Intergas is a Dutch manufacturer. Condensing boilers have been normal in the Netherlands for decades, and they have been a legal requirement for new UK gas boilers for years. The interesting part of this combi is not the nationality. It is the heat exchanger.
The ECO RF uses Intergas’s 2-in-1 heat exchanger: heating water and domestic hot water share one aluminium HEX. There is no secondary plate heat exchanger, no diverter valve, no diverter motor, and no automatic air vent of the kind that sits on a conventional combi. Those four parts are common failure points on London water — plate HEX scale, diverter seize, AAV weep. That is the case for the design, and it still holds.
The same HEX layout is why Intergas can be piped as a combi, and why engineers also use the platform as a heat-only or system appliance. That flexibility is not “hybrid” in the heat-pump hybrid sense. Do not read the 2017 wording that way.
ECO RF versus HRE
The ECO RF was the better-specified Compact next to the simpler HRE. Intergas still publishes ECO RF 24, 30 and 36. Those badges are not the heating output. On Intergas’s current homeowner pages the ECO RF 24 is about 18 kW on heating, and the ECO RF 30 about 23 kW. Read the product fiche for the 36 and for DHW flow at a stated temperature rise before you size a bathroom.
| Model (as sold) | What Intergas currently publish |
|---|---|
| ECO RF 24 | About 18 kW heating. DHW around 8.5 l/min at ΔT 35 K. Compact 590 × 450 × 240 mm. |
| ECO RF 30 | About 23 kW heating. DHW around 10.5 l/min at ΔT 35 K. |
| ECO RF 36 | The larger Compact. Confirm CH kW and DHW litres on the live fiche — do not assume “36” means 36 kW of heating. |
Intergas also sell Xtreme and Xclusive above this range, with passive flue-gas heat recovery on the Xtreme. The ECO RF is still the compact OpenTherm / RF box, not a discontinued curiosity. Official pages: ECO RF 24 and ECO RF 30.
Controls
Two interfaces matter:
- OpenTherm on every Intergas we care about, including this one. A genuine OpenTherm thermostat — the 3rd gen Nest Learning Thermostat via Heat Link was the 2017 example; Honeywell Lyric was another — can modulate the boiler instead of slamming it on and off. See OpenTherm boilers and controls and Nest and a combi.
- Built-in RF. In 2017 that was a Honeywell radio module for stats such as the DT92, CMS927, and the Intouch kit. Intergas’s current story is their own Gateway, Comfort Touch, and installer Service Dashboard. The old Honeywell part numbers may still pair; do not assume they are the product Intergas will sell you tomorrow.
Hot water on this design does not need the heating circulator to run. Comfort / ECO modes on the boiler keep the HEX warm if you want a faster tap; they are optional, and they use a little gas to hold that heat.
The “heating drained, hot water still works” claim
The 2017 note said this was the only combi that still makes hot water with the heating side drained, because DHW does not rely on a pressurised primary and a plate HEX. Intergas’s layout does separate the two water paths in one block. That is a genuine service advantage: you can isolate and drain the heating to work on radiators without losing every drop of hot water, if the DHW path, gas, and electrics are still intact and the manufacturer’s isolation method is followed.
It is not a reason to run a combi with the case open or the heating circuit in an unsafe state. Commissioning pressure, relief valves, and the annual service still apply. Other makers have since designed around plate-HEX scale in their own ways; “the only combi” was 2017 enthusiasm, not a law of physics.
Warranty, then and now
The hub promised a 10-year manufacturer guarantee when fitted by an Intergas-trained “P5 accredited” engineer. P5 was the older installer scheme name. Intergas’s current homeowner FAQ (checked October 2026) still gives the ECO RF a ten-year warranty, with ten years on the heat exchanger, if you register within 30 days of commissioning. Miss that window and they say you are left with 12 months. An Intergas system filter can add years on some ranges — read the live warranty T&Cs and boiler FAQ before you quote a customer a decade.
Out of guarantee, Intergas sell a one-off repair rather than a public fixed fee — see fixed-price repairs.
Drawbacks that still hold
- Parts and familiarity. Vaillant, Worcester Bosch, and Baxi are still easier to get next-day at a general merchant. Intergas is better stocked than in 2017, not universal.
- Aluminium HEX and system water. The design hates oxygen and the wrong inhibitor. A clean, a filter, and BS 7593 treatment are not optional extras.
- Hard water still scales the DHW path inside the HEX. No plate HEX is not “no scale”. It is “scale lives in a different place”.
Where to buy (without the old shop)
The hub “Intergas Shop” and a Plumbase / Plumbcenter list are stale. Specify the boiler through a Gas Safe installer who is on Intergas’s current training / registration path, or from a merchant that actually holds the model. Intergas Heating: intergasheating.co.uk, Kidderminster, 01527 888000.
Do not treat this review as a current fitted price or a DIY install sheet. Condensing gas boilers must be installed by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
Related
- Intergas
- How to service an Intergas boiler
- Flow temperature on Rapid, HRE and ECO RF
- Intergas fault codes
- Flue gas analysis — includes Intergas ECO figures
- Combi boiler installation
- Spirotech Spirotrap MB3 review
Original review 10 December 2017 by Jayesh Kanbi. Warranty, model outputs, and control names checked against Intergas public pages in October 2026. Guidance only. Gas work in the UK needs a Gas Safe registered engineer.