Main boilers review

Main is a boiler brand owned by Baxi, focussing on a small range of budget boilers. On this page, we reveal how its customers rate their experience.

We've shared customer scores from our latest boiler survey for free, and these paint a mixed picture of Main. With satisfaction rates lagging behind most brands, it's in the lowest tier of brands scored by customers.

But this test only makes up 20% of our brand score. We've also calculated how many Main boilers are fault-free for six years, as well as what engineers think about them across several tests. 

Only Which? members can access our full results and find out how Main boilers stack up against the competition. Log in now or join Which? to access the full results.

Main gas boilers score

Despite its meagre customer score, most people who bought Main boilers in the last six years are satisfied. Some 83% are happy with their purchase, while 9% are outright dissatisfied (and 8% don't have an opinion). 

In our survey, 8% of Main customers said they wouldn't recommend the boiler to someone else, which is double the average rate across all boiler brands. 

Meanwhile, 81% would recommend Main boilers, which is six percentage points below the average.

Boiler owners are generally happy across the board which is why most of our score comes from engineer opinion and reliability data, but Main has a lower proportion of enthusiastic customers compared to most other brands. 

But this is only 20% of the story. We survey boiler engineers to find out what they think of the brand and include the results of our reliability study to complete the whole picture.

Find out the full results by subscribing to Which?.

Engineers' review of Main boilers

We heard from 198 expert engineers who scored boiler brands on several tests. We asked them to score gas boiler brands on the following:

• The ease of sourcing spare parts 
• How easy it so to change a common component (a heat exchanger)
• The ease of servicing the brand's boilers
• The build quality of the brand's boilers
• The quality of technical support provided by the manufacturer
• Whether or not engineers would recommend the brand to consumers (we filter out incentivised and brand affiliated engineers).

We aggregate all of these scores and use them to create our 'overall engineers' score', which is 40% of our total brand score.

Which? members can see how engineers rated Main gas boilers on all of these tests by logging in, while others can sign-up to Which? to unlock our full analysis.

Main boiler reliability

Boilers are major purchases you should only make once every 10 - 20 years. You can keep yours for longer if you get it regularly serviced and if you get faults fixed quickly.

We've asked people who bought a boiler in the past six years about whether theirs is fault-free. When faults are reported, we measure how serious the fault was, how long it took for the first fault to happen, and we confirm it was fixed by an engineer.

Using this data, Which? members can see which brands produce boilers that are less prone to fault than others.

Sign up for all the results.

Where to buy Main boilers

It's easy to rush into making a decision, especially if your boiler breaks down in winter, but we recommend getting a couple of quotes from a qualified heating engineer and comparing costs. Our Trusted Trader service can link you up with vetted boiler installers in your area.  

You could also buy a boiler yourself and hire an installer, though make sure you seek expert advice before doing so, to have your current heating system assessed and identify the type of boiler that meets your specific needs. If you buy a boiler without having an installer lined up, you could find yourself struggling to find someone willing to set it up for you. An installer may have access to trade or wholesale prices, and will be able to recommend a model based on a holistic assessment of your home and heating system.

Only a Gas Safe Registered engineer/installer can install a new boiler: it's both dangerous and illegal to do so yourself if you're not qualified.  

Where to buy a boiler – find out what your options are

Are Main boilers efficient?

New boilers must be A-rated, but how efficiently your boiler works in practice depends on several factors, including how you use it and how well it's installed. Use a Which? Trusted Trader for your boiler installation and regular maintenance.