best combi

[johnad]

i need a new combi (condensing)
what is the best make ?
Baxi, Vaillant, Potterton or Worcester,
i have a small bungalow with only a shower/sink etc
where is the best place to buy one (online)
i have a corgi man to do the install.
thanks

 

[ChrisR]

Pass. Ask us in 10 years time

 

[johnad]

thats a great help,
ok whats the best non condensing combi ??
if you have a good non condensing boiler then the same company should make a good condensing one (i assume)

 

[gazthepottertonengineer]

potterton

 

[doitall]

potterton

Good choice Gaz

10 years ago

 

[gazthepottertonengineer]

sorry still is the most popular choice and i have to say i havent been out to repair one single condensing combi of the new type yet
so we must be doing something right as they are selling well

you may disagree DOITALL and that is your perogative but im sorry to say you are in the minority in general

 

[ollski]

To be honest no one is in a position to tell you the best, we can only tell you what we prefer...different areas tend to have different boilers, where I live it is predominantly glow-worms and worcesters in condensing boilers and I'd have no hesitation in pointing you towards a greenstar out of those 2. I knock in about 50 jobs a week and very rarely see vailiant although most like them and have never seen a potterton condensing model more current than a promax so can't really comment. At the end of the day your installer will wan't to fit the most reliable model he knows as I can guarantee he won't want to be coming back to it once its in.

 

[ChrisR]

JOhn what I meant was that many of them are new models. Quite often there will be one component which lets a new model down even if the rest of the design is very good.
The only condensing combi I can think of which has not been updated for a while is the Ideal Isar

 

[doitall]

sorry still is the most popular choice and i have to say i havent been out to repair one single condensing combi of the new type yet
so we must be doing something right as they are selling well

you may disagree DOITALL and that is your perogative but im sorry to say you are in the minority in general

Bet we get lots asking about common faults after Christmas

I'm completely un-biased about modern boilers Gaz.

90% are crap even if they are getting better.

Stop using the end user as a guinea pig

 

[ollski]

JOhn what I meant was that many of them are new models. Quite often there will be one component which lets a new model down even if the rest of the design is very good.
The only comdening combi I can think of which has not been updated for a while is the Ideal Isar/Icos (can never remember which is the combi).

Isar Chris...been a cracking little boiler since it was overhauled but still a bit of a mare to work on and still has a bad reputation left over from its first incarnation.

 

[ChrisR]

Ta, just got to work on "comdening" now..

 

[johnad]

thanks for your comments
im thinkikng going for the worcester or potterton i have had a look online and the potterton is almost half the price,
is the worcester worth the extra
i am a beliver in you get what you pay for but is there a difference in the quality
if i calculate all my rads (btus) is this the ouput of the boiler or should i be over with the boiler size
and what about the hot water output (two hot taps and one shower)
many thanks

 

[ollski]

If your set on a combi you need the biggest you can get as the power is used to heat your hot water.....it is relatively easy for the boiler to heat the rads when compared to an instant hot water demand.

 

[fitz1]

been installing glow worm 30cxi , seem like a good boiler. had no problems so far. u get a 2 year guarantee.

 

[PEDANTICVINDICTIVEMAN]

Baxi are advertising a 5 years gaurantee on the platinum range, might be worth a look.