboard.
I don't know too much about it but does anyone have any recommendations for unvented cylinders?
My plumber recommended that we get a Viessmann if we wanted the best otherwise WB and Valliant depending on who was offering the best warranty at the time. We were also getting a new kitchen at the time and SWMBO insisted that the boiler fit into a kitchen cupboard
As virtually nothing fits into a kitchen cupboard (depth wise) we ended up with a Baxi, which hasn't been too bad. It cost less and we've had no issues with it so far.
I would recommend the Valient Plus range the only one on the market that i know with 7 year guarantee, and I am a heating engineer good luck.
I am glad he checked the flow, do be sure he checks the dynamic flow to ensure your shower doesn't slow down if someone opens another tap. I was told 9l/min is needed for a decent shower. Measuring 14l/min demonstrates it would be pointless buying combi rated above this and if it is not dynamic I think this may well limit your showers performance, flow can also reduce at peak times when many people are taking water from the main early morning or evening - plumbers tend to come round in the middle of the day...
Had no problems with our Worcester Bosch. Previous was a Halstead which replaced an ancient Glow worm (i think it was anyway). WB big difference in performance. Would recommend.
Hope this helps
First thing to check is your water flow from the mains (dynamic ideally) & also your water pressure as in order for the sealed system to work well you will need sufficient flow & pressure. I went from a combi to a megaflo and it made a huge difference but as I said do check the underlying basics are met as otherwise you will need to add an accumulator to get the flow needed (which I had fitted). The boiler & the megaflo came to about the same cost as a powerful combi (accumulator was extra), the megaflo keeps the water hot for a long time so I think you would realise a saving in gas (hard to be sure as will depend how well insulated your existing tank is). Mine had a useable (warm rather than hot) shower a week after the boiler was turned off (in April). You should also get great showers etc. provided the mains is up to it.
Main choices seem to be Gledhill & Megaflo - plumber prefered megaflo so I went with that. There is also the possibility of having water pushed though a coil in a tank of pre-heated hot water so the boiler keeps the reservoir hot & the hot water is created by the cold flow on demand - so plenty of solutions best bet is to get an expert to assess your needs/space etc. and work out the best solution for your circumstances. Sealed pressurised systems can certainly work very well without the need for extra pumps etc. but do ensure you tell the plumber what you expect from it or make him promise to deliver x litres/minute at the shower to ensure you don't end up with a pressurised system that still doesn't deliver a deent shower.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote