Vaillant ecoTEC plus 418 vs Worcester 18Ri

[GilesClapham]

Hello,
I've just had a several quotes for a replacement boiler.
We live in a 15 year old 3 bedroom detached house with 12 radiators. It's a heat only open vent system.
Our priorities are efficiency, reliability and quietness.
My choices are Vaillant ecoTEC plus 418, Worcester 18Ri and a Baxi.
We've ruled out the Baxi after reading so many poor reviews.
I've read some of the existing forums here and elsewhere but most seem to relate to combis so i thought I'd ask a more specific question.
Finally, we've had quotes from nPower (recommends 18kw) and BG (recommends 15kw) amongst some independents. Any comments on their installations and support would be appreciated too.
Thanks for your time.

 

[gasservice85]

i would reccomend the vaillant and please use a local engineer not a national they are killing our industry.

line the pockets of a local man to feed his family not a shareholder to spend on his next range rover

 

[harold5]

glowworm ultracom 18hxi. virtually the same as the vaillant but £90 cheaper .

 

[mickyg]

glowworm ultracom 18hxi. virtually the same as the vaillant but £90 cheaper .

what he said.

 

[GilesClapham]

Thanks for your advice, I'd not considered the Glowworm before but after a bit of research it seems OK and the only one I have seen that mentions that it's quiet.
Now, you've said it's virtually the same as the Vailliant but cheaper. Excluding budget is the Vailliant a better boiler than the Glowworm? i.e. quieter, longer lasting, more reliable.

 

[bengasman]

As long as you don't get a complete lemon, the exact choice of boiler is far less important than the choice of installer.

Two problems with national companies like the 2 that quoted you.
1. They employ thousands of installers, ( BG actually use loads of subbies so the work doesn't even really get done by BG ) so you can get a very good one, or a really bad one, and nothing you can do about it.
2. Unless you are lucky and you dealt with a salesman that was desparate to reach his target, they tend to be 50%-100% more expensive than a good local installer.

You could probably get a Viessmann ( far better than any of the boilers you mentioned ) complete with proper powerflush, digital wireless controlls, weather compensation and thermostatic valves for less than a bare budget boiler from BG.

 

[harold5]

Thanks for your advice, I'd not considered the Glowworm before but after a bit of research it seems OK and the only one I have seen that mentions that it's quiet.
Now, you've said it's virtually the same as the Vailliant but cheaper. Excluding budget is the Vailliant a better boiler than the Glowworm? i.e. quieter, longer lasting, more reliable.

its the same boiler/parts, apart from appearance, the pcb and display which are reliable .even has a built in timer,(if used may need option board or smart centre).
as with all boilers make sure the systems clean before fitting.

 

[lawrance]

Cor blimey guvnor!!

Dont use bg to fit your boiler, they cant clean flux residue off a soldered fitting let alone clean a heating system.

I would be very suprised if any engineer on n-power knew how to use a power flush machine.

 

[RusClarke10]

The differences between the vaillant and the ultracom are subtle, however, the vaillant one has a different fan and gas valve which gives higher efficincy.

The ecotec also has longer flue lengths (if this is needed) and more control options, which is probably worth the extra £90.

Both the vaillant and glowworm are good boilers though.

 

[bengasman]

The ecotec also has longer flue lengths (if this is needed) and more control options, which is probably worth the extra £90.

90% or boilers only need less than a metre flue to go straight trough the wall, and a similar 90% of people either don't use those controls, or use them the wrong way; contols are only as good as the user.

 

[manyaonisland]

I am also in the process of getting quotes for the boiler replacement for my 3 bed - mid terrace , 8 Radiators house. Existing system is a heat only open vent system with Ideal WR50 (not sure about the 50 bit!).

I have got quotes from various ppl. Including BG and nPower. Discounting BG & nPower for the obvious cost aspects, i got quotes from local engineers and they are quoting for different boilers like - Vaillant ecoTEC plus 418, Potterton Promax, Glow-worm Flexicom 18hx boiler, Baxi solo 15HE

I am tempted to go for Vaillant ecoTEC plus 418 but need to confirm couple of things as facts before i make a decision. These are
- Vaillant ecoTEC plus 418 has stainless still heat exchanger as oppose to the aluminium one. is this correct?
- I do not have the pump overrun wiring in place. and Vaillant does not need that. is that correct? if this is not correct then what should be the choice which does not need pump overrun..the last thing i want is to have laminated floor ripped apart to run the wire.

I would really appreciate if anyone can confirm these points then

 

[gasservice85]

I'm pretty sure the Vaillant does need pump over run the Viessmann vitodens 100 compact is an open vent boiler and does not need the pump overrun because of it's heat exchanger capacity very solid little boiler aswell with 5 year warranty

 

[Gasman77]

I am also in the process of getting quotes for the boiler replacement for my 3 bed - mid terrace , 8 Radiators house. Existing system is a heat only open vent system with Ideal WR50 (not sure about the 50 bit!).

I have got quotes from various ppl. Including BG and nPower. Discounting BG & nPower for the obvious cost aspects, i got quotes from local engineers and they are quoting for different boilers like - Vaillant ecoTEC plus 418, Potterton Promax, Glow-worm Flexicom 18hx boiler, Baxi solo 15HE

I am tempted to go for Vaillant ecoTEC plus 418 but need to confirm couple of things as facts before i make a decision. These are
- Vaillant ecoTEC plus 418 has stainless still heat exchanger as oppose to the aluminium one. is this correct?
- I do not have the pump overrun wiring in place. and Vaillant does not need that. is that correct? if this is not correct then what should be the choice which does not need pump overrun..the last thing i want is to have laminated floor ripped apart to run the wire.

I would really appreciate if anyone can confirm these points then

Don't hijack other peoples, posy your own you lazy get.....

 

[manyaonisland]

Don't hijack other peoples, posy your own you lazy get.....

Apologies but you confused me!
How does it makes me lazy when (compared in terms of efforts required)it comes to starting a new thread or posting further question in the relevant thread started by someone else?

By doing what I have done the related and relevant information will be at one place in single thread where as what you have recommended would scatter the info all over and clog the forum with multiple similar topics

Sorry Gasman77 but i disagree with your post!

Be my guest if you have any useful info. that would help me getting answers to my questions?

 

[Rob]

The baxi solo doesn't need pump over run. This is the same boiler as the potterton promax only you get to actually see the diagnostic LEDs which can be invaluable.

Should be a bit cheaper than the vaillant as well.

Heat only boilers are very basic the quality of the rest of your controls and the quality of installation are far more important.