Boiler manufacturers: pick your brand
Guides for the UK's best-known boiler brands: model reviews, fault codes, pressure help, warranty details and contact numbers.
Find help for your boiler brand
Every boiler brand does things its own way, with different fault codes, different controls and different warranty terms. Pick your manufacturer below to find guides written for your boiler, from model reviews to what that code on the display means.
Whichever brand you own, Smart Plan can help with breakdowns and repairs on the parts in your plan, up to your yearly cover limit. Smart Plan is a service plan, not insurance, and the work is carried out through a national network of thousands of Gas Safe registered engineers.
Browse guides by manufacturer
Smart Plan cover terms at a glance
The terms behind every cover answer below. Smart Plan is a service plan from UK Boiler Company Ltd (company 09078640), not insurance, so it does not carry insurance-style protections.
- Cover limits per 12-month period: up to £500 on most modules, £225 per appliance, and boiler and central heating up to £500 when the boiler is under 7 years old or up to £200 when it is 7 years or older. You pay any shortfall above the limit.
- Cover-plan call-outs run Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 18:00. If your boiler fails outside those hours, the earliest we can attend is the next working day.
- A £95 call-out fee, paid in advance, applies in defined cases: any call-out in the first 30 days of a new agreement, issues that fall under an exclusion, visits where our engineer cannot get access, and early annual-service requests. The first 30 days is a fee window, not a gap in cover.
- An annual service is not automatically included in cover, so arrange one separately unless your product includes it.
- One-off works run 09:00 to 17:00 and do not carry a workmanship guarantee, so they are not the same as cover.
- Billing is monthly, but a 12-month agreement period begins once you use a service. A 14-day cooling-off period applies from sign-up and ends if a service is carried out inside it.
- Leaving during the agreement period costs the remaining monthly payments, or 75% of the outstanding balance as a one-off.
- Exclusions apply and are set out in our terms and conditions.
Boiler manufacturer FAQs
Which boiler brand is best for a UK home?
There is no single best brand, because the right boiler depends on your home rather than the badge. Baxi, Ideal, Vaillant and Worcester Bosch all make combi, system and regular boilers in a range of outputs, with different controls, warranty terms and fault code systems. Compare the specific model against your hot water demand, radiator count and available space, then read the brand guides above.
How do I find out what make and model my boiler is?
Check the boiler casing and the manufacturer's label. The brand is normally printed on the front, and the model name, output and serial number sit on a label on the underside of the boiler or inside the drop-down control flap. Your user manual, installation paperwork or Benchmark logbook lists the same details. Never take the outer casing off yourself, as that is work for a Gas Safe registered engineer.
Are boiler fault codes the same for every brand?
No. Every manufacturer uses its own fault code system, so the same code can mean different things on different boilers, and codes can even vary between models from one brand. Vaillant and Glow-worm use F codes, Ideal uses L and F codes, Baxi uses E codes, and Worcester Bosch uses a mix. Always check the code against your own model's manual or our brand guide before acting.
Does the manufacturer's warranty cover a boiler breakdown?
Sometimes, but only within its terms. Manufacturer warranties differ by brand and model, and they usually cover parts and labour on manufacturing faults for a set period, provided the boiler was registered soon after installation and serviced every year by a Gas Safe registered engineer. They rarely cover system problems such as sludge, scale, frozen condensate pipes or third-party controls. Check your brand's warranty page for the exact conditions.
Does my boiler's brand or age change what Smart Plan covers?
The brand does not, provided it is a domestic gas boiler with parts still available. The age does. If your boiler is under 7 years old, the boiler and central heating module contributes up to £500 towards parts and labour in a 12-month period; if it is 7 years or older, up to £200, and you pay anything above that. Full cover terms are set out on this page.
Call us today
Customer service
0333 772 6247New customers
0333 772 6247Write to us
By email
hello@smart-plan.comBy post
2nd Floor, Melrose House
42 Dingwall Road
Croydon
CR0 2NE