New boiler required...but which one?!

slicendice · 15 Sep 2019

I realise there are many, many threads online asking the same old "which boiler should I get" question, so I'm aware that I'm covering some rather well trodden ground here, but I was wondering if anyone could provide any personal experience (not just "I had a mate who reckoned this, that or the other"!) on boiler manufacturers?
I've had quotes from three different local installers (all very highly reviewed and rated) and they've each recommended something different:

1) Vaillant eco Tec (good quality with decent warranty, but pricey)
2) Baxi 800 (brass internals so better longevity and 10 year warranty as standard, but some reports of leakage problems and poor customer service...although internet search suggests this is not an issue in more recent years?)
3) Atag (supposed to be good quality and very energy efficient, also with 10 year warranty, but a relative newcomer and with limited support possibly...?)

The one thing all three agreed on was that it wasn't a good idea to go Worcester Bosch (plastic internals and over-priced apparently?)

I have no knowledge of central heating stuff really and my primary concern is that whatever I end up with is reliable; ideally, after it's been installed, I don't really want to have to think about it again (servicing aside) and I just want it to work and do it's thang.

So if anyone has any personal experience of the above three (as a fitter or user) I'd appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks!

Notch7 · 15 Sep 2019

Unfortunately youve posted in the wrong section.

This forum is mostly people bickering about Brexit (not me!).

I would say repost in plumbing.

Its not my thing, but Ive heard intergas are good.....certainly a few guys on here that fit nothing else.
Atag not well supported UK.....i think.

*****
moved
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slicendice · 15 Sep 2019

My bad...sorry! Thanks for moving

I'd rather have a boiler breakdown than listen to more Brexit woes

bernardgreen · 15 Sep 2019

Many of the lesser known brands sell by word of mouth and a well earned reputation for quality and reliability. The wel known brands are well known because they spend heavily on advertsisng and perks to installers.

Gasguru · 15 Sep 2019

Ecotec...has a long history of design faults (over 12 now) and no great quality anymore.
Atag...very rare boilers with limited backup and few spares stockists should the warranty not deliver.
Baxi 800...a basic design with easy spares availability and ok backup.
Worcester...full of plastic parts but excellent spares and manufacturer backup (but universally not nice to work on).

muggles · 15 Sep 2019

Intergas ECO RF

denso13 · 15 Sep 2019

Vaillant eco Tec

Ihavenojob · 15 Sep 2019

Worcester are reliable but a pain to work on. Vaillant are not as reliable but easy to work on. Ideal logics are possibly the easiest boiler to work on, and also supposed to be the UK's best selling boiler. As you are not going to be bothered about ease of maintenance/repair but on reliability, I would go for Worcester.

dilalio · 16 Sep 2019

I have an Atag ic35.
If I needed a new boiler tomorrow I would opt for an Intergas EcoRF

Most problematic part on combis is the diverter mechanism

Intergas doesn't have one.

I'm a plumber and heating engineer.

stem · 16 Sep 2019

slicendice said:
I was wondering if anyone could provide any personal experience (not just "I had a mate who reckoned this, that or the other"!) on boiler manufacturers?

Notch7 said:
Its not my thing, but Ive heard intergas are good.....

vulcancontinental · 16 Sep 2019

A few of the things I personally would look for:

Low mass heat exchanger

No or few joints or welds in the exchanger

No heat exchanger waterside gaskets if possible

Plate heat exchanger and diverter valve for positive hot water temperature control (three O rings on diverter valve spindle)

Easy to service from front

Lightweight composite waterblock with a track record of reliability, some brands do not have this (thermally efficient and will not corrode or erode like brass)

Large waterways

Minimal wall thickness of exchanger between flue and water

No turbulators i.n the waterway to catch debris

If you want internet connectivity there are a lot of controllers but the ones from the manufacturer of the boiler usually offer a few more features. OpenTherm is becoming the norm as the communication protocol and is not manufacturer locked but obviously boiler and control must be software ready.

Slight preference for aluminium, they tolerate systems that are not spotless better but stainless is OK if you choose carefully

Lastly I run a mile from companies that trumpet there's the best, greatest, most efficient, never failed, indestructible, the Queen has one of ours in each palace, they're invariably full of it...

It’s a boiler and most will give you good service, the man or woman installing it is the most important part.

dilalio · 16 Sep 2019

vulcancontinental said:
the man is the most important part.

Or woman

wizbongre · 16 Sep 2019

I've just replaced an ageing Glowworm 30CXi with an Intergas Xclusive 36. As per most customers, I was looking for the "right" balance of cost, performance, efficiency, on-going maintenance, etc. I retained the existing Hive wireless thermostat and was talked out of installing the WeatherComp sensor by the installer (how legit this was remains to be seen - I may well revisit it at some point in the not too distant future.)

My decision was based on reading lots on here over the years, and narrowing it down ultimately to a choice between Veissmann and Intergas. Veissmann came out significantly more expensive, and the limited number of moving parts in the Intergas won out.

I'm less than a week in, however our hot water flow is phenomenal now (we have good mains pressure/flow) and the heating is near silent when running - our previous boiler made a right racket, and all radiators whistled no matter what I did with balancing and new valves/TRV's. the Intergas modulates the pump as well as burn rate, which seems to help with flow/noise.

Its way too early to tell in terms of long term performance or efficiency but early experience is positive - I'm optimistic that whilst it likely won't reduce our gas costs, it won't push them up through the roof as the increase capacity (30->36kW) will be offset by better efficiency.

As per other's advice, most of my final decision was influenced by the installer - I spoke with 3 Intergas installers and picked the one I thought knew the most about them and presented the best approach and on-going service.

Notch7 · 16 Sep 2019

vulcancontinental said:
A few of the things I personally would look for

Would a punter be able to find out which boilers have those things in your list?

Ive no doubt those items you mention are important criteria -clearly things you have experienced as key issues, but I just wonder if that information is available to customers.

bernardgreen · 16 Sep 2019

Notch7 said:
Would a punter be able to find out which boilers have those things in your list?

Some boiler manufacturers will give the necessary information if you ask them. VulcanContinental's list of things to look out for is a good one,

This one especially

vulcancontinental said:
Lastly I run a mile from companies that trumpet there's the best, greatest, most efficient, never failed, indestructible,

I would add :- Avoid hardsell installers who get perks for selling a particular brand of boiler.

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New boiler required...but which one?!

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