Biasi Riva Compact 28HE Combi Boiler

[assured heating]

Cheap crap !

 

[wiggikins]

Depends on your overview of the "overall picture", but in the current climate depends on what you call cheap'n' nasty, personally i tend to stay away from Heatline and Ravenheat!

 

[spacethegas]

our local merchant was the first to stock biasi about 7/8 years ago.
they flew off the shelves. consequently there are thousands fitted round here.
due to their awful reliability problems the merchant stopped stocking them & will not supply them.
consequently i have worked on various models regularly. i particularly hate that funny little digital clock as do most customers (although that is not a reliability problem generally). just as you are about to leave the customer says "would you mind just setting the times, i don't understand it". well actually i do bloody mind. but you always do it don't you.
i also dislike the electrical connections. the access is far to open. yes i know you should turn off juice before removing cover etc.
another thing i as well as others have noticed is that they all too regularly break down just out of guarantee.
the problems are the usual fare i suppose fans, gas valves & attached pcb, diaphragms,microswitch assemblies & associated spindle leaks etc.
i've descaled/desludged hundreds of calorifiers the only one to ever leaked from a seam afterwards was a biasi. yes i realize that most are manufactured by the same firm.
to top it all the cost of spares is horrendous. it does not go down well when a couple of parts + labor is getting on for the price the customer paid for the boiler.
by the way an old ideal model was a re badged biasi if any of you didn't know.
i do fit the latest models because customers insist on buying them themselves (local screwfix) & you can plainly see the quality is just as bad. another thought occurs to me. due to their cost, cowboys/diyers buy them & install them without the necessary preparation/treatment etc. hence breakdowns.
i get the impression Agile is an approved biasi installer or has been on one of their courses or something.
i agree with Wiggi heatline & ravenheat are not my faves either along with halstead.
funnilly enough my fave at present is the italian alpha (no i've not been on a course).
anyway thats plenty enough to waffle about.

 

[Agile]

I am a Libran!

As such I am totally fair and impartial. I never recommend any particular boiler.

If a customer wanted a quote for a new boiler I would suggest three models at budget, medium and high price. Those would probably be Biasi, Worcester and Viessmann.

The only reason why Biasi got a bad reputation for reliability was because they were sold so cheaply they were always fitted by the scum who never power flush the system.

Today I went to repair an Ariston. The design of a Biasi would not have failed whereas the Ariston did. The fault was an installation defect with the flue sloping back towards the boiler.

Tony

 

[spacethegas]

i can see that.

forgot to include ariston.......hate them too.

 

[worktodo]

The same boiler being Baxi, these are 3 seperate guys and they all recomend the Baxi as they all believe it's the most reliable and parts are easy and cheaper than most other boilers - Worcester boiler being the better one again but obviously more expensive.

Bet they are all made by the same people

 

[spacethegas]

which Baxi.
i like the 105he for the reasons you mention & ease of maintance.
i have no experiance of their latest A rated appliances. i was not impressed with the previous generation.

 

[mehran]

spacethegas, i am not going try and convince you that the biasi m96 is a good boiler. but to then say you like the baxi 105e with it horribly unreliable PCB makes me laugh. i my area last winter parts centre would get 10 105e PCB in at a time and it would be sold out by the end of the day

 

[nickso]

The only reason why Biasi got a bad reputation for reliability was because they were sold so cheaply they were always fitted by the scum who never power flush the system.

any boiler can suffer from poor installation.

biasi got their bad reputation for repeatedly making ****e boilers.

 

[spacethegas]

spacethegas, i am not going try and convince you that the biasi m96 is a good boiler. but to then say you like the baxi 105e with it horribly unreliable PCB makes me laugh. i my area last winter parts centre would get 10 105e PCB in at a time and it would be sold out by the end of the day

i have had occasion to change a pcb on a 105e. but I've never even been called out to a 105he & I've fitted perhaps 30 in the last few years. perhaps there was a pcb upgrade.
no doubt i will be snowed under with problems in the next few months & will have to eat my words.

 

[Agile]

i have had occasion to change a pcb on a 105e. but I've never even been called out to a 105he & I've fitted perhaps 30 in the last few years. perhaps there was a pcb upgrade.

And in contrast have you changed all that many PCBs on the Biasi M96 ?

Nikso, can you actually quote what part of an M96 you consider is unreliable?

Tony

 

[nickso]

i have had occasion to change a pcb on a 105e. but I've never even been called out to a 105he & I've fitted perhaps 30 in the last few years. perhaps there was a pcb upgrade.

And in contrast have you changed all that many PCBs on the Biasi M96 ?

Nikso, can you actually quote what part of an M96 you consider is unreliable?

Tony

on the newer ones no i couldnt. but thats probably down to a few things....

1. thankfully there are about only three i know of round here.
2. they are still young enough not to be troublesome.
3. i dont work in that area often.

there are far more 105's around than biasi turds which makes it a unfair comparison, however when they start failing a lot ill be sure to inform you.

 

[Agile]

Mehran fixes them under the warrantee.

Perhaps he can tell us what is unreliable about them.

When only one in about 300 needs fixing under the warranty as a result of a manufacturer's defect then they must be pretty reliable.

Tony

 

[spacethegas]

i have had occasion to change a pcb on a 105e. but I've never even been called out to a 105he & I've fitted perhaps 30 in the last few years. perhaps there was a pcb upgrade.

And in contrast have you changed all that many PCBs on the Biasi M96 ?

Nikso, can you actually quote what part of an M96 you consider is unreliable?

Tony

I'm getting lost here. why am i being quoted & why does the fact that i have changed one pcb have any relevance.

 

[Nixt]

Just had my first quote of 2k + vat and he insists on buying the boiler (Baxi) but highlights that he makes no money on this?

Perish the thought, though a really good installer might be one who's prepared to make no money on the labour either.