Ideal ISAR 30 Combi Boiler

[bemused2]

I am due to have a combi boiler fitted and was told by a friend to avoid the Ideal Isar 30. Now i have the installation date, i find that this is the boiler they are going to fit. When asked if i have a choice, they just said you either have it or you dont!!!! Very helpful. As i am lucky enough to qualify for the work to be done by a WarmFront grant, i cannot exactly go elsewhere. SO ..... has anyone had one? whats wrong with them?

[gucciman]

hi, i dont think theres anything in particualr bad about ideal boilers, there not the best boiler but nowhere near the worst either.
all combi boilers can be problematic as they are so hi-tec these days, have it serviced once a year and be prepared to fork out for a repair now and again, just like a car really!

[jonesytwotwo]

I have a Vokera, which is excellent, but I also have a maintainence agreement, which costs �50 plus parts on an annual visit. There was recently a thread on UKCS onthese. Several said Worcester Bosch were the business . One said her hub was a heating boffin, and swore by Vailliant Eco as cheapest, and best. If warmfront are going to fit one (and maintain it,I believe), you gotto go with what they want to fit.

[gucciman]

my boss and father has 49 years experience as a gas engineer, worked for british gas for 35 years, 20 yrs as a training instructor and was regarded as british gas leading expert on combi boilers as it was he who set all the training up when they first started appearing on the market, in the days when bg controlled all the gas appliances on sale in the uk my father would get every new boiler sent to him at the training centre where he would strip it to bits, rebuild it, explore every possible fault and prepare the training manuals on it.
saying all that he hates combis with a vengeance, rates them as unreliable, difficult to fault diagnose and repair, give im an old fashioned conventional boiler with a pilot and no electronics anyday!
as said before, all combis need regular servicing and will breakdown now and again.
he as always regarded vaillants as the best combis on the market, closely followed by worcester-bosch.
he rates halsteads as good boilers but the parts are very expensive, ideals, vokeras, baxis, glow worms are decent boilers, not at all keen on ravenheat, chaffateaux, ariston or heatlines.
your getting a decent boiler for free so i wouldn't be too worried if i was you.
oh, and something i learnt last week, we serviced a boiler for a guy who had actually added breakdowns of the boiler onto his home insurance, only cost him an extra 24 quid a year, makes those monthy payment breakdown covers look a bit expensive, only cndition is he had to have a service once a yr for which we chage 40 quid.

[Steviegb]

Do your self a favour and make sure they flush your system out before they fit your boiler. If you live in a hard water area make sure they fit a decent limescale fighter to it (electric one, Hydraflo are really good.). If they dont flush your system , or its not that bad, get a magnaclean filter put on to catch any crap thats left in it. I have had lots of dealings with all ideal combi`s and to be honest i have had nothing but trouble with them, but the main thing that causes the trouble is the condition of the water in it.

[gucciman]

steves absolutely right, and not flushing the system properly is the number one reason the boiler makers use to get out of honouring the warranty.
i dont see all that many ideal boilers fitted to be honest, seem to come across more worcesters than any other.
we have had quite a bit of trouble with heatlines lately, breaking down when only 18 months old etc. and weve also seen quite a few problems with the baxi combis

[discochick]

Is true that the more expensive boiler the cheaper the parts going to cost and the cheaper the boiler the more expensive part??

[gucciman]

not strictly true, often it depends on how popular the boiler is, if its a popular one the spare parts stockists are going to keep large stocks and so dont have to order them specially. and if you come across a part thats obsolete but someones still got a stock of them then they can charge what they bloody well like.
for some reason halstead spares are very expensive and they arent cheapo boilers.
servowarm are probably the worst, they take other manufacturers boilers and modify them with their own parts and then charge a fortune for spares.
parts differ widely from manufacturer to manufacturer, fans can be 90 to 150, boards 100 to 200, diverter valves 50 to 100 etc
stockists also charge differing prices so its worth shopping around if your a gas engineer