Atag and Intergas - New to me

[topgazza]

Like most consumers I have read lots about the usal bolier types such as Worcester, Baxi, Vailant, Viesman and so on.

But reading an interesting thread here about Atag and Intergas I was surprised buy how well people rate them and the good support they provide. Especially against how well known they are with the public, which is not a lot I would suggest.

Why is that ?

Is it just because the trade tends to recommend products it's trained on and familiar with ? Nothing wrong with that of course and obviously people like BG have deals with certain makes to get bulk discounts. But why aren't Atag and Intergas mentioned usually at all on comparison websites who generally are pretty lazy and are sponsored anyway ?

 

[topgazza]

Reading more threads it seems both Intergas and Atag both get high ratings from people here. Expensive but worth it is what I see. I have an unvented system so would be looking to replace a heat/system boiler with like for like. Both seem to have excellent warranties and customer support and as I'm in a hard water area easy to maintain is always handy.....

I'm certainly moving away from the "big" names at the moment. Am I wrong ?

 

[easyflow]

Best thing about WB, Vaillant etc is the way they are marketed, take that away and there,s nothing special about these boilers.

People are like sheep and will buy a WB because their neighbour and and sister in-law have got one.

Mention an Atag or Iintergas and you could lose the job on the grounds we don,t know best.

Iv learnt along time ago to give people what they wan,t unless they have the intelligence to ask for advice.

 

[topgazza]

Its a good point. I'm happy to explore the options other than the normal culprits. For the reason that I have a 27 year old boiler thats still going but one day it will fail and whilst "they don't make 'em like they used to" the closest modern one will do which from I read is either of the two in the title. I don't expect 27 years to be fair......

 

[Dan Robinson]

Certainly not. Most professional posters here take pride in

Iv learnt along time ago to give people what they wan,t unless they have the intelligence to ask for advice.

I've walked away from jobs where (which is thankfully very rare to be honest) wooshitter or Faillant "are the best" as determined by a friend /architect / mate down pub.

Priced a tender last night where the spec calls for a Wooshitter. Funnily enough that was the least of the daftness in tel he tender documents, so if we win the job there will be a looooooooong list of variations once the consultant has been sacked off.

 

[topgazza]

The challenge for the customer is who do they believe. In the end you make your decision on the advice of the , hopefully, professional. Also plenty of professionals have varying opinions depending on their training, sponsor, discounts and so on. The average punter can never be certain what has influenced that advice. Which is why I've spent ages trying to make my own mind up based on..... not just facts but the opinion of trades here. IMO it just happens to be the best place to get a variety of views and at least be better informed.

Now a while ago I would automatically gone for a WB because lots of things in my house are Bosch and generally speaking they are pretty good from the washing machine to the fridge and dishwasher. But now I would go WB for a boiler because of teh info I've picked up. I'm sure they work fine in most cases but my view is I will not be replacing my old boiler until it fails completely or it can't be fixed. Hopefully it will be spring/summer/autumn as I have an immersion for HW whilst it gets repaired. However if I am going to be proactive my view now is Intergas or Atag. Not Vailant or Baxi which again I'm sure are fine most of the time. I have local installers near Basingstoke for either and even if I move I will check the latest models get an installer in to spec it up and Bob's your wotsit.

Things might change before then but I'll still keep looking and doing my research... at least that the plan. So, Intergas or Atag ? The comparisons on the various threads here are pretty detailed so nearer the time I shall read up again

 

[vulcancontinental]

There's a lot of BS about this from the company marketing departments and the trade.

The installer is more important than the machine. A good installer will make any boiler work to its best and fulfil its life expectancy, a poor installer will shorten the life of any appliance.

In my personal opinion 85% of the life of the appliance is determined by the installer and the customer, the former with care in installation and servicing, the customer in paying (and ensuring the appliance gets) complete and appropriate servicing.

Many customers are happy to buy an expensive supposedly premium product then skimp on installation and servicing.

 

[leezer3]

Bingo

I've been floating around here for ~10 years, and the Intergas is simply the latest in a line of what some of the trades here tote as the next best thing. (Ideals, Viessmann & was even Valiants at one point)

Get it serviced regularly (not just by sticking a FGA into the flue....) and installed properly, and as a lay punter I suspect most will come out equal in the end.
If nothing else I know that in 5 years time there'll be a new favourite.....

 

[topgazza]

Same with most things of course. Look after it and it will last a decent time, subject to it not being pants in the first place of course. But to be fair everything I read about Intergas and Atag is focused on the quality of the build. Take out the bias in some boiler opinion, which is completely fair, they seem to stand out from the rest. Just like cars....

 

[Razor900]

One minor point for you

You being in a hard water area will have almost no significance in your choice of boiler as you're looking at a system version

 

[topgazza]

Indeed...good point Razor. Makes it a bit easier to decide just on quality and support.....

 

[vulcancontinental]

You miss the point however, the object of the exercise is getting from A to B, the vehicle in which the transport takes place may have a certain 'swank' value but the journey could be completed in any car. It is no different with boilers, domestic hot water and space gets hotter. Go to other forums and other brands will be praised as the current flavour of the day.
Choose an installer who knows and likes the boiler and they will treat their 'babies' with due care.

 

[topgazza]

True vulcan but I'd rather travel in a Jaguar than a Trabant

Less breakdowns and performs better (you would hope). I do get the point but there is a significant difference between all the models of boiler regardless of how good the installer is. A lot is down to luck of course but the two in question here keep popping up at the head of the queue enough to make me think there is some substance in their rating. I would have no problem going for a number of products including WB but it seems to me there are a few clear leaders... but my research continues

 

[fergie_]

I'm in the market for a new boiler (system or heat only) and swaying toward Atag. As I'm looking to get the most out of evohome, it has to be fully opentherm compatible. I did look into Intergas, but seems their opentherm can't cope with multi zoned evohome.

This leaves me looking at Atag, Ideal and Valiant (with a VR33 adaptor).

 

[Dan Robinson]

Any particular reason for wanting OpenTherm?