Are you wondering who makes boilers better, the British or the Italians?
If you’re looking at both British boilers, and Italian makes, you may be wondering which is the right choice nowadays. After all, the market’s changed. Going back around 18 years, merchants in Edinburgh sold thousands of Italian boilers – they used to be all the rage! Mostly because people really cared about getting a low, low price, and boilers got cheaper and cheaper as a result.
Italian boilers were notoriously made from much cheaper parts, came with 2-year guarantees, and were rattly, noisy and unreliable. Even worse, sourcing a part could make repairs extortionate! You could end up paying £250 for a new circuit board on a boiler that only cost £300 in the first place. (That was the cost price of a boiler, no flue fittings or programmer).
What’s happening now is that homeowners are looking more for long-term value and reliability. Boilers have become more of an investment, and people want a product that will happily last them 18 – 20 years. They don’t mind paying to avoid the headaches that come from a boiler that’s constantly breaking down.
So, the big question is, have Italian boilers improved along with British ones? As an experienced engineer, I’m going to compare British boilers with Italian makes on several different factors.
Performance
Italian boilers such as Ferroli, Vokera and Ariston haven’t had the best performance record in the past. I can’t tell you the story with Ferroli now, because I genuinely don’t know anyone who fits them these days. Ariston used to be a bit hit or miss – some worked and went on and on for years, whereas others would need one repair, and suddenly you’d be undoing all the valves and replacing the washers.
Vokera were very big in Scotland, and one of the most active Italian boiler manufacturers still being fitted today. They have different guarantees and warranties available, but they’re still a very budget brand, and you’ll find a lot of mixed reviews online.
British boilers, on the other hand, have been going strong for years, with proven, tried and tested performance and a lot of research and development going into their boilers. These are generally very good quality products you can rely on.
The winner: British
Reputation
Reputation-wise, Italian boilers are a bit tarnished. I know Vokeras are meant to be quite good, although they have poor customer service. I recently tried to fit one of their boilers that was brand new out of the box, and it didn’t work. The customer service I was met with was very poor.
You will find a lot of terrible reviews for Italian boilers online, mixed with some good ones – mostly from the likes of Vokera. They’re also notoriously much noisier than British brands, due to being made with cheaper components.
British brands definitely win out here, as many of them now have fantastic reviews, and the likes of Ideal and Baxi are gaining a lot of market share. Plus, Worcester Bosch has been awarded Which? ‘Best Buy’ over six years running now!
The winner: British
Range of outputs
Both Italian and British boilers offer a massive range of outputs, so there’s no clear winner here. Both have outputs for all sizes and types of property, so you could easily choose either one knowing it’s the right size to heat your property.
The winner: It’s a draw!
Flow rates
Just like above, Italian boilers are perfectly capable of matching up to British brands in terms of flow rates. These days, people want faster and faster flow rates for high pressure showers, or just to fill a bath quicker, and the Italian market is able to provide the same high flow rates as are produced here in Britain.
The winner: It’s a draw!
Range of products
Just like British boilers, Italian brands provide compact ranges, along with bigger models. They both produce regular, combi and system boilers – along with LPG models. Storage combis are also available from both sides, which means access to high flow rates for your large property.
The winner: It’s a draw!
Guarantees
In terms of guarantees, British boilers are a clear winner. Although you can get up to 10-year guarantees on Italian boilers, you have to carefully read the small print. British manufacturers such as Worcester Bosch, Ideal and Baxi have great, no-quibble guarantees that involve no credit card charges for call-outs, and no extra small print to catch you out!
Some of the clauses you can expect from various Italian makes include having to flush the system, or certain components which aren’t covered for wear and tear. Ferroli is particularly bad for this.
The winner: British
TIP: Whether your boiler is British or Italian, just ensure it’s serviced annually to keep your guarantee valid!
Value for money
In terms of value for money, Italian boilers are cheaper, however they don’t really provide as much value for money as British boilers. This is because a couple of years down the line, you may have to fork out extra money for expensive repairs, or even have to replace your boiler entirely!
On the other hand, British brands typically provide much more reliable boilers which have been proven (in some cases) to last up to 18 – 20 years. And their no-quibble guarantees mean that if something does go wrong in the next 10 years, you’ll be covered!
The winner: British
Customer service
Again, when it comes to customer service, it has to be British. Ferroli have been particularly bad for customer service, and have almost single-handedly destroyed the reputation for most Italian boilers. And as I mentioned above, I didn’t have much luck with Vokera, either.
On the other hand, the likes of Baxi, Worcester Bosch and Ideal have much higher standards when it comes to respecting their customers. Some even have dedicated teams for installers like myself.
The winner: British
Advice from an experienced heating engineer
Just like any big investment, be cautious when choosing the right boiler for your home. Be sure to get comparitive, fixed price quotes for both British and Italian makes, and pay careful attention to online reviews. Ask yourself, is it really worth saving £200 for something that you might have to take a day off work for in order to get someone out to fix it?
Do your homework, especially when it comes to reliability. We’ve had quite a few issues in the past with Ferroli and Vokera boilers when called out to do repairs. The usual story was that 2 – 3 months down the line, they’d break down again, and the customer always expected us to go out and fix it. It was £300 repair after £300 repair.
This is the reason why we now refuse to do repairs on most Ferroli boilers. It’s not worth it to us, or to you.
Conclusion
I hope you’ve found this review helpful. It may be a bit negative, but it’s honest. Don’t get me wrong, I love Italian cars and Italian motorcycles, but they aren’t built to be driven every day. With a boiler, you need something you can truly depend on 24/7, which is why I’ll also opt for a British – or even German – boiler over Italian models.
Do you have any questions about Italian or British boilers? Let me know in the comments’ section. I’m here to help!
