Chaffoteaux & Maury Boilers

Chaffoteaux & Maury Boilers was founded in 1914, and has been producing gas fired water heaters since 1925. They are part of the Ariston Thermo Group, and have companies across Europe including in Belgium, Italy and Morocco.

Chaffoteaux & Maury boilers come in three ranges for homeowners to choose from. The first range is the Celt Star C boiler which is a gas fired water heater providing hot water for a single point. The provision of hot water is instant, with the cold water moving through the heat exchanger which gets the water to the correct temperature. If small amounts of hot water are required, then this is perfect for the job. It is simple to install, and has a flueless operation with a safety system, hot and cold water controls, and there are two models to choose from (the Celt Star C or the Celt Star CT)

The second range is the Britony II T. This is a gas fired water heater that can provide instant hot water to a number of points. It is economical, as it doesn’t store hot water, and has simple and easy to use controls to change temperature and flow.

The third range of the Chaffoteaux & Maury boilers is the Britony FlexiFlu. This fan flu gas fired water heater is great for buildings with more than one storey, and the combustion products are removed by a quietly turning fan. There is a built-in frost protection for the winter, and is lightweight and easy to install in the home. 

Why do so few people buy back boilers?

The question as to why fewer people buy back boilers today than they did a generation ago is a confusing one. Back boilers have been heating homes reliably for many years, but they seem to be falling out of fashion. Very few people are actively buying back boilers. Although boiler companies can provide very efficient modern back boilers they are usually bought as replacements, not new systems.

So why do people not buy back boilers anymore? First, there needs to be an understanding of what back boilers are. Back boilers can be found hidden behind the fire, usually in a chimney breast. The fire front covering them is heating the boiler, and the boiler goes on to heat radiators and provide hot water for the rest of the house.

Back boilers need to be kept highly maintained to ensure safety, and they have caused safety problems in the past. This goes some way to explain the idea that they are outdated. Another reason why people no longer buy them is that they take up a lot of space. Usually they can be hidden behind a chimney, but need two tanks in a loft space, and an airing cupboard for the cylinder. In a small house, that is a lot of room.

Despite this, back boilers are not considered negatively. They are still being sold by top boiler companies such as Baxi, and huge leaps have been made in their technology and design. These leaps have, however, also been made with other boilers such as gas and combination system boilers, which helps to explain why they are only being bought as replacements.

So although it is difficult to buy back boilers outright, it is not because they have become undated or unwanted. There is the new technology out there designed by boiler companies to ensure that, if you need to replace your back boiler, you get a new efficient one that helps cut down your annual energy bills.

What can boiler manufacturers do for you?

Boiler manufacturers are not, in this day and age, just manufacturers of boilers. Companies that design, build and sell boilers are offering more and more services outside of just boilers.

There are two ways in which boiler manufacturers are branching out from simply selling boilers. The first is products. Product ranges from these manufacturers are extending beyond boilers and the parts associated with them. Many manufacturers now provide products in number of areas. Gas boilers, oil-fired boilers, hot water heated by solar energy, air source heat pumps, ground source heat pumps and even biomass boilers.

These new range of products allow you as a customers to choose a product that suits your energy needs, and reflects how energy conscious you are. If you have a large house and need to be able to have hot water coming out of taps all over the place at different times, then a manufacturer should be able to provide you with a heater that suits your needs.

Many manufacturers now often sell parts and accessories to make your boiler as space age or as simple as you want, and to help maintain it to last as long as possible.

The second way in which these manufacturers have gone beyond providing just regular boilers is through services. Many manufacturers provide a helpline, so that you can contact them in an emergency or with a question whenever it occurs. Many have databases or installers for you to browse for one in your local area, others provide maintenance services so that you boiler can get its annual check up. 

Today’s boiler manufacturers have extended their scope to help provide customers with a wide range of products and services that reflect modern day needs, so there is plenty that they can do for you outside of simply providing a new boiler.

Ariston Boilers

Ariston boilers can be found worldwide, and provide heating and hot water solutions with a range of products.

Among their line of products are Ariston boilers, run by gas and ranging from combi, system, regular to wirelessly controlled. Ariston can also provide unvented cylinders, water heaters, and solar powered heating.

Ariston’s gas boilers are all wall hung to make sure that they fit into any home, and are thoroughly checked to make sure they meet exacting standards. All of Ariston’s gas boilers are SEDBUK (Season Efficiency of Domestic Boilers in the UK) Band A rated, and come with guarantees of up to 5 years on some products.

With their CLAS & E- Combi boilers, wireless controlled can be added so that you can set a daily and weekly programmer to control the temperature. Timer-thermostats use a signal receiver so there is no need for wires.

Water heaters (whether over-sink or under-sink) are provided in a wide range of sizes, from the tiny 5 litre Piccolo to the larger Eureka and Europrisma which have 13 and 10 to 15 litre capacities respectively. There is also a 30 litre over-sink version, and in the Europrisma range there are 2kW and 3kW versions.

Alongside their Ariston boilers, Ariston also provide a range of domestic appliances, made and sold by Indesit Company. These appliances include cookers, washing machines and dishwashers. Like any heating and boiler company, Ariston provide a Technical Services Department to deal with any problems or concerns from their customers.

Alpha Boilers

Alpha boilers have been warming homes in the UK for 45 years now. They supply a wide range of products to use safely and efficiently in the home, focusing on high efficiency boilers that helped reduce a home’s carbon footprint whilst keeping it warm when needed.

Alpha boilers are designed to help keep energy prices in a home low, as well as CO2 emissions. They can also help maximise the value of a property. Alpha products have a SEDBUK (Season Efficiency of Domestic Boilers in the UK) ‘A’ rating, which is the highest in the Season Efficiency of Domestic Boilers in the UK band of ratings. Alpha provide a range of combination, system and regular boilers for household use.

Alongside basic boiler products, Alpha can provide hot water solutions for larger homes. Their FlowSmart technology allows homes with a higher than average hot water demand, for example in large households, to get the best out of their boiler. The components to make the technology work (including amongst other things a CD35C combination boiler and a GasSaver flue gas heat recovery unit) can be stored away into a small space with no need to take up room in the loft.

To compliment their products, Alpha also sell an accessories range. Whether it’s controls, products for flueing, or a pack to keep your boiler finely tuned for a little longer, the range is extensive and suits the need of Alpha customers and their products.

Alpha is also up to date with the latest renewable technology, and alongside their Alpha Boilers, they can provide SolarSmart, a way to get hot water by using solar energy.

The Ins and Outs of Boiler Insurance

Boiler insurance, also known as boiler cover, covers the costs of repairs and sometimes even replacement of your home boiler. With boilers being at the centre of a home’s hot water and heating supply, experts are surprised that most homeowners do not have this kind of insurance.

The types of boiler insurance are separated by how much they cover, and this has a direct affect on the price. For example, cover for your boiler only will be the cheapest, but it will only cover the actual boiler itself and the heating controls on it. It often does not include an annual service. 

Insurance that covers the full heating system are typically the most expensive. They include all of the pipes, radiators and valves to do with your central heating system, and usually an annual service.

Unfortunately, boiler cover can get confusing. Some insurance policies will include a breakdown cover, that will sometimes cover parts and labour costs and sometimes won’t. Others may include a helpline and a speedy call-out in a basic package; for others this may only be included in a premium cover package. 

Exceptions are also something to be taken into consideration; call-outs can sometimes cost more in certain areas, and the age of your boiler may have a significant effect on your policy, even making the boiler ineligible for cover. 

The best thing to do when buying boiler insurance is to shop around and do your research, taking care of exceptions and specifications of each policy. This may sound a nuisance, but you will fine the time and effort will pay off if one day something goes wrong.

Heat Only Boilers

The boiler sector is awash with jargon and terminology, but at least most of it is straightforward and easy to understand. The clue is in the words.

Take Combination Boilers, which combine both the provision of hot water for central heating system and for the taps in the same process. When the radiators require hot water, the boiler fires up and provides it. You turn on a hot tap, the boiler gets going and its there. Hot water on demand and nothing is stored for later use.

Heat Only Boilers provide hot water at regular intervals which is then stored for later use by the central heating system and hot water taps. Also called Open Vent Boilers, these units are designed to produce the hot water and keep the hot water cylinder regularly topped up with water, ready for use.

By the way, they are called Open Vent because they operate within an open system. The cold water is usually supplied by a cold water feeder tank in the loft. This is opposite to a closed, or sealed system, used mainly by System Boilers. The water within a closed system is just that, locked within the pipework and fittings and sealed under pressure.

Heat Only boilers are primarily used in larger properties, mainly because they can store large amounts of hot water for use at a moment’s notice. A combination boiler, unless backed up by a separate storage unit, tends to struggle with houses that have a large number of bedrooms and bathrooms.

The obvious downside with Heat Only boilers is that they require more kit (a hot water cylinder and cold water feed tank for example) and more pipework, so take up more room and are thus more expensive to fit.

But, for anyone requiring a boiler that has the capacity to cope with a large property, they are the obvious choice.

Heat Only Boilers remain a popular choice for many people.