Worcester Greenstar 15ri or Vaillant Ecotec Plus 612

[sophiep79]

Hi there, I was hoping to get some advice on which boiler to go for because plumbing is not something I'm hot on.

I live in a 2 bed flat with one bathroom. Not much hot water comes out of the shower and so I wonder if this means we have a low water pressure?

We need a new boiler and money is quite tight but have decided to plump for a Vaillant or Worcester given their frequent recommendations from others and have come across two that seem good value.

Vaillant EcoTEC Plus 612 System Boiler

Worcester Greenstar 15ri Heating Condensing Boiler

The Vaillant is a little cheaper, but I'm not sure which one is better for my needs. Any advice would be really appreciated!

Also, what do I need to do to make sure my guarantee is vaild and that I'm all set to sell my house / rent it out one day with no problems about boiler installation / certification.

Thanks very much!!!

 

[bengasman]

Not much difference in quality between the 2, both are good. Vailant has the worst aftersales service in the country though and WB is generally considered to be the best in that respect.
Far more important than the difference between the 2 boilers, is the quality of the installer. One of my clients has a big vailant installed a few years back (not by me), which was done very badly and has caused 2 or 3 breakdowns a year ever since.

Installation of a new boiler will have no effect on your shower, it is fed by a tank so nothing will change there.

If you rent the place out, you will need get a gas safety certificate at that moment, not now.

If you sell the place, there is no legal requirement for anything to do with the boiler. There were plans to do so a few years ago, but they were shelved.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of lawyers that grabbed it as an excuse to make some more money, and still today some of them ask all sorts of nonsense like: "we need to see the corgi certificate".
Not even worth thinking about today, as the goalposts are moved every year.

 

[sophiep79]

Hi there, thanks very much for your reply, it's really interesting what you say about installation and customer service. The reasons I was going to go for a V or a WB was because I presumed that the boiler itself would be better, and that customer svs at these companies would be better (and more likely to honour a guarantee). In line with what you said, do you think it would be fine to go for a 24kw Ferolli Domi, or even a Gloworm, which are hundreds cheaper? Hope to hear from you soon. Cheers

 

[bengasman]

Ferroli is cheap and cheerful, not the worst boiler in the world, but lightyears away form WB CDI.

Gloworm = vailant = terrible after sales.

The old adage, you get what you pay for, is still valid; there is no boiler that is reliable, quiet, with good after sales, AND cheap.

 

[mickyg]

Glowworm ultracom is as good as any and a fair bit cheaper than both. Customer service may not be perfect, but then you shouldn't really need it! Group Service(vaillant/glowworm) are also very lenient on warranty issues caused by installer error and customers who "forget" to get the 1st year service carried out.

 

[picasso]

have your water pressure checked , you may be better off with a combi boiler, get a local rgi to have a look .

 

[Agile]

I cannot see any way that anyone with a modern cylinder would be better off with a combi!

The cost of converting to a combi is £400 extra at our costs!

The vaillant has a stainless steel heat exchanger and the Worcester an alloy !

I always prefer stainless steel ! Although I have fitted a few Worcester heat only and they have worked fine so far.

Tony

 

[picasso]

I cannot see any way that anyone with a modern cylinder would be better off with a combi!

Tony

i find this comment very surprising from someone that works in london, most flats I have worked in benefit from having showers at mains pressure and the extra space is always welcome.

 

[Agile]

I agree that a combi boiler is a good system for a small one bathroom flat if the mains pressure is good.

However, this is an existing system and she says money is " quite tight " !

Certainly at our prices, which often seem lower than many others, a heat only boiler is likely to be about £400 cheaper even after a budget shower pump has been fitted compared with converting to a combi system.

That would then give a significantly better showering experience and faster bath filling than a smaller combi.

Tony