B&Q BOILERS.
- Thread starter jrh1
- Start date
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gas4you said:Vaillant still produce excellent and reliable boilers, but the back up from their group service now glow worm have the reigns makes the fitting of them questionable. Saying that I have very few problems with them
So what about the Turbomax Plus series?... virtually every one I've come across has required a diverter valve, APS and many are now requiring flow/return thermistors. The expansion vessels are made from recycled tyre rubber - they loose pressure within 18 months. They made a total hash of the flue restrictors on vertical flues. Ignition burner pressures are often too low to prevent lockouts. Bound to need pcbs soon as the temperature differentials have been setup too close and don't allow for wear and tear so the boards will be throwing up errors. The crappy plastic finger guards underneath are normally broken off. The filling loop valves (non compliant) are often chewed by screwdrivers. This is from boilers only 3 or 4 years old. When they went a 1 piece case design the quality dropped. I suspect they are mainly fitted by brand loyal installers who never carry out repairs.
I noticed the latest range are using the plastic cased Giannoni heat ex. - just as Potterton/Baxi and a host of other manufacturers are now doing.
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I agree about turbomax and yes I do repairs as well to Vaillants or sub them out if I'm too busy. Very, very few on ecotec plus range though, although I'm now in market for new producy, see other posts, but unless I get good contract support from manufacturer I will not fit them
gas4you said:
So what about all the condensing boiler range - last time I looked the condense traps were a pig to remove and they've now done away with the cleaning cap. More cak design?? I'm not really having a go but like all things German they are trading on a once (and now sadly gone) great reputation for robust and quality engineering.
Apart from the ecomax pro and the 'new' ecotec plus 400 range, which is the ecomax pro with a new front cover, all the condensing traps are quick release 90D turn and drop fittings. Dont get what your saying about condense traps
Some of the Vaillant traps are similar (or the same as) the rectangular Glowworm Hxi/CXi traps ie difficult to remove and the original cleaning access cap has now been removed therfore the trap has to come out for a proper clean out.
All boilers break down and the Vaillants made within the last few years have mostly already had their diverters replaced and some the APS as well.
Any of the cheaper boilers will probably have been more reliable than those Vaillants if only they had been installed on a clean system.
To the original poster, merely getting a CORGi to fit your new boiler is only half the battle. He must be responsible for cleaning the system, normally power flushing, and take FULL responsibility for any damage caused by dirt or installation errors.
This week I went to see a boiler fitted by a ( previously ) CORGi registered installer. The flue seal was wrongly fitted, there was no filling loop, PRV not connected to anywhere, condensate just goes to the outside of the wall and last the pump had failed as a result of the dirt in the system. Thats costing him about £260 to get sorted out !
Tony
Any of the cheaper boilers will probably have been more reliable than those Vaillants if only they had been installed on a clean system.
To the original poster, merely getting a CORGi to fit your new boiler is only half the battle. He must be responsible for cleaning the system, normally power flushing, and take FULL responsibility for any damage caused by dirt or installation errors.
This week I went to see a boiler fitted by a ( previously ) CORGi registered installer. The flue seal was wrongly fitted, there was no filling loop, PRV not connected to anywhere, condensate just goes to the outside of the wall and last the pump had failed as a result of the dirt in the system. Thats costing him about £260 to get sorted out !
Tony
Gasguru said:
Its just held in with a clip which you pull out and then lift the top off !!!
There is more space to do that than on the glowworm cxi30 series.
The heatline service manager only started a few weeks ago and he probably has not seen the inside of their boilers yet!
Tony
Agile said:
Perhaps he/she was thinking of changing the expansion vessel of something?
Friend of mine is going up to Vaillant next week with a view to fitting their boilers. Are all the models that bad as some of these posts indicate or is it just 1 or 2 models?
As it will be me who will get the breakdown work when out of guarantee
Paul
As it will be me who will get the breakdown work when out of guarantee
Paul
Dont complain if it results in work for you!
If his customers get the boiler serviced at the end of the first year then its a two year warranty so dont take on any extra staff for a while!
Vaillant boilers do break down sometimes but they are generally properly installed so dont usually failt as a result of installation errors.
Its the boilers bought in B&Q which are rarely fitted properly because the punters dont expect to pay more than the boiler costs to get it fitted.
We would charge £840 to fit any boiler but the Vizo Band B boilers are less than half that to buy at B&Q. Now someone spending £1000 on a nice Vaillant has no problem paying our charges but someone who has bought his Viso for £340 on a sale day only expects to pay £200 to get it fitted and even the east Europeans dont do much fitting at that price. When it fails a few weeks later they are stuck!
Tony
If his customers get the boiler serviced at the end of the first year then its a two year warranty so dont take on any extra staff for a while!
Vaillant boilers do break down sometimes but they are generally properly installed so dont usually failt as a result of installation errors.
Its the boilers bought in B&Q which are rarely fitted properly because the punters dont expect to pay more than the boiler costs to get it fitted.
We would charge £840 to fit any boiler but the Vizo Band B boilers are less than half that to buy at B&Q. Now someone spending £1000 on a nice Vaillant has no problem paying our charges but someone who has bought his Viso for £340 on a sale day only expects to pay £200 to get it fitted and even the east Europeans dont do much fitting at that price. When it fails a few weeks later they are stuck!
Tony
Agile said:
No Tony - this was their latest combi on show at PHEX. The AAV was on the pump manifold stuck at the back; there was virtually no clearance between the base of the combustion chamber and the top of the AAV.
The new Ravenheat combi on the stand opposite was no better.
Most of the manufacturers don't give a toss about servicing. They clearly cost out the agro versus proper design and its cheaper in the long run to buy in standard manifolds from Grundfoss or Wilo despite terrible access to components - anyway most extended warranties will be handled by another business so its not their problem.
AAV's and PRV's should be easily accessible since they must be amonst the most common parts to require replacement.
When specifying a boiler look very carefully at the ease of servicing and parts replacement. There are some truly terrible designs out there that will cost customers a fortune to repair and maintain and give installers a real headache - Worcester are among the worst - had a Highflow 400 yesterday, told the customer to call out Worcester to deal with.
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