Well boiler after 30 years is on its way out, main heat exchanger needs replacing and the hot water isnt getting that hot so a problem ther as well.

So what boiler ? Baxi, Worcester-Bosch or another Vaillant ?

Vaillant or Glowmorm, which are vaillant under the cover.

A good neighbour of mine who was a commercial gas boiler engineer now retired advised me to get a baxi condensing boiler with a high output for the hot water.

A good neighbour of mine who was a commercial gas boiler engineer now retired advised me to get a baxi condensing boiler with a high output for the hot water. Combi’s in his opinion are overated and overly complex leading to problems after just a few yrs.

Old engineers who retire with a “that new fangled stuff isn’t as good as the simple stuff I worked on when I was a lad” always make me a little suspicious.
Doesn’t mean they are wrong mind…

I’ve been a heating engineer for 17 years and what geoffj said. Not the Baxi !

Every engineer will recommend what they are used to fitting so best thing is to get a few quotes. Worcester Bosch are good but expensive, Vaillant likewise. Baxi Duotec comes with a 7yr warranty or you can have a Platinum which has 10yr warranty (same boiler different badge) bit less reliable though but spares are cheaper. Warranties on the WB and Vaill can be 7yr but need to be installed by an approved installer.

Steer clear of anything you can buy from B&Q (Heatline, Biasi, Ravenheat etc).

Mate who is a ‘current’ gas engineer fitted a Baxi in my house nearly 2 years ago. Issues with gas supply meant he fitted that. He rates Bosch Worcester up top as they have a 5 yr warranty as opposed to 2 yrs with Baxi.

As for Vaillant, I hope their spares back up is better than their rebadged heatpump and a/c systems as they are dire at supplying those.

That was the one Baxi Duotec. That’s what he put in his house. He was commercial big stuff for factories and offices. He had no bias as his tickets etc have expired and his was fitted by a mate who recommended it. Seems like a good guarantee though 7yrs!

You cant really go wrong with either WB or vaillant,personally fit WB and have had no issues whatsoever.Mega important to make sure whatever you have is installed correctly,corner cutting will make for high failure rates so make sure it is by the book.

We have had to change our less than 6 year old Grant Vortex which split its jacket. Now gone for a WB & a power flush through the system first.
Hopefully last longer than the Grant

We have a Veissmann which has run faultlessly for nearly 5 yrs now

Graham – did they give any reason for the waterjacket splitting ?

Curious as i have a vortex – did you install the vortex on old pipes/rads ? Was it kept with inhibitor and bled / serviced annually ?

Had a WB Combi for 14 years now with very few problems. And that is running on an old rad system without any fancy flushes or inhibitors (but we live in a soft water area). Probably cost about £300 in a few parts and all services during that time. Spares availability still good, as is the manual for occasional fault finding prior to calling a Gas safe man.

We really can’t live without a Combi – find it a huge PIA when we go to holiday cottages with conventional hot water cylinder & immersion heater systems (especially if coming in from mtb where 4 people all want successive showers etc). The direct shower from the combi is so good (mains water pressure) I eventually fitted an eco aerating shower head to cut down on water use / steam.

Graham – did they give any reason for the water jacket splitting

No help from Grant at all. They said they would sell us a replacement jacket which was dam near a boiler cost.
Boiler was installed c/w with new heating system all new pipes & rads. Serviced every year as well, really disappointed with Grant & looking at some of the forum comments elsewhere there seems to be a problem

chris36860 – Member

I’ve been a heating engineer for 17 years and what geoffj said. Not the Baxi !

Thats what I’ve heard thanks for that.

So its looking like a W-B and soon Would have been nice to have a hot bath after todays ride 🙁