Combi Boiler

[Andrew_McP]

Just for a laugh, it takes our Ideal in the garage 1 minute and 35s to produce proper hot water in the bathroom, and a little longer (both from cold) in the kitchen. Part of this is distance (though it's only a small 2 bed bungalow), part a rat's nest of pipework left in by the installers (it was free on the Warmfront scheme for my basic pension mother about 12 years ago).

It started playing up last week so a Worcester's going in soon; same location, same pipework, because I can't afford extra disruption when I'm basically running a one person care home for my mother. I'm looking forward to finding out if we're spending £2k for an improvement. All I really want is peace of mind though, because sometimes when I need hot water, I really need it.

I'm also hoping for more consistent supply once hot water's running. The Ideal's temp dips a bit every couple of minutes in a cycle which is annoying but not unbearable. Of course since I got the plumber in on Monday the darned thing's been working perfectly; no occasional banging and no error codes. But such is life.

 

[beachBOYken]

I have one, been faultless. Deciding factors for me were its high modulation and Opentherm support built in.

Thanks, I was seeing the Vogue Max combi and Vogue GEN2 on Ideal website, apparently they are the same boiler, but the max comes with the filter and a longer warranty.

 

[Syla5]

arggh

paying £150 a year to service a boiler worth £1500.

after 10 years you could have just bought a brand new boiler.

LOL you're paying £150 for a boiler service??? I have never paid more then £60, and you do need to maintain the service schedule if you want the warranty to remain valid.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

LOL you're paying £150 for a boiler service??? I have never paid more then £60, and you do need to maintain the service schedule if you want the warranty to remain valid.

i'm not paying anything.

not had it serviced in 3 years and it's over 20 years old and it still works

 

[Syla5]

i'm not paying anything.

not had it serviced in 3 years and it's over 20 years old and it still works

Then who's backside did you pull the number £150 out of then, because you clearly don't have a clue...

Also there's a vastly different view to if you should or shouldn't service a new boiler vs say a 20 year old one.....

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Then who's backside did you pull the number £150 out of then, because you clearly don't have a clue...

Also there's a vastly different view to if you should or shouldn't service a new boiler vs say a 20 year old one.....

it's what i was quoted for a service. i went to a second company and they wanted £120 iirc.

also boilers don't need servicing it's all a con. the "service" consists of checking everything is working okay. nothing gets changed or replaced or topped up.

 

[Mercenary Keyboard Warrior]

Finding myself in a difficult position here in regards almost agreeing with Psycho Sonny

I think an annual service is way ott, been there and watched and bar a bit of crud (black dust type stuff) which is just hoovered up then there really is little to service directly. I certainly dont expect the running costs to be as good without a service, but that minimal efficiency impact of the crud, thats not going to pay the service fee (typically £60 or so)
What you would hope a good plumber will do is look for other issues that may be concealed.
The other bits that are just as much an issue such as diverter valves are never looked at.

Oddly the only time I have ever had a boiler issue was after a service (some years back mind and was in rented). The pilot kept going out. The plumber came back and after checking said he thought the service had dislodged some of this black stuff and it had partially blocked the pilot so it didn't have enough flow.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Finding myself in a difficult position here in regards almost agreeing with Psycho Sonny

I think an annual service is way ott, been there and watched and bar a bit of crud (black dust type stuff) which is just hoovered up then there really is little to service directly. I certainly dont expect the running costs to be as good without a service, but that minimal efficiency impact of the crud, thats not going to pay the service fee (typically £60 or so)
What you would hope a good plumber will do is look for other issues that may be concealed.
The other bits that are just as much an issue such as diverter valves are never looked at.

Oddly the only time I have ever had a boiler issue was after a service (some years back mind and was in rented). The pilot kept going out. The plumber came back and after checking said he thought the service had dislodged some of this black stuff and it had partially blocked the pilot so it didn't have enough flow.

You can check the valves yourself. Also it's pretty obvious when your boiler isn't working properly. Your home or water is cold or your carbon alarm keeps going off or you can smell gas.

I've also been present and they don't do much.

If you want breakdown cover which includes a service it's £300 a year. Pay that for 5 years and you could have bought yourself a brand new boiler.

 

[Syla5]

The key point you both are missing is that to keep the warranty valid you MUST maintain the service schedule.

 

[robfosters]

it's what i was quoted for a service. i went to a second company and they wanted £120 iirc.

also boilers don't need servicing it's all a con. the "service" consists of checking everything is working okay. nothing gets changed or replaced or topped up.

Yes, and checking everything is working ok is pretty important when it comes to an appliance that can kill your entire family if malfunctioning.

Can’t believe the slapdash attitude some have to gas safety.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Yes, and checking everything is working ok is pretty important when it comes to an appliance that can kill your entire family if malfunctioning.

Can’t believe the slapdash attitude some have to gas safety.

i have a smoke alarm and a carbon monoxide detector in the same room as the boiler. not only will it go off it will ping my phone too.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

The key point you both are missing is that to keep the warranty valid you MUST maintain the service schedule.

my boiler is 20 years old. no warranty left.

if it breaks there is no point spending £300+ fixing it as the technology has no doubt improved over 20 years. so i will get a new one with a 10 year warranty.

also checking it's working properly is fairly simple to do yourself especially with youtube.

 

[robfosters]

Finding myself in a difficult position here in regards almost agreeing with Psycho Sonny

I think an annual service is way ott, been there and watched and bar a bit of crud (black dust type stuff) which is just hoovered up then there really is little to service directly. I certainly dont expect the running costs to be as good without a service, but that minimal efficiency impact of the crud, thats not going to pay the service fee (typically £60 or so)
What you would hope a good plumber will do is look for other issues that may be concealed.
The other bits that are just as much an issue such as diverter valves are never looked at.

Oddly the only time I have ever had a boiler issue was after a service (some years back mind and was in rented). The pilot kept going out. The plumber came back and after checking said he thought the service had dislodged some of this black stuff and it had partially blocked the pilot so it didn't have enough flow.

Getting your trades mixed up. Plumbers don’t service boilers.

 

[robfosters]

my boiler is 20 years old. no warranty left.

if it breaks there is no point spending £300+ fixing it as the technology has no doubt improved over 20 years. so i will get a new one with a 10 year warranty.

also checking it's working properly is fairly simple to do yourself especially with youtube.

I’m sorry, but I cannot believe you are happy to maintain a 20 year old boiler yourself using instruction videos off of YouTube. Mental. At least get a service every two to three years.

You do realise that if you do it yourself without the necessary competence and something, god forbid, goes wrong and someone’s killed, your arse can be thrown in jail for manslaughter.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

I’m sorry, but I cannot believe you are happy to maintain a 20 year old boiler yourself using instruction videos off of YouTube. Mental. At least get a service every two to three years.

funnily enough they are designed to be pretty safe and low maintenance. our safety regulations ensure that to be the case. it's mainly a con.

i got a free service 2 years back. they then wanted me to sign up for £300 a year cover. i said no chance. a year later i got the cover for free through something else. so if i give it a year or two no doubt i'll get a free service again through some sort of scheme like i did before.

my neighbour hasn't done anything to her home in 20 years. she never bothered to even paint her side of the fence, etc. so i'm pretty sure her boiler has never been serviced. she keeps her blinds closed all day long and never answers the door. her boiler hasn't exploded yet.

 

[joelk2]

Literally just had my boiler replaced Thursday. My previous boiler was discontinued in Feb 1997 and started playing up so thought it was time for a new more efficient and effective one.

Went with a baxi 630 as reccomended by my cousin (plumber) who fitted it.

 

[robfosters]

Went with a baxi 630 as reccomended by my cousin (plumber) who fitted it.

You mean gas engineer

 

[joelk2]

You mean gas engineer

Yeah. My bad. He's all above board

 

[Mercenary Keyboard Warrior]

Getting your trades mixed up. Plumbers don’t service boilers.

Oh yeah I forgot they got all precious and had to add engineer to their title now where as they used to call themselves plumbers. (I suppose that term is for the bin now, probably prefer to call themselves aqua engineers.)
I mean its realllly hard to become one, you need an NVQ level 3 which is omfg equivalent to 2 A levels.
Takes ages to do as well, what 13 weeks I think I hear its advertised as on the local radio.

Yeah sorry I tend to reserve the term engineer for people with a few more brains yeah more like this "The foundational qualifications of an engineer typically include a four-year bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline"

 

[robfosters]

Oh yeah I forgot they got all precious and had to add engineer to their title now where as they used to call themselves plumbers. (I suppose that term is for the bin now, probably prefer to call themselves aqua engineers.)
I mean its realllly hard to become one, you need an NVQ level 3 which is omfg equivalent to 2 A levels.
Takes ages to do as well, what 13 weeks I think I hear its advertised as on the local radio.

Yeah sorry I tend to reserve the term engineer for people with a few more brains yeah more like this "The foundational qualifications of an engineer typically include a four-year bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline"

Er no, plumbers are exactly as you describe. Gas engineers have to undergo far more training than a simple NVQ. Plumbers are not allowed to install and commission boilers unless they are are gas safe registered.