Is there a general combi boiler brand which is considered best value for money?

[boolie]

Rumour from where? Intergas are trying to increase their market share with the extra investment that Rheem can provide. The UK is one of their biggest markets, it would make no sense for them to leave. I've also never heard of a warranty call taking longer than a week even at the very busiest times.

from an intergas customer on here

Back to getting IG involved methinks. They said they are currently looking at the New Year for one of their engineers to come out

Read more: https://www.diynot.com/diy/threads/...nse-from-intergas.557768/page-2#ixzz6febGldwS

I personally would avoid intergas until the dust settles. Another rumour is that Rheem only acquired intergas for Intellectual Property rights so they can use one of their patented designs in the US market. One other rumour is that IG have stopped recruiting engineers in the UK and have made some redundant (thus the massive lead time for warranty cases)

 

[Mottie]

I'd almost forgotten about Intergas now that chief influencer Dan Robinson is no longer posting on here. Wasn’t there another Intergas engineer on here who has been 'let go' by Intergas recently due to the cuts in staffing they are making? Why would a growing company be letting staff go - surely they’d be increasing their engineers numbers, wouldn’t they?

 

[teaboyjim]

Potterton = Baxi = Main, same boilers largely. Vaillant's higher end boilers are OK if a little expensive, some of their cheaper models are rebadged Glow-worm boilers with higher prices

I didn't know that Potterton was so similar to Baxi

 

[Gasguru]

Baxi are part of a European consortium..

https://www.bdrthermeagroup.com/en

You'll see that Potterton (that became just a trading name of Baxi) now no longer exist in the domestic market...the websites gone.

Most boiler manufacturers belong to some such larger European group and the trick is to know what's behind the badge.

For instance some Baxis are really Remehas and have a very expensive combustion module that's going to cost owners a fortune when not repaired under warranty...you're inadvertently buying a dog of a boiler.

Some of the better Baxis are sold under the Main brand name...same boiler but with a shorter warranty.

Vaillant Group comprise of Glowworm, Saunier Duvall, Heatline and a host of rock bottom East European brands... so whilst you might think you're buying a quality Vaillant you might be buying a rebadged Glowworm that was probably designed in the Saunier Duval factory.

Then of course you might think you want a German Viessmann...but you don't realise the hydraulics are an off the shelf plastic assembly straight from Italy and found on a host of other brands.

Want a British boiler...dream on, virtually everything inside will be sourced from abroad, bottom range Worcesters are part Italian.

It's the same with all manufacturing today...honestys long since gone.

 

[teaboyjim]

the trick is to know what's behind the badge. For instance some Baxis are really Remehas and have a very expensive combustion module that's going to cost owners a fortune when not repaired under warranty...you're inadvertently buying a dog of a boiler.

Is Baxi not a good brand any more?

It's the same with all manufacturing today...honestys long since gone.

Which is the best "GoTo" brand?

 

[Gasguru]

You just have to pick the right models and to some extent ignore the manufacturer name.
I said this the other day...

Over on the closed gas forum many installers are going for these...

Baxi/Potterton/Main are the same boiler group and these models are essentially identical inside but with different front panels and warranty lengths.
They are dead simple to work on, easy parts availability and sensible parts prices when I last looked.

Main Eco Compact 25 or 30kW (5 year warranty AFAIR)
Baxi 624 or 630 or 636 (7 year warranty AFAIR)
Baxi 825 or 830 or 836 (10 year warranty AFAIR)

You'll find you just pay extra over the basic boiler price for the longer warranty but without a quality install and proper yearly servicing warranties are often voided.

 

[teaboyjim]

You just have to pick the right models and to some extent ignore the manufacturer name.
I said this the other day...Over on the closed gas forum many installers are going for these...

Thanks Gasguru

 

[sxturbo]

As above from gasguru

Vokeras are good also

 

[sxturbo]

I'd almost forgotten about Intergas now that chief influencer Dan Robinson is no longer posting on here. Wasn’t there another Intergas engineer on here who has been 'let go' by Intergas recently due to the cuts in staffing they are making? Why would a growing company be letting staff go - surely they’d be increasing their engineers numbers, wouldn’t they?

Maybe there that reliable they don't need so many engineers?

Maybe they have taken the business in another direction and decided that rather than have their own personell it's more cost effective to have approved installers carry out the warranties for them.

I'm an intergas fan as it's one of the few boilers that does opentherm well and accepts aftermarket opentherm controllers.

However I do admit that intergas is a niche brand compared to Baxi group, vaillant group and Bosch

 

[jonm01]

Interesting information in the above posts. No one seems to be recommending Worcester Bosch or Vallaint ?

 

[Stadan20]

Would be worcester all day long for me . Yes you pay more but IF any problems they are out quickly and even if its a system or installer fault that has caused the boiler to breakdown they will repair . Unlike most manufacturers out there . Just so you know i work on a variety of boilers day in and day out and This is my personal opinion

 

[ianmcd]

Interesting information in the above posts. No one seems to be recommending Worcester Bosch or Vallaint ?

Every one you ask will have a different opinion, it is all about support, most modern boilers are very similar, it is all about the back up you get from the manu, personally I wouldnt install either Vaillant or Worcester , but many will

 

[sxturbo]

There isn't such thing as a bad boiler these days as they all have large warranties. The difference is in customer service.

Bosch have a massive service team, so does vaillant and Baxi.

It depends on what you want from the boiler, if you are wishing to use smart controls with opentherm for ultimate efficiency then the mainstream brands are best avoided, unless you use their own proprietary systems.

It is much harder to find a decent installer than it is a bad boiler these days.

Each installer has their favourite.

I would find the installer your happy with and discuss with them there recommendation for whatever your budget is.

 

[bernardgreen]

There isn't such thing as a bad boiler these days as they all have large warranties

Having a large ( long ? ) warrantee does not mean the item is a good item. It can mean the purchase price paid has covered the cost of the item and also put money into a warrantee fund for replacing / repairing items that fail during the warrantee period.

Some customers will be lucky and their item will not require any repair / replacement during the warrantee period.
Some customers will be un-lucky and their item will require repair or replacement one or more times during the warrantee period.

The difference between purchase price of the item and the production cost of the item will depend on how good the item is.

A poor quality item that is cheap to produce and has a high risk of faults / failure will require it's purchase price to include a substantial contribution into the warrantee fund.

A high quality item that is expensive to produce and has a very low risk of faults / failure will require it's purchase price to include only a small contribution into the warrantee fund.

For some types of equipment where long warranties are a selling point a poor quality item can have a higher purchase price than a good quality item.

 

[Mr.B]

Having a large ( long ? ) warrantee does not mean the item is a good item. It can mean the purchase price paid has covered the cost of the item and also put money into a warrantee fund for replacing / repairing items that fail during the warrantee period.

Some customers will be lucky and their item will not require any repair / replacement during the warrantee period.
Some customers will be un-lucky and their item will require repair or replacement one or more times during the warrantee period.

The difference between purchase price of the item and the production cost of the item will depend on how good the item is.

A poor quality item that is cheap to produce and has a high risk of faults / failure will require it's purchase price to include a substantial contribution into the warrantee fund.

A high quality item that is expensive to produce and has a very low risk of faults / failure will require it's purchase price to include only a small contribution into the warrantee fund.

For some types of equipment where long warranties are a selling point a poor quality item can have a higher purchase price than a good quality item.

No s**t, Sherlock?

It's a good job you're here, Bernard, otherwise we'd never have known that.