Save service engineers and Buderus technical helpline is manned by Worcester engineers, BUT I don't think Worcester were chuffed as a sales organisation when Bosch brought Buderus into the stable.
No I don't expect a Worcester installer to be converted that easily.
I prefer the Buderus product, that's clear.
To get onto the differences.
The 500 28c is about 100 cheaper my cost. Has less soundproofing and plastic instead of enamelled metal outer case. The 600 28c also has slightly more refined hot water operation. It does however seem to have a slight weakness on the hot water side in the method of flow sensing, this is so sensetive that a dripping tap will stop the heating from working, and eventually throws the boiler into a form of lockout that only an engineer can get it out of (so I was told, though I haven't experienced it). That said the hot water is spot on, a customer of mine has the heat set at the boiler which is just right for washing her hair in the morning, it never waivers, as good as a thermostatic mixer shower. This was the first major benefit I noticed to the boiler, hot water performance is better than any 28kw boiler I have experienced. There is a story told by the reps that they were achieving 13ltrs a minute but when they came into the same stable as Worcester they were made to quote a more expected performance.
I do fit the 500 28c an awful lot more because in Scarborough other installers are offering cheaper boilers and making more money for fitting them, so I have to try and get closer to their price, but prefer to fit something I would use at home. When a fat I own Ideal Vulcan died due to lack of replacement parts I put in a 500 28c. Now considering my personal dislike of combis that is saying a lot.
There was a batch of 500 28c's fitted with a dodgy glow electrode, this gets sorted by the service team as a comissioning fault, I'm told there shouldn't be any of the current stock with that batch. The 600 28c uses the same part but wasn't fitted with that batch. the part is only 15 quid.
They are a dream for the installer.
BUT you can't rely on the flue position on the template for the 600 28c, unless they've now changed it it's an inch out, I found out the hard way, and looked a right plank in front of the customer with a 4 inch hole in the wrong place. Also reading the fitting instructions you are lead to believe you need a good acurate analyser to commission them. I spent half a day trying to get to the bottom of that part on trhe first one but it's a walk in the park now. Basically analysers are with us to stay, I don't see it as a negative feature now. The 500 28c is less technical to set up. However I was told by the service man I get to mine that the settings you have to go through are set up adequately in the factory and in the event you could just make sure working pressure is adequate and you're done.
I have found in every case that the 600 28c brain module on the left with the big nurled knob needs an extra turn to tighten it up good or there is no power to the boiler. I imagine that they are getting loose during transit. Worth first removing it and making sure the fuse holder is fitted right also, I had one of those come loose.
No real problems though.
In my home, if I had the extra 100 I;d take the 600 and make sure none of my taps drip.
Definately get the modureg. That is a dedicated programmable room thermostat radio controlled which modulates the burner directly. Costs me something like 70 plus vat and a bargaion. I am part P qualified but there is no need with this part because unlike the other manufcaturers radio stats the receiver doesn't plug into the mains. I really would say fittting any other kind of stat was false economy.
It isn't explicit in the instructions how to use it on the 600 28c, because it's made for the 500 range. I can give him instructions or he may get them from tech help, though I was misinformed by them over that issue in the early days, maybe they're all trained up enough now. Again it was the service guy we have local to us that showed me how to wire it in the 600 range.
