75ZT Community

And does anyone know a good fitter in the Stafford area?

Our current boiler is 14 years old, and although it's had a new fan is still going OK. However I suspect it could do with replacing especially as current boilers are around 15% more efficient.

So different Brands have their ups and downs. Worcester Bosch used to have a good reputation but I heard recently, not so reliable these days though pricy all the same. We need a standard boiler, not a combi.

Anyone care to give advice?

We have a Gloworm gas conventional condensing boiler. Has been without any problems for 6 years. Oh dear, that's put the jinx on it now without doubt! It replaced a 40 year old Buderus oil burner which we decided to dump because the price of oil was getting silly and we wanted rid of the tank from the garden. I'm not too sure we did the right thing. The installer was a tosser and I had to help him get it working as he could not sort the wiring and setting up. Corgi or Gas Safe approval or whatever they call it this week means nothing in my experience.

Worcester Bosch non-combi in our house Duncan. Only been in two years but no problems yet. Also guaranteed for 10 years full parts and labour so somebody must have some faith in WB boilers

As Paul says.. Worcester Bosch We have one of the Green Star range,
Put in a a Non Combi regular boiler in 2011, and had no problems at so far ?
Only got 3 yrs Warranty with ours tho' , but then only Cost about £800 total installed ..and got a £300 warmfront grant to help.

C

Worcester Bosch here too. 6 years service one minor problem under warrantee. Oil fired Combi. Heatslave 12/14

Thanks guys. Sounding like WB are not so bad then.

WB are still most reliable brand according to most recent Which? report.

The greenstar is a decent boiler BUT the parts are hellish expensive if it does go wrong. The brand has dipped a little in recent years. Baxi also still have a very good name in the industry.

Relative new boy on the block is the Ideal Logic. Been out about 5 yr now, we have fitted literally thousands on the old Warmfront scheme and more on the ECO scheme presently. I can honestly say, not been back to one that has been installed correctly But as with all boilers that is the problem. making sure they are installed to Man Inst.

Of the 30 or so inspections I have carried out this month (Covering from Newcastle upon tyne to Bournemouth) I have awarded only one installation a "clean pass" Make sure installers pay particular attention on standard boiler installation to cold feed position and expansion position. BUT by far the biggest installation failure is the condense pipe, especially if it is run to an outside drain.

As of a couple of years ago when the majority of boilers with an outside condense pipe froze ( remember that?) then ALL condense pipes that run outside MUST be 32mm minimum dia actually going through the wall to outside and the 32mm once outside MUST be insulated externally.
Next biggest failure is not to carry out the appropriate flush BEFORE the boiler is fired up, very hard to prove with out water sampling, but you can check for the presence of the protection additive with a simple kit.

Remember failure to install to Man Inst can invalidate your guarantee Warranty providers can and do refuse to honour service agreements if the boiler is not installed to Man inst

I think that if you are going to change your boiler, have a good look at your radiators. They can get partially blocked with gunge and not kick out enough heat. Flushing might work but sometimes is easier to just whack in a replacement new rad. I replaced 3 old radiators at my previous house after having the system flushed and the heating engineer did the same again after extending the system to the loft room. House became noticeably warmer without changing thermostat setting and the boiler was firing up less often.

Cheers

Mike

I have a 30 year old Glow worm gas back boiler have never had a problem, keep getting messages from British gas about replacement, why?

Again thanks for the input.

Dave S, a good point well made. A good installer is worth way more than a good product in many ways. In fact what worries me most is finding someone good to do the job.

Mike, I hope that our rads are in reasonable nick, as I've used an additive since not long after it was new. I know that there is still black gunk around, though!

Dave G: I think its about efficiency. I would be tempted to leave it longer, but even our fairly modern (14 years) boiler is only 75% efficient compared to modern modulating / condensing types that are 90%.