New Boiler installation

[basildog]

Christ it's only a boiler. All the top brands are pretty good and installation matters more anyway.

Pick one, get it installed properly by a man that can speak properly; do something more interesting.

That is the problem with a lot of trades yes to them it is simple and not worth the hassle when you have a customer who wants to know the ins and outs of everything, but to him at that point it is the most important decission he has to make at that time and for many a substantial capital investment that they do not want to get wrong ?
When I was running the bilding firm I started to see a 100k job as small and a pain in the backside I think somewhere along the line we tend to forget that people are all different some needing more hand holding than others !

 

[sp25]

Christ it's only a boiler. All the top brands are pretty good and installation matters more anyway.

Pick one, get it installed properly by a man that can speak properly; do something more interesting.

thanks for your opinion LPC! It's NOT JUST a boiler for me! My boiler broke completely in September and haven't had a drop of hot water/heating for 3 months now! Having an infant baby it's not an ideal situation but we had to wait until now to get a new one installed.

Therefore, investing some time into seeking expert opinions, researching boiler brand reputation from consumers themselves is key to my decision making process.

Like you say, all top brands does seem pretty good and installation counts. I am looking for that one extra element (expert opinion from people who install them on a daily basis) which will confirm/sway my short-list/selection like the forum has now done. This will mean that atleast i can have some peace of mind knowing that i have done my best given the knowledge.

Also, what makes you think this is not interesting for me especially when I love buying an item for my home/family that keeps us warm and cosy... ;-)

 

[sp25]

That is the problem with a lot of trades yes to them it is simple and not worth the hassle when you have a customer who wants to know the ins and outs of everything, but to him at that point it is the most important decission he has to make at that time and for many a substantial capital investment that they do not want to get wrong ?
When I was running the bilding firm I started to see a 100k job as small and a pain in the backside I think somewhere along the line we tend to forget that people are all different some needing more hand holding than others !

Thanks Basildog, you nailed it! Yes, it's not a small decision for me given my current situation with no heating/hot water for over 3 months...and boilers are NOT cheap unless you are a GSR and can install it yourself as the relative cost of the boiler is cheaper than the installation itself!

 

[basildog]

To be honest I started as a complete novice to everything but saw how badly people were being treated by tradesmen and their attitudes at the time as a 19 year old .
Asked when I was stuck never been afraid to ask although you soon learn half the so called experts are numpties wearing blinkers !
Started getting asked to do building work and thought why the hell not ,used the right guys that were hungry and keen ,19 and driving a brand new Hilux and owning a new Mini excavator , out at 4.30 am digging graves before starting normal work ! all on the never never , Got a call one day to be at a customers house at 8.0clock in the morning for a bunch of stuck up landscape designers !
Anyway a £100 job turned into millions of pounds worth of work as the client loved my attitude and ability to think out side the box and yes plenty of sucking up too !

 

[LPC]

I am a bad man.

What i'm trying to say is I think possibly you're over-thinking this. This earlier post was what gave me that impression the most:

I spoke to both Vaillant and Baxi and found it took me 45 minutes to get to Vaillant/Glowworm and they didn't seem keen to answer my queries. Baxi on the other hand took less than 10 minutes and i called them about four times each time when i had a new query and they were amazingly helpful. This was one of the reasons in addition to the 10yr guarantee i felt swayed towards Baxi rather than Vaillant.
,

You rang Baxi 4 times?

I get it. You want the best boiler for your money. If I hadn't have had hot water/heating for 3 months and a baby, i'd have gotten 3 quotes as quickly as possible from word of mouth recommendations and taken recommendations from friends /family and respective installers, made a decision quickly and gotten heating & hot water in the property as fast as possible. It's not hard. Not ring Baxi 4 times etc with queries you could settle much more quickly by getting a GSR around to the house.

If this is the amount of research and time you're spending just on the boiler, you should be spending 5 times that researching your installer.

Lets hope you get it in by next xmas eh?

 

[Dotty]

Can't believe no one's asked who's going to be maintaining it for you.

Whomever it is will have a preference for a particular manufacturer and will be trained on its ins and outs.

If you haven't already done so I would ask them for a quote, come back with their recommendations and we'll go from there.

 

[jtsplumbing]

Did you do this much research when picking the wife ? :love:

 

[basildog]

No but that is why I am on wife number 3 either that or it is the marzipan on the cake as cannot stand the cake itself !

 

[basildog]

Did you do this much research when picking the wife ? :love:

Also found they wear out if you use them often enough !!!!

 

[Ermintrude]

Did you do this much research when picking the wife ? :love:

Wish I had done; next one less brains and motor mouth more hooters and bum. Plus LOW maintenance

 

[sp25]

To be honest I started as a complete novice to everything but saw how badly people were being treated by tradesmen and their attitudes at the time as a 19 year old .
Asked when I was stuck never been afraid to ask although you soon learn half the so called experts are numpties wearing blinkers !
Started getting asked to do building work and thought why the hell not ,used the right guys that were hungry and keen ,19 and driving a brand new Hilux and owning a new Mini excavator , out at 4.30 am digging graves before starting normal work ! all on the never never , Got a call one day to be at a customers house at 8.0clock in the morning for a bunch of stuck up landscape designers !
Anyway a £100 job turned into millions of pounds worth of work as the client loved my attitude and ability to think out side the box and yes plenty of sucking up too !

Thanks Basildog,
Absolutely love your attitude and work ethic! Your hard work and determination seems to have paid off and its nice to hear inspiring life stories such as yours! I have had a fair share of climbing up the ladder too with my hard work. Started with almost nothing but determination to succeed by working hard and a smile on my face. I have finally got into a career i love. Still got a long way to go and people like you motivate many like myself..thanks for sharing!

Wish you the very best with everything

 

[sp25]

I am a bad man.

What i'm trying to say is I think possibly you're over-thinking this. This earlier post was what gave me that impression the most:



You rang Baxi 4 times?

I get it. You want the best boiler for your money. If I hadn't have had hot water/heating for 3 months and a baby, i'd have gotten 3 quotes as quickly as possible from word of mouth recommendations and taken recommendations from friends /family and respective installers, made a decision quickly and gotten heating & hot water in the property as fast as possible. It's not hard. Not ring Baxi 4 times etc with queries you could settle much more quickly by getting a GSR around to the house.

If this is the amount of research and time you're spending just on the boiler, you should be spending 5 times that researching your installer.

Lets hope you get it in by next xmas eh?

Lol..im sure you're not!

All well with your advice if you have about £2k in your bank account or if you're blessed with rich family and friends ;-)

Each time i spoke to Baxi was about a different matter - requesting for info not available on their website...each time i parted with them much more knowledgeable about their model, service, guarantee etc., so it was worth getting all that info straight from them rather than assuming things. If I had known all the questions i was to ask them beforehand it would have been a single call...but sometimes u come across something which you haven't known before..

Installer has also been researched. Bumped into an installer, got them to come and give a quote and they were not pushy...read about them on independent website on their customer feedback etc., so fingers crossed they'll be good.. otherwise will rant here with their names in few weeks time!

yes, installation fixed just in time for xmas! looking forward to a warm and cosy Christmas! yay!

 

[sp25]

Did you do this much research when picking the wife ? :love:

Of course I did.. as it's lifetime investment! You're very smart enough to have figured that out! ;-)

I know for sure now that my relationship is built on great foundation...im confident it'll be hassle free and less repairs will be required ;-0)

 

[SimonG]

If you get the installer right, then you will get the right boiler.

 

[PhoenixServices]

Sp25 let us know how the install goes.

 

[sp25]

Thanks everyone,
Yes will keep you updated on how the install goes next week!

Confirming with Baxi Platinum HEA28 today!

1) Can you please recommend a good/reliable/(reasonable) thermostat? timer controller for the Baxi please.

I currently have a honeywell thermostat (dial with temperature in degrees) wired into the hallway (away from the boiler). It still works i believe as i used to use it with my old Glowworm 80e. Although this thermostat was used to adjust the temperature i mostly used the integrated timer in the boiler itself for water temp, radiator temp, timer etc.,

However, i prefer not to touch the boiler ever if possible after the initial set up. I want to be able to control the timer set up from the hallway or elsewhere without needing to go to the boiler. I want to be able to do regular adjustments of in/out of the house thingy with the thermostat if possible...prefer a seven day one if its reasonable.

the closest i found was Baxi wireless 7 day programmable thermostat nearing £100. Any equivalent or better models - please advice.

2) Is it possible to use the same wires from my current thermostat to the new 7 day one as i prefer wired than wireless due to the boiler being in kitchen and thermostat wire being in hallway and any potential wireless issues.

3) Would you recommend going for the weather sensor? My worry is that if this gadget has an error i should be able to override it as i have read horror stories of sensor not working and then boiler relying on it to start!

Easiest is to set the timings in the integrated timer in the boiler and save my hard earned money by using the existing honeywell dialer which still works!

Please share your opinions..

Thanks,

 

[rpm]

Why don`t you ask your installer what he finds the best after all he is the man fitting and maintaining it all.

 

[sp25]

Why don`t you ask your installer what he finds the best after all he is the man fitting and maintaining it all.

Thanks, yes will be asking him too but want to get opinions from other GSR's as they will be working with a wide range of models and may know of compatible models that will fit Baxi.

 

[sp25]

Sp25 let us know how the install goes.

Dear all,
Baxi Platinum HE28A was installed just in time for Christmas!

Thanks for all your advice, suggestions and recommendations of Boilers.

Have decided to go with Salus RT500 thermostat but got to be installed after the holidays.

Wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year!

Best wishes,

 

[stevetheplumber]

Dear all,
Baxi Platinum HE28A was installed just in time for Christmas!

Thanks for all your advice, suggestions and recommendations of Boilers.

Have decided to go with Salus RT500 thermostat but got to be installed after the holidays.

Wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year!

Best wishes,

i doubt if the salus came top of a which poll

 

[sp25]

i doubt if the salus came top of a which poll

It didn't, but Salus RT500 came with a good recommendation from the GSR who apparently had it installed in his home and had it with no trouble and sees it everywhere..

Talked through with him regarding my requirements, watched demo video, read amazon reviews (175 views #1 bestseller?)...most of all a wifi control with 7 day thermostat without breaking your budget and havent received a negative review from a GSR yet! ;-)

 

[IDCHAPPY]

Ideal Vogue every time.

Similar to a Vaillant in design but better value. More economical then any of the above. 10 year warranty and it looks pretty.

Bigger isn't always better, especially for combi's. The difference between a 28kw and a 24kw as far as hot water is concerned is about 2 mins longer to run a full (100 litre) bath, assuming you add no cold. The difference is the bigger the boiler the less chance you have of reducing short cycling on heating.

Hot water = approx 30% of your fuel bill
Heating = approx 70%

So the savings are in the heating and the way the system is designed, not how fast you can run a hot tap.

For a few extra quid you could add weather compensation and further increase the efficiency.

i agree with this ^

 

[IDCHAPPY]

Glad you got it sorted for Christmas dude

 

[Masood]

Have decided to go with Salus RT500 thermostat

I wouldn't. Have had too many problems with Salus.

 

[sp25]

I wouldn't. Have had too many problems with Salus.

If you wouldn't go with Salus, what would you recommend or which brand do you think has less trouble? Please share..

 

[tamz]

I've fitted 3 rt500's and had no problems. I was wary of fitting them as salus have proved to be too much trouble in the past but that is what they wanted. So far so good and they love them.

 

[Rickster123]

Honeywell for me

 

[dancinplumba]

Why does the salus have 5 switch points ? On,off,on,off,on ??? Makes no sense

 

[tamz]

Sorry it wasn't rt 500's i fitted (they are shyte). It was IT500's the internet ones.
If you want a std radio prog thermostat get a honeywell cm927 or similar

 

[Masood]

If you wouldn't go with Salus, what would you recommend or which brand do you think has less trouble? Please share..

Honeywell for me. Drayton MiTime is also good now, but have had problems with them in the past.

 

[sp25]

Sorry it wasn't rt 500's i fitted (they are shyte). It was IT500's the internet ones.
If you want a std radio prog thermostat get a honeywell cm927 or similar

oops, its the RT500 that i hv been recommended..

I didn't quite like it to begin with however got swayed by the GSR's personal review etc as in my previous post..
will have a look at the IT500 and honeywell for the cost diff etc.,

would prefer honeywell if its in the budget as my present honeywell dial thermostat is still fine..however its not a programmable one and i dont want to mess with the integral timer everytime i want to override a timer setting or to temporarily increase the heating few degrees. It would be handy to have a control that i can easily use on a daily basis and that prevents me from messing with the boiler..

it sounds simple but too many choices and not sure if some of the expensive ones are worth buying...happy to spend about £50 including installation. Would be prepared to go to about £80-100 max if it has amazing features and high flying reviews..

what do u think of Baxi wireless 7 day programmable thermostat?

 

[tamz]

It 500 costs around £140, cm927 and any other decent wireless programmable stat cost around £100+, a wired cm707 around £60

Installation excluded

 

[sp25]

It 500 costs around £140, cm927 and any other decent wireless programmable stat cost around £100+, a wired cm707 around £60

Installation excluded

thanks, my present honeywell thermostat apparently has two wires and therefore i need to either go for something which can manage with 2 wires or get a wireless one...
from reading about honeywell it seems it can manage with 2 wires,..so could go for a cm707 as its close enough to my budget..
IT500 seems too expensive for my needs and cant justify spending that on a controller..;-)

 

[dancinplumba]

Honeywell cm 901 and 907 are two wired, battery powered versions of the cm 921and 927 wireless prog stats