Which kind of Boiler/which make?

[FairLadyRantALot]

Well, we have, at the moment, the most crappiest combi boiler that is just rubbish and doesn't dpo a great job , especially if asked to heat the house and give warm/hot water....
we live in a 4 bed semi detached property...not huge but not tiny neither...i.e. 2 single 2 double bedrooms, one bathroom and one downstairs bathroom (just to give you a rough idea of our environment).

Any recommendations....cheap and good would be brilliant

We have recently had a Vaillant combi boiler installed which was recommended by Which.

Ideal Isar are anything but Ideal.........

oh...funny enough, just looking online at prices and stuff...and saw vaillant and said to dh it looks like a familiar make and I believe in a good way....so, that is positive....

We have had a Vaillant combi for five years and it's been great (touch wood, it being winter!!) My parents have just had one fitted, not influenced by us but recommended by their plumber (who fits all types/makes of boiler) and are very happy with it. Best advice we were given is to make sure the boiler is more than big enough for your requirements rather than exactly the right size or smaller. Think it's something to do with water pressure and you would want good pressure in a biggish house.

thanks april
I think one of the problems we have with our current boiler (apart from it being a rubbish make) is that it is to small for our requirements....

Oh, also, we are with BG Homecare thingy, and needed to have the boiler recently repaired, and I asked the guy that came out to us if he could give us a rough "guesstimate" as to how much a new boiler would set us back...and he reckoned a couple of grant....
now I have looked at some boilers online and they seem to be around £500+....so, is the installation what really puts the price up a lot?

Don't quote me on this but I don't think a boiler and installation should cost that much, especially if you are simply replacing another combi and not having to have an old tank removed or whatever. Presume you are just replacing the boiler and not getting all new rads. TBH I'm not a fan of BG and would get at least three quotes from local plumbers (recommended ones if possible although that's often easier said than done).

Sweetapril...it did seem like a lot...and no it would just be replacing the existing combiboiler....
and whilst we are happy enough with BG homecare agreement and it works for us....we probably wouldn't use BG for the actual installation....independent ones seem to be more competitive with their prices.

I am never having another Ideal (which I wasn't supposed to have in the first place). Next time it will be Vaillant or Worcester Bosch.

another one for Worcester / Bosch, but we are a non-combi household

btw, we have a Baxi Boiler right now...and the repair guys have been cursing it....

We have a Worcester Bosch Combi and had no probs with it. We've had it in about 5yrs

Don't get a Potterton. Recent Pottertons have a deserved reputation for expensive PCB failures. If ours fails again it's scrap.

thank you...any input is greatly received....

Vaillant or Worcester I reckon from listening to the guys at work (heating firm)

Another Worcester Bosch here too. It's great. Don't get a Potterton. When we lived on a new estate the Potterton repair van was a daily fixture, from when the boilers were about 18 months old.

DH's best friend is a gas engineer and he recommended a Vaillant combi-boiler for us. He reckons Vaillant are best followed by Worcester Bosch. A new boiler with 7 new radiators with thermostatic valves and lots of copper piping cost us just under £2500 in March 2007.

thanks

well...luckily we don't need new radiotors, etc...so, shouldn't be 2 1/2 grand...right....??

If BG were quoting then quite possibly. I think we paid more than that for a Worcester Bosch and no radiators in our old house (in 2003) with BG. We were very trusting and naive (sp?) - they took us for absolute mugs. Independent is the best way to go and get several quotes.

Worcester Bosch (DH's niece works for them !)

Our 30 year old Potterton Kingfisher is going very strong. Heats a 5 bed, three storey, old house very efficiently. Not combi.

Had a vallient fitted in our old house ...about 7 years ago. It was excellent, very small - fitted into a kitchen cupboard.

Another vote for Worcester (Combi) boiler.

I think I might research those worcester bosch jobby's - bcause my 30 year old boiler has got to give up at some point hasn't it....good to be prepared.

DON'T get a Sime.

Our gasfitter installed one when we had our ch put in and it is CRAPPOLA

Thank heavens for British Gas Homecare

Another vote for Vaillant here.
Unfortunately, our current combi is a Saunier Duval which is rubbish

well...Vaillient and Worcester Bosch is the way forward and yes, going independent for fitting....,
the BG guy didn't give us a proper quote,he was actually fixing our current boiler and I asked him what he would roughly estimate it would cost...
the Homecare agreement has been our savious, wrinkly....we would have had very expensive bills otherwise...