Worcester Greenstar Junior Install - aaarrrgh!!!!

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I have just installed a Worcester Greenstar Junior 24i to replace a Potterton Combi 80 and would be interested to hear of others experiences with this particular boiler. Normally I install Pottertons, Baxis and Mains as most of my customers won’t or can’t make the jump to a more expensive boiler.

The first thing that surprised me was the hanging frame with the expansion vessel and the pressure relief connection attached. OK, I can see that this takes a little weight off hanging the actual boiler but was a bit taken back by the fact that critical internal water connections had to be made after hanging the boiler. In the case of the pressure relief discharge it was impossible to see what was going on.

The next surprise I got was that there were no pre-formed tails with the boiler. Ok, maybe this isn’t a big deal but it still adds at least 1.5 hours to the time for the install. The only reason that I can think of is that it is possible with this model to run the pipe work up behind the frame. If so, so what? If I had wanted to do this, I would have expected to be able to buy a stand off gizmo.

Next was access to the PCB. The only way to get this was to unhinge the complete control panel to access the last retaining screw, either leaving it dangling of having to rely on someone holding it for you for a few minutes – incredibly badly designed.

Then onto making the electrical connections. When the instructions say to unclip the grommets and cut to size what does this mean exactly. They don’t ‘unclip’ in any way that I could see. What they actually require is a lot of force using inappropriate tools in close proximity to the PCB. The chances are that your hand will slip forcing one or more connections to come flying off the PCB – well it did in my case. Just what you want when you are finishing off and just fitting the programmable thermostat.

The pressure relief discharge pipe work is connected via a nut and olive – nothing wrong with that until you try to tighten it up and find that the male thread just rotates with the spanner. As you cannot see what on earth it is connected to there isn’t much you can do except try and clamp the thread and hope you don’t do too much damage.

Next, even though Worcester kindly provide a sticker of where they were planning on putting the hot water thermostat, it would be more useful if they actually provided one to allow the customer to regulate his hot water temperature – so much more useful.

So, when you come to start the thing up; I don’t know about anyone else but I quite like to know what sort of progress its making as it heats up. It’s very nice to hear the turbine running but personally, I would have liked some sort of indicator to tell me what temperatures it’s managing to achieve.

Next onto the simple job of attaching the condensate waste pipe. Well it would be simple if you didn’t have to dismantle most of the underside of the boiler to get to it, especially when you’ve just put it all back.

Finally the diagnostics. These appear to rely solely on the speed and frequency of the big blue light flashing) not that you can actually see it in daylight though). How much more would it have cost to have provided an LCD which in my case could have indicated that my T10 indicator (which previously came flying off in my attempt to unclip the grommet and was erroneously labelled T1) was either not attached or, as in my case, attached the wrong way round. Oh no, not when it’s possible to get the big blue lamp to flash at a slightly faster rate than it would do for the previous error condition it wanted to show.

Finally, are Glow Worm and Worcester the same company of has the head design bod recently changed jobs? This is the same as a Hxi or Cxi or something as far as I can remember.

Mind you, the telescopic flue was nice.

As I said, I am used to installing cheaper boilers. Although cheaper, from the point of view of installing them, they are far better thought out and I have never experienced any problems of any kind. I have no idea how much better the Worcester will perform over time but for something that costs about £250 more than a Main 24HE I would hope it provides years of trouble free service. I fitted this particular Worcester with a Magnaclean but please don’t get me started on the fittings provided with that – you get a ring spanner provided that no one needs, but don’t get a tool to turn their impossible to get to isolating valves for maintenance.

Anyone had the same sort of experience or is it just me?
 
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ive found although not cosmetically brilliant , the baxi/potterton/main are a good cheap reliable boiler thats **** easy to work on and the most common failure parts are fairly cheap.theres not many boilers that you can do a diaphram in 5 mins. and remove dhw x in 5 min.
 
I know what you mean about the worcesters, I have fitted a few of them and it didnt seem to be as easy as it could have been. The jig was a pain in the a**e and wiring it and prv were all as you say-problematic. One thing I did find out after a while is the grommets for the wiring do come away from the boiler,they sort of slide out of their position as a whole block,each one i mean,so you can cut each one to suit,not very well explained in the MI though. The thing I find in my area is that people have got to know the Worcester Bosch name and they want one of them at all costs so that is what we end up fitting. Must say I like the sound of some of these cheaper boilers like baxi if their installation is as good as you say,might give them a try sometime soon,the nearest I get to Baxi's at the moment is servicing a lot of bbu's.
 
chr15 said:
Must say I like the sound of some of these cheaper boilers like baxi if their installation is as good as you say,might give them a try sometime soon,the nearest I get to Baxi's at the moment is servicing a lot of bbu's.

Budget Baxis etc; preformed tails, proper mounting jig, no exposing the PCB to make the electrical connections, condensate initial connection is vertical compression fit, PRV connection is simple union, nice push fit flue with very positive action, simple but efficient diagnostic and operating indicators.

Worcestor Bosch; hassle, hassle and more hassle

I reckon you would save about 3 hours or more to the job fitting the budget jobbies - the difference between getting home at 6PM as opposed to 10PM - I know which I prefer!
 
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Fit loads of Greenstar 24/28i juniors as all my customers seem to read mags they advertise in . I've suffered all the problems you have and now you have to practically build the thing (condensate syphon etc). Time will tell on reliability but near enough every week i replace a board on the old SE 24i's, Si's and i juniors fitted four & or 5 years ago
Biasi RivaCompact HE is my cheapie choice @ moment. No problems but I always use a Magnaclean
 
I know its an old thread but Elite is spot on worcester is one of the most installer unfriendly boilers out there, And that feking 15 minute initial purge and 7 minute self test on power off is a pain.
Not a fan
 
.......worcester is one of the most installer unfriendly boilers out there

and they make some of the worst boilers to repair....bet you none of these Junior installers will ever end up fixing them....total carp design.

Advertising budget more than the rest of the industry put together and installers and the public fall for it :rolleyes:

Even the stupid management at BG shoved in the old CDi's....how much has that cost them on diverter repairs alone.
 
YEp only fit them on customers insistence , Usually after BG salesman have said how good they are.
Explain when it breaksdown and ALL boilers do at some stage parts will be a stupid price and labour cost more due to length of time to fix it

Look how many posts on here where people recommend WB . WHY.
 
some wb's are ok others are very poor.

ive not had alot go wrong with the newer ones except pcb's which isnt much of a sweat, just looks bad on my parts cost. ill be getting friendly with the later greenstars as my mum and my stepdad both have one. time will tell i suppose.

i did rip into the local wb manager when he came round extolling the virtues of the newer greenstars when they were first released, he was demonstrating how easy it is to remove that ridiculous burner/heatex setup when i asked him to show us how easy it was to remove the prv......he convienently didnt bother and packed up pretty sharpish.
 
Worcesters are not our favourites to install, and whilst some very recent updates have addressed some of Elite's observations, it is not an easy boiler to work on. I like the razor sharp bits of metalwork, too.

But Worcester have the best service back up in the industry, the i series is their budget boiler. Their install instructions are very thorough. The CDi is better made; has the hw temp control, the readout etc. but it is more money.
 
Keep on saying it. But I dont want to know how good a manufacturers back up service is,.
If i know that it means they are breaking down under g`tee and upseting my customers. No matter how quick they come out to it
 
I've fitted ten CDis in the past year and had no real problems. There are a few niggles like every other boiler but you soon get used to them.

Re the front cover there are two clips on the frame that you can slide out to let the cover come away completely from the boiler and the grommets as has been said slide out too.

Re the PRV what you have to do is fit a length of pipe to it first before hanging the boiler and some silcone grease to allow it slide up into position easily.

The flue system is good,IMO, however it would be nice if you could buy a longer terminal without having to buy a 1000mm extension.

You can drop down the flue turret from the top of the boiler into the boiler by removing the screws holding it which allows you to position the flue elbow easier if you are tight with the flue hole.

The DT range of programmers are not the best but they are ok and the confusion the pre-heat light causes is just stupid. On when it's off and off when it's on.

Back up is first class as is tech support and they answer the phone to all enquiries within seconds except for between 1 & 2 PM.

And, the boilers sell themselves.

As a WBAI I'm pretty pleased with them, the website referrals are excellent.

Best manufacturer I've dealt with since Vokera started in Glasgow way back in the 90s.

Vokera are just the same as the rest now ,pretty average at best.
 
I will say that the Worcester 12 Ri range are very easy to fit!

Their Junior boilers have proved to be not very reliable and I have been to repair a disproportionate number, mostly PCBs or fans.

The larger Greenstar range have been pretty reliable once up and running although quite a few developed a PCB fault on or shortly after installation.

I agree that if you want a very reliable boiler which is not too expensive then buy a Biasi M96.

Tony
 

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