New boiler Main HE vs Worcester CDI

[pj_eden]

All I want you opionions

I am about to replace a Glowworm Swift Flow Express 80. That has expired

First off what size boiler shoudl I go for 25, 28 or 30kw

4 bedroom end terrace house mediocre insualtion, 1 bathroom, en-suite shower room (but all showers are electric anyway).

Secondly Main or Worcester, for a comparable size Main are about £400 cheaper.

My Gas fitter reccomend Main and One or two people I have spoke to have said that with worecster you do pay for the name, but at the same time they offer a 5 year wrranty


Out of the two which would you choose

 

[Ray Stafford]

It would depend on how tight my budget was, and which Worcester was I was being offered for that price difference. There is a big difference between a Worcester 24i Junior and a Worcester 30CDi.

The Mains are not exactly cutting edge, but have a reputation as good honest boilers with a decent track record. Worcester are the market leader, and have been for years - but as you say, they aren't cheap.

At the very least you have been offered a choice between two good alternatives. If the warranty is the important thing, you could do worse than ask your installer about the Ideal logic+ which has 7 years at the moment.

On the output, the biggest difference you are likely to see is how long it takes to run a bath. If you all normally shower, then it doesn't really matter. If you run baths regularly, go for the higher output, and the bath will fill quicker.

 

[pj_eden]

Worcester 34CDI vs Main 30KW HE

 

[Ray Stafford]

Sorry - forgot to mention earlier - you can upgrade the Main to a five year warranty - I think its £99.

It still won't make it a Worcester, but its a good, solid boiler.

This is a bit like comparing a 5 series BMW with a Ford Mondeo. The Beamer costs a bit more, but neither are bad cars.

 

[Kev the gas]

Use a Worcester Accredited installer and get 7 years:auto:.

Their service centre are fantastic, they even pick up the phone! and attend very prompt have had same day visits from them in the past.

If only Ideal and Baxi could do the same.

Ps, Im sure someone will come on and slate the Worcester, but I can only speak from experience.

Kev.

 

[Kev the gas]

Forgot to say the Worcester 34 CDI condenses in hot water mode, does the Main 30 Kw He do so?

I dont know, Im not being cocky :tounge_smile:.

 

[vern]

Ray has it spot on there..........but also remember the WB 34CDi has a 7 year warranty (parts and labour) if installed by a Worrcester Accreditted installer, also has a modulating pump which saves power (30% v fixed speed) also only uses 3.5watts of electric in standby mode, CDi also condenses in hot water mode the Main does not!
A lttle known fact is that the 34CDI is actually 35KW on hot water and 30 KW on CH:wink_smile:

 

[vern]

Use a Worcester Accredited installer and get 7 years:auto:.

Their service centre are fantastic, they even pick up the phone! and attend very prompt have had same day visits from them in the past.

If only Ideal and Baxi could do the same.

Ps, Im sure someone will come on and slate the Worcester, but I can only speak from experience.

Kev.

LOL Kev beat me too it, customer service is fab as he has said

 

[pj_eden]

LOL Kev beat me too it, customer service is fab as he has said

Sounds an Improvment on Glowworm, when we weere trying to repair the old boiler I spent 40 mins waiting to get thru to them just so I could get them to ring my fitter!

 

[vern]

Sounds an Improvment on Glowworm, when we weere trying to repair the old boiler I spent 40 mins waiting to get thru to them just so I could get them to ring my fitter!

part of the £400 difference is the back room staff you pay for, you can get Customer services on saturday also

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

go for the main,unlike thee worcester its not made of plastic,worcester are living on past gloris there boilers are badly designed and hard to work on

 

[TBServices]

go for the main,unlike thee worcester its not made of plastic,worcester are living on past gloris there boilers are badly designed and hard to work on

Agreed.

 

[Kev the gas]

How easy they are to work on is not the OP problem.

Main warranty 2 years? max. To give the same level of warranty how much would another 5 years of breakdown cover cost ?

Surely worth an extra £ 400 and the energy savings??

 

[Ray Stafford]

Main warranty 2 years? max.

Main warranty is one year standard, two years if installer is on the "works" scheme, optional upgrade to 5 years for £99. (can't remember whether that includes VAT or not).

I don't think they offer an upgrade to 7 years.

So you are paying £400 - £99 = £301 for the extra 2 years plus the economy improvements, plus the Worcester customer care and badge prestige.

Its not a no-brainer. It depends on how tight the budget is, and where else that might be spent. No point in having a top of the range boiler if you can't afford shoes for your kids.

(No offence to the OP - they might be millionaires!)

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

How easy they are to work on is not the OP problem.

Main warranty 2 years? max. To give the same level of warranty how much would another 5 years of breakdown cover cost ?

Surely worth an extra £ 400 and the energy savings??

it is when he gets a bill for changing components,or dont you do maintenance

 

[lame plumber]

forget them both, pop in an intergas, does the same as a worcester and being there's no plate heat exchanger and diverter valve there is less to go wrong. Plus you get a 5 year warranty, 10 on the heat exchanger, and engineers get accredited for free, which is a bonus in my mind. Last worcester jnr i put in broke down 1 day later due to a failed pressure gauge pipe that broke open flooding the pcb etc. took them 3 days to get there, even ferrolli can do better than that. pls intergas cost less than worcesters.

 

[Nostrum]

Personal choices, if you were trying to get a definitive answer, no chance! Ha!

Personally i'm not a fan of worcester BUT I don't think anyone can knock their support service which is the best available in my opinion. Never dealt with the main eco, but it's old technology albeit fairly reliable from what I hear.

 

[bspareltd]

go for a main (baxi) , heatteam will back you up , remember main is all brass inside while a Worcester is made of plastic and held in by o rings !!!!!!!!!!Remember you are paying for the name , and marketing of the Worcester boiler .Baxi make different types of gas appliances eg boilers , waterheaters , gasfires , wall heaters, you don't manufacture all these products and not know what you are doing .Worcester were good boilers 15 years ago not the new crap they are coming out with

 

[Flue man]

Definitely the main 30he , really good boiler , it's 5 year warranty for £99 , very reliable and good performance, I always fit these when possible!!

 

[vern]

go for a main (baxi) , heatteam will back you up , remember main is all brass inside while a Worcester is made of plastic and held in by o rings !!!!!!!!!!Remember you are paying for the name , and marketing of the Worcester boiler .Baxi make different types of gas appliances eg boilers , waterheaters , gasfires , wall heaters, you don't manufacture all these products and not know what you are doing .Worcester were good boilers 15 years ago not the new crap they are coming out with

Baxi's have o rings, remember 105's behind pump, remember o ring that fails out of gland on every baxi div valve I have seen brass or not, o rings are in everything, including central heating filters :smartass2:

Baxi like Worcester are not perfect, any Baxi GA is utter carp.....

i fit WB for a number of reasons, as mentioned warranty, back up etc....also I follow BG on a lot of quotes in my areas so Around here they offer WB, vaillant, then Gloworm in that order ......so i better their price and install an upgraded boiler.
if you go to the north east it's a lot more competitive so mains and ideals rule on price due to all the Eaga / Warmfront lads got the heave ho, so there is a lot of competition for work.

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

Baxi's have o rings, remember 105's behind pump, remember o ring that fails out of gland on every baxi div valve I have seen brass or not, o rings are in everything, including central heating filters :smartass2:

Baxi like Worcester are not perfect, any Baxi GA is utter carp.....

i fit WB for a number of reasons, as mentioned warranty, back up etc....also I follow BG on a lot of quotes in my areas so Around here they offer WB, vaillant, then Gloworm in that order ......so i better their price and install an upgraded boiler.
if you go to the north east it's a lot more competitive so mains and ideals rule on price due to all the Eaga / Warmfront lads got the heave ho, so there is a lot of completion for work.

what about the failing fans on worcesters ,yes they fail more than baxi,s,the red burner gaskets that fall to bits,baxi dont have these,or the aluminium heat exchangers that worceter insist you can fga and negative pressure test,but when the crud in them builds up you cant get the baffles out and the hex swells writing it off,oh and the stupid key thats breaks or sticks or leaks,and the general difficulty in renewing components on the worcesters the cdi that has a mong attack everytime it runs out of water because it thinks the traps full and has to be put into calibration mode,not to mention the prv in the most awkward place possible do you want me to stop there or keep going? LOL coz thats just for starters

 

[vern]

what about the failing fans on worcesters ,yes they fail more than baxi,s,the red burner gaskets that fall to bits,baxi dont have these,or the aluminium heat exchangers that worceter insist you can fga and negative pressure test,but when the crud in them builds up you cant get the baffles out and the hex swells writing it off,oh and the stupid key thats breaks or sticks or leaks,and the general difficulty in renewing components on the worcesters the cdi that has a mong attack everytime it runs out of water because it thinks the traps full and has to be put into calibration mode,not to mention the prv in the most awkward place possible do you want me to stop there or keep going? LOL coz thats just for starters

Burner gaskets pmsl look at the 133 HE.....
Fans now sorted EBM's problem WB take the hassle
Filling links don't have a problem my self as I leave them fitted lol
CDi is not a calibration mode it is a condensate fill which is entered after a power cut, or engineer mode mode can be deactivated via the menu 4F to be exact
The only one I can give you is the PRV, utter carp design, but I don't worry about them for 7 years anyhow

 

[REDSAW]

long term servicing costs on a main is a lot cheaper than a worcester.!!

 

[vern]

long term servicing costs on a main is a lot cheaper than a worcester.!!

Why Martin? With WB picking up the tab for 7 years? Changed loads of APS and PCB's on mains also, we have some 6 and 7 year old CDi's that have had nothing but a service and vessel re charged.

 

[Kev the gas]

Baxi 105e instant.
Heavy boiler off the wall for crap expansion vessel

Baxi/potterton parts can only be ordered through certain parts suppliers ? Pain in the arse.

Fine if you live near an approved Baxi supplier, not near to me.

they forget to supply washers/orings for joints they know are reqd to fit new parts !

No one will ever agree on the best replacement boiler we all have a grudge to bear!

Personally Baxi let me down, their customer service sucks.

Im sure others will say the same for all manufacturers.