Is there a general combi boiler brand which is considered best value for money?

^^^ all rcvd. Ta.

So not quite the, less than polite, description given in the previous post then? :)
 
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I have a Vaillant Ecotec plus 418 heat only boiler. Coming up to its third winter, fitted in loft and haven’t had any problems despite the anti-loft brigades predictions of doom!

It's because 90% of boilers fitted in lofts have no guard rails, no flooring, a foot deep of insulation, no lighting, no pipe insulation, no frost/pipe stats etc.
Many customers have zero regard for your safety, I had one that expected me to work on their boiler a foot from the loft hatch...the hatch was over the stairwell 3 floors up with a drop all the way to the ground floor.
The ladder was attached to the hatch and didn't quite reach the landing...even climbing it was a hazard.
I politlely refused until they'd sorted the situation out.
 
It's because 90% of boilers fitted in lofts have no guard rails, no flooring, a foot deep of insulation, no lighting, no pipe insulation, no frost/pipe stats etc.
Many customers have zero regard for your safety, I had one that expected me to work on their boiler a foot from the loft hatch...the hatch was over the stairwell 3 floors up with a drop all the way to the ground floor.
The ladder was attached to the hatch and didn't quite reach the landing...even climbing it was a hazard.
I politlely refused until they'd sorted the situation out.
Fair enough but apart from the guard rail (boiler far enough from loft hatch so not required) my one meets all the criteria. Still not good enough for some on here - it’s then either too hot or too cold up there or a little bit awkward to take your tools up there. It’s as if those with loft boilers are being inconsiderate to the engineer that visits once a year and we should put up with an unsightly boiler in an inconvenient position for 364 days of the year just to make it easy on them when they do an annual service and a bit like me saying I’m inconvenienced when fixing your car because a particular oil filter is awkward to remove once a year or your spark plugs are hard to get at every 60,000 miles. Why can’t those gas engineers just get on with it like I do?
 
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It's because 90% of boilers fitted in lofts have no guard rails, no flooring, a foot deep of insulation, no lighting, no pipe insulation, no frost/pipe stats etc.


Fair enough reason to decline to service the boiler..... but who installed the boiler in that un-acceptable (?) state
 
Cowboys whether registered or not....
Of course I forgot to mention the fact that being loft boilers they will often be on a vertical flue...and that brings in another issue of poor flue support and roof sealing.
Aggro all round.
My main toolcase is 18Kg...get that up through a pokey loft hatch on a flimsy loft ladder is fun...
 
My main toolcase is 18Kg...get that up through a pokey loft hatch on a flimsy loft ladder is fun...
My toolbox is probably half a ton but if I was coming to you to do a job, I wouldn’t need to bring all of it unless I wanted to show what a tradesman I was. :rolleyes:
 
And then when you hit a problem and the vital tool is at home you'd charge the customer to go an fetch it :rolleyes:
How much do you think you're average plumbers van weighs...most of us are on the limits.
 
And then when you hit a problem and the vital tool is at home you'd charge the customer to go an fetch it :rolleyes:
How much do you think you're average plumbers van weighs...most of us are on the limits.
Here a thought, leave your tool kit at the bottom of the ladder, take up your service tools and if you hit that problem, go down the ladder or even out to your van to get that vital tool. You don’t need to lug the whole contents of your van up to the loft, do you?
 
Here a thought, leave your tool kit at the bottom of the ladder, take up your service tools and if you hit that problem, go down the ladder or even out to your van to get that vital tool. You don’t need to lug the whole contents of your van up to the loft, do you?
Talking of tools :rolleyes:
 
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Fair enough but apart from the guard rail (boiler far enough from loft hatch so not required) my one meets all the criteria. Still not good enough for some on here - it’s then either too hot or too cold up there or a little bit awkward to take your tools up there. It’s as if those with loft boilers are being inconsiderate to the engineer that visits once a year and we should put up with an unsightly boiler in an inconvenient position for 364 days of the year just to make it easy on them when they do an annual service and a bit like me saying I’m inconvenienced when fixing your car because a particular oil filter is awkward to remove once a year or your spark plugs are hard to get at every 60,000 miles. Why can’t those gas engineers just get on with it like I do?

Although its not once a year for the gas fitter it can be several times a day.
Yours may be OK but they are often not.
Its very common to have poor lighting, loose or missing floorboards, badly installed boiler (clearances ignored) or mountains of crap in the way.
Add to that, cheap flimsy ladders (not rated for me plus toolbox) or a hatch not big enough to get toolbox up or a bucket of hot water down, incorrect wiring (no power isolator) and being expected to do it in the same time / price as an easily accessible one on the ground floor.
They can also be filthy, roasting in the summer and freezing in the winter.
I have no problem working in a good loft, but they are rare.
Last point is that from a performance point of view, its usually the furthest you could be from the kitchen tap, so long wasteful waits for hot water, and nuisance firing in the winter when the frost protection activates.
 
Yours may be OK but they are often not.
Its very common to have poor lighting, loose or missing floorboards, badly installed boiler (clearances ignored) or mountains of crap in the way.
I have no problem working in a good loft, but they are rare.
Last point is that from a performance point of view, its usually the furthest you could be from the kitchen tap, so long wasteful waits for hot water, and nuisance firing in the winter when the frost protection activates.
I know, I know and I understand all of that - it’s just that some on here generalise and lump mine in with the bad ones. Last post - yeah, that can be true with a combi - my mate has one in his loft and it takes ages for hot water to get to his sink in the kitchen but mine is a heat only boiler, my hot water cylinder is on the ground floor and almost equidistant from the kitchen, downstairs WC and first floor bathroom taps so I don’t have that problem. If work or servicing is required on my boiler in extreme temperatures, I have a good power supply in the loft and provide either a fan heater or cooling fan for the engineer.
 
Why didn't I think of a fan and blow all those rockwool particles around the place....many of us where a 1/2 face respirator and it's no fun in the summer.
 

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