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[boolie]

So easy to fool the public...no boilers are British...those that claim to be are assembling parts from overseas. Baxi actually import and rebadge some of their Dutch boilers for the UK lineup.
It's a lot of luck with boilers...Baxi have produced some of the worst boilers in history...some of their current range is ok but there's still some models you should avoid at all costs.

Fair point - I'm going off my own personal statistics which has a sample size of 1 (i.e. just me!). My experience has been good.
TBH the British thing isn't a deal breaker for me - all the big companies are global nowadays - who owns Jaguar now, is that still British?!? god knows

If you go down to a parts level hardly any of the finished article is solely manufactured in just one country - most parts probably come from the far east. We hardly manufacture anything.. but we do still put all the bits together

 

[ianmcd]

So easy to fool the public...no boilers are British...those that claim to be are assembling parts from overseas. Baxi actually import and rebadge some of their Dutch boilers for the UK lineup.
It's a lot of luck with boilers...Baxi have produced some of the worst boilers in history...some of their current range is ok but there's still some models you should avoid at all costs.

In my own humble opinion the 552 BBU was the most reliable boiler Baxi ever made, they fell down big time with the genesis, which was a rebadged French boiler a total pile of shoite,they sort of got a peg back when they bought the Alpha production line and called it the 80 and 105 range, good boilers, the new ones I wouldnt touch

 

[Mr.B]

Dare I ask, what about their heat only boilers?

 

[ianmcd]

To be totally honest, there are not many modern boilers or steamers as they are known because they have to condense, are anywhere near as good as older boilers, because of current regs to lower CO2 as a bi-product the CO production has went through the roof, some manus stating that around 300PPM CO is acceptable, where old cast iron boilers anything above 30PPM was a cause for concern, add in a ten year expected lifespan compared to a 30 year timeline for old cast iron boilers, and some of the clowns that install them under ECO schemes, and can fit 2 a day, sludge wasnt invented , it has only become a real problem with modern boilers, the old girls would heat mud

 

[transam]

@transam not sure if you know, I see you like your bikes, Alpha used to sponser Klaffi Honda at the Isle of man TT, cant remember the numbers but if you fitted so many boilers you got taken to the Island for the TT, best manu freebie ever , you might recognise a little known lad in the Alpha pic

View attachment 233686

yes I recall they were sponsoring bike racing

never been to the IOM ( yet)

it’s been a good while since I fitted
An Alpha boiler

 

[vulcancontinental]

Some interesting points in these posts

Stainless is said to be better; it can be as good but guys prefer it mostly because it's easier to service and keep clean. Many have lots of welds, joints and gaskets. Ali is thirteen times more conductive like for like but needs more care. Running boilers cooler with modern controls sways the market toward stainless.

Remote inter connectivity to your heating might be convenient, Hive can give you that but a 1% efficiency uplift to a condensing boiler whereas weather comp around 2%, TPI around 2%, a modulating thermostat 3%, weather comp and a modulating stat 4%, 3 linked modulating stats 5%. These are EU calculated improvements to a new suitable condensing boiler. If your annual space heating bill averages £800 5% is 80p/week

Personally I would not be happy with those repairs on the Baxi

Baxi and Potterton were the best at one time but those days have long past.

I'd speculate most parts come from Italy which has a huge HVAC industry though they'd be assembled into boilers everywhere. Some manufacturers make heat exchangers for other manufacturers, provenance is hard to follow.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

If you go down to a parts level hardly any of the finished article is solely manufactured in just one country - most parts probably come from the far east. We hardly manufacture anything.. but we do still put all the bits together

..and many of the parts, especially so on cars, go into many different manufacturers models. What you find if you have a prestige model, you can buy the same part much cheaper if you buy it for a lower spec. manufacturers model.

 

[ianmcd]

yes I recall they were sponsoring bike racing

never been to the IOM ( yet)

it’s been a good while since I fitted
An Alpha boiler

I worked on the Island when Alpha sponsored the Honda team, they couldnt get hotels as all booked a year in advance, in 2007 for the 100 year anniversary , Alpha charted 2 tall ships and put everyone up on them all inclusive, I had a 2 bed flat and had 13 people staying with me during the fortnight, great times , I had a Blade 1000RR at the time and spent more time on the mountain than I did at work

 

[ianmcd]

I'd speculate most parts come from Italy which has a huge HVAC industry

yep I would agree with that, I used to work at the Immergas factory in Nepicar, who make boilers for many manufacturers, the way they treat their emplyees is very impressive, many years ahead of us on the employee relations front, trade unions are still a major power in Italy so probably something to do with it, have to say I never knew much about Italy until I went there through work, but was extremely impressed working there

 

[vulcancontinental]

yep I would agree with that, I used to work at the Immergas factory in Nepicar, who make boilers for many manufacturers, the way they treat their emplyees is very impressive, many years ahead of us on the employee relations front, trade unions are still a major power in Italy so probably something to do with it, have to say I never knew much about Italy until I went there through work, but was extremely impressed working there

Yes, when we were being looked at by a big German company as a takeover one of the reasons it stalled was they didn't like the terms of employment and pensions

 

[ianmcd]

Yes, when we were being looked at by a big German company as a takeover one of the reasons it stalled was they didn't like the terms of employment and pensions

David when I was there everyone from the chaiman down wore the same uniform, I still have mine but too fat to fit into it now 4 canteens all like high class restaurants, you had a little tab thing like a button and you got food and beleive it or not wine and it was deducted from your salary, you just placed the button thing and it recorded what you were having, thing I remember the most was they had an Ampitheatre, sort of setup, they would have engineers on stage with all the different boiler range, we all had our own work station and could ask questions, but we were all from different countries and they used a language translation programme, that didnt include technical language , some of the translations were brilliant