what's your favorite oil boiler then?

[Plumb Ugly]

Ok so what's everyones favorite oil boiler at the moment?

 

[lame plumber]

Grants seem to be the best made and easiest to work on re oil boilers, but I serviced a rayburn 680 kcd this week , very nifty design twin burner one boiler one cooker and condensing boiler as well, reasonable access considering the space available

 

[Plumb Ugly]

Done a lot of Grants but never a Rayburn but that does sound like a nice idea. Got any thoughts on Firebird the rep is trying to push them but iv only encountered one once for a breakdown

 

[lame plumber]

worked on a 3 year old enviromax combi last week, tat, leaks, pig to fault find and baffles falling apart already!

 

[Plumb Ugly]

Right that's pretty much the impression I got of the one I was called to but its good to get others views! Probably stick with grant for now then

 

[Dotty]

Potterton NXR3 with a Riello RL28 burner.

 

[lame plumber]

Potterton NXR3 with a Riello RL28 burner.

l
wouldnt be a commercial thing by anychance would it?

 

[Dotty]

Could be..........

 

[lame plumber]

Could be..........

needs a small boy to get in it to clean it?

 

[Dotty]

3" wire brush on a 6' rod, 6' scraper and an extension for the hoover made out of 32mm bartol and an obtuse m&f bend.

Then a quick wash with the garden sprayer and job's a good'un!

 

[Plumb Ugly]

Potterton NXR3 with a Riello RL28 burner.

Sounds tasty!

 

[Dotty]

It's a beaut of a beast.

 

[Roger Welton]

Look after a couple of nxr's just find the low presure switch a bit of a pain under the top cover at the back, they could have put it in a more convienient place.

Also had to replace the main (l/h as you face boiler) pcb on one after a milk spill in cip unit over £300 for what must be nearly the smallest pcb ever made!!

 

[Dotty]

All mine have external pressure monitoring so no worries on that score Roger, haven't had to replace a PCB on any either, at least I know to expect a clenching of the bum cheeks when one does go! Lol

 

[Bunker]

I am a fan of the Firebird. It has its poor points and Id say Ive been to as many premature broken Grants as Firebirds. Here's how I see it:

Condensate on the Grant is high which is useful but CAN BE a pain to get to if leaking (at the back). Condensate on Fbd is low which sometimes means a pump (eeuch) but easy to get to, clean and prime.
Turbulates on Grant are rolls royce, Fbd are Lada.
Baffles on Grant CAN BE a royal pain to extract if neglected but otherwise good. Baffles on Fbd, marvelously simple.
Grant have the burner at the bottom which can make for awkward oil lines.
Fbd have a connector plug for the burner which is a nice idea although sometimes poorly placed (C20). Grant have a hard wired burner which can be a pain.
Grant has an On/Off switch which is nice and some have a Test switch which is really useful.
Both use the same burner so no scores there.
Fbd have 2 flow and 2 return options which is really nice. Grant have 2 ( I think).

Performance wise, the price and performance is like this:

Grant Vortex - efficiency A%, cost £A
Fbd Enviromax - efficiency B%, cost £B
Grant Vortex Pro - efficiency C%, cost £C

Build wise, the Grant is a VW where the Fbd is a Renault.

Ive dealt with Grant a few times and generally find them unhelpful, Fbd however I find very helpful in every way.

Thats all from memory and personal opinion so happy to be corrected/ countered.

 

[WHPES]

Grants every time.

but iv only encountered one [firebird] once for a breakdown

Sounds about right. My main experience with firebirds is breakdowns as that is what they seem to do a lot. They leak like sieves and personally I flat out refuse to install them and wouldn't touch them with the proverbial end of the stick.

 

[Plumb Ugly]

I did like the fact the burner is mounted higher up makes it easier to service and make adjustments to.

 

[SimonG]

Worcester for me. But you can't beat the old worcesters (SE).

 

[Plumb Ugly]

Worcester for me. But you can't beat the old worcesters (SE).

Are they similar to a Buderus camray 5?

 

[SimonG]

Are they similar to a Buderus camray 5?

I don't like the camray 5.

But worcester bought them out (I think)

 

[Roger Welton]

I would agree with bunker, though would add the final finish on the grants are a lot better, in terms of casing, switches, etc.

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

baxi 105,is that oil **** wrong dawd dam forum

 

[WHPES]

Boulter was bought out by Buderus which in turn was bought out by Worcester. Camray 5 boilers haven't been made for over 12 years now as far as I can determine and Worcester really don't seem to want to know when you enquire about parts or problems. Camray 5s were quite well made boilers IMO though they were not as efficient as later models. The previous Camray boilers including the Quartet weren't so good though.

 

[Roger Welton]

Boulter was bought out by Buderus which in turn was bought out by Worcester. Camray 5 boilers haven't been made for over 12 years now as far as I can determine and Worcester really don't seem to want to know when you enquire about parts or problems. Camray 5s were quite well made boilers IMO though they were not as efficient as later models. The previous Camray boilers including the Quartet weren't so good though.

I'd say the camray 2 and 3 were good boilers if a little inefficient by today's standards, still quite a few around though they are getting a little long in the tooth now, quartets not so good and the camray 5 very good.

Parts are still available for the 5, some are for quartets but very limited and you'd need to be exceptionally lucky for anything earlier.

 

[Plumb Ugly]

Looks like Grants the favorite then! Lots of Grants near me plus lots of worcesters and Trianco's but that's no surprise since they are made only a few miles away!