| Product: |
Keston Celsius 25 Modulating Domestic Condensing Boiler |
| Date: |
07/02/04 (3294 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Boiler is well made
Disadvantages: unreliable, costly to repair.
I have installed 4 of the Celsius 25 boilers and I now specify them on every job I am asked to quote for. You can see some real life installation examples in the reference section on my website. The Celsius 25 is a great choice for users who want a reliable compact boiler yet don?t need all the gadgets of a higher priced unit.
The Celsius is the Keston entry-level boiler and does not intend to compete directly against the mass-market boilers. Indeed on close internal inspection you can see the boiler has been made to a specification rather than built down to a price. The cost to the customer is about an extra 300 pounds. Over the period of its lifetime you are looking at a few extra pounds a month.
Keston have wisely chosen stainless steel as the material for the boiler heat exchanger. I always advise customers to insist on this material when choosing a condensing boiler. Aluminium heat exchangers have a tendency to rot away with time and leave a slimy mess for the service engineer. Keston guarantee the heat exchanger for five years.
Installation is made extremely easy by their flexible flue system. Obviously the boiler must be installed by a CORGI engineer but the flue pipe can be fitted in many ways to overcome awkward obstacles within a house. You don?t have this option on many other boilers and indeed sometimes the Celsius 25 is the only boiler on the market that can be installed!
The boiler itself is very straightforward to install and commission. Please note, the engineer performing the installation will require a ?combustion analyzer? to ensure correct operation of the boiler. I read the spot efficiency to be 92% during commissioning, however if the system is correctly designed the efficiency should peak at about 97%.
The support given by Keston should not be overlooked. They promptly answer the telephone and provide all the necessary answers quickly and efficiently. I think this is extremely important when consi
dering a boiler.
As I?ve previously mentioned the boiler is well made. One thing to be aware of is that isn?t completely silent when starting up. It makes a ?whooshing? noise on startup which sounds a bit like a jet plane taking off! Its no more noisy than a kettle on the boil. For this reason it is best sited in a utility room or kitchen away from any bedrooms. That said, it could be boxed into a cupboard with sound insulation ( within guidelines) to reduce this noise. The customer actually said he didn?t mind the noise as it sounded quite impressive and was a great talking point!
UPDATE: 01/01/2008.
Infortunately since I wrote the original review back in 2005, I now have cause to completely change my view of the C25. They are extremely unreliable and not cost effective. You cannot buy the C25 as keston have now discontinued it to be replaced with the Qudos 28. Only time will tell if the Qudos28 has the same problems as the c25....
Summary: The keston C25 boiler
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