How to choose the right Worcester boiler

[sebastienj]

Hi,

I am looking at replacing my boiler+cylinder with a Worcester combi boiler. I'd like to get an idea of which boiler should be fitted.

In the flat there are 7 rads, 1 bathroom, 1 en suite. Currently the boiler is in a cupboard in one of the bedrooms. I'd like it to be as small as possible.

Many thanks
Seb

 

[Masood]

Don't buy a Worcester...

 

[Leo21]

Don't buy a Worcetor.

 

[Deleted member 32524]

Look at the bosh site it will give you an idea of suitable boiler or use a heatloss calculator to work out the required kW rating of each room and add them up and match it to a combi. Poorish hot water performance on a combi so only really one tap/shower at a time.

 

[Rickster123]

Go for the one with baxi on the case...

 

[thereisawizza]

Sorry, I can't help but join in:

Don't buy a Worcester...

 

[ShaunCorbs]

do you know your incoming water mains pressure and flow ?

 

[leesparkykent]

What's wrong with a Worcester then out of interest or is the list to long? lol. I always thought Worcester was regarded as one of the better brands? I've seen a few firms offering 10 year guarantees on them.

 

[SimonG]

Worcester have lived long on the perception they are the best. Its wearing thin now. Better options out there.

 

[leesparkykent]

Worcester have lived long on the perception they are the best. Its wearing thin now. Better options out there.

what's your preferred brand?

 

[Leo21]

what's your preferred brand?

Just about anything. Vaillant, Baxi, intergas all better boilers.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Just about anything. Vaillant, Baxi, intergas all better boilers.

Worcester have lived long on the perception they are the best. Its wearing thin now. Better options out there.

its down to what you want there all about the same

you ask 10 engineers there will be 7 different answers

but i wouldnt say Vaillant , intergas or ideal wernt any better than worcester

but i will say worcester has one of the best back up services i know and tbh as long as there serviced every year and main burner seal is replaced every 3-5 there fine havent had a problem with them

op worcester or viessmann/atag are the only boiler i install

 

[kris]

In my mind the best boiler worcester ever took out is the greenstar Classic cdi, a brilliant boiler in every way , i fitted Bosch for years but went off the newer range and my personal experience is the classic is the bogs dollocks , I moved to the ideal vogues as ten year warranty is a big selling point, also it's a cracker of boiler

 

[Leo21]

its down to what you want there all about the same

you ask 10 engineers there will be 7 different answers

but i wouldnt say Vaillant , intergas or ideal wernt any better than worcester

but i will say worcester has one of the best back up services i know and tbh as long as there serviced every year and main burner seal is replaced every 3-5 there fine havent had a problem with them

op worcester or viessmann/atag are the only boiler i install

Vaillant have an excellent back up, same day, next day. Worcestors are fine until they're out of warranty, they're a nightmare to work on. They're so critical when being re assembled after replacing the burner seal. They're a poor design, and none of the engineers I know will work on them.

 

[macackau]

I'm replacing a 5 year old Worcester next week with a Vaillant. Worcester have an excellent marketing department.

 

[leesparkykent]

I wire heating systems for a few firms round my way and most of the time its Worcesters. what annoys me is when the jobs are surveyed and 9/10 the old boiler doesn't have pump over run and the surveyor doesn't even consider this. Boiler can be down stairs in a flat roof extension with cylinder/wiring centre in airing cupboard upstairs in the middle of the house lol.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

I'm replacing a 5 year old Worcester next week with a Vaillant. Worcester have an excellent marketing department.

what went wrong?

 

[macackau]

what went wrong?

Lack of servicing by customer, as in no servicing at all. Fan had given up the ghost with APS and heat cell was warped/leaking.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Lack of servicing by customer, as in no servicing at all. Fan had given up the ghost with APS and heat cell was warped/leaking.

can you remember what model ? and they didnt want to go down the worcester fixed price repair, would of been alot cheaper

 

[macackau]

can you remember what model ? and they didnt want to go down the worcester fixed price repair, would of been alot cheaper

Greenstar 18ri. Worcester fixed price repair isn't in my pension plan

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Greenstar 18ri. Worcester fixed price repair isn't in my pension plan

thats a good motto

 

[macackau]

thats a good motto

Where I live so many new build flats are being built everywhere and as I drive by them all that's all I think 'pension plan' on those flats. All of them are done by the same outfit to the lowest price and 1-2 years later they've vanished and I come in to sort out all the issues.

 

[thereisawizza]

I wire heating systems for a few firms round my way and most of the time its Worcesters. what annoys me is when the jobs are surveyed and 9/10 the old boiler doesn't have pump over run and the surveyor doesn't even consider this. Boiler can be down stairs in a flat roof extension with cylinder/wiring centre in airing cupboard upstairs in the middle of the house lol.

Have you tried one of the wireless relays? I think Danfoss do one, perfect solution (unless the price is too tight...)

 

[Leo21]

Have you tried one of the wireless relays? I think Danfoss do one, perfect solution (unless the price is too tight...)

Put a link up, or pm me. That sounds very interesting.

 

[leesparkykent]

Have you tried one of the wireless relays? I think Danfoss do one, perfect solution (unless the price is too tight...)

no I haven't seen one. will try google it now.:smiley2:

 

[sebastienj]

I am sure that why there are so many responses against Worcester. They always come up very high in the review sites

What about the potterton titanium boiler? It comes with 7years guarantee.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Put a link up, or pm me. That sounds very interesting.

https://www.rfsolutions.co.uk/remot...300m-wireless-mains-to-mains-230vac-link-p286

 

[dave1]

Greenstar 18ri. Worcester fixed price repair isn't in my pension plan

Ha ha great answer

 

[sebastienj]

Anyone got an opinion?

Baxi Platinum 33 HE
or
Baxi Duotec 33

 

[Masood]

I am sure that why there are so many responses against Worcester. They always come up very high in the review sites

What about the potterton titanium boiler? It comes with 7years guarantee.

Worcester feature highly on review sites for a number of reasons. They have a HUGE marketing budget. They were extremely good boilers, and are still enjoying the reputation they deserved back then, even though the new boilers are not of the same quality. They work hand-in-glove with Which magazine, so they are always featured as "Best buy". People leaving reviews only generally have experience of their own shiny new (expensive) boiler. Basic psychology tells us that they are not going to give it a bad review, as that would make them look foolish. Installers and breakdown engineers see the common faults, and get the chance to compare against other brands.

Anyone got an opinion?

Baxi Platinum 33 HE
or
Baxi Duotec 33

Can't comment on the Baxi but gasman, a senior member on here really likes them. For my money, you can't go wrong with an Ideal Vogue. Stainless steel heat exchanger, 10-year warranty, quiet, looks good, excellent modulation ratio (very efficient). Or if you're open to a less well-known but excellently engineered product, Intergas is one to go for. Just four moving parts (so basically very little to go wrong), no diverter valve (the Achilles heel of all combis), huge waterways (so no issues with hot water performance deteriorating due to sludge or limescale). Not a pretty boiler but does the job very very well at a reasonable price point.

 

[Leo21]

Anyone got an opinion?

Baxi Platinum 33 HE
or
Baxi Duotec 33

Both the same boiler, and both better than a Worcestor.

 

[Millsy 82]

Anyone got an opinion?

Baxi Platinum 33 HE
or
Baxi Duotec 33

As Leo said both the same boiler just the platinum comes with a longer warranty for an extra couple of hundred quid.

 

[sebastienj]

Thanks masoon for the detailed response. Makes sense now.

Which intergas combi boiler would recommend for my case.

2 beds
1 bathroom
1 en suite
7 rads

Thx

 

[Masood]

Thanks masoon for the detailed response. Makes sense now.

Which intergas combi boiler would recommend for my case.

2 beds
1 bathroom
1 en suite
7 rads

Thx

Either the Combi Compact HRE 24/18 or the new Eco RF. The main difference is that the Eco RF has a built-in receiver for a wireless room stat.

 

[Masood]

Either the Combi Compact HRE 24/18 or the new Eco RF. The main difference is that the Eco RF has a built-in receiver for a wireless room stat.

I should add that if your incoming mains has a really good flow rate, then you should choose a higher KW-rated boiler to take advantage of the hot water performance, and set the heating output to the requirements of the property.

 

[sebastienj]

I have been checking the sound level of the Combi Compact HRE 24 and it says 45dB. This is fairly noisy when other boilers achieve much lower sound level.

This boiler is going to be in my cupboard which is located in my bedroom so it needs to be as quieter as possible

I should have included this when I mentioned what type of boiler I was looking for because this is a high priority as it being reliable.

what boilers are in the 30dB and as reliable as the intergas?

 

[Masood]

I have been checking the sound level of the Combi Compact HRE 24 and it says 45dB. This is fairly noisy when other boilers achieve much lower sound level.

This boiler is going to be in my cupboard which is located in my bedroom so it needs to be as quieter as possible

I should have included this when I mentioned what type of boiler I was looking for because this is a high priority as it being reliable.

what boilers are in the 30dB and as reliable as the intergas?

45dB is not very loud at all, especially if the boiler is in a cupboard...

 

[Leo21]

Unless you lie in bed while your heatings on, or run the hot tap from your bed. You'll be ok.

 

[sebastienj]

yes it might happen that in winter the heating will be on in the night and someone else has a shower when i am in bed

 

[Leo21]

Seriously though, they're not that loud.

 

[Masood]

yes it might happen that in winter the heating will be on in the night and someone else has a shower when i am in bed

45dBA is approximately as noisy as a computer fan. Really not noisy at all - in fact, unless your hearing is hypersensitive you'd just tune it out. If the boiler is going in a cupboard then you'll be pretty much unaware of it operating.

 

[Leo21]

Then what is wrong with Worcester.

Read the thread from the beginning. Or just ignore all our combined experience..

 

[Dotty]

Read the thread from the beginning. Or just ignore all our combined experience..

His opinion matters not a jot. What with him posting from a known spam source and all.

 

[julesverne]

If noise is an issue sound proof the cupboard im sure there are many cost effective solutions like shoving loads of cloths and other associated crap that would deaden the sound.

Most modern boiler are very quiet these days.
I think over the last 10 winters my boiler has come on about 2-3 times in the middle of the night due temps dropping so low. And you would really only set it to come on 10-20 mins before you are due to get up for work on a week day.

 

[paulalou]

In my mind the best boiler worcester ever took out is the greenstar Classic cdi, a brilliant boiler in every way , i fitted Bosch for years but went off the newer range and my personal experience is the classic is the bogs dollocks , I moved to the ideal vogues as ten year warranty is a big selling point, also it's a cracker of boiler

are those the 2 boilers you'd recommend as i need advice badly

 

[Harvest Fields]

I try to fit vaillants where possible

 

[Leo21]

Vaillants are good and Baxi Duo Tec's are a good boiler as well.

 

[king of pipes]

Get a good local installer round to give you a quote and advice needs a site vist , if you must have worcester bosch the greenstar classic 34cdi would be my choice cheers kop

 

[Leo21]

Worcestor boilers don't have low water pressure safety cut off, or blocked condensate safety cut off switches.
Changing a simple part like a prv can involve the removal of the boiler from the wall.
It's the only manufacturer that I'm aware of with these possibly catastrophic omissions, and yet they're the best selling boiler in the U.K.
The question is why? Good advertising campaigns perhaps?

 

[Harvest Fields]

I am more of a Vaillant man myself as stated before. But I am sure that Worcester now do boilers with prv's inside the boiler. Also I am sure they say that there condense pipes cannot block because the condense trap dumps the whole lot once it is full. So if the condense pipe external to the boiler is ran properly it will not block. But I may be wrong