[silkdragon]

Can anyone recommend a good combi gas boiler, ? there are so many on the market, I am totally confused, and, would welcome some advice from you.

Two person household. Thank you.

[QTC13]

Worcester is a good one.

[Croctacus]

Or Vaillant. Not Ideal.

[Caxton]

Everyone I know who have combi boiler have had nothing but trouble with them. Some people have no option but to have a combi but if an alternative exists I would never have one fitted out of choice

[tinman]

Originally Posted by QTC13

Worcester is a good one.

This.

[orchover]

Originally Posted by Caxton

Everyone I know who have combi boiler have had nothing but trouble with them. Some people have no option but to have a combi but if an alternative exists I would never have one fitted out of choice

Same here! Certainly put me off getting one.

[scott789s]

Viessmann are the top brand, however £££££££££

But then again you get what you pay for.

[Dave1979]

Volkera - never had an issue and the guy that does the annual service says they are great

[orange1234]

Buying cheap or expensive all combi's have a limited lifespan.

Ask an engineer and they will tell you Worcester, reasonable quality, but you will pay well over the odds for what it is and it's installation.

If you buy anything, buy something with a 5 year parts and labour warranty. Buy your own boiler and get quotes to "fit" only. (Try "central heating boiler with 5 year warranty" on a Google search, when you have decided on a model, type that model into Goggle and see who the cheapest is for it)

That way you can buy the best value boiler, and compare fitting costs easily.

If "you" buy your own boiler you own the 12 months guarantee (2 years under EU rules) as the purchaser, whereas if you buy it off your installer, he is the purchaser, then your guarantee is with him.... assuming you can find him in 6 months time if something goes wrong. If you buy from your installer he will want to make his cut on the resale of the boiler to you.

Maybe consider 2 options,

Buy a boiler for £900 -1000 then over 8 years maybe pay £200 in parts and labour to repair it - or - buy something for £350 with a 5 year parts and labour warranty in in 8 years throw it out as soon as a part costing more than £100 needs replacing and then buy a brand new sparkly one (where all the parts are band new).

Now you have a brand new boiler with another 5 years warranty so - 13 years trouble free boiler with no unexpected repair bills. If you buy the same make again, then refitting is easy.

After 8 years a Worcester parts will be wearing and a repair on them can be eye watering.

[tim59]

most last about 10 years

[Dawn Sun]

Originally Posted by QTC13

Worcester is a good one.

Worcester Bosch they are now. At least mine's a WB and I bought it about 8 years ago. It's never had a problem.

[Beau_Soir]

WB or Vaillant so I'm told by those in the trade

[Mad Hatter]

I have a Vaillant and it is reliable and also very economical and I am well pleased with it.

[Caxton]

I believe that any combi because it heats the water directly from the mains supply as you use it rather than through a heating coil in a storage tank they therefore tend to give trouble in hard water areas because they fur up. The old Ascot gas water heaters that used to heat water as you use it and electric heated shower units are notorious for furring up in hard water areas.

I live in a very hard water area and that is why people I know who have had them have had nothing but trouble with them. Look inside you kettle, if it furs up badly avoid a combi if there is an alternative system you could use instead.

[CitySlicker]

Installers I've spoken to generally say Worcester too, but don't discount Ideal. They have had a ropey history but their Logic+ range has really brought them back into the game with a five year warranty, and my plumber said although he was sceptical he tried this new range and finds he has less call-outs on the new Ideal range compared to the Worcester ones he traditionally installed.

[orange1234]

If you have the choice between two boilers of the same price go for one with a stainless steel heat exchanger, rather than one with an aluminum one.

[Welsh-lad]

Vaillant - never had any trouble at all.

I'm surprised by the posts about combis being a nightmare; I thought pretty much everyone had abandoned the old types. I've not seen a lagged copper tank in an airing cupobard for years!

[Perfection]

Most modern combis are decent and should last several years. It's advisable to get an annual service done.

Plus you need to make sure you get one capable of feeding the size of house you have. I have known people to have trouble because the boiler isn't powerful enough.

We have a Worcester Bosch 40CDi (i think). 4 years, trouble free, apart from the external pipe freezing a couple of years back. 5 bed house and two showers and ample power. Pressure does drop slightly if both showers are on, but I'm not sure if that is the water supply or the boiler.

[Sigurd]

I've had a Worcester Bosch combi boiler in this house for about fifteen years and I've had very few problems with it. The first was that the people who installed it had used some flexible pipe where they should have used copper, but that was their incompetence rather than a fault of the boiler. About twelve years ago it had to have its diverter valve replaced (the thing that switches between central heating and hot water), but since then it's been fine. I have it serviced each year by Worcester Bosch and they do replace the burner nozzles(or whatever they're called) each year and maybe other minor parts, but that's been it.

The only real problem I have with it is that oil's so expensive!

[KennedyC]

My Baxi back boiler was installed in 1989. It is serviced annually costing £50. It has had a new thermocouple fitted (cost a few pounds) and it developed a leak 15 years ago which I fixed with the equivalent of radweld. When I have talked to the engineer about getting a more efficient combi or condensing boiler he says they are nothing but trouble.

[Orangemaid]

Originally Posted by tim59

most last about 10 years

i think my bolier is around 10 years old now..A worchester junior and i have no end of problems with it..its currently broken now..might have to get new one

[evil c]

Which? Best Buy boilers are all Worcester Bosch (WB) and Vaillant. I have a WB Greenstar 28i Junior Mk III gas fired condensing combi which my gas safe engineer recommended when I carried out a total refurb to my 2 bed bungalow in December 2010. It's been no trouble at all and is very efficient, and it didn't cost that much because I was paying cash and he's an honest man. I also had the WB DT20 digital twin channel programmer fitted, which the engineer muttered about a bit, as he hadn't done it before, 'cause no-one ever asked for it.

[jra]

Dunno if Stelrad are still around, but my Stelrad boiler is now 23 years old and still going strong.

[LightningIguana]

I hate our combi-boiler since it was installed. Water pressure is terrible when you turn on more than one tap and there's never any hot water. Rather, there is hot water, but only if you run it for about ten minutes.

Preferred our old way.

[jra]

Originally Posted by jra

Dunno if Stelrad are still around, but my Stelrad boiler is now 23 years old and still going strong.

Made a mistake there. It is actually 28 years old.