Baxi DuoTec 24 vs Ideal Logic plus 24
Introduction
These 2 boilers have got to be some of the most popular boilers on the market today. They both come with a 7-year warranty. Both have a Quality manufactures name behind them. The power output is suited for most small to medium houses (more on this later) They are priced pretty much the same depending on your supplier. I’m going to break the review down into a few separate categories; please bare in mind, I am giving you a review from a gas heating engineer’s point of view, I have personally fitted well over 50 of each model over the last few years. I am in no way associated with either company, and the review is based on my personal opinion only.
Reliability
Before we go into model specifics, one thing you have to remember is how cheap a boiler is in 2016. I found one of my dad’s old plumbing merchant’s books from 1985! A Worcester heat slave was £2800 just for the boiler back then. My dad bought a house that same year for £5,000! So to put this into perspective your boiler including installation, costing anywhere from £1,500 to £3,000 is a bargain compared to what they used to cost.
Now the point I’m making is from a manufacturers perspective. If you think how much actual profit they make on each boiler, then imagine if it has a break down over the next 7 years, even if it’s a small one by the time they have paid a qualified person to come to your home and repair it they are probably even. So over the next 7 years if they have to be out 3,4,5 times? They wouldn’t make a penny.
Reliably wise the manufacturers must be sure they will go the whole 7 years if not a lot longer to make any profit.
It is important to ensure, as with any boiler that it is installed 100% correctly or the warranty will be invalid. Also make sure you get it serviced properly once a year, get your book signed and not only that make sure your radiator system and water is also serviced, new chemicals added and flushed if needed.
Between the two specific models, the DuoTec seems to go through a new spark electrode now and then, it’s about £18 so a cheap repair if for whatever reason your out of warranty.
The Ideal is a little more confusing they used to suffer from quite a few problems but the new model on the market today seems to have all the problems ironed out. A particular failing was with the hot water flow turbine, but rest assured the new model has had this changed.
The main thing to consider here is the quality of the after service. I have had to have Baxi out to a new installation that a customer had completed by another engineer but failed to leave any paperwork. I called Baxi on behalf of the customer. At this point, I suppose Baxi could have said that it was not their reasonability, but they did come out the next day and sort the minor problem free of charge. Whenever I have called Baxi for any regulation, repair and advice, they have always been polite and helpful.
I have called Ideal out for the flow turbine problem mentioned earlier, they always came out and repaired it with no problems. I have seen a circuit board fail on a 2-year-old Ideal Independent c24. Again this was repaired by Ideal even tho the customer had lost the book with the commissioning sheet. I thought this was excellent of them.
So from a review point, I would say reliability they are level pegging.
Performance
Both the new boiler models have ERP pumps which is a new energy saving measure. It gets interesting with outputs here so bare with me, and ill try and explain it as easy as I can. Both have a hot water output of 24kw Baxi has a flow rate of 9.8 litres per min Ideal has a flow rate of 9.9 litres per min So nothing in it for hot water, heating is the same, with both boilers putting out 24kw with the current models.
Installation
The Baxi is heavy; the valves don’t twist to make it easier to line pipes up correctly. The flue isn’t central. The preppie jig, in theory, is a good idea but its just an extra you don’t have with the ideal. It’s big, if you want to put it in a kitchen cupboard, the Baxi is physically a larger boiler in size. The ideal is lightweight, super easy for the installer. The revised flue clip is better than the first model. The flue is central also, so you won’t have to knock out any more of the flue if the boiler you’re replacing has a central flue.
Conclusion
There isn’t much in it, but in my opinion, if I’m replacing an existing boiler I will always suggest the ideal as its easier to install. However, if it’s an entirely new installation, I would favour the Baxi. The reason is the internal construction. The reason it’s so heavy is a lot of the internals are made out of brass and feel better made than some of the ideals plastic bits. That said only time will tell. Perhaps the brass on the Baxi will weep leaks in years to come, and the ideals plastic will last forever? I hope this review will help you to realise that both are excellent boilers. I would happily have either in my own home.
