People are watching what they spend and are going for value for money products. Information is key to making that informed decision about any purchase.
Important factors to take into consideration when buying a new boiler
The guarantee:
- the length of the boiler guarantee and quickly the repair is done
- The reputation of the manufacturer who is offering the boiler guarantee.
- Do they subcontract their after sales service teams? What is the reputation of this team?
Boiler size:
- Get the correct size boiler for your property. System boilers are different from combination boilers, the outputs need to be greater on combination boilers. The speed of how fast the house heats up relies solely on the size and outputs from the boiler. A system boiler of 24kw is more than enough to do a 3 bed house, but a 24kw combination boiler is not. Be aware of this when looking at cheaper quotes!
Installation:
Most boiler faults are due to the way the boiler has been installed eg:
- no power flushing or no inhibitor (system protector) added to the central heating system can cause blockages.
- if gas rates are not checked this can lead to carbon monoxide
- failure to insulate the condense pipe on a condensing boiler can freeze the pipe and stop the boiler working.
Common faults with Boilers:
- Most common faults on boilers are found in the fans, pumps, PCB’s (power circuit board) and in the case of combination boilers the diverter valves and diverter motors.
- In the case of combination boilers it’s all too often we find the DHW (the hot water heat exchange) fouled up by debris in the system and can be a costly fault to rectify. Magnetic filters eg Magna Clean can protect your boiler from debris in the system.
Power Flushing:
Here are some facts about power flushing a system correctly before installing a boiler:
- The power flush machine should do each radiator in both directions for 20min each way ie 40min per radiator.
- The pipe work should be treated in the same as a radiator.
- The central heating system should be rinsed for at least one hour eg a system with 10 radiators should take around 8 hours. A good cleaning agent should be used in the power flush like fernox or sentinel.
