On Thu, 15 Apr 2004 23:48:30 +0100, "John Aston"
wrote:




Thanks, Nick. I am assuming that you got Eco-hometec to do the design. May I
ask if you were pleased with their competence and response? I'm thinking of
going to them for a quote.

Did they install the system as well?


I'll throw something in here John.

Eco Hometec are a distributor for MAN Heiztechnik (part of the MAN BW
company that make the big diesel engines and trucks) based in Hamburg

http://www.man-heiztechnik.de/index_e.php

The other is MHS Boilers and both sell the Micromat EC product.

I researched good quality boilers a year and a bit ago and shortlisted
to this one, Keston, Viessmann and a couple of others.
My main issues were build quality, specification, reliability, spares
availability, technical support etc.

I put together a very detailed questionnaire and emailed it to each
supplier. I also contacted MAN Heiztechnik in Germany and spoke to
their technical department and to a product manager, specifically on
how they are selling the product. It is a high end boiler, no
question, and that is reflected in the price - north of £1k.

I received a somewhat satisfactory reply from Keston and from
Viessmann but the one from Eco Hometec was much more detailed and
they answered every question. I had asked things like the prices for
the six most expensive spare parts and so on. Frankly they did a
lot of work to answer my questions that the others didn't bother to
do.

I also checked out Eco Hometec's filing at the Registrar of Companies
and they are not large, but I felt set up adequately to address what
they are doing.
They specialise in the selfbuild and discerning markets and sell
directly to the end user or installer, not through plumbing and
heating merchants.
I visited their place in Doncaster - on an industrial estate on the
edge of town. I guess that they employ around 15-20 people
including service engineers in different parts of the country.
There is a demo room set up with all of the boiler types that they
sell and you can see any of them in operation - they'll show the
components and how it all goes together etc.

The Micromat is an extremely well engineered and solid machine made
from quality components. There was no comparison to the Glow Worm
that was installed before and ended up in the skip not long
afterwards.

In terms of design, I didn't need a lot of help apart from figuring
out the correct setting for the boiler controller to drive the
motorised valve setup that I have.

I did the installation except for the commissioning and everything
else went smoothly.

I don't think that they will do complete installations but may
organise someone for you. I believe that they do do designs including
UFH if you want it. I'm pretty sure that they won't attempt to do
things beyond their ability.

In terms of purchasing, this was uneventful as well. The questions
were answered, and I deliberated for several months. They called me
on an agreed basis each month to follow up any issues and then quoted
- didn't hassle me for the order.

If you are going for a HW cylinder, I would recommend getting one with
a pocket for a temperature probe and getting the probe accessory for
the boiler. This gives much better control of the hot water
temperature and reheating than a cylinder thermostat does.
The outside temperature sensor is included with the boiler.


I'd certainly buy the same boiler again and from them, so certainly
I'd ask for a quote and ask your other questions.

..andy

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