Anyone know anything about central heating boilers?
Discussion
We've got a pretty big house - lots of large rooms. We bought the place a couple of years ago and we've since discovered that the current boiler is just not up to the task. As such, we've had three plumbing companies round and each of them has recommended a different pump. However, they all mean naff-all to me (I don't want to be talked into buying the equivalent of a Daewoo, or whatever.) As such, I thought I'd ask the PH massive if anyone can recommend me a decent pump. The ones proposed by the three plumbing companies are:
Viessman Vitodens 100
Worcester Greenstar 30 CDI
Ideal Icos He Boiler
Viessman Vitodens 100
Worcester Greenstar 30 CDI
Ideal Icos He Boiler
Hereward said:
Those three items are boilers, not pumps.
What have the experts said is wrong with your current CH system, maybe it just needs some TLC?
What he said, may be nothing wrong with your current set up that some maintenance couldn't fix.What have the experts said is wrong with your current CH system, maybe it just needs some TLC?
If your house is big stick with a system boiler (not combi).
Gas fitter I know swears by Worcester Bosch.
30kw sounds low for a big gaff (not that I'm a expert - just looking for a new one also) Check out www.DIYnot.com almost too much info !
srebbe64 said:
We've got a pretty big house - lots of large rooms. We bought the place a couple of years ago and we've since discovered that the current boiler is just not up to the task. As such, we've had three plumbing companies round and each of them has recommended a different pump. However, they all mean naff-all to me (I don't want to be talked into buying the equivalent of a Daewoo, or whatever.) As such, I thought I'd ask the PH massive if anyone can recommend me a decent pump. The ones proposed by the three plumbing companies are:
Viessman Vitodens 100
Worcester Greenstar 30 CDI
Ideal Icos He Boiler
No idea about boilers etc. but a friend of mine runs two in his house, which is quite large. Matbe you should be doing the same?Viessman Vitodens 100
Worcester Greenstar 30 CDI
Ideal Icos He Boiler
srebbe64 said:
... The ones proposed by the three plumbing companies are:
Viessman Vitodens 100
Worcester Greenstar 30 CDI
Ideal Icos He Boiler
Of the three you've listed, Viessman is german, and I'm guessing more expensive to buy, but won't break. Viessman Vitodens 100
Worcester Greenstar 30 CDI
Ideal Icos He Boiler
We actually chose a Vaillant after reading up on screwfix/diynot forums and our plumber (who fits worcester bosch all day) stating he had a Vaillant in his own house. Looking at the Vaillant with the cover off, it's a million miles away from our old Baxi in terms of engineering.
Read around the net, and you'll find w-bosch spend a fortune on free training, free warranties and anything else that helps to get plumbers to recommend their gear. When we bought to replace an early Baxi condenser that had basically turned it's ally heat exchanger to shrapnel, Vaillant had a stainless steel heat exchanger and worcester-bosch didn't. They may have upgraded now tho'.
Most helpful thing I can say is get the system cleaned/powerflushed/whatever as much as possible before the new boiler goes in. Magnaclean-type thingy recommended too, as is weather compensation, which'll save quite a bit on gas - I think Viessman do weather comp as standard.
One thing regarding pumps an Vaillant to bear in mind: we had a Vaillant ecoTEC exclusive 838 fitted (38kW) for a 4-bed semi about 2 years ago. With the ecoTEC exclusive Vaillant (apparently) went in house for the pump design. Previously, according to our plumber, they bought in the pumps and fitted them to their boilers. Vaillant tried to re-negotiate the fees on the pumps, pump manufacturer refused, Vaillant went their own way. However, the orignal pumps had a steel impeller and good bearings. Vaillant decided to cut costs and fitted a nylon impeller and nylon bearings on the impeller shaft.
Our boiler was retro-fitted to a heating system that includes copper, uPVC, lead (on cold feed only), a 52gallon tank in the roof, microbore, 'vintage' rads and an old boiler that ran without a thermostat anywhere in the system. Despite numerous clearance attempts to clear the system of sludge, including replacing as many rads as possible there was still some debris in the pipes. We went through 3 pumps in a year because the impeller was breaking up and imbalance was knackering the bearings. Because it was under warranty Vaillant had to replace the pump each time at a cost of £120 each time (I think). Our plumber was less than impressed by the quality and agreed it was a design flaw. Vaillant stated it was a sealed unit, hence the complete replacement, we (us and the plumber) took a duff pump apart and you could see the play in the shaft and the duff edges on the impeller.
We went through a further 10 or so refills, included 'inhibitor' and replaced the last of the rads to minimise the risk. Thankfully we've not had any problems since.
For our size of house, we're borderline for either two boilers, or going for a tank. Mind you, we don't have double glazing, have 12ft ceilings upstairs and downstairs and stone walls without cavities.
Dr Rick
Our boiler was retro-fitted to a heating system that includes copper, uPVC, lead (on cold feed only), a 52gallon tank in the roof, microbore, 'vintage' rads and an old boiler that ran without a thermostat anywhere in the system. Despite numerous clearance attempts to clear the system of sludge, including replacing as many rads as possible there was still some debris in the pipes. We went through 3 pumps in a year because the impeller was breaking up and imbalance was knackering the bearings. Because it was under warranty Vaillant had to replace the pump each time at a cost of £120 each time (I think). Our plumber was less than impressed by the quality and agreed it was a design flaw. Vaillant stated it was a sealed unit, hence the complete replacement, we (us and the plumber) took a duff pump apart and you could see the play in the shaft and the duff edges on the impeller.
We went through a further 10 or so refills, included 'inhibitor' and replaced the last of the rads to minimise the risk. Thankfully we've not had any problems since.
For our size of house, we're borderline for either two boilers, or going for a tank. Mind you, we don't have double glazing, have 12ft ceilings upstairs and downstairs and stone walls without cavities.
Dr Rick
Wacky Racer said:
Another vote for Worcester Bosch......we had a new one fitted a couple of years ago, No trouble, and nice looking, (If a boiler can be called nice looking)
I'm disappointed, I thought you would have cobbled together one yourself.(Re - Bed
)Edited by CO2000 on Wednesday 4th November 23:12
Bloody typical, just after I big up a boiler, it goes an keels over. Came home last night and it hadn't started up for the evening. Damn thing wouldn't hold ignition despite a re-start. And the slight dripping from the outer casing didn't fill me with confidence either.
Still, its under warranty so who cares. But having an 8month prgnant wife and no heating or hot water did not bring any results for a speedy engineer visit; he's booked for tomorrow and he'd better get it working!!
Dr Rick
Still, its under warranty so who cares. But having an 8month prgnant wife and no heating or hot water did not bring any results for a speedy engineer visit; he's booked for tomorrow and he'd better get it working!!
Dr Rick
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