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Original poster

Our boiler is dead! Gas man recommended Baxi or Idea over Worcester but feel uneasy

82 replies

MyDcAreMarvel · 31/12/2019 13:37

As thread title can anyone advice which boiler is best we need it fitting urgently. @PigletJohn which one would you recommend? Thank you

OP posts:
greysdad · 31/12/2019 18:40

Ideal are great.

They got a bad reputation a few years back because they where asked by housing associations or something like that to create an economy boiler for council houses that had issues... (this is the story I was told anyway).

We're getting a new one on Monday after having one in our previous house and recently moving into a house with (glow worm) boiler on the blink.

12 year warranty, competitively priced and performance as good as the rest. Can't go wrong.

Fatboyplumbing · 31/12/2019 18:41

Hi
As an installer I would recommend WB or the ideal.
There's nothing wrong with the baxi.
The customer service from WB or ideal are fantastic from an installer point of view as well as from the customer.
If like me as an installer there is always an incentive to fit a certain make of boiler from the manufacturer.
I collect loyalty points every time I buy and install a boiler.
It's a nice gesture it's not a massive financial reward.
Where possible before any boiler change.
The system should be flushed.
This can even be carried out even if your current boiler isn't working.
All boiler installations to be carried out by someone who is gas Safe.
A system survey should be carried out.
Just to make sure that your system is suitable for your new boiler.
And there aren't any inherent problems. That could be detrimental to your new boiler.
Biggest problems for a new boiler are a dirty heating system.
Incorrect pipework layout.
Tired Ch circular/ pump .
Undersized gas supply to the boiler.
The list is endless.
Always have a return filter fitted just before boiler, preferably.
The prices you have been given seem very keen.
This dose vary according to where you live in the country.
You can go to the boiler manufacturer and check to see if your installer is on there installer list or they have done any boiler courses with that manufacturer.
Or go on the gas Safe website.
Best way to find an installer you can trust is by personal recommendation.
Who has al the correct accreditation.
Good luck

dementedpixie · 31/12/2019 18:43

Our ideal boiler is 20 years old at least. Not very efficient but still works

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Stupot81 · 31/12/2019 18:53

I'm a heating engineer and would recommend either the baxi or ideal as they have the longest warranty and are pretty good, Worcester are good too but do still have their faults. We have an ideal logic which hasn't given any problems in the last 6 years. Make sure you have it serviced every year to keep up your warranty and to keep you safe.

MoobaaMoobaa · 31/12/2019 19:30

We've had 2 ideal boilers in (different houses) We went for Ideal because a we knew someone who could get us a new Ideal heavily discounted and lucky enough to have family member work for British Gas, who installed it for free.

No problems with the first boiler, we lived there for 7 years.

No problems with the second either, 7+ years now.

FlaviaAlbia · 31/12/2019 19:40

Don't get a Valient, we had nothing but problems with ours since it was installed and the aftercare engineers are patronising arses. They finally accepted the problem was with the boiler but not before blaming everything from me to the taps on our bath to the chimney going out the roof.

Never again.

LesleyJ15 · 31/12/2019 19:52

We had a ferroli boiler that after 11 years became uneconomical to repair. We had a service contract during this time. It eventually gave up the ghost in November.
We were advised to have a intergas

Boiler that was going to cost us £2800 to replace like for like which was extortion.
We went for a baxi 800 because it's got no plastic parts everything is brass also it has a 10 year guarantee parts and labour.
It cost £1300 to replace the boiler like for like by a gas safe engineer and included informing our local authority of building regs.
It's a first class British boiler that has not missed a beat and is very quiet.Hope this helps.!

Takeitonthechin · 31/12/2019 20:34

Probably because they are cheaper and simpler to fit

doritosdip · 31/12/2019 20:44

I got a Worcester earlier this year which I'm happy with but was told an Ideal was also good.

LesleyJ15 · 31/12/2019 21:13

Go for a baxi you won't regret it.

LesleyJ15 · 31/12/2019 21:18

Eiether 30kw or 35 kw.

Muchlywrong · 31/12/2019 21:26

30kw or 35kw means nothing, unless you work out the Insulation of the house, the size of the house plus needs/type of boiler. Any engineer should work out the size of boiler you need, or you can do it yourself with a form from the energy saving trust. Personally, I wouldn't recommend a baxi, but if your engineer trusts the boiler, then that is what you want

Motorheadmum · 31/12/2019 21:27

i live in a development of 6 houses which when new were all fitted with Baxi boilers - 7 years ago. Every single one of us had problems with them and their aftercare wasnt brilliant. Now all of us have different boilers, none of which are Baxi.

Soozikinzii · 31/12/2019 21:29

Mine is a back and it has a ten year guarantee as long as you get it serviced every year .

Stephminx · 31/12/2019 21:36

Our baxi is great. Recommended by our engineer and it’s been fab so far.

PigletJohn · 31/12/2019 22:24

It's almost impossible for an ordinary house to need 30kW for heating. Those high numbers are required if you have a combi, to run a good shower or a barely-adequate bathtap in winter.

Householders lucky enough to have a hot-water cylinder may need only half as much power.

Dieu · 31/12/2019 22:37

We have a Worcester combi boiler. The best you can get apparently. It's about 10 years old now, and has had regular issues.

bez91 · 31/12/2019 22:44

I've worked in gas contact management for a 60,000+ home landlord and it'd be a Vaillant or Worcester for me. Ideal have a very good customer support team for warranty issues too and decent warranties.

I'd steer clear of Baxis, cheap and nasty hence why they're all over new build properties x

LesleyJ15 · 31/12/2019 23:07

Is that why all the internal fittings are brass and that they are very easy to service.
If you want real rubbish go for imported boilers , at the end of the day irrespective of what you get you can possibly have a lemon.

Gonads69 · 01/01/2020 01:52

My strong advice is Intergas....it has only 4 moving parts and their heat exchanger has never failed ever on every boiler sold it is Dutch designed and built and incredibly reliable....hardly anything can go wrong. I had a Baxi installed in 2011 and is noisy and every year a part needs to be replaced...even when I have kept on top of my servicing ...

LesleyJ15 · 01/01/2020 09:47

And how much???

LesleyJ15 · 01/01/2020 09:57

If you have a decent gas safe engineer he will tell you the difference between 30 and 30kw.
Originally we had a ferroli optimax HE 31st.
To be brutally honest we might have just gave a home to a heating engineers as these boilers are utter rubbish-it's no surprise that they came bottom in the which survey. Ours had every component replaced over the years thank god we had corgi homeplan otherwise I would be bankrupt.

Afroninja · 01/01/2020 10:13

Get a baxi 830. 10 years warranty and it's bulletproof. Customer service is second to none and it's easy to use. I fitted valient and Worcester boilers for years, but baxi boilers are way better now.

Bluesheep8 · 01/01/2020 10:18

Vaillant or Ideal.

222gas · 01/01/2020 10:47

As a family member of a heating engineer it is a good idea to call the boiler spares shop and ask which is the highest selling brand of spares
Then go with the lowest as this is telling you the boiler brand with the least amount of break downs