Worst Boilers, Which Boilers to Avoid in 2023

Shopping for a new boiler can seem like an impossible task, especially when there are so many different types, brands and models available on the market.

If you haven’t already, you might want to check out our guide to the Best Boilers of 2023 to see what our top picks are but in this guide, we’ll be taking a look at the ones you should be avoiding.

How Have We Judged Them?

In order to keep things fair, we’ve considered the following factors when compiling our list of the worst boilers of 2023:

• Which? Annual boiler survey results

• The brand’s overall reputation based on customer reviews

• Warranty offered

• The boiler cost

• Awards and accolades

Which? Annual Boiler Survey Results

Which? is a UK organisation dedicated to testing and reviewing products and services in order to help consumers make more informed decisions before buying.

Each year, they put over 3,600 products to the test through their test labs, user trials and (where applicable) taste tests.

The final aggregated score is based on the following:

• Reliability score

• Customer score

• Engineer recommendation

• Build quality

• Availability of parts

• Ease of fixing faults

• Ease of servicing

Based on the 2021 Boiler Survey, there was a clear loser: Ferroli.

Ferroli

A Bit About the Ferroli Brand

Ferroli is an Italian brand based in Burton-on-Trent and received an unimpressive score of two out of five from consumers and just a single star from engineers.

Additionally, the brand got a 3 out of 5 reliability score, suggesting you can’t count on them to deliver high quality heating for a long time.

Overall, Ferolli received an aggregated score of just 35%, which is significantly lower than the majority of other boiler brands.

Which Ferroli Boiler Model Scored the Lowest?

The Ferroli HE 27C in particular received particularly bad reviews and customers weren’t thrilled with the other models including the HE 32C and the HE38C.

Combined, these boilers were the worst rated by Which? in 2021.

So why aren’t customers- or engineers- impressed with Ferroli? Let’s find out…

Ferroli: Customer Reviews

Trustpilot is a digital platform that hosts reviews from existing customers to help potential customers to shop with confidence and, like Which?, make better informed decisions before buying.

The more consumers use the platform to share their experiences with brands, the richer the insights TrustPilot can offer.

On Trustpilot, the number of stars a customer gives determines whether they think the product/service was excellent (5 stars), great (4 stars), average (3 stars), poor (2 stars) or bad (1 star). 

Of all the reviews based on customer’s experiences with Ferroli, just 65% gave them 5 stars whilst 22% gave just 1 star, rating the company as ‘Bad’ (true as of Jan 2023).

As a reference of how poor this score, the following scores are from some of the top boiler brands:

• Viessmann - 80% Excellent, 5% Bad.

• Worcester Bosch - 80% Excellent, 3% Bad.

• Ideal- 87% Excellent, 3% Bad.

• Alpha- Excellent 87% 7% Bad.

This comparison shows just how poor the reviews of Ferroli are. In particular, many poor and bad reviews refer to the engineers, warranty service, product failures and low quality parts.

Let’s look at these in closer detail…

Ferroli Boilers Warranty

Depending on the model, most Ferroli boilers come with a standard warranty of 1-5 years which covers any repairs or replacements proved to be faulty by the manufacturer.

The warranty on these parts ends when the warranty on the appliance expires. 

This standard warranty period is rather short in comparison to companies such as Worcester Bosch that has a warranty of 12 years when installed by a Worcester Bosch engineer and Viessmann which has a standard warranty of 5 years with the availability to go up to 12 years when installed by a Viessmann engineer.

From the reviews, many customers complain about how difficult it is to arrange repairs under the warranty and the unwillingness to help by the aftercare team.

Ferroli Product Failures and Low Quality Parts

With so many issues and failures caused by the low quality parts, it’s no surprise most Ferroli boilers come with a one year warranty.

From the reviews, it is evident that Ferroli boilers are prone to failures and even when working, make loud clunky banging noises.

Ferroli Boiler Prices

Prices for Ferroli combi boilers (excluding installation costs) range from £475 and £595, making them a budget boiler brand.

However, with so many failures and low quality parts that need replacing frequently, a boiler from Ferroli will likely end up costing you significantly more in the long run and will typically need to be replaced a lot sooner than a more expensive, yet reliable brand, such as Worcester Bosch.

Ferroli Awards and Accolades

As far as we can tell, Ferroli hasn’t received any UK awards in the last five years, however, back in 2016, their BlueHelix Tech 25C (The European name for the Modena HE boiler) won a few awards for being Best Boiler and Best Purchase in Italy and Spain by consumer survey magazines AltroConsumo and Compra Maestra.

Vokèra

Vokèra Which? Score

Vokèra is a boiler brand based across the UK and Ireland that is part of the Riello Group.

In the Which? Boiler Survey 2021, Vokèra came in second-to-last with an overall brand score of 50%. 

Vokèra Customer Reviews

Of all the reviews based on customer’s experiences with Vokèra, just 69% gave them 5 stars whilst 9% gave just 1 star, rating the company as ‘Bad’ (true as of Jan 2023). 

Although this isn’t quite as bad as Ferroli’s reviews, Vokèra certainly don’t come close to the top boiler brands which have a minimum of 80% Excellent views.

When looking at the reviews, it seems that most issues are down to the complicated thermostat operation, frequent breakdowns and poor customer service.

According to one customer, the Vokèra thermostat was very difficult to operate and even their ‘techy’ daughter struggled to operate it, despite watching an online tutorial on how to use it.

With so many customers complaining about frequent breakdowns, it seems Vokèra are unable to find enough engineers available to resolve these issues as despite paying large callout fees of £125, customers had repairs cancelled and were left without heating and hot water for up to a week.

Vokèra Warranty

Most Vokèra boilers come with a very low 12 month warranty as standard, however, some offer an individual warranty between 2-7 years. 

It’s no surprise Vokèra offers such a low standard warranty when so many of their boilers have frequent breakdowns as after a year they can wash their hands of any repair and labour costs which then fall onto the customer to cover. 

Vokèra Prices

Much like Ferroli, Vokèra boilers are one of the cheapest options on the market and, as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. 

Although the initial prices between £499 and £650 may seem like a great offer, you could actually end up paying significantly more in the long run due to the cost of repairs and replacing your boiler sooner due to the very low warranty period.

Vokèra Awards and Accolades

Back in 2018, Vokèra’s Evolve boiler was nominated in the Domestic Heating Product of the Year- Boilers/Water Heaters category at the H&V News awards, however they lost to Firebird’s Enviroblue Combi HE boiler.

So, Which Boiler Should You Choose?

Best Boilers 2023 at iHeat

At iHeat, we only sell and install the best boilers available on the UK market and offer 10 year warranties on all of our boilers as a sign of our confidence that these models will be long lasting and reliable.

If you’re looking to get a new boiler for your home, why not get a free fixed quote on a brand new A-rated efficient boiler plus installation today with iHeat?

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