Reliable condensing boiler

[discostewart]

i have fully pumped, twive valve system with a cold water tank in the loft and cylinder in my bathroom.

Im trying to research into a reliable condensing boiler. I feel my potterton 100e maybe reaching the end of its lifecycle is been a pain in the arse and i want to replace with a reliable condensing boiler.

Ive spoken to a few people and some models mentioned are
glow worm ultracom 30 hxi
vallant etech 428
alpha he

Seeing as u guys install and service i thought id ask.i just want a peaceful non boiler related life lol.

 

[Mike Jackson]

I've been fairly impressed with the Baxi Solo He boilers that I've fitted.

Mike

 

[discostewart]

dont the baxi potterton haave awful tech help though? they havent been very useful for my 100e?

 

[Mike Jackson]

I've never had the need to call on the technical help lines very often so wouldn't really know. Most technical help line operators only read from a fault finding guide similar to the one in the user manual anyway.

Baxi have done very well in Which studies.

Mike

 

[Deleted member 2053]

My experience with Baxi/Potterton tech support means that I will never, ever fit another one of their boilers, unless as happened recently the customer supplies it himself. That was a Baxi HE and to be honest Mike I didn't think it was anything special. Vaillant boilers are brilliant but it currently takes 45 minutes to be answered by their tech support. If we carry on plugging them this will only get worse. Glowworm are vaillants with plastic innards and not worth it for the price differential. No experience of current Alphas. The older ones I have had to repair have always seemed fairly well made.

Of course if the problems you areehaving with your Sime/Potterton turn out to be wiring (sic!) then fitting a new boiler ain't gonna solve it!

 

[discostewart]

u r right ofcourse graham, yet the fact my last gas bill for winter was horrendous due to the fact this boiler is so inefficient doesnt help.

on the wirin front, im no closer to fixing it, the boiler just resets at the end of the hot water cycle. still a wiring problem is fixable.

 

[Mike Jackson]

The baxis seem to be very tolerant of older systems when you are fitting a new boiler. The flow switch means that you are less likely to get overheating within the boiler. On new systems I like worcester but as with a lot of modern boilers they are less tolerant on older systems. I've found the couple of Vaillants that I've fitted over complicated and I worry about the longevity of something so complicated.

Mike

 

[Deleted member 2053]

Mike, four days ago when you replied I had no experience of where you were coming from. Since that time I have had two ecotec + open vented boilers start to misbehave with the symptoms of a partially blocked heat exchanger....

Perhaps I am going to have to eat humble pie over my attitude to Baxi/Potterton.

 

[Mike Jackson]

To be honest if you talk to most installers they will have horror stories of modern boilers playing up. If you are unlucky and fit one on a system which is trapping dirt then with the small heat exchangers it's going to cause problems. That's why I'm a big fan of magnacleans, when you see the crap that you get out of a magnaclean, even after a thorough flush, it's astounding.

Mike

 

[Deleted member 2053]

The two boilers in question are in installations where fitting a magnaclean on the boiler return was impossible due to space. Nomally I fit them everywhere. Do you have any experience of the Fernox boiler buddy? Perhaps one of these can be squeezed in where the magnaclean cannot.

I am amazed that Vaillant et al don't insist on some filtration in the installation instructions. Or even build it in.

BTW I have regular contact with a number of installers - most of whom prefer Vaillant or WB. None of them have ever flagged this!

 

[Mike Jackson]

I've fitted one boiler buddy, didn't like it. It's the same length as a standard pump and fits between two pump valves. The magnetite sludge collects on fins permanently connected to the magnet and they are a complete pig to clean. Having said that they're better than nothing.

Mike

 

[CharterGAS]

ATAG or Viessmann thats all!!

 

[Deleted member 2053]

Never seen an atag boiler outside of pham adverts but have used their kitchen appliances which were brilliant.

Mike, fitted first boiler buddy yesterday and made the same observation about future cleaning. Surprised that a company like Fernox didn't think it through a bit better. Still there really was no room for a magnaclean. At least I was able to clear the heat exchanger so the customer is happy.

 

[CharterGAS]

nothing comes close to ATAG except viessmann
if yo ufit one you wont regret it!!!!!! but you need to know about condensing technology and how to properly set up heating systems that condense

 

[CharterGAS]

yes i only install 200w and above (which is the old 300)
100s i wouldn't touch