Ultimate Budget Boiler Battle November 23, 2020 The Ravenheat CS80T Combi Boiler and the Vokera Easi-Heat plus 25Ci Combi Boiler might just be 2 of the best budget combination boilers on the market, if you are looking to spend very little money but still want a quality boiler, then you can do alot worse than these little gems, they both have advantages and disadvantages over each other. Here I will review them and give my opinion of which one I feel should win the title of the ultimate budget boiler. The Ravenheat CS80 The CS80 is a very compact, energy efficient boiler, designed with the installer in mind. The CS80 has a 3.6kW to 25.4kW output for domestic hot water, and 3.6kW to 23.6kW output for heating. It comes with standard horizontal flue and built in digital clock. Lightweight at 29kg. Maximum flue length of 8 metres for standard horizontal flue installations. Low modulation down to 3.6kW on heating. Compact size 700mm high, 400mm wide and 300mm deep. Built-in deep seal condensation trap designed to reduce freezing. Very quiet when in operation. Domestic hot water flow rate of 10.2 litres through a 35°c rise. 8ltr expansion vessel. Low voltage switching for room thermostats with a optional outside sensor for weather compensation. Integral valve kit eliminates unsightly valves outside the boiler. Manual and automatic air vent allows air out of the system more easily when commissioning. Removeable side panels. Low NOx Class 5. Has the industry standard universal pipe configuration connection order under the boiler (Flow-Out-In-Return) Unfortunately it only comes with a 2 year manufacturers warranty, this is something Ravenheat might want to think about if they are to up their share of the market, most boilers that I offer normally have 10 year warranties, or at least the option to extend it to 10 years, ultimately a budget boiler really needs to aim at a 5 year warranty in my opinion. The Ravenheat CS80 Combi boiler can normally be picked for around £600, but I've seen it for sale at Selco Builders Warehouse in Redhill Surrey for £394.80 inc VAT, (23/11/2020) this comes with standard flue and built in timer. That's an amazing offer and can really help someone who's in a tight fix and needs a new boiler quick and who only has a low budget. The Vokera Easi-Heat plus 25Ci Combi Boiler The 25Ci is also a very compact, energy efficient boiler, designed with the installer in mind. The 25Ci has a 4.91kW to 25kW output for domestic hot water and 4.91kW to 19.5kW output for heating. It comes with standard horizontal flue and built in mechanical clock. Lightweight at 28kg. Maximum flue length of 5.85 metres for standard horizontal flue installations. Low modulation down to 4.91kW on heating. Compact size 795mm high, 405mm wide and 248mm deep. Built-in deep seal condensation trap with flexible hose for easy connection. Very quiet when in operation. Domestic hot water flow rate of 10.2 litres through a 35°c rise. 8ltr expansion vessel. Low voltage switching for room thermostats with a optional outside sensor for weather compensation, opentherm compatible for load compensation via a smart thermostat like the be Smart, and if fitted to a beSmart it can benefit from remote fault diagnostics which is amazing for a budget boiler. It also has the option for a flue heat recovery unit to be added, making this a very efficient little boiler. Bottom cover hides unsightly valves outside the boiler. Manaul and automatic air vent allows air out of the system more easily when commissioning. Removeable side panels. Low NOx Class 6. Unfortunately it doesn't have the industry standard universal pipe configuration connection order under the boiler (Flow-Out-In-Return) instead it has RFOI, which isn't ideal for installers doing a combi swap to a non vokera. It only comes with a 5 year manufacturers warranty, but this seems to be the minimum one should really expect from a entry level budget boiler. The Easi-Heat is well known for being a quality boiler for its price, you can pick up the 25Ci with flue and clock for around £500, this is an amazing price for a 5 year warranty boiler. The winner of the ultimate budget boiler battle is The Vokera Easi-Heat plus 25Ci My decision is mainly down to warranty and opentherm compatibility, and the fact the beSmart can remotely monitor the Easi-Heat making remote diagnostic possible. Both boilers are very good and almost identical, they have the same heat exchanger, fan and pump, just in a different configuration. The good news is there are 2 quality entry level boilers on the market to choose between.
