Combination Boiler???

It's time to replace the old boiler. ( please no Nat references)

Any advice would be appreciated.

Vaillant or Worcester Bosch or any other.

As anyone used British Gas for fitting and do you have a service contract with them?  I imagine they'll be more expensive than a local small firm. I have a good local service guy but he is 67 and close to retirement.

we got a Worcester one about 12 months ago and it's great and had no issues with it at all. Costs a bit more than others but worth it in my opinion.

I do have the British Gas homecare agreement and it covers everything gas wise and even electrics and internal plumbing. They give your boiler a service annually as well. Needed it more with the old boiler as that was old and had a few issues but can't fault them even if it may be a bit expensive.

I have an ideal Vogue 32 and came with a promotional ten year warranty. An extra 3 years when registering it in a certain time.

It was recommended by my personal gas fitter mate who has just fitted one himself after his boiler has bust.

Although recommending this brand, I would get any with a long warranty for piece of mind. The warranty conditions on any boiler are that they are serviced every 12months.

Norpig wrote:we got a Worcester one about 12 months ago and it's great and had no issues with it at all. Costs a bit more than others but worth it in my opinion.

I do have the British Gas homecare agreement and it covers everything gas wise and even electrics and internal plumbing. They give your boiler a service annually as well. Needed it more with the old boiler as that was old and had a few issues but can't fault them even if it may be a bit expensive.

Was your boiler fitted by British gas?

karlypants wrote:I have an ideal Vogue 32 and came with a promotional ten year warranty. An extra 3 years when registering it in a certain time.

It was recommended by my personal gas fitter mate who has just fitted one himself after his boiler has bust.

Although recommending this brand, I would get any with a long warranty for piece of mind. The warranty conditions on any boiler are that they are serviced every 12months.

Thanks.

no it wasn't British Gas who fitted it, it was a plumber we'd used before. I've heard that BG can be pricey if fitting a new boiler

BG are a rip-off and must be avoided!

karlypants wrote:BG are a rip-off and must be avoided!

Yes, I assumed they would be, I was just after other people's experiences.

I'll probably get a quote from them just to see how much dearer they are than  the local guys.

I know nothing, but this which guides may help:

https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/boilers/article/new-boiler-what-you-need-to-know-before-you-buy-a-new-boiler/the-cost-of-installing-a-boiler

Also which approved Boiler Installers (with reviews) in your area here:

https://trustedtraders.which.co.uk/boiler-installation-in-poulton-le--fylde?utf8=%E2%9C%93&tab_view=list&p_mode=name&b%5Bq%5D=Boiler+installation&request_seed=175916&b%5Bplace_shape_human_identifier%5D=Poulton-le-+Fylde&b%5Bplace_shape_identifier%5D=

We put a new Worcester Bosch in a couple of years ago and its been excellent. We had our local plumber fit it and he services it once a year for £40. BG rates are a rip off. Buy it yourself - some good deals on line and get your local lad/lass to put it in for you.

BoltonTillIDie wrote:I know nothing, but this which guides may help:

https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/boilers/article/new-boiler-what-you-need-to-know-before-you-buy-a-new-boiler/the-cost-of-installing-a-boiler

Also which approved Boiler Installers (with reviews) in your area here:

https://trustedtraders.which.co.uk/boiler-installation-in-poulton-le--fylde?utf8=%E2%9C%93&tab_view=list&p_mode=name&b%5Bq%5D=Boiler+installation&request_seed=175916&b%5Bplace_shape_human_identifier%5D=Poulton-le-+Fylde&b%5Bplace_shape_identifier%5D=

Many thanks . I will follow these up.

rammywhite wrote:We put a new Worcester Bosch in a couple of years ago and its been excellent. We had our local plumber fit it and he services it once a year for £40. BG rates are a rip off. Buy it yourself - some good deals on line and get your local lad/lass to put it in for you.

Thanks, interesting to hear from you.

Also a Worcester Bosch fitted by a local plumber last year. We chose Worcester Bosch because it scores very high on reliability and plumbers we spoke to recommended it.

karlypants wrote:BG are a rip-off and must be avoided!

+1
Twice the price. PM me I'll give u a number to ring.

I have a Worcester btw. Top drawer.

I have a Viessman, which, apparently, is a very good make. I've had it over a year, and it seems to be fine.

Any gas installation has to be commissioned by a GasSafe registered engineer - and by commissioning I mean check the connections/make the final connection. A lot of plumbers aren't registered with GS (formerly CORGI) so they do the work and then call in a registered plumber to commission it - and this is where additional cost can be accrued. Bloke in my village doesn't do any actual plumbing - he just drives around commissioning other plumbers work and collecting £100 a pop. Maybe that's why he has a  Ferrari in his garage? Whoever you use, make sure they're GS registered themselves.

As for Brit Gas, they have a standard call out charge and are very pricey. I stopped using them years ago before I knew about thermocouplings. Brit Gas charged me £7 for the coupling (they cost around a fiver in the shops) plus £75 call out charge. Bloke kindly offered not to charge me for labour which would have been around 30 seconds worth which is the time it takes to fit a new thermocoupling. I know better now.

Thanks for that Lusty.

I'm well aware of the need to use a  GasSafe registered plumber, but thanks for pointing it out to me . I've heard quite a few tales about plumbers getting around the exams you need to pass to be registered,  by giving somebody a backhander to get the work signed off.

Cajunboy wrote:Thanks for that Lusty.

I'm well aware of the need to use a  GasSafe registered plumber, but thanks for pointing it out to me . I've heard quite a few tales about plumbers getting around the exams you need to pass to be registered,  by giving somebody a backhander to get the work signed off.

Back in the days when CORGI were running the national accreditation scheme I sat on a committee that brought together the manufacturers and relevant installer trade associations to get an overview of what was happening across the country. Turned out there were more than double the number of boilers sold in the UK than the number of CORGI certificates handed out - which meant that approximately half the boilers installed had been done so by unaccredited plumbers. That was the beginning of the end for CORGI and it wasn't long before the accreditation scheme was handed over to the dreaded Capita to run. After much TUPE - ing and cost cutting the end result was pretty much the same as it had been previously with deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning from badly installed boilers still running at about 40 a year and around 260 survived poisonings per annum.
Prosecutions seldom happen. It's a f****** joke.

Glad I had my new one installed in the loft.