Most and Least Reliable Boilers
Some brands will keep you warm and cozy all winter
Boilers differ from furnaces in one major way: A boiler circulates hot water and steam to heat your home, while a furnace heats air.
If you have those quaint, old-fashioned radiators or newer baseboard radiators, you probably have a boiler.
Repair or Replace
Like other central heating systems, boilers can be quite expensive to replace, so the incentive to have one repaired is great. In fact, in our 2021 survey, a majority of members—88 percent—who owned a boiler that broke reported having it repaired. The median repair cost for a boiler not covered by a service contract was $391. Compare that with the $7,938 spent by our members who bought and installed a new boiler during the past five years.
For more information on boilers, including how to maintain yours for maximum efficiency, see our boiler buying guide.
Most and Least Reliable Boiler Brands
We crunched the data on 13 different brands of boilers, from those with a large market share, including Weil-McLain and Burnham, to lesser-known brands, such as Buderus and Williamson. Our members use their boilers to heat their homes a median of seven months a year.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of the winners and losers among boiler brands. Of the 13 brands in our survey, three earned a top rating of Excellent for predicted reliability and three earned top marks for owner satisfaction.