Domestic Gas Water Heaters -

I only know of a couple of brands - Potterton, Valliant.
Does anyone know which brands are reliable?

The Main water heater I have is starting to present more and more problems so I need to investigate a replacement.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

goto your local plumb centre & ask there advice, they sould be able to recomend a plumber aswell.

ideal (clasic is a good model for the money) make good conventional boilers steer clear of baxi

i'll second that! ideal r gooduns!dont need much servicing if any at all! mines only had 1 fan in 7 years!

Glow-Worm Hear
Then got British Gas maintenance and breakdown cover

Is this for Central Heating?

If so go for a "Condenser" type Boiler. They're more expensive to buy initially but you'll benefit in terms of running costs.
I have an "Ideal Isar"....a really excellent choice...uses 50% less gas than conventional boiler. They pay for themselves in no time.
One thing, early models prone to failure so make sure you get the latest one as the faults have been sorted.

If you just need a Water Heater (no Central Heating) I'd still recommend Ideal.
Apart from other reasons they have a great Service Dept'.
This is important if it's your only source of hot water, especially if you have a family!

Hope you get sorted soon.

The boiler is only for hot water duties (kitchen, shower, and faucets).

Baxi one to steer clear from. Check!

Any features or specs that I should be looking for?

ah, do you mean a 'cylinder' ie the bit usually in a cupboard in ur bathroom that holds a load of water?

No, an on-demand hot water heater with nothing to do with heating the house.
I think they used to be referred to as ascots.

Is it worth getting an electronic anti-scale unit? The science behind them doesn't sound too convincing.

Valliant
I've had one for the past 13yrs and it's never let me down.
Just had it serviced and it's good as new again.
You just can't kill them.
And correct me if i'm wrong but i think the regs have changed now and it's only condensing boilers you can fit now.

all i can say is ideal are the pretty much the best on the market m8 but u will pay that little bit more, but i can tell you now it will be trouble free for a long long time

Im Driven to Earn, and I Earn to Drive......

My understanding of electric descalers is that they don't do very much.

Conrad