Boiler recommendation

[Ltnman]

Thanks. That flow and return difference sounds really good. I'd be more than happy if I get that. Must be condensing really well.

Have you done anything extra to get it working so well, apart from the balancing?

No, nothing really. I don’t use geolocation but I have switched on the heating while down the pub.

Critical thing was to rebalance the system as all my previous set up was way out. To be honest the heating hasn’t been on much since our boiler swap. I did consider weather compensation but decided against it. The Halo does have its own built in weather compensation that has to be switched off if weather compensation is hard wired to the boiler from outside the house.

Note, only the boiler display shows the flow and return temperatures. It can also show in litres how much hot water is coming out of the tap or shower. This won’t show in the Halo or the app

Here are a few of the menus on my phone.

 

[sxturbo]

From experience on this forum trust muggles and his advice

 

[Ltnman]

I do use my smart meter for daily stats plus I have 4 Wi-Fi enabled thermometers that I really love that complements the Halo but are not part of the Halo.

Garden

 

[djooms]

@djooms it is always nice to have lots of hot water, especially with two bathrooms. I am a bit biased as I did my research mostly around Viessmann. Just FYI, the Viessmann 200 series do not support OpenTherm, they rely solely on weather compensation. The 200 series is very expensive too.

If you are thinking of getting/replacing an unvented hot water cylinder, a storage combi might be an attractive option, the Viessmann 111-W works really well for me, modulation of 1:10 - https://www.viessmann.co.uk/en/products/gas/vitodens-100-w-vitodens-111-w.html
It is quite a big boiler though, but it fits fine in our airing cupboard.

Vaillant also do a storage combi, but the modulation is not as good, 1:4 if I remember correctly - https://www.vaillant.co.uk/homeowners/products/ecotec-plus-combination-store-1152.html

The other alternative might be the Intergas Xtreme series, where a flue gas heat recovery improves the hot water flow compared to other boilers of same output, great modulation of 1:9, you can read more here - https://www.intergasheating.co.uk/homeowner/products/xtreme/

Thanks for the recommendations. The Viessmann 111-W seems like an interesting option. Only thing, like you mentioned is the size. I would need to double-check whether this would fit in the space we are intending to place the boiler. The boiler also seems to fall under the combi section, but with it having a built-in storage cylinder, would the thermostat need to be a 2 channel option (for heating and water) or will it work on a single channel one? Asking as I have already purchased the single channel version of the Drayton Wiser smart thermostat which is supposed to be for combi boilers. I suppose I could consider the Viessmann 100-W instead, but the built storage cylinder could be helpful.

I'd rather stay away from Vaillant. I know they are supposed to be fairly highly regarded and I have been recommended the EcoTec Plus model by a heating engineer friend. Based off the experience my parents had though, I have discarded them as an option.

I'll have a look at the Intergas models but it seems that there aren't many distributor options to purchase them.

 

[JonathanM]

No, nothing really. I don’t use geolocation but I have switched on the heating while down the pub.

Critical thing was to rebalance the system as all my previous set up was way out. To be honest the heating hasn’t been on much since our boiler swap. I did consider weather compensation but decided against it. The Halo does have its own built in weather compensation that has to be switched off if weather compensation is hard wired to the boiler from outside the house.

Note, only the boiler display shows the flow and return temperatures. It can also show in litres how much hot water is coming out of the tap or shower. This won’t show in the Halo or the app

Here are a few of the menus on my phone.

I never thought I'd be interested in that sort of remote Halo thing, but it's really cool!! Plus, I love my thermometers, but have to go around the house and check them manually. Is that a free app, or does it come with the thermometers?

I think 15C flow/return differential is really good at 50C flow. I was wondering what the flow rate is for the CH, and have just been checking the manual to see if you can check, but it looks like you can't. You can see DHW flow rate only, I think.

EDIT: Is that really 1.62 KWh of gas in a day? or is it m3?

 

[muggles]

Thank you for the info. I would definitely like to buy British, if I can find the right boiler.

You'll struggle there. The best you'll get for "Britishness" is a boiler assembled in the UK from parts made overseas. There are no British owned gas boiler manufacturers, and only a vanishingly small number of components are made here. Better to just look for the best boiler to suit your needs

 

[JonathanM]

You'll struggle there. The best you'll get for "Britishness" is a boiler assembled in the UK from parts made overseas. There are no British owned gas boiler manufacturers, and only a vanishingly small number of components are made here. Better to just look for the best boiler to suit your needs

Do you know which ones are still assembled here? I heard Vaillant are, funnily enough! But what about the famous names like Ideal, Baxi and Worcester?

 

[Ltnman]

That day is was 1.62Kw or 0.14m3. It can vary up to 3Kw or 30p at today prices, depending on shower requirements of the 4 of us. The aeration shower head makes a difference and the 42C HW temperature.

It is the heating that is going to be a killer. On the 14th the boiler used 4.59Kw for the first half hour then dropped back. At the time the outside temperature was a balmy 14.5C. Come winter there will be long burn times.

 

[Ltnman]

Do you know which ones are still assembled here? I heard Vaillant are, funnily enough! But what about the famous names like Ideal, Baxi and Worcester?

They all have UK manufacturing plants. My boiler was made in Hull.

 

[JonathanM]

That day is was 1.62Kw or 0.14m3. It can vary up to 3Kw or 30p at today prices, depending on shower requirements of the 4 of us. The aeration shower head makes a difference and the 42C HW temperature.

It is the heating that is going to be a killer. On the 14th the boiler used 4.59Kw for the first half hour then dropped back. At the time the outside temperature was a balmy 14.5C. Come winter there will be long burn times.

So that day, you didn't have the heating on at all? You're either tougher than me, or Bedfordshire is a lot warmer than Yorkshire. My house it at 17C most of the time, with heating used for a bit each day.

 

[Ltnman]

No heating now for maybe 5 days. House temperature at 22:03 is 18.5C according to the stat. Outside is 9.4C. On the days that the heating is switched on is more to do with testing it than needing it as it has only be on for the odd hour.

 

[JonathanM]

No heating now for almost a week. House temperature at 22:03 is 18.5C according to the stat

That is very strange. The office here is 18.5C, don't know why it's always higher, but the rest of the downstairs is 16C to 17.5C, and the upstairs is 15C. It's a large-ish, moderately well insulated detached.

Would two hundred miles south explain it?

 

[JonathanM]

Just checked. Over the last week Bedford seems 2-3C higher than here, night and day. I've never really thought what a difference there might be.

 

[Ltnman]

I never thought I'd be interested in that sort of remote Halo thing, but it's really cool!! Plus, I love my thermometers, but have to go around the house and check them manually. Is that a free app, or does it come with the thermometers?

It's a free app by Govee that goes with the Govee thermometers. I bought 2 bundles under two email addresses to get £10 off around 6 weeks ago. I only paid £54 for the 4 of them but they have now shot up.

Indoor Smart Digital Thermo Hygrometer | Govee United Kingdom

For cleaner air and better health, Govee offers Bluetooth and WiFi Indoor Smart Digital Thermo Hygrometer that monitor temp and humidity in your greenhouses, incubators, and plant terrariums

uk.govee.com

 

[sxturbo]

They all have UK manufacturing plants. My boiler was made in Hull.

Glow worms are still built in the UK, but they are owned by vaillant.

Baxi is assembled in the UK.

Worcester are assembled in the UK.

Though I probably wouldn't recommend them.

I've personally got an internal and it's been faultless. I have a friend with an atag and that's been really reliable aswell though boiler engineers don't seem to like them.

My brother and parents have ideal boilers and they aren't great, the hot water in the combi takes an age to get warm and they havnt been overly reliable.

As I said listen to muggles advise, he is a heating engineer and has lots of knowledge and is a regular on the forum and we'll respected.