Heatline Boilers Good or Bad

[Ian123]

After some advice on previous threads i've been looking at the
heatline solaris 30KW combi boiler

Just after some opinions good or bad about this model
The price looks good, with a 2 year garuntee
The parts all seem to be quality brands

Opinions please

 

[ollski]

In my experience bad, I had one on patch that used to have a different washer disintergrate every month and needed a simplemechanical timeclock that would ususlly cost a tenner for most boilers but just under 250 quid for the heatline.

 

[Gasguru]

Met their service manager a while back - thought he was an arse

 

[corgigazza]

In general these boilers u find installed on the cheap, systems not flushed,
gas supply under sized, D I Y installs as they are available at BQ, have phoned there tech advice and found them very good and there spares people help full, the spares seem good value also but only available from them (hrpc dont supply thier spares)

If installed correct and the system flushed possibly also fitting magnetic filter they seem like a reasonable boiler, better then some other well known brands.

 

[mehran]

it is a good budget boiler, the heat-line solaris 30KW combi boiler is not sold in b&q(the vizo is tho)

the 30kw is in fact a 35kw 14l/m boiler with two year warentee that can be extended to 3 years for £99. the lower half is the same as the vizo with some minor differences .

for the price per liter it is very much good value. almost every one here has only seen the b&q one. it uses the same stainless heat exchanger as every one else plus loads of standard parts that you will find in every other boiler.

if looking for a budget boiler and need a 14l/m then i think it is good but there are better for more money.

btw heat-line has been sold to vallant if any one wants to know

edit: just to add it is A-rated

 

[Agile]

They are not cheap though! About the same price as most of the others.

They have the standard metal cased ( not plastic like some more expensive boilers! ) and a Grunfoss pump.

Setting them up is done on four pots on the PCB very simply.

Looks like a very easy to maintain boiler all from the front!

Tony

 

[Doctor Drivel]

In my experience bad, I had one on patch that used to have a different washer disintergrate every month and needed a simple mechanical timeclock that would ususlly cost a tenner for most boilers but just under 250 quid for the heatline.

What model? Timeclock? £250? Link it out and Replace with a stat/programmer.

As to washers. Ravenheat boasted that they used Grundfos pumps and Honeywell gas valves, however the rest of it was crap, with leaks being major problems. They spoiled the ship for a hap'worth of tar. One one model the auto air vent was above the pcb and if it leaked - kaboom. Just plain bad design - no thought at all gone into them.

I would only look at the stainless steel heat exchanger Heatline models. The same with BIASI. I would not entertain any boiler with a secondary condensing heat exchanger, called a recouperator by some - the only exception would be a Kidd.

 

[Agile]

All the Ravenheats I ever see have a Wilo pump.

I replaced one last night with a Grunfoss pump though.

Tony

 

[Doctor Drivel]

All the Ravenheats I ever see have a Wilo pump.

I replaced one last night with a Grunfoss pump though.

Tony

The earlier models had Grundfos. Their boilers were kits of mainly Italian parts, and they were probably the first UK makers to produce boilers from third party parts makers. ERF do this with trucks. To get them established they advertised that the key parts were of quality make.

I think they made the side panels, however I "believe" all of the manufacture was eventually farmed out to others and they just assembled in their place in Leeds, then the pound became very strong so they imported the whole models from Italy.

 

[DRP]

Well I had a Solaris 30 fitted 18 months ago and since then I will of had to have an engineer out 3 times. The first time was only weeks after installation with a failed piezo.

The second was due to a leak in a joint between components, which also required a new electrical board and after tonight this will be the third time, once again due to a leak which I suspect is the same problem as before, plus this time all the electrics have gone.

So far I am not impressed and I am wondering what I am going to face once the 2 year warrantee is up.

What I will say is that Heatline seem to of had a very good after sales service ie prompt response (well at least on the previous two occasions). However this is just as well given the track record so far.

Added:
Thought I would just add some more info as it has been mentioned earlier. The system was flushed, filter installed and the gas pipe renewed to the correct size and inhibitor used, this was bought from Platform (trade only supplier) at a cost of about £630. This was also inspected by a senior Heatline engineer who stated that it was one of the best installations he had seen, so no real excuses for them there!

 

[Paul Barker]

I think the spark electrode is just bad luck could have happened to a vaillant even, and no more likely to happen on your boiler.

sound s like the real problem is the seals.

You can probably look forward to changing buckets after the warranty runs out.

I tried to get to be a service agent for them but failed. Nobody likes a clever clogs whose questions they can't answer I suppose.

I can just picture the big guy with so little knowledge saying to everyone afterwards "that man doesn't get a a job here!"

If I'd only gone with Tony it would have taken the heat off me!

Anyhow who cares? boiler epairs are a loss leader in country areas like mine.

 

[mehran]

now now paul, no need to be like that

as paul said, the sparker is used by lots of different boiler makers. you where a just a bit unlucky there. was the leak from the diverter valve before?

heat-line are good to the engineers if you are worried about the boiler in the furture phone heat-line and ask to increase the warranty to a third year for £99 or get to know your local service agent that will have all the parts.

 

[DRP]

I could tell you exactly which part if the last contracted engineer didn’t run off with me book

But yes I think it was, the odd thing with the first leak is that the board went during the repair. The leak was pretty harmless and wasn’t affecting any other components.

Not sure this time as the board has gone straight away. I will be calling them this morning.

Oddly my business partner was just about to have the same boiler fitted next week in Rugby, but I have now advised her against it.

From where I am standing it seems the seal issue might be true, as an engineer in a different field, I accept the sparker point (by virtue of being unlucky), but the leaks are causing costly repairs and as a consumer I know this poor component use/ bad design if that is what it is, will cost me in the future.

I don’t mind buying additional warrantee’s against the unexpected but to have to buy additional cover against "known" problems within a minimum service life I find immoral.

Not sure what Heatline's take is on this, but 3 repairs in 18 months must of affected their profit on this unit in some way.

"Aim to attend in 48 hours" I have just been told, and no doubt they will, lets see what the problem is this time.

 

[Nixt]

It's unfortunate you're having problems DRP, but what you have is one of the cheapest brands of the cheapest form of CH & DHW (ie. a gas combi). Some manufacturers lose money on their combi sales business and make on spares, repairs and servicing. None of this is your fault, but where the latest high-tech green energy systems can cost 5 figures, there's a limit to what can be reliably produced for 3.

 

[DRP]

Hi Nixt
Well there seems to be some division over where this boiler falls in the cost bracket, but I imagine your dead right. To be truthful I never had great expectations in terms of longevity, I just expected a reasonable product for about 5-6 years I guess.

What I didn’t expect was problems from the off, which is the bit that’s irritating me. However I have been a little conditioned in the past with paying a fortune for top end products only to be just as disappointed, so when someone says "You get what you pay for" I nearly always ask now " BUT DO YOU ?" so I have settled that buying mid range seems to offer the best value.

However maybe that logic doesn’t work with boilers or as you suggest maybe this one was less then mid range

But I still think that even a cheap product should be at least fit for purpose and offer a reasonable service life.