New combi Bolier - are Alpha any good

[ben2579]

Its that time of year again when boilers start to pack up.

We need a new one and have been recommended an alpha from a plumber we trust!! But just wondered what others thought of Alpha - they do come with a 5 year warranty which is a nice piece of mind. Having said that in our last flat we had a worcester bosch which was excellent and would probably have been my first choice!

Thanks Ben

 

[lynx]

To be honest, I find it difficult to see past WB. They are pretty reliable and you know there is product support and back-up if required.

 

[DVD-Man]

Rented a flat where an Alpha boiler was forever breaking down, thought we were being too demanding due to the frequency of breakdowns.

After speaking to a heating engineer his reaction to the boiler name gave me the impression they were repeat offenders, it wouldn't be top of my list for boiler replacements.

 

[leo79]

Worcester all the way!!

 

[depot]

For a combi boiler i would highly recommend a Vaillant, above a worcester

 

[niceguy235uk]

To be honest, I find it difficult to see past WB. They are pretty reliable and you know there is product support and back-up if required.

Not anymore there isnt.

Remeha are taking over slowly, although i seem to be wiring Glow worm and Vaillant more recently, but i think even then it can depend on what offers the suppliers have on.

 

[ben2579]

Yeah I think I am more comfortable with the worcester but the plumber reckons alpha are now as good and I guess the warranty is helpful. I must check what warranty WB are doing.

Will also have a quick look at valiant.

 

[N42]

WB Greenstar here

 

[Ruperts slippers]

The Wb greenstar range are rubbish,the cdi on the other hand is a good boiler but is not cheap to maintain....The vailant is good if you buy one of the exclusive range..
I fit baxi's either duotecs or the new neta tecs which are ok for smaller spaces,the new duo tec 2 though has teething problems so stay away for now...

 

[Kebabhead]

My father-in-law who is a fully qualified gas fitter also says WB are crap

 

[N42]

The WB I got is a CDi and is also a greenstar, figure that!

http://www.worcester-bosch.co.uk/homeowner/boilers/gas-boilers/greenstar-37cdi

 

[Ruperts slippers]

Thought you meant the junior,sorry.....

 

[gibbsy]

We had a Main Combi 30 HE put in six years ago, so far problem free. When the plumber put it in he told us that he had over spec'd the boiler so that it wouldn't have to work so hard in cold weather. With the amount of radiators it could handle it's running at around 70% capacity.

 

[FZR400RRSP]

We had a Main Combi 30 HE put in six years ago, so far problem free. When the plumber put it in he told us that he had over spec'd the boiler so that it wouldn't have to work so hard in cold weather. With the amount of radiators it could handle it's running at around 70% capacity.

Our boiler will need replacing at some point.
It's been super-reliable, but it's 15 years old now and probably not that efficient.
I'm curious as to whether I should also get a boiler that is maybe a little OTT for my needs.
Better to run a bigger boiler at 70%, or a smaller boiler at 90%...?
I've heard plumbers say that a boiler operates most efficiently when it's close to max.

 

[Lee]

We are having a boiler fitted next week and have gone for an Ideal logic plus boiler.

A couple of those that gave us a quote recommended the Ideal. They quoted for a WB and an Ideal and with the Ideal being £200 cheaper and it having a 5 year guarantee as opposed to the 2 years for a WB it was a bit of a no brainer for us. Also helped make our mind up that two people we know have recently had WBs repaired after 3 and 4 years.

 

[FZR400RRSP]

Our uber reliable boiler is an Ideal Classic.
Been in this house since December 2002 and it's only ever been serviced, never repaired.
Based on its performance, I'd have an Ideal again.

(*touches wood that he isn't jinxing the reliability....)

 

[gibbsy]

Our boiler will need replacing at some point.
It's been super-reliable, but it's 15 years old now and probably not that efficient.
I'm curious as to whether I should also get a boiler that is maybe a little OTT for my needs.
Better to run a bigger boiler at 70%, or a smaller boiler at 90%...?
I've heard plumbers say that a boiler operates most efficiently when it's close to max.

My plumber came highly recommended by word of mouth, so I was obviously guided by him. Our old boiler was so old and inefficient we saw a really big drop in gas used and the house was a lot warmer a lot quicker.

I think you've just got to trust the people putting the boiler in, unless of course they've been on Rogue Traders.

 

[FZR400RRSP]

and the house was a lot warmer a lot quicker.

This I'd like.
Our current boiler takes an age to heat the house up.
Easy 30 minutes+ before the rads are hot.
Meanwhile, my mother's rads are hot within minutes of switching on her boiler.

 

[Educated Guess]

Some advice from those in the know. Looking to get my old gas boiler replaced. Must be around 20 years old. Pilot keeps going out. Had the thermocouple replaced recently but it's doing it again plus I don't think it's particually efficient (although it has been reliable and heats the house up surprisingly quickly and warmly)
We have a four bed detached with 10 rads.
What do you think I should be looking to pay? I know it depends on a few different factors but I just want to get an Idea. Also should I go for a combi and lose the water tank etc or stick with a similar suystem to what I have.
I don't have a huge demand for hot water.

 

[gibbsy]

Some advice from those in the know. Looking to get my old gas boiler replaced. Must be around 20 years old. Pilot keeps going out. Had the thermocouple replaced recently but it's doing it again plus I don't think it's particually efficient (although it has been reliable and heats the house up surprisingly quickly and warmly)
We have a four bed detached with 10 rads.
What do you think I should be looking to pay? I know it depends on a few different factors but I just want to get an Idea. Also should I go for a combi and lose the water tank etc or stick with a similar suystem to what I have.
I don't have a huge demand for hot water.

Avoid British Gas like the plague. I know mine was put in six years ago but British Gas offered me a £300 px on my old boiler so I asked them for a full quote.

Boiler had to be moved from the kitchen to airing cupboard upstairs. New bigger bore gas main from meter to boiler. New exhaust through the roof. Total £5,100 less the £300 = £4,800. Remove old copper hot water tank and disconnect cold water tanks in loft. Now they would not remove the old exhaust which was also through the roof unless they extended the scaffolding the charge for that would be an additional £1600. The gas pipe from the meter to the boiler would be on an outside wall at the front of the house, not through our porch where the old pipe ran.

Word of mouth brought me to a fairly local plumber. His total cost was £2,100 which included all the work outlined above plus two new double radiators and he put a brand new one in our conservatory along with all necessary piping, plus there was no external piping.

If you live in South Wales I'll gladly give you his number.

 

[Educated Guess]

Cheers gibbsy but I live in Essex.

 

[gibbsy]

Cheers gibbsy but I live in Essex.

Brilliant, he used to live in Barry.

 

[redboy1]

My mate is a commercial heating engineer in a 40 year old family business, he does a lot of work for some very well off people and he always recomends viessmann boilers.
He has just fit a viessmann 100w 35kw boiler in our 3 bed semi which he has in his house, the CH heats up in no time and the hot water and shower now pumps out 3 times faster than our old boiler.
Apparantly they are the biggest selling boiler in Germany, it also comes with 5 year warranty also.
If I didn't have one of these I would probably opt for a bosh although my mates dad had one for 3 years then replaced it with a viessmann as he got fed up with parts failing on it.

 

[ben2579]

After much research it seems the owners have a good and bad experiences of all the major brands. One of the messages repeated in all forums is the boiler is only as good as the guy who fitted it. There also seems to be support from people in the buisness for each brand. I trust our engineer and it seems all of the brands can fail then the warranty is the key - so it's the alpha for us with 6 year warranty!!

 

[redboy1]

Cant grumble with a 6 year warranty, Is it definitely parts and labour ? Also do they use there own trained engineers or local plumbers to do there call outs ?